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ਰਾਗੁ ਭੈਰਉ | Raag Bhairo
Gurbani (1125-1152)
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Ashtpadiyan (1153-1167)
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Gurbani (1254-1293)
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Chhant (1278)
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Gurbani (1352-53)
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Sehskritee Mahala 1
Sehskritee Mahala 5
Gaathaa Mahala 5
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Shaloks Bhagat Kabir
Shaloks Sheikh Farid
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Swaiyyae in Praise of Gurus
Shaloks in Addition To Vaars
Shalok Ninth Mehl
Mundavanee Mehl 5
ਰਾਗ ਮਾਲਾ, Raag Maalaa
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Guru Granth Sahib
Jup Banee
Scientific Explanation Of Mool Mantra
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<blockquote data-quote="Dalvinder Singh Grewal" data-source="post: 213317" data-attributes="member: 22683"><p>Dear Tejwant Ji</p><p></p><p>Your points required very elaborate and long answers. Some of them I have answered. If some are still left these will be replied in next wave:</p><p></p><p>Point: It is interesting to notice that you have prejudged me by claiming my not knowing what the Guru Granth, our only Guru says, without even giving me the benefit of the doubt which is one of the cornerstones of Sikhi, but it is OK.</p><p></p><p>Reply: I have not done so. I have been watching your threads and your deep knowledge, I only asked you to search from SGGS the material on Dharma. This does not mean that I have prejudged you about your study of SGGS.</p><p></p><p>Point: I am here to learn from you and others. This is the reason I am a Sikh.</p><p></p><p>Reply: A Sikh is a always a learner so am I.</p><p></p><p>Point: Please post the Shabads of hell and heaven with your own understanding. The reason for that is given below.</p><p></p><p>You continue, "I can give all the quotes. Sikhi very much believed in God and soul but not in deity." Firstly, please elaborate what God is in Sikhi as compared to the other religions, and as asked in the other thread what soul is and what it consists of.</p><p>Point: God in other religions:</p><p></p><p><strong>God in Various Religions</strong></p><p></p><p>All the major religions of the world agree that the God is the Creator of the universe though some variations exist in some tribal religions. God is the English name (originally a Germanic word) and Abrahamic version (accepted by Abrahmic religions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam) to depict the supreme reality. Other religions like Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism have different names for God like <em>Ishwar, Allah, Wahiguru</em> etc. He is considered as the Creator, Developer, Maintainer and Assimilator or Annihilator of entire universe in main religions. Those who believe in God are called religious or theists and those who do not believe in God are called non-religious or atheists. A 1995 sample survey showed that 85% people of the world show themselves as religious; 15% numbers as the non-religious, though on the specific question of belief in God, only 3.8% are identified as atheist.(<a href="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn1" target="_blank">[1]</a>) As of 2005, 15% are identified as non-religious (<a href="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn2" target="_blank">[2]</a>); this number also includes Marxists. Thus 85% of the people of the world believe in God in various forms. Some believe in one God while some believe in many Gods. Those who believe in one God are called monotheists while those believe in many Gods are called polytheists. Majority of world’s major religions like Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism are monotheists, while religion like Hinduism is polytheist.</p><p></p><p><strong>Names of God</strong></p><p></p><p>All religions name their God (s) differently according to their belief and language etc. Some of the common names adopted by some of the religions are listed below:</p><p></p><p>Ø Abba is a name given to the Christian God. The name is used rarely and is in Aramaic and Hebrew the word for "daddy", an illusion to "God the Father". (<a href="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn3" target="_blank">[3]</a>)</p><p></p><p>Ø Allah is the Arabic name of God, which is used by Arab Muslims and also by most non-Muslim Arabs. One Islamic tradition states that Allah has <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_Names_of_God" target="_blank">99 names</a> while others say that all good names belong to Allah.</p><p></p><p>Ø Yahweh: The Holy Trinity (one God in three Persons, the God the Father, the God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Ghost/Holy Spirit) denotes God in almost all Christianity.</p><p></p><p>Ø Deus is the Latin word for God, and is used in Latin portions of Roman Catholic masses. (<a href="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn4" target="_blank">[4]</a>)</p><p></p><p>Ø <em>Bhagwan</em>- "The Opulent One", Brahman -"The Great", <em>Parmatma</em>- "The Supersoul" and <em>Ishvara</em>- "The Controller", are the terms used for God in the Vedas. A number of Hindu traditions worship a personal form of God or <em>Ishvara,</em> such as Vishnu or Shiva, whereas others worship a non-personal Supreme Cosmic Spirit, known as Brahman. The <em>Vaishnava</em> schools consider Vishnu or Krishna as the Supreme personality of Godhead and within this tradition is the Vishnu Sahasranama, which is a hymn describing the one thousand names of God (Vishnu). <em>Shaivites</em> consider Shiva as the Supreme God in similar way to the followers of Vaishnavism. The Supreme <em>Ishvara</em> of Hinduism must not be confused with the numerous deities or demigods collectively called <em>devas.