Is there Evidence for Life Beyond Death?

http://www.spiritofmaat.com/archive/aug2/sciproof.htm
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/questions-and-answers/36727-is-there-evidence-life-beyond-death.html

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__________________
God closes doors no man can open & God opens doors no man can close.

In any case we cremate the body within a day or a week at max. So the post 'death' mind doesn't get much to do. But I heard of an experiment in which a dying man was placed in a glass case. And after he died, the case cracked and broke down.

One of my favorite quotes, Astroboy ji:

"There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
- William Shakespeare, from the play Hamlet

I don't know what this is evidence for... probably that quote above.

There may be some life after death, even the heaven or hell may exist, but this isn't of any concern for the Sikh. As Bhagat Kabir opines in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib,
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36727
"What to talk of the heaven or the hell? Saints have rejected both of them. We don't debate with anyone but enjoy the bliss obtained through the Guru."
Just remember the Guru, live in peace and enjoy everyday life. What else is heaven?

Sat Sri Akal to all,
I have a few questions to ask about sikhi. I am new to sikhi, my family is hindu and that was the faith i was born into, but I always had questions that were not able to be answered. Many of my friends are sikhi and introduced me to the philosophy, whenever I went to the gurdwara i felt the most peace. The rituals and 100s of gods in hinduism was quite confusing, and they were draped with gold and linens. It all did not make sense to me, as to how anyone knew what these characters looked like. To me hinduism was a fantasy like philosophy that got carried away into something else, and prophets god mixed up into gods.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36727
I always believed in god as one, god as the universe, and god within us. whatever we imagine is our creation and gods will. I then slowly started to read the guru granth this year, and to my surprise it fit most of my beliefs. This was a brilliant awakening for myself, the only thing is that I am but the single sikh follower in my family. Once i found SPN it gave some relief as to being able to receive answers.

What is guru? is guru god? is guru the universe? is guru the teacher within us? is guru the 10 prophets?

What is fateh? I recall hearing it in gurdwara, and now i see it hear on SPN, ie. wahe guru fateh, khalsa fateh. Is the maatlab to be forever? or long live?

My next question is in regards to karas, to me the kara symbolizes something so beautiful. that god is one and that the universe is forever connecting. I know one is able to receive a kara at gurdwara, but there are also places like sikhkaras.com which have karas that are engraved with the mool mantra and such. If a person was to purchase a kara from sikhkaras.com would one have to take the kara to gurdwara to be blessed? Also when wearing a kara is one able to eat meat? I know one is not to put toxics such as smoke and alcohol into their bodys. Thought the thing is i see people who wear karas and ingest meat, but I also see people where karas and ingest alcohol. This confuses me, i know it is that persons own path and prerogative. I am wondering, because I do not want to take away from the symbolism if i were to wear one.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36727

I know that a sikhi is someone who reads gurbani whether they have taken amrit or not. Is gurbani reading only to be read at 5 in the morning? this seems a bit ritualistic to me? or is this just a guideline and gurbani can be read later in the day, so long as you have bathed?

Also wondering, would it be disrespectful if i read my ipod in gurdwara (i have a gurbani app which translates some words which i am unfamiliar with) I do not want to go to the gurdwara to offend anyone.

Also I have cut my hair before, and I have many sikhi friends who cut their hair. This confuses me, I would love to grow my hair our to be long and luscious, but I am curious as to whether I am able to get very small trims in order to keep it healthy. Those sikhi who do cut their hair, what does this mean? are they going against the Guru? are they reversing all their long worked gurbani readings.

This is hard for me, because i am going against my family in a way, and most of the time my father is very cynical towards me. But i know that I am on the right path and that this is where I should be. Is there any tips you can give a new sikhi disciple. Our family has annual poojas, but I know that Sikhi hold phat in the home. would it be unrealistic for me to want to bless our home with the readings of the guru granth sahib ji if there is a pandit coming to recite from the hindu scriptures. I am not sure what to do, because I feel this is my home too. Please help me.

I am very excited to hear from my new Sikhi friends.

