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Have You Ever Been Confused?

BlazinSikh

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May 6, 2011
97
147
Croydon, London, England
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

The question i post is has anyone ever been confused about their faith. The reason i post this question is well because, i've been quite confused for a while and i honestly do not know why? I mean i love sikhi to death, the teachings of sikhi are just so logical i mean i see no error or anything that confuses me. But lately i've been having second thoughts on whether i am a sikhi or not? And i am just confused.

Can someone please help me out here?

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!
 

Ishna

Writer
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May 9, 2006
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Yes.

You might be experiencing what Christians call the 'Dark Night of the Soul':

Spiritual term in the Christian tradition
Main article: Spiritual dryness

The term "dark night (of the soul)" is used in Christianity for a spiritual crisis in a journey towards union with God, like that described by Saint John of the Cross.
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, a 19th-century French Carmelite, wrote of her own experience. Centering on doubts about the afterlife, she reportedly told her fellow nuns, "If you only knew what darkness I am plunged into."<SUP id=cite_ref-nyt_1-0 class=reference>[1]</SUP>
While this crisis is usually temporary in nature, it may last for extended periods. The "dark night" of Saint Paul of the Cross in the 18th century lasted 45 years, from which he ultimately recovered. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, according to letters released in 2007, "may be the most extensive such case on record", lasting from 1948 almost up until her death in 1997, with only brief interludes of relief between.<SUP id=cite_ref-time_2-0 class=reference>[2]</SUP> Franciscan Friar Father Benedict Groeschel, a friend of Mother Teresa for a large part of her life, claims that "the darkness left" towards the end of her life.<SUP id=cite_ref-groeschel_3-0 class=reference>[3]</SUP>

 
Nov 14, 2008
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Sat sri Akaal dear ,

these things are common even essential in spiritual development . just hold Gurbani close to your heart .


ਅੰਧਿਆਰੈ ਦੀਪਕ ਆਨਿ ਜਲਾਏ ਗੁਰ ਗਿਆਨਿ ਗੁਰੂ ਲਿਵ ਲਾਗੇ ॥
In the darkness, the Guru has lit the lamp of the Guru's wisdom; I am lovingly focused on the Lord.

ਅਗਿਆਨੁ ਅੰਧੇਰਾ ਬਿਨਸਿ ਬਿਨਾਸਿਓ ਘਰਿ ਵਸਤੁ ਲਹੀ ਮਨ ਜਾਗੇ ॥੩॥
The darkness of ignorance has been dispelled, and my mind has been awakened; within the home of my inner being, I have found the genuine article. ||3||
 

Scarlet Pimpernel

We seek him here,we sikh
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May 31, 2011
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i see no error or anything that confuses me. But lately i've been having second thoughts on whether i am a sikhi or not? And i am just confused

Vera if you are looking for errors in Sikhi then you are confused,Sikhi helps us root out our own errors, like a fitness routine makes your physical heart fit strong,Sikhi makes your spiritual heart strong.
 
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BlazinSikh

SPNer
May 6, 2011
97
147
Croydon, London, England
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

Before i start i want to thank everyone for reading my little problem and helping me. By seeing the amount of people who have viewed my post and seeing only three had replied i want to appologise for any confusion made with in my post.

Ishna ji, Harmanpreet Singh Ji, and Scarlet Pimpernel Ji thank for answering my little dilemma.

Yes.

You might be experiencing what Christians call the 'Dark Night of the Soul':
Spiritual term in the Christian tradition
Main article: Spiritual dryness

The term "dark night (of the soul)" is used in Christianity for a spiritual crisis in a journey towards union with God, like that described by Saint John of the Cross.
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, a 19th-century French Carmelite, wrote of her own experience. Centering on doubts about the afterlife, she reportedly told her fellow nuns, "If you only knew what darkness I am plunged into."<sup id="cite_ref-nyt_1-0" class="reference">[1]</sup>
While this crisis is usually temporary in nature, it may last for extended periods. The "dark night" of Saint Paul of the Cross in the 18th century lasted 45 years, from which he ultimately recovered. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, according to letters released in 2007, "may be the most extensive such case on record", lasting from 1948 almost up until her death in 1997, with only brief interludes of relief between.<sup id="cite_ref-time_2-0" class="reference">[2]</sup> Franciscan Friar Father Benedict Groeschel, a friend of Mother Teresa for a large part of her life, claims that "the darkness left" towards the end of her life.<sup id="cite_ref-groeschel_3-0" class="reference">[3]</sup>


Sat sri Akaal dear ,

these things are common even essential in spiritual development . just hold Gurbani close to your heart .