</em></p><p></p><p>Ø Baquan is a phonetical pronunciation for God in several Pacific Islander religions.</p><p></p><p>Ø Buddhism is non-theistic. Instead of extolling an anthropomorphic creator God, Gautma Buddha employed negative theology to avoid speculation and keep the undefined as <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ineffable" target="_blank">ineffable</a> Buddha believed the more important issue was to bring beings out of suffering to liberation. Enlightened ones are called Arhats or Buddha (e.g., the Buddha Sakyamuni), and are venerated. A boddhistava is an altruistic being who has vowed to attain Buddhahood in order to help others to become Awakened ("Buddha") too. Buddhism also teaches of the existence of the <em>devas</em> or heavenly beings who temporarily dwell in celestial states of great happiness but are not yet free from the cycle of reincarnations (<em>samsara</em>). Some <em>Mahayana </em>and <em>Tantra Buddhist</em> scriptures do express ideas which are extremely close to pantheism, with a cosmic Buddha (<em>Adibuddha</em>) being viewed as the sustaining Ground of all being - although this is very much a minority vision within Buddhism.</p><p></p><p>Ø Jains invoke the five parameters: <em>Siddha, Arahant, Acharya, Upadhdhayay, Sadhu</em>. The <em>arhantas </em>include the 24 Tirthanakras from Lord Rishabha to Mahavira. But Jain philosophy as such does not recognize any Supreme Omnipotent creator God</p><p></p><p>Ø <em>Various names of God for the Creator used in Sikhism are the names in Sri Guru</em> Granth Sahib and the number of time they are used are <em>Hari = 8324, Ram = 2533, Prabhu = 1371, Gopal = 431, Gobind = 475, Parbrahm = 324, Thakur = 283, Karta = 228, Daata = 151, Parmeshar = 139, Murari = 97, Narayan = 85, Antaryami = 31, Jagdeesh = 60, Satnaam = 59, Mohan = 54, Allah = 46, Bhagwan = 30, Narhari = 29, Mukand = 28, Madhav = 27, Paramanand = 22, Krishn= 21, Saaringpani = 20, Vitthal = 16, Waheguru = 15, Banwari = 15, Narsingh = 15, Daamoder = 9, Madhusudan = 7, Raghusudan = 6, Bavan = 3, Saarangdhar = 3, Achyut = 3, Raghurai = 2, Gopinath = 2, Govardhan = 2. Other names are Gosain, Kamal Kant, Laxmidhar, Chakadhar, Chaturbhuj, Machchh, Kuram, Varah, Gorakh, Rudra, Khuda, Khaliq, Qadir, Kareem, Sarvpratipalak, Raheem, Alakh, Apar, Beshumar, Bhagwant, Bhav_Bhanjan, Rishikesh, Vasudev, Liladhar, Ik oankar, Wah(i)Guru, Wah(u) Guru, Akal Purakh, Ishwar, </em>etc. Guru Gobind Singh has cited over 550 names in Jaap Sahib. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhs" target="_blank">Sikhs</a> however worship God with common names <em>Wahiguru</em> (Wondrous God), <em>Satnaam</em> (True is Your Name), <em>Akaal </em>(the Eternal) or <em>Onkar</em>. They believe that when reciting these names, devotion, dedication and a genuine appreciation and acceptance of the Almighty and the blessings thereof is essential if one is to gain anything by the meditation. The guidance of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru" target="_blank">guru</a> is also believed to be essential to reach God</p><p></p><p>Ø In <em>Surat Shabda Yoga</em>, names used for God include <em>Anami Purush </em>(nameless power) and Radha Swami (Lord of the soul, symbolized as Radha)</p><p></p><p>Ø The Baha’i Faith refers to God using the local word for God in whatever language is being spoken. In the Baha’i Writings in Arabic, Allah is used.</p><p></p><p>Ø Zoroastrians worship Ahura Mazda.</p><p></p><p>Ø To many Native American religions, God is called "The Great Spirit", "The Master of Life", "The Master of Breath", or "Grandfather". For example, in the Algonquian first nation's culture, Gitche Manitou or "Great Spirit" was the name adopted by French missionaries for the Christian God.</p><p></p><p>Ø In Chinese, the name Sahng Ti (Hanyu Pinyan: Shang di) is the name given for God in the Mandarin version of the Bible. Shen was also adopted by Protestant missionaries. </p><p></p><p>Ø Fundamental Principle, Mind, Soul, Life, Truth, Love, and Spirit are names for God in Christian science. (<a href="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn5" target="_blank">[5]</a>) These names are considered synonymous and indicative of God's wholeness</p><p></p><p>Ø Khuda is a word for God in Persian.</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Attributes</strong></p><p></p><p>To identify God, various religions have attached attributes to God according to their perception of God. Many religions accept Him to be <em>Sargun</em> (with all attributes), some accept Him as <em>Nirgun </em>(with no attributes) while some accept Him both ways. Most of the religions accept omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, benevolence, perfect goodness, divine simplicity and eternity and ever existent as the attributes. He has been described as incorporeal, a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the greatest conceivable existent. (<a href="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn6" target="_blank">[6]</a>)</p><p></p><p>Most major religions hold God not as a metaphor, but a being that influences our day-to-day existence. The people who have rejected the teachings of such religions typically view God as a metaphor or stand-in for the common aspirations and beliefs all humans share, whereas organized religions tends to believe the opposite. Many believers allow for the existence of other, less powerful spiritual beings, and give them names such as angels, saints, jinni, demons and <em>devas</em>.