Thank you
Sat Sri Akal
Sikhipyar

Sikhipyarji
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36727

Welcome Bhenji,

A very moving post, very enlightened post, my own view is that what matters most is what is going on inside your head, not blessing houses, hair, karas, or indeed anything else. The move you have made from many gods and traditions and ritual, to the one eternal god is enough for the moment, the outward signs of sikhi will present themselves to you over time, do not make the mistake of respraying your car till you have sorted the engine out!
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36727

Once the engine is firing away, the physical aspects of sikhism will be a joy to carry out, a symbol of your relationship with the creator.

You have raised questions that I will let someone more wise than myself answer, but your house is in your head, and that is the only house you need to worry about being blessed

good luck, you are on a very exciting road

Dear Sikhipyar Ji ,
Your list is quite long , I shall try to cover as much I can briefly :
1. The Guru of Sikhs is the " SHABAD /WORD / KNOWLEDGE " as enshrined in holy Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The ten Gurus gave us the SHABAD as it was recieved by them from the Almighty , not only that the core ideology of Sikhi as described in Moolmantar " Ik Oankar , Satnaam , Karta Purakh , Nirbhao , Nirvair , Akal Moorat , Ajooni , Sahi Bhung , Gurparsaad " but also lived life fully in accordance with that ideology , even gave life to upheld that ideology as Fifth Guru , Ninth Guru , Tenth Guru ( who gave his whole family ) to serve their lives as practical examples to how Sikhs should lead their lives , collected that SHABAD from wherever / whosoever it belonged & included it holy Sri Guru Granth Sahib to whom we bow each day of our lives .
2. Fateh is a greeting like Hindus say Raam ,Raam , Muslims say Salaam A Leikum . " Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa , Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh" meaning " Sikh / Khalsa belongs to Almighty & since he belongs to Almighty so each victory is naturally his because Khalsa belongs to the Almighty .
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36727
3. Kara acts as a reminder to Sikh that he has done some promises to Guru Gobind Singh ji whatever he does with his right hand should remind him of that promise & he should not do anything which is not in accordance with those promises . As for meat it is perfectly allowed in Sikh Rehat Maryada as long it is not ritually sacrificed like Kosher , Halaal etc .
http://www.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_six.html . As for liqour it is strictly prohibted in Sikhism . Whatever any individual do should not be judged as acceptable for whole community .
4. A Sikh hair is for his individual/independent identity ( uniq ueness ) an order of Tenth Guru should be upholded . Under no circumstances can a Sikh cut his hair .
5. For any other clarifications , refer to Sikh Rehat Maryada
http://www.sgpc.net/sikhism/sikh-dharma-manual.html
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36727


3.

Sat Sri Akal Sikhipyar Ji

Welcome to SPN and to Sikhi! You sure have packed a lot of questions into one post!

Sikhi is wide and vast and a huge learning curve. Try to put whatever you think you know about spirituality and religion out of your mind when you're learning about Sikhi. I understand Hindu dharma is very vibrant and complex, and you might find yourself trying to make Sikhi more complicated than it actually is (plenty of Sikhs, myself included, fall into that trap all the time). Just something to be aware of as you learn.

Here's my opinion on some of your questions (your questions are in blue):

What is Guru?: this is a big one, I can't answer it adequately, you're best bet is to Google it and read, read, read. Someone more knowledgeable than me may reply here.

Is guru god? Yes
is guru the universe? Yes
is guru the teacher within us? Yes
is guru the 10 prophets? In Sikhi we don't call them prophets, we call them Gurus. Guru Nanak is the 1st Guru through to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

Sikh means disciple or student, and Guru means teacher. Something to ponder.

Karas: To my knoweldge karas and any of the other kakkars are not specially blessed in any way. How can a mere human bless anything at all? They are just symbols, the blessing is in understanding them and applying them in your life. I may be wrong.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36727

Sikhs show utmost respect to Gurbani (the text within Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji), and for some a kara with Gurbani inscribed on it is disrespectful. Others have no problem. Personally, my kara is plain. The choice is yours.