ਅੰਧਿਆਰੈ ਦੀਪਕ ਆਨਿ ਜਲਾਏ ਗੁਰ ਗਿਆਨਿ ਗੁਰੂ ਲਿਵ ਲਾਗੇ ॥
In the darkness, the Guru has lit the lamp of the Guru's wisdom; I am lovingly focused on the Lord.

ਅਗਿਆਨੁ ਅੰਧੇਰਾ ਬਿਨਸਿ ਬਿਨਾਸਿਓ ਘਰਿ ਵਸਤੁ ਲਹੀ ਮਨ ਜਾਗੇ ॥੩॥
The darkness of ignorance has been dispelled, and my mind has been awakened; within the home of my inner being, I have found the genuine article. ||3||

Ishna Ji and Harmanpreet Singh Ji, both your answer compliement one another, and it kind of something that i had thought about before i read your post's. My little hypotosis from this is that i think this is how a Manmukhs journey starts of as to become atleast a gursikh, with the doubts, confusion, and pain. Or then this could my mind playing the game of "doubts" with me, trust me this is not the first time that my mind has taken on of my personal beliefs and then mess with me.

Vera if you are looking for errors in Sikhi then you are confused,Sikhi helps us root out our own errors, like a fitness routine makes your physical heart fit strong,Sikhi makes your spiritual heart strong.

Scarlet Pimpernel Ji, forgive me, but i wrote this in a complete rush with not considering what i was saying, sorry. But what i wanted to say is that sikhi to me is a religion that i feel Waheguru Ji has placed for me (sorry for the exaggeration) but i mean certain belief that i had before i understood sikhi was already said by the 10 loving guru's sahibs, like there is no hindu or muslim, GOD is for all (my belief was there are many religion but only one GOD) etc, etc so that i what i wanted to say.

Sorry for any confusion guys, and thanks for taken time to read and help me on my lil dilemma. The fact is sikhi mean so much to me, i mean yesterday i imaged what it would feel like if sikhi was not in my life, and it felt horrible, i mean for me to convert from sikhi to another way of life(no offense to other religions) just made me cry for i think 15 minutes, i finally felt the pain that most women in India go through when they get an arranged marriage and leave their loving parents to live with some next stranger, i was just lost and confused. But just as always i saw a light at the end my dilemma.

So at this current moment my mind is not messing with me, but you never know what tommorow may be like.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh
 

Ishna

Writer
SPNer
May 9, 2006
3,261
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Ji, if you love Sikhi so much, why do you sometimes wonder if you're a Sikh or not?

Is it that you sometimes don't feel a 'connection' to Guruji, or that practice of your religion is sometimes not 'satisfying'?
 

Ishna

Writer
SPNer
May 9, 2006
3,261
5,192
This is an article by a Christian pastsor who talks about doubt. He's a PASTOR and sometimes feels doubt in the midst of his ministry. I know he's Christian but I figure we're all human and have similar feelings right in there on the inside.

Perhaps substitute the word 'Sikh' in place of 'Christian' as you read it, hehe: http://www.brianmclaren.net/emc/archives/resources/doubt-the-tides-of-faith-written.html

Not sure if this actually addresses anything you're feeling though.
 

Luckysingh

Writer
SPNer
Dec 3, 2011
1,634
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Vancouver
Yeh, I think that with some people it actually helps them if they doubt.
To be doubting and questioning helps them to find the hidden strengths and connections that may not seem apparent .

We all have our own personal development strategies.
Some find it easier to compare and contrast by finding whether the for or against reasons outweigh one another.
 

