Basics of Sikhism Revisited

Three pillars of Sikhism

The Three Pillars of Sikhism were formalised by Guru Nanak as:

1. The Guru led the Sikhs directly to practise Simran and Naam Japna—meditation on God and reciting and chanting of God’s Name—Waheguru. The Sikh is to recite the Nitnem banis daily in remembrance of the grace and kirpa of the Almighty.
2. He asked the Sikhs to live as householders and practise Kirat Karni: to honestly earn by one's physical and mental effort, while accepting God's gifts and blessing. One is to speak the truth at all times and only fear God. Live a life of decency, high moral values and spirituality.
3. The Sikhs were asked to share their wealth within the community by practising Vand Chakkō—“Share and Consume together”. The community or Sadh Sangat is an important part of Sikhism. One must be part of a community that is pursuing the values set out by the Sikh Gurus and every Sikh has to give in whatever way possible to the community. This spirit of Giving is an important message from Guru Guru Nanak.

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With Divine Love & Blessings of Waheguru Ji:

Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/sikh-sikhi-sikhism/37704-basics-of-sikhism-revisited.html

Taranjeetji

As you know, I hold you in the highest regard, however I am not sure I agree with these as pillars.

1. I think this is a personal practice, and there has been debate on this already, but calling it a pillar is giving it a lot of importance.
2. I do not fear God, why would I want to do that? That means everything I do is born out of fear of God, I find that a very Abrahamic position, The only sentence that should contain the words God and fear, in my view, is the sentence 'I Fear being without God', other than that God is inside us all, how can we fear a part of us?
3. There is nothing bad to be said about this pillar, but where is the importance of practical Sikhism, where is the importance of wisdom and knowledge through study and implementation?
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37704
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37704

I think to condense Sikhism into the above 3 pillars does not do the religion justice

my own thoughts, apologies for any offence

Nitnem talks about the Amrit Vela hours, evening and night. What about rest of the day? That is what forms the Naam Japna and Simran. Like you are waiting for the bus at the stop, what are you thinking? You can worry about stuff or blame someone, or you can think about Waheguru.

These small idle moments of the brain are generally wasted, and once you start focussing on Waheguru (requires lot of effort) you feel better. Slowly your Simran in these small fillers will expand to other activities. Chances are the bus will come, you will board it and get off some other stop, you are still doing Simran.

With time, you will understand how to be in Simran mode 24x7. You will realize the universe reverberating with Waheguru, for that is what your heart, mind, soul and ears want to listen. You will find faintly recognizable Waaahe-Guroooooo when you breathe in and breathe out. You will be sleeping in the train and the sound of the wheels on the tracks would sound like Waheguru repeated infinitely.

Kanwaljit Singh ji isn't the following characterized as Hallucinations,

I know one can say these will be positive in a way but it is Hallucination. Simply meaning hearing or feeling what you want to versus what is!

Sat Sri Akal.

Yes I know it sounds weird when you say it like hearing what you want vs what is. I believe I wanted to say what you are reminded of.

I had started this thread so that one may form a view about sikhi and re visit the thread in case of doubt. The first post was taken from 'wikipedia' , a neutral source for reporting matters and things stated therein. It is open for editing by anyone. If one feels strongly that sikhi is not about this and the some additions are required one is free to edit the page and spread the message. I refrain from doing so as it makes sense to let the traditional way of expressions not be disturbed. There would many posts , I believe, that would be available on SPN that would be speak sikhi in same format i.e three pillars of sikhi.

Dear Harry ji..kindly refer to the speech of Mr. Tejwant ji that was posted on this very forum about few days ago. He also talks of three tenets instead of three pillars. It is in his first minute of speech.

I think you are right in saying this that sikhi cannot be condensed in the three points only and would require further elaboration. I tend to agree with you here and feel almost the same. Sikhism may be very vast and teachings of Gurus cannot be summed up in few points.
For me , personally speaking, entire Guru Granth sahib ji is a 'Naam guide. Nitnem is to be performed with full understanding of Bani. It should not be reading only that I used to do few years back.

Regarding points at 1 and 2 , it is , I presume, your view point and each one of us has right to have . One should , however, refer to Rehat and to the bani before further indulgence. In case something gives rise to argument , it is always preferable to avoid the same.I appreciate the eloquence you are blessed with.

In continuation with the post at 1, I post the following:


The sikh gurus tell us that our mind is constantly being attacked by the Five Evils (or Five Thieves); Kam (Lust), Krodh (Rage), Lobh (Greed), Moh (Attachment) and Ahankar (Ego).

A Sikh needs to overcome these five vices.1

The Sikh Gurus taught the Sikhs to develop and harness the Five Virtues which lead the soul closer to God and away from evil. These are Sat (Truth), Daya (Compassion), Santokh (Contentment), Nimrata (Humility) and Pyare (Love).

Beliefs

1) One Source
One God is the Creator of the Universe
2) Equality
Ø All human beings are equal
Ø People of all religions and races are welcome in Sikh Gurdwaras
Ø Women have equal status with men in religious services and ceremonies
3) Human Life Precious Above Other Life
Ø The human life is supreme and it is through this life that we can achieve oneness with God's will.
Ø Finding God in this life and living by his commands helps us to attain God's mercy.
4) Defending Against Injustice
Sikhs are a peace loving people and stand for Truth and Justice
Guru Gobind Singh Ji said, "It is right to use force as a last resort when all other peaceful means fail."

There would be many other beliefs of Sikhs. It is not possible to encapsulate these in a small write up. Concepts are built up gradually in this thread over passage of time and as per convenience.

The post would need 'text' formation.

Adopted from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikh_beliefs

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1. Sri Granth Sahib page 1389 http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gur...d=59169#l59169

Taranjeet ji thanks for your posts.

I read that you want changes in Wiki in respect to the entries. Why not take the opportunity to do so in this thread. Perhaps we can all chip in and then Wiki could be updated by yourself, don't be shy, make a name and be a proud Sikh.
I appreciate the thrust of your posting. Sikhism is simple and the message is also pretty simple. We need to keep it so.

Sat Sri Akal.

Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37704
PS: Please confirm if you are man/women as I like to address you as Veer/Bhain sometimes. It sounds very endearing to me when I do so.

Hello Ambarsari ji,

In our parts it is considered that impromptu remarks are made by drunken oafish ox. Further that such out of context remarks are not to be attended to. We in judiciary follow this as well.

But you appear to be a fairly sensible person. You can yourself find out as to when intrusion is welcome or otherwise. Anyways, you have wanted to know some thing that is personal. It is neither mandatory for me nor directory to reply to such a query. You may continue to address me the way you have done. It is o.k.

Regarding your 'chipping in' please do the chirping and chipping both. I can accommodate both and if that you have 'chipped in' is found up to the mark we can decide mutually to post it on wiki.