(I moved this because I thought it might be more appropriate here)

In my effort to sort out Orthodox from Naamdhari from Nirankare, and to understand how Sikhi evolved from the message of Guru Nanak to the many sects of Sikhism that I've found so far, I keep running into this statement that certain Sikhs are not really Sikhs because they say that SGGS is a book.

And I'm thinking, "But it IS a BOOK." I mean, when I read and heard that Guru Gobind Singh put an end to the human Guru lineage and named the SGGS as the last Guru, I thought that meant that the SGGS was the final teacher, since it is the sacred text of the Guru's words and holds the message that brings one from darkness to light -- and that is what I'm told the definition of Guru is.

But now I'm finding out that most groups of Sikhs actually believe that the SGGS is a living entity, the reincarnation of Guru Nanak, so to speak. And thinking about that I immediately thought of the fact that many Sikhs also believe that Guru Nanak IS God.

So the logical conclusion would be that SGGS IS God. Or is it the place we find the inspired word of God and since the knowledge it holds brings one from darkness to light, it can be considered "Guru?" Do you believe that it is actually a divine living entity or do you call it the Guru because it is now the only teacher the Sikhs have?

But our Guru's were not God, so therefore the 11th Guru is not God either. Imagine God as a vast ocean, and our Guru being a drop in that ocean. It maybe part of the ocean, but not the ocean itself.

One think you must remeber is Sikhs place a massive empahsis on "Naam" in other words the word of God. Bani contains the word of God, and is hence a Guru to us.

__________________
Randip Singh
Sikh History Website

"Let no man be proud because of his caste/race (Jaat).
For the man who has God in his heart, he alone is the true Brahmin.
O stupid fool, be not proud of your caste/race (Jaat), by this pride many sins arise.
Everyone says there are four castes/races (Jaat), but they are all created from the Lords seed (essence).
All men are moulded from the same clay, but the potter has fashioned it into vessels of numerous forms.
By joining the five elements, the form of the body is made, no one can say that the element is less in one and more in another" Pg 1128 SGGS

Thank you. That was an excellent explanation.