</p><p></p><p><strong>Conceptions of God</strong></p><p></p><p>Conceptions of God vary widely, despite the use of the same term for them all. The Abrahamic conceptions of God include the Trinitarian view of Christians, the Kabalistic definition of Jewish mysticism and the Islamic concept of God. The<em> dharmic</em> (Asian) religions differ in their view of the divine, ranging from the monotheist view of Sikhism, almost polytheistic view of God in Hinduism to the almost non-theist view of God in Buddhism.</p><p></p><p><strong>God as Unity or Trinity</strong></p><p></p><p>Sikhs, Muslims, Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses and a small fraction of other nominal Christians are Unitarian monotheists. Unitarian monotheists hold that there is only one "person" or one basic substance, in God. Some adherents of this position consider Trinitarians to be a form of polytheism. The vast majority of Christians has been and still is Trinitarian monotheists. Trinitarian monotheists believe in one God that exists as three interdependent persons who share the same substance/essence; the Christian version of this is called the Trinity. The Hindu version <em>Trimurti</em> (as Brahma, the Creator; as Vishnu, the Protector and Developer and as Shivji, the Destroyer) differs from Christianity in holding that God has three aspects. While the Hindu Trinity is not an unquestioned doctrine in Hinduism, it is taught as one postulated understanding of the universe's divine order. Sikhs do not accept the Trinity concept.</p><p></p><p><strong>Abrahamic conceptions of God</strong></p><p></p><p>Judaism, Christianity and Islam see God as a being who created the world and who rules over the universe. God is usually held to have the following properties: holiness, justice, sovereignty, omnipotence, omniscience, omni-benevolence, omnipresence, and immortality. He is also believed to be transcendent, meaning that God is outside space and time; therefore eternal and unable to be changed by earthly forces or anything else within His creation.</p><p></p><p><strong>Christianity </strong></p><p></p><p>There is only one God, and Jesus Christ is the son of the God. God creates everything in the universe including humans (Adam and Eve). Only humans have soul; the other life forms don't. That could be why killing lives other than humans is okay, even for sports. And also it could be why Christian countries prosper more than others. There is no reincarnation in Christianity. In general, Christians believe - those who reject Jesus Christ, after they die, will go to hell forever; those who accept Jesus Christ, after they die, will live for eternity with Him in Haven. God will erase all sins (bad karma), committed by Christians before they are baptized. But if they make any new sin, they will have to confess to God and ask God for mercy. Christians are taught to love others the same way as God love them. This concept could be part of why there are more missionary and charity activities in Christianity than other religions. But there is also a hatred message to non-believers - they will go to the eternal hell; that message is bad, and it could be part of why the crusaders were cruel.<a href="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn7" target="_blank">[7]</a></p><p></p><p><strong>Islamic concept</strong></p><p></p><p>Allah is known as the name of the God. It appears that both Muslim and Christianity share some commonalties since they both have the same God and originate from the same older Abrahamic religion. Allah (Arabic allāhu) is the Arabic word for "God", and is used by Arabic-speaking Muslims, Christian and Jews alike. Muslims consider God to be perfect, unique, eternal, self-sufficient, omnipotent and omniscient. He does not resemble any of his creations in any way. The Qur'an describes God as being fully aware of everything that happens in the universe, including private thoughts and feelings. Muslims do not believe in idolatry. Instead, they focus on His 99 “names” that are stated in the Qur’an, the holy book of the Muslims. Nearly one third of the book is used describing God's attributes and actions. Also, “<em>hadith qudsi</em>" are specially recorded sayings of Muhammad to Muslims where he quotes what God has taught him.</p><p></p><p><strong>Concept of God in Hinduism</strong></p><p></p><p>Hinduism is a conglomeration of number of similar faiths e.g., Vedantism, Shavism and Vaishanavism etc. The Sanskrit word for God, that is used most commonly, is Ishvara originally a title comparable to "Lord" or "Excellency" from the roots īśa, meaning powerful/supreme/lord/owner, + choicest/most excellent. Hindus believe that Ishvara is only One. This must not be confused with the numerous deities of the Hindus known as devas, said to number up to 330 million. Deva may be translated into English as "god", "deity", "demi-god", "angel" or any celestial being or thing of high excellence, and hence is venerable. The word is, in fact, cognate to Latin deus "god”.</p><p></p><p>There are many Gods/Deities (thousands) such as Sun, Earth, Wind, Monkey, Snake, Rat, Devi, Ganesha, Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma. Brahma creates the world and everything in it. Brahman is the cosmic spirit and represents everything in the universe. One of the scholars compared Brahman to the sun and all Gods/Deities to the rays of the sun. This means that believing in one of the Gods would mean believing Hinduism - Brahman. Some Hindus believe that Brahman is a primary God with 3 different forms: Brahma (creator), Shiva (destroyer), and Vishnu (preserver). Hindus believe on reincarnation. The soul with either good or bad<em> karma</em> will propel from one life (body) to the next. The ultimate goal is to be with Brahman by attaining <em>Moksha</em> (similar to enlightenment or Nirvana in Buddhism). To attain <em>Moksha</em>, followers have to practice the 4 disciplines (<em>yoga</em>); they are: working for Supreme, realizing the Supreme, Meditating on Supreme, and serving the Supreme in loving devotion.