A thought like "when I wear my kara I shouldn't eat meat" is moot. A Sikh is a Sikh with or without his/her kakkars. Waheguru is everywhere and ever present and closer to your than your own breath. If you take off your kara you are still just as bound by Sikhi as if you were wearing it.

The meat debate within Sikhi is a hot one and I won't discuss it here.

Anyone can wear a kara and do anything they want, so you need to be careful... not every turban-wearing, kara-wearing, kacchera-wearing Sikh is a pure Sikh (very few in fact).

I agree with Harry bhaji -- don't rush into wearing a symbol. I only just got mine a few months ago!

I know that a sikhi is someone who reads gurbani whether they have taken amrit or not. Is gurbani reading only to be read at 5 in the morning? this seems a bit ritualistic to me? or is this just a guideline and gurbani can be read later in the day, so long as you have bathed?

Hmm, no, a Sikh is someone who reads Gurbani AND learns about it AND applies the teachings in their life. Anyone can read Gurbani! It takes more to be a Sikh. The Sikh community can be roughly divided into regular Sikhs (students) and then Khalsa Sikhs (ones who have been through the amrit sanchar ceremony).

Gurbani can be read in any place at any time with the body in any state, however it is most conductive to a spiritual mindset when the environment is quiet and the body is clean and not distressed. Sikhs will generally rise early in the morning (before dawn), clean their bodies and contemplate Waheguru, and recite Japji Sahib and some other prayers. In the evening they will recite Rehras and before sleep Sohila. But you can build up to this discipline. Any Gurbani can be read at any time.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36727

Sikhs will generally cover their heads when they read Gurbani as a respectful practice. I like to do so as it helps me "get in the mood" and makes me feel humble and joyful. Sometimes I won't cover my head, like when I have Gurbani set as the wallpaper on my work PC. It is personal.

Also wondering, would it be disrespectful if i read my ipod in gurdwara (i have a gurbani app which translates some words which i am unfamiliar with) I do not want to go to the gurdwara to offend anyone.

As long as it's not making sounds I can't imagine you'll upset anyone. Be considerate of those around you. Don't let the ipod distract you from the experience. It's a pity your Gurdwara Sahib doesn't have a projector with Gurmukhi/English/Romanisation. Maybe see if there is another Gurdwara nearby which does - it will help!

I am curious as to whether I am able to get very small trims in order to keep it healthy. It's best if you don't tamper with your hair at all.

Those sikhi who do cut their hair, what does this mean? are they going against the Guru? It means they have made the choice to cut their hair. It is not for us to judge them, but for us to read and learn and decide the right actions for ourselves. If you believe you should keep your hair because that was the command Guru Gobind Singh Ji gave to his Sikhs, then it is natural to obey it. I encourage you to keep your hair but ultimately it's your choice.

are they reversing all their long worked gurbani readings. I'm not sure it works like that. Gurbani is not something you are rewarded simply for reading. You are rewarded for reading, understanding, acting on and finding boundless joy in Gurbani. You lose if you read, understand, and then don't act on it.

But i know that I am on the right path and that this is where I should be. Congratulations and hang in there, Sikhi has much to offer the dedicated student!

Is there any tips you can give a new sikhi disciple. Read Gurbani with an open mind, read the posts here at SPN, be careful of people who talk to much about rules, rituals, and doing things which don't seem to make sense. Test what you hear against Gurbani and the Sikh Rehat Maryada (Dalbirk linked to it in his post above).

Our family has annual poojas, but I know that Sikhi hold phat in the home. I'm sorry, what is "phat"?

would it be unrealistic for me to want to bless our home with the readings of the guru granth sahib ji if there is a pandit coming to recite from the hindu scriptures. See my comment above, no human can bless anything with any ritual, to my understanding. You carry the blessing within you by learning and behaving like a Sikh.

I am not sure what to do, because I feel this is my home too. Please help me. Relax, read Gurbani, watch what your family does as an observer. I can't really offer much because I haven't been in your position, sorry!

Good luck on your journey!

Gurfateh
Ishna