Kamala

Banned
May 26, 2011
389
147
Canada.
The term "dark night (of the soul)" is used in Christianity


Anyways; I have had my doubts a long time ago, but none ever I made the decision to stick to this religion. You wouldn't have doubts if you do what you are supposed to as a Sikh.
 

Scarlet Pimpernel

We seek him here,we sikh
Writer
SPNer
May 31, 2011
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In the Self
I have had my doubts a long time ago, but none ever I made the decision to stick to this religion. You wouldn't have doubts if you do what you are supposed to as a Sikh.

Devi doubt is presupposed in Religion,you couldn't appreciate faith if you hadn't experienced doubt,we are in the Dark age,so it's quite natural to have dark nights,it is in a way supernatural to see when all around you is darkness.
 

gur_meet

SPNer
Feb 3, 2010
80
166
India, Canada
For spiritual growth the one attitude which is very important is to

ask questions so as to know How . Answers to these questions be sought through contemplation and acquisition of more knowledge. The answers always come. This develops faith. And faith is important to understand and follow the direction spelled out by gurbani.

The easiest way to remain stuck is to be in doubt. One doubts every thing even the Guru.
We bow before the Guru not simply because of respect but also to as a token of our willingness to shed the doubtful mind which keeps us rooted in our own "mat"- thoughts and beliefs . We bow to accept the Guru's words.

So the answer to come out of any phase of doubt is to bow before the guru and do ardas. The mind would shift to the new mode.

wjkk wjkf
 

Harry Haller

Panga Master
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Jan 31, 2011
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Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

The question i post is has anyone ever been confused about their faith. The reason i post this question is well because, i've been quite confused for a while and i honestly do not know why? I mean i love sikhi to death, the teachings of sikhi are just so logical i mean i see no error or anything that confuses me. But lately i've been having second thoughts on whether i am a sikhi or not? And i am just confused.

Can someone please help me out here?

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

I do not think you are confused, perhaps it would be easier to label what you feel as confusion.What you are feeling is difficulty in meeting your own standards that you have set yourself. In your mind if you meet these standards you are a Sikh, if you don't then you are not.

Different people have different standards, some feel they are Sikhs because they meet the standards that they practice, prayers, readings, attending Gurdwara etc.

You are a Sikh if you believe and attempt to stick to the moral and ethical way of life that a Sikh should live. I say attempt, as it is not easy to be 100%, but then maybe none of us will ever reach 100% so it is folly to focus on all or nothing.

Be the best Sikh you can be today, and when you have done that, try and be a better Sikh tommorow.If you do that, you are a Sikh.
 

Scarlet Pimpernel

We seek him here,we sikh
Writer
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May 31, 2011
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What you are feeling is difficulty in meeting your own standards that you have set yourself. In your mind if you meet these standards you are a Sikh, if you don't then you are not.

Veer Ji perhaps we should have Sikh Standards ,I suggest 'Self Denigrating Sikh' could be one,why wonder whether you are a learner or not ,you can at anytime become one,I don't think slow learners get expelled.
 
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BlazinSikh

SPNer
May 6, 2011
97
147
Croydon, London, England
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

WOW!!! Guy's you lot are the greatest, everyone clap for yourself, i've never felt so cared for. mundahug

Well at this current moment my mind is happly listening to Waheguru simran, and my doubts are faiding away as we speak.

Ji, if you love Sikhi so much, why do you sometimes wonder if you're a Sikh or not?

Is it that you sometimes don't feel a 'connection' to Guruji, or that practice of your religion is sometimes not 'satisfying'?

Ishna Ji, Yes sometimes i do feel as if i can not connect to Guru Ji, but to be honest that is my fault, how can i connect when i do not concentrate on the Guru, this is not the fault of the Guru but mine.

This is an article by a Christian pastsor who talks about doubt. He's a PASTOR and sometimes feels doubt in the midst of his ministry. I know he's Christian but I figure we're all human and have similar feelings right in there on the inside.

Perhaps substitute the word 'Sikh' in place of 'Christian' as you read it, hehe: http://www.brianmclaren.net/emc/archives/resources/doubt-the-tides-of-faith-written.html

Not sure if this actually addresses anything you're feeling though.