</p><p></p><p>The Vedantic school of Hindu philosophy also has a notion of a Supreme Cosmic Spirit called Brahman. Brahman is described as that infinite, omnipresent, omnipotent, incorporeal, transcendent and immanent reality that is the divine ground of all existence in this universe. In the two largest branches of Hinduism, Shaivism and Vaishnavism, it is believed that Ishvara and Brahman are identical, and God is in turn identified with Shiva or Vishnu. God, whether in the form of Shiva or Vishnu has six attributes i.e., infinite, omnipresent, omnipotent, incorporeal, transcendent and immanent reality. However, the actual number of auspicious qualities of God is countless. (<a href="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn8" target="_blank">[8]</a>)</p><p></p><p><strong>Conception of God in Buddhism</strong></p><p></p><p>Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, did not mention who created the initial life and everything in the universe. God is not considered as creator. If there is no ignorance and karma, there will be no life forms. Life forms in Buddhism are not just humans; they include all animals. For some reason, plants are not considered as life forms. Buddhists believe they will not be reborn to suffer if they attain Nirvana. If they are born again, they could be in one of the 6 realms (hell, human, animal, <em>prêt, asura</em> and <em>devas</em>) depending on their <em>karma</em>. Buddhism teaches that only their karmic stream will propel from one life to the next, and nothing else goes with it (neither soul nor self). There is no soul in Buddhism while others do accept it. Buddhism accepts Gods/deities existing, but Buddha teaching does not accept them as Supreme Being dictating the fate of any life form. They are not different than others; they have to go through rebirth cycle like everyone else. Some modern followers do not even accept their existing. Killing any animal is considered as a bad karma. This concept is different from Christianity (killing any animal excluding human is okay). This concept could be part of why Buddhist countries are poor. The ultimate goal of Theravada Buddhists is to attain Nirvana and enter <em>paranirvana</em> (no longer be born), while Mahayana Buddhists want to hold off their <em>paranirvana</em> and be born again in human form as Bodhisattva to spread Buddhism and help others to attain nirvana until there is no more life form left in the universe. To attain Nirvana, Buddhist has to understand the 4 Noble Truths and practice the Eightfold Path. It could be done in one lifetime, but in general it would take much more. In general, Khmer Buddhists believe a little bit difference than what I describe above because Animism and Hinduism also influence them; they were taught mainly by words from one generation to the next. They believe on spirits such as ghosts. Some believe Nirvana is just a place of nothing or emptiness, and they prefer to be in Heaven (be born in <em>Devas</em>) rather than entering in p<em>aranirvana</em>.</p><p></p><p><strong>A Hermeticist conception of God</strong></p><p></p><p>Native religions of China and India have concepts of panentheistic views of God that are difficult to classify along Western notions of monotheism vs. polytheism, Close to these, ‘The All’ is the Hermetic version of God. It has been called ‘The One’, ‘The Great One’, ‘The Creator’, ‘The Supreme Mind’, ‘The Supreme Good’, ‘The Father’, and ‘The Universal Mother’. In essence, ‘The All’ is, as seen by some to be a Pane theistic view of God, which is that everything that is, or at least that can be experienced, collectively makes up ‘The All’. One Hermetic maxim states, "While All is in ‘The All’, it is equally true that ‘The All’ is in All." (<a href="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn9" target="_blank">[9]</a>) ‘The All’ can also seen to be hermaphroditic, possessing both masculine and feminine qualities in equal part (<a href="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn10" target="_blank">[10]</a>). These qualities are, however, of mental gender, as ‘The All’ lacks sical gender.</p><p></p><p>According to Hermetic doctrine, ‘The All’ is a bit more complicated than simply being the sum total of the universe. Rather than ‘The All’ being simply the physical universe, it is more correct to say that everything in the universe is within the mind of ‘The All’, since ‘The All’ can be looked at as Mind itself.(<a href="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn11" target="_blank">[11]</a>) ‘The Alla's’ mind can be seen as infinitely more powerful and vast than any of us could hope to achieve.(<a href="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn12" target="_blank">[12]</a>) Therefore, it may be capable of keeping track of each and every particle across the expanse of the Universe, as well as maintain symbolism that applies to many lesser entities such as that seen in astrology and numerology. However, even with everything in the universe being part of The All, it is possible that other things exist outside of ‘The All’. This way it is trying to close on to Science.