Hello Everyone!
I send everyone my warm and humble respect and regards. I began my life religious (Sikhism) at a very young age, and as time went by, I began to drift further and further away from being as religious as I used to be.
I was lucky to have even gone to Punjabi school and learning how to read, write, and speak Punjabi while growing up 100% in Canada. The problem really comes from the way I began to perceive the world as I became older.
At a young age, I never questioned things as much. If someone told me to read something, I would read. If someone told me to stop, I stopped. At a young age, I was luckily blessed and guided by my parents who provided the positive influence for my life.
When you get older, you begin to ask more questions. You want to ask these questions to establish a real and solid belief. Through many years of poking and prodding, I tried to come up with an answer to the most basic question of my existence, "What is the purpose of life?". What is the purpose of our lives? Not one in 8+ billion people in this world will ever know this answer. Only god knows this answer.
I'm not afraid of speaking of god, or questioning god. God is not someone or something to be scared of. God is love. This illusion of reality around us is being projected to our eyes by God. What we feel, whether it be pain, suffering, mental/physical ailments, is all the will of God. Does praying to God change the outcome of what is destined to occur? If I'm destined to die tomorrow, why would I need to pray to God to save me if it is merely God's will? We aren't here to question God's will, so is praying futile in this situation? Is it better just to pray for enlightenment, pray that one day the switch will flick in my mind and I will see the world through an enlightened lens?
Why is it that it seems like the world is becoming less and less religious? Do we necessarily need religion to live a life of humility, love, and brotherhood of humanity? Is it possible for someone who has never heard of Sikhism to be a good human being, live an honest and hard working life, and achieve whatever salvation God has in store for him/her?
Does Guru Granth Sahib Ji store the answers for what this salvation consists of? I know that when I was younger, the reincarnation component of our religion was not taught properly or well understood by me and others. Is this something I will have to explore, and seek on my own?
To the billions in the world who may not be given the opportunity of seeking or seeing the light: Are they doomed? Do they live their lives in their cubicles, however good hearted and spirited they may be, however much they may love each other and pray for the world to be a just and peaceful place, will they be doomed if they do not seek the (right) light?
This is also where it gets fuzzy for me. Many times when I was younger I was told it doesn't matter what religion you belong to. Other times I've heard either it is one way, or the highway. This is definitely the case with Christianity where an individual is doomed to hell if they do not accept Jesus Christ as the son of god and their saviour. What is Sikhism's real stance on this issue?
I agree a path and discipline is necessary to stay on track. Discipline is central to being on the right path. Maybe me posting this is my quest to reach out and seek an answer, seek guidance, or seek comfort - comfort in knowing that there may be something out there that answers all of my questions inside out, to whatever depth I may wish to probe.
English translations of Guru Granth Sahib Ji do not do even close to the justice I thought it would. It definitely takes a lot of dive into philosophy and purpose to even get a glimmer of what our guru's have tried to write for us.
I want to believe. I want to be strong and unwavering in my belief. When I question myself, and try to question only to not find answers, it's disheartening. It's disheartening to accept that for some questions, you will absolutely never know the answer (especially in this world). I don't want to give up, but I want to hear other's thoughts on this.
I send everyone my warm and humble respect and regards. I began my life religious (Sikhism) at a very young age, and as time went by, I began to drift further and further away from being as religious as I used to be.
I was lucky to have even gone to Punjabi school and learning how to read, write, and speak Punjabi while growing up 100% in Canada. The problem really comes from the way I began to perceive the world as I became older.
At a young age, I never questioned things as much. If someone told me to read something, I would read. If someone told me to stop, I stopped. At a young age, I was luckily blessed and guided by my parents who provided the positive influence for my life.
When you get older, you begin to ask more questions. You want to ask these questions to establish a real and solid belief. Through many years of poking and prodding, I tried to come up with an answer to the most basic question of my existence, "What is the purpose of life?". What is the purpose of our lives? Not one in 8+ billion people in this world will ever know this answer. Only god knows this answer.
I'm not afraid of speaking of god, or questioning god. God is not someone or something to be scared of. God is love. This illusion of reality around us is being projected to our eyes by God. What we feel, whether it be pain, suffering, mental/physical ailments, is all the will of God. Does praying to God change the outcome of what is destined to occur? If I'm destined to die tomorrow, why would I need to pray to God to save me if it is merely God's will? We aren't here to question God's will, so is praying futile in this situation? Is it better just to pray for enlightenment, pray that one day the switch will flick in my mind and I will see the world through an enlightened lens?
Why is it that it seems like the world is becoming less and less religious? Do we necessarily need religion to live a life of humility, love, and brotherhood of humanity? Is it possible for someone who has never heard of Sikhism to be a good human being, live an honest and hard working life, and achieve whatever salvation God has in store for him/her?
Does Guru Granth Sahib Ji store the answers for what this salvation consists of? I know that when I was younger, the reincarnation component of our religion was not taught properly or well understood by me and others. Is this something I will have to explore, and seek on my own?
To the billions in the world who may not be given the opportunity of seeking or seeing the light: Are they doomed? Do they live their lives in their cubicles, however good hearted and spirited they may be, however much they may love each other and pray for the world to be a just and peaceful place, will they be doomed if they do not seek the (right) light?
This is also where it gets fuzzy for me. Many times when I was younger I was told it doesn't matter what religion you belong to. Other times I've heard either it is one way, or the highway. This is definitely the case with Christianity where an individual is doomed to hell if they do not accept Jesus Christ as the son of god and their saviour. What is Sikhism's real stance on this issue?
I agree a path and discipline is necessary to stay on track. Discipline is central to being on the right path. Maybe me posting this is my quest to reach out and seek an answer, seek guidance, or seek comfort - comfort in knowing that there may be something out there that answers all of my questions inside out, to whatever depth I may wish to probe.
English translations of Guru Granth Sahib Ji do not do even close to the justice I thought it would. It definitely takes a lot of dive into philosophy and purpose to even get a glimmer of what our guru's have tried to write for us.
I want to believe. I want to be strong and unwavering in my belief. When I question myself, and try to question only to not find answers, it's disheartening. It's disheartening to accept that for some questions, you will absolutely never know the answer (especially in this world). I don't want to give up, but I want to hear other's thoughts on this.