Ishna Ji, like always you are there to the rescue, i read the site and it was what i felt, this really backs up my concept that what i am going through is a journey of a manmukh with doubts and confusion, that fact is i am not applying nor doing futher research in to sikhi, rather i am just taking bits by bits and going on with my life. So thank you for the post :up:

Yeh, I think that with some people it actually helps them if they doubt.
To be doubting and questioning helps them to find the hidden strengths and connections that may not seem apparent .

We all have our own personal development strategies.
Some find it easier to compare and contrast by finding whether the for or against reasons outweigh one another.

I agree with you Luckysingh Ji, some easily dive into Sikhi where as some we have question the dive before we dive.

[/B]Anyways; I have had my doubts a long time ago, but none ever I made the decision to stick to this religion. You wouldn't have doubts if you do what you are supposed to as a Sikh.

Kamala Ji, May you tell me the doubts that you used to have? i would be ever so greatfull to hear what your experience was like, if you want to tell though, no force :)

For spiritual growth the one attitude which is very important is to

ask questions so as to know How . Answers to these questions be sought through contemplation and acquisition of more knowledge. The answers always come. This develops faith. And faith is important to understand and follow the direction spelled out by gurbani.

The easiest way to remain stuck is to be in doubt. One doubts every thing even the Guru.
We bow before the Guru not simply because of respect but also to as a token of our willingness to shed the doubtful mind which keeps us rooted in our own "mat"- thoughts and beliefs . We bow to accept the Guru's words.

So the answer to come out of any phase of doubt is to bow before the guru and do ardas. The mind would shift to the new mode.

wjkk wjkf

gur_meet ji, i agree, to me this is just a journey of a manmukh, and for me doubts and confusion are the obsticle that i must go over in order to become one with Waheguru Ji.

I do not think you are confused, perhaps it would be easier to label what you feel as confusion.What you are feeling is difficulty in meeting your own standards that you have set yourself. In your mind if you meet these standards you are a Sikh, if you don't then you are not.

Different people have different standards, some feel they are Sikhs because they meet the standards that they practice, prayers, readings, attending Gurdwara etc.

You are a Sikh if you believe and attempt to stick to the moral and ethical way of life that a Sikh should live. I say attempt, as it is not easy to be 100%, but then maybe none of us will ever reach 100% so it is folly to focus on all or nothing.

Be the best Sikh you can be today, and when you have done that, try and be a better Sikh tommorow.If you do that, you are a Sikh.

Mr Harry Haller Ji, thank you your post sumed up the root of why i am going through these time, the fact for me doubt started as a whether i am sikh or not, then it grew to whether sikhi is the religion for me or not . I tried to hard, i expected sikhi to be a thing where i read a couple of books and BAM! i am spritually lifted to Waheguru Ji, but it is more than that. It's like excersing the more i keep at it the more i feel great, the less i keep at it the less great i'll feel.

Thanks guys this helped me alot, i just hope after today, this experience becomes nothing but a nightmare.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!
 

chazSingh

Writer
SPNer
Feb 20, 2012
1,644
1,643
Yeh, I think that with some people it actually helps them if they doubt.
To be doubting and questioning helps them to find the hidden strengths and connections that may not seem apparent .

We all have our own personal development strategies.
Some find it easier to compare and contrast by finding whether the for or against reasons outweigh one another.

Well said.

Each life is a story of the soul after experiencing duality yearning and 'seeking' for something more...something more beautiful, something permanent...the truth.

Each soul journey being unique and different, the joys, the pains, the doubts, the obstacles, being enticed by the wonders of creation, the soul still yearns for something even greater, that something which makes it feel complete :)
 

BlazinSikh

SPNer
May 6, 2011
97
147
Croydon, London, England
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

Well said.

Each life is a story of the soul after experiencing duality yearning and 'seeking' for something more...something more beautiful, something permanent...the truth.

Each soul journey being unique and different, the joys, the pains, the doubts, the obstacles, being enticed by the wonders of creation, the soul still yearns for something even greater, that something which makes it feel complete :)
As i say chazSingh Ji, Its is a journey of a manmukh.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!
 

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