</p><p></p><p><strong>The Ultimate</strong></p><p></p><p>Eastern conceptions of ‘The Ultimate’, except for Shaivism and Vaishnavism, which do focus on a personal God, are not conceptions of a personal divinity, though certain Western conceptions of what is at least called "God" resemble Eastern conceptions of ‘The Ultimate’. Christian theologian Paul Tillich, in the first volume of his Systematic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematic_Theology" target="_blank">Theology</a> defines God as being that factor about which we have, in his language ,ultimate concern. In this view, true self, God, or the Absolute all have legitimate grounds to be called the ultimate..</p><p></p><p><strong>Monotheism </strong></p><p></p><p>Monotheism holds that there is only one God, and/or that the one true God is worshiped in different religions under different names. The view that all religions are actually worshiping the same God, whether they know it or not, is especially emphasized in Hinduism (<a href="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn13" target="_blank">[13]</a>) and Sikhism (<a href="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn14" target="_blank">[14]</a>). Universalism Monotheists believe that: the salvation is eventually available for everyone; however in religions like Islam the belief is that the chosen people only have exclusive access to absolute truth, generally through revelation or encounter with the Divine only of their particular faith. Pantheism holds that God is the universe and the universe is God. Panentheism holds that God contains, but is not identical to, the Universe. The distinctions between the two are subtle, and some consider them unhelpful. It is also the view of the Liberal Catholic Church, Theosophy, Hioduism, some divisions of Buddhism, and Taoism, along with many varying denominations and individuals within denominations. Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, paints a pantheistic/panentheistic view of God- which has wide acceptance in Hasidic Judaism, particularly from their founder The Baal El Shov — but only as an addition to the Jewish view of a personal god, not in the original pantheistic sense that denies or limits persona to God.</p><p></p><p><strong>Scientific perspective</strong></p><p></p><p>There is a lack of consensus as to the appropriate scientific treatment of religious questions, such as those of the existence, nature and properties of God - mainly because of lack of common definition of God. Also major point of debate has been whether God's existence or attributes can be empirically tested or gauged. According to one view of the scientists, questions of the supernatural as those relating to the existence and nature of God, are non-empirical and are the proper domains of theology. The methods of science should then be used to answer any empirical question about the natural world, and vice versa - lack of empirical footprint makes science sole player in the natural world. The opposing view, advanced by Richard Dawkins, is that the existence of God is an empirical question, on the grounds that "a universe with a god would be a completely different kind of universe from one without, and it would be a scientific difference." (<a href="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn15" target="_blank">[15]</a>) Third view is that of scientism: any question which cannot be defined cannot be answered by science - is therefore either nonsensical or is not worth asking, because there can be no empirical answer.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dalvinder Singh Grewal, post: 213317, member: 22683"] Dear Tejwant Ji Your points required very elaborate and long answers. Some of them I have answered. If some are still left these will be replied in next wave: Point: It is interesting to notice that you have prejudged me by claiming my not knowing what the Guru Granth, our only Guru says, without even giving me the benefit of the doubt which is one of the cornerstones of Sikhi, but it is OK. Reply: I have not done so. I have been watching your threads and your deep knowledge, I only asked you to search from SGGS the material on Dharma. This does not mean that I have prejudged you about your study of SGGS. Point: I am here to learn from you and others. This is the reason I am a Sikh. Reply: A Sikh is a always a learner so am I. Point: Please post the Shabads of hell and heaven with your own understanding. The reason for that is given below. You continue, "I can give all the quotes. Sikhi very much believed in God and soul but not in deity." Firstly, please elaborate what God is in Sikhi as compared to the other religions, and as asked in the other thread what soul is and what it consists of. Point: God in other religions: [B]God in Various Religions[/B] All the major religions of the world agree that the God is the Creator of the universe though some variations exist in some tribal religions. God is the English name (originally a Germanic word) and Abrahamic version (accepted by Abrahmic religions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam) to depict the supreme reality. Other religions like Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism have different names for God like [I]Ishwar, Allah, Wahiguru[/I] etc. He is considered as the Creator, Developer, Maintainer and Assimilator or Annihilator of entire universe in main religions. Those who believe in God are called religious or theists and those who do not believe in God are called non-religious or atheists. A 1995 sample survey showed that 85% people of the world show themselves as religious; 15% numbers as the non-religious, though on the specific question of belief in God, only 3.8% are identified as atheist.([URL="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn1"][1][/URL]) As of 2005, 15% are identified as non-religious ([URL="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn2"][2][/URL]); this number also includes Marxists. Thus 85% of the people of the world believe in God in various forms. Some believe in one God while some believe in many Gods. Those who believe in one God are called monotheists while those believe in many Gods are called polytheists. Majority of world’s major religions like Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism are monotheists, while religion like Hinduism is polytheist. [B]Names of God[/B] All religions name their God (s) differently according to their belief and language etc. Some of the common names adopted by some of the religions are listed below: Ø Abba is a name given to the Christian God. The name is used rarely and is in Aramaic and Hebrew the word for "daddy", an illusion to "God the Father". ([URL="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn3"][3][/URL]) Ø Allah is the Arabic name of God, which is used by Arab Muslims and also by most non-Muslim Arabs. One Islamic tradition states that Allah has [URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_Names_of_God']99 names[/URL] while others say that all good names belong to Allah. Ø Yahweh: The Holy Trinity (one God in three Persons, the God the Father, the God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Ghost/Holy Spirit) denotes God in almost all Christianity. Ø Deus is the Latin word for God, and is used in Latin portions of Roman Catholic masses. ([URL="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn4"][4][/URL]) Ø [I]Bhagwan[/I]- "The Opulent One", Brahman -"The Great", [I]Parmatma[/I]- "The Supersoul" and [I]Ishvara[/I]- "The Controller", are the terms used for God in the Vedas. A number of Hindu traditions worship a personal form of God or [I]Ishvara,[/I] such as Vishnu or Shiva, whereas others worship a non-personal Supreme Cosmic Spirit, known as Brahman. The [I]Vaishnava[/I] schools consider Vishnu or Krishna as the Supreme personality of Godhead and within this tradition is the Vishnu Sahasranama, which is a hymn describing the one thousand names of God (Vishnu). [I]Shaivites[/I] consider Shiva as the Supreme God in similar way to the followers of Vaishnavism. The Supreme [I]Ishvara[/I] of Hinduism must not be confused with the numerous deities or demigods collectively called [I]devas.[/I] Ø Baquan is a phonetical pronunciation for God in several Pacific Islander religions. Ø Buddhism is non-theistic. Instead of extolling an anthropomorphic creator God, Gautma Buddha employed negative theology to avoid speculation and keep the undefined as [URL='http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ineffable']ineffable[/URL] Buddha believed the more important issue was to bring beings out of suffering to liberation. Enlightened ones are called Arhats or Buddha (e.g., the Buddha Sakyamuni), and are venerated. A boddhistava is an altruistic being who has vowed to attain Buddhahood in order to help others to become Awakened ("Buddha") too. Buddhism also teaches of the existence of the [I]devas[/I] or heavenly beings who temporarily dwell in celestial states of great happiness but are not yet free from the cycle of reincarnations ([I]samsara[/I]). Some [I]Mahayana [/I]and [I]Tantra Buddhist[/I] scriptures do express ideas which are extremely close to pantheism, with a cosmic Buddha ([I]Adibuddha[/I]) being viewed as the sustaining Ground of all being - although this is very much a minority vision within Buddhism. Ø Jains invoke the five parameters: [I]Siddha, Arahant, Acharya, Upadhdhayay, Sadhu[/I]. The [I]arhantas [/I]include the 24 Tirthanakras from Lord Rishabha to Mahavira. But Jain philosophy as such does not recognize any Supreme Omnipotent creator God Ø [I]Various names of God for the Creator used in Sikhism are the names in Sri Guru[/I] Granth Sahib and the number of time they are used are [I]Hari = 8324, Ram = 2533, Prabhu = 1371, Gopal = 431, Gobind = 475, Parbrahm = 324, Thakur = 283, Karta = 228, Daata = 151, Parmeshar = 139, Murari = 97, Narayan = 85, Antaryami = 31, Jagdeesh = 60, Satnaam = 59, Mohan = 54, Allah = 46, Bhagwan = 30, Narhari = 29, Mukand = 28, Madhav = 27, Paramanand = 22, Krishn= 21, Saaringpani = 20, Vitthal = 16, Waheguru = 15, Banwari = 15, Narsingh = 15, Daamoder = 9, Madhusudan = 7, Raghusudan = 6, Bavan = 3, Saarangdhar = 3, Achyut = 3, Raghurai = 2, Gopinath = 2, Govardhan = 2. Other names are Gosain, Kamal Kant, Laxmidhar, Chakadhar, Chaturbhuj, Machchh, Kuram, Varah, Gorakh, Rudra, Khuda, Khaliq, Qadir, Kareem, Sarvpratipalak, Raheem, Alakh, Apar, Beshumar, Bhagwant, Bhav_Bhanjan, Rishikesh, Vasudev, Liladhar, Ik oankar, Wah(i)Guru, Wah(u) Guru, Akal Purakh, Ishwar, [/I]etc. Guru Gobind Singh has cited over 550 names in Jaap Sahib. [URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhs']Sikhs[/URL] however worship God with common names [I]Wahiguru[/I] (Wondrous God), [I]Satnaam[/I] (True is Your Name), [I]Akaal [/I](the Eternal) or [I]Onkar[/I]. They believe that when reciting these names, devotion, dedication and a genuine appreciation and acceptance of the Almighty and the blessings thereof is essential if one is to gain anything by the meditation. The guidance of the [URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru']guru[/URL] is also believed to be essential to reach God Ø In [I]Surat Shabda Yoga[/I], names used for God include [I]Anami Purush [/I](nameless power) and Radha Swami (Lord of the soul, symbolized as Radha) Ø The Baha’i Faith refers to God using the local word for God in whatever language is being spoken. In the Baha’i Writings in Arabic, Allah is used. Ø Zoroastrians worship Ahura Mazda. Ø To many Native American religions, God is called "The Great Spirit", "The Master of Life", "The Master of Breath", or "Grandfather". For example, in the Algonquian first nation's culture, Gitche Manitou or "Great Spirit" was the name adopted by French missionaries for the Christian God. Ø In Chinese, the name Sahng Ti (Hanyu Pinyan: Shang di) is the name given for God in the Mandarin version of the Bible. Shen was also adopted by Protestant missionaries. Ø Fundamental Principle, Mind, Soul, Life, Truth, Love, and Spirit are names for God in Christian science. ([URL="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn5"][5][/URL]) These names are considered synonymous and indicative of God's wholeness Ø Khuda is a word for God in Persian. [B]Attributes[/B] To identify God, various religions have attached attributes to God according to their perception of God. Many religions accept Him to be [I]Sargun[/I] (with all attributes), some accept Him as [I]Nirgun [/I](with no attributes) while some accept Him both ways. Most of the religions accept omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, benevolence, perfect goodness, divine simplicity and eternity and ever existent as the attributes. He has been described as incorporeal, a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the greatest conceivable existent. ([URL="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn6"][6][/URL]) Most major religions hold God not as a metaphor, but a being that influences our day-to-day existence. The people who have rejected the teachings of such religions typically view God as a metaphor or stand-in for the common aspirations and beliefs all humans share, whereas organized religions tends to believe the opposite. Many believers allow for the existence of other, less powerful spiritual beings, and give them names such as angels, saints, jinni, demons and [I]devas[/I]. [B]Conceptions of God[/B] Conceptions of God vary widely, despite the use of the same term for them all. The Abrahamic conceptions of God include the Trinitarian view of Christians, the Kabalistic definition of Jewish mysticism and the Islamic concept of God. The[I] dharmic[/I] (Asian) religions differ in their view of the divine, ranging from the monotheist view of Sikhism, almost polytheistic view of God in Hinduism to the almost non-theist view of God in Buddhism. [B]God as Unity or Trinity[/B] Sikhs, Muslims, Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses and a small fraction of other nominal Christians are Unitarian monotheists. Unitarian monotheists hold that there is only one "person" or one basic substance, in God. Some adherents of this position consider Trinitarians to be a form of polytheism. The vast majority of Christians has been and still is Trinitarian monotheists. Trinitarian monotheists believe in one God that exists as three interdependent persons who share the same substance/essence; the Christian version of this is called the Trinity. The Hindu version [I]Trimurti[/I] (as Brahma, the Creator; as Vishnu, the Protector and Developer and as Shivji, the Destroyer) differs from Christianity in holding that God has three aspects. While the Hindu Trinity is not an unquestioned doctrine in Hinduism, it is taught as one postulated understanding of the universe's divine order. Sikhs do not accept the Trinity concept. [B]Abrahamic conceptions of God[/B] Judaism, Christianity and Islam see God as a being who created the world and who rules over the universe. God is usually held to have the following properties: holiness, justice, sovereignty, omnipotence, omniscience, omni-benevolence, omnipresence, and immortality. He is also believed to be transcendent, meaning that God is outside space and time; therefore eternal and unable to be changed by earthly forces or anything else within His creation. [B]Christianity [/B] There is only one God, and Jesus Christ is the son of the God. God creates everything in the universe including humans (Adam and Eve). Only humans have soul; the other life forms don't. That could be why killing lives other than humans is okay, even for sports. And also it could be why Christian countries prosper more than others. There is no reincarnation in Christianity. In general, Christians believe - those who reject Jesus Christ, after they die, will go to hell forever; those who accept Jesus Christ, after they die, will live for eternity with Him in Haven. God will erase all sins (bad karma), committed by Christians before they are baptized. But if they make any new sin, they will have to confess to God and ask God for mercy. Christians are taught to love others the same way as God love them. This concept could be part of why there are more missionary and charity activities in Christianity than other religions. But there is also a hatred message to non-believers - they will go to the eternal hell; that message is bad, and it could be part of why the crusaders were cruel.[URL="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn7"][7][/URL] [B]Islamic concept[/B] Allah is known as the name of the God. It appears that both Muslim and Christianity share some commonalties since they both have the same God and originate from the same older Abrahamic religion. Allah (Arabic allāhu) is the Arabic word for "God", and is used by Arabic-speaking Muslims, Christian and Jews alike. Muslims consider God to be perfect, unique, eternal, self-sufficient, omnipotent and omniscient. He does not resemble any of his creations in any way. The Qur'an describes God as being fully aware of everything that happens in the universe, including private thoughts and feelings. Muslims do not believe in idolatry. Instead, they focus on His 99 “names” that are stated in the Qur’an, the holy book of the Muslims. Nearly one third of the book is used describing God's attributes and actions. Also, “[I]hadith qudsi[/I]" are specially recorded sayings of Muhammad to Muslims where he quotes what God has taught him. [B]Concept of God in Hinduism[/B] Hinduism is a conglomeration of number of similar faiths e.g., Vedantism, Shavism and Vaishanavism etc. The Sanskrit word for God, that is used most commonly, is Ishvara originally a title comparable to "Lord" or "Excellency" from the roots īśa, meaning powerful/supreme/lord/owner, + choicest/most excellent. Hindus believe that Ishvara is only One. This must not be confused with the numerous deities of the Hindus known as devas, said to number up to 330 million. Deva may be translated into English as "god", "deity", "demi-god", "angel" or any celestial being or thing of high excellence, and hence is venerable. The word is, in fact, cognate to Latin deus "god”. There are many Gods/Deities (thousands) such as Sun, Earth, Wind, Monkey, Snake, Rat, Devi, Ganesha, Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma. Brahma creates the world and everything in it. Brahman is the cosmic spirit and represents everything in the universe. One of the scholars compared Brahman to the sun and all Gods/Deities to the rays of the sun. This means that believing in one of the Gods would mean believing Hinduism - Brahman. Some Hindus believe that Brahman is a primary God with 3 different forms: Brahma (creator), Shiva (destroyer), and Vishnu (preserver). Hindus believe on reincarnation. The soul with either good or bad[I] karma[/I] will propel from one life (body) to the next. The ultimate goal is to be with Brahman by attaining [I]Moksha[/I] (similar to enlightenment or Nirvana in Buddhism). To attain [I]Moksha[/I], followers have to practice the 4 disciplines ([I]yoga[/I]); they are: working for Supreme, realizing the Supreme, Meditating on Supreme, and serving the Supreme in loving devotion. The Vedantic school of Hindu philosophy also has a notion of a Supreme Cosmic Spirit called Brahman. Brahman is described as that infinite, omnipresent, omnipotent, incorporeal, transcendent and immanent reality that is the divine ground of all existence in this universe. In the two largest branches of Hinduism, Shaivism and Vaishnavism, it is believed that Ishvara and Brahman are identical, and God is in turn identified with Shiva or Vishnu. God, whether in the form of Shiva or Vishnu has six attributes i.e., infinite, omnipresent, omnipotent, incorporeal, transcendent and immanent reality. However, the actual number of auspicious qualities of God is countless. ([URL="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn8"][8][/URL]) [B]Conception of God in Buddhism[/B] Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, did not mention who created the initial life and everything in the universe. God is not considered as creator. If there is no ignorance and karma, there will be no life forms. Life forms in Buddhism are not just humans; they include all animals. For some reason, plants are not considered as life forms. Buddhists believe they will not be reborn to suffer if they attain Nirvana. If they are born again, they could be in one of the 6 realms (hell, human, animal, [I]prêt, asura[/I] and [I]devas[/I]) depending on their [I]karma[/I]. Buddhism teaches that only their karmic stream will propel from one life to the next, and nothing else goes with it (neither soul nor self). There is no soul in Buddhism while others do accept it. Buddhism accepts Gods/deities existing, but Buddha teaching does not accept them as Supreme Being dictating the fate of any life form. They are not different than others; they have to go through rebirth cycle like everyone else. Some modern followers do not even accept their existing. Killing any animal is considered as a bad karma. This concept is different from Christianity (killing any animal excluding human is okay). This concept could be part of why Buddhist countries are poor. The ultimate goal of Theravada Buddhists is to attain Nirvana and enter [I]paranirvana[/I] (no longer be born), while Mahayana Buddhists want to hold off their [I]paranirvana[/I] and be born again in human form as Bodhisattva to spread Buddhism and help others to attain nirvana until there is no more life form left in the universe. To attain Nirvana, Buddhist has to understand the 4 Noble Truths and practice the Eightfold Path. It could be done in one lifetime, but in general it would take much more. In general, Khmer Buddhists believe a little bit difference than what I describe above because Animism and Hinduism also influence them; they were taught mainly by words from one generation to the next. They believe on spirits such as ghosts. Some believe Nirvana is just a place of nothing or emptiness, and they prefer to be in Heaven (be born in [I]Devas[/I]) rather than entering in p[I]aranirvana[/I]. [B]A Hermeticist conception of God[/B] Native religions of China and India have concepts of panentheistic views of God that are difficult to classify along Western notions of monotheism vs. polytheism, Close to these, ‘The All’ is the Hermetic version of God. It has been called ‘The One’, ‘The Great One’, ‘The Creator’, ‘The Supreme Mind’, ‘The Supreme Good’, ‘The Father’, and ‘The Universal Mother’. In essence, ‘The All’ is, as seen by some to be a Pane theistic view of God, which is that everything that is, or at least that can be experienced, collectively makes up ‘The All’. One Hermetic maxim states, "While All is in ‘The All’, it is equally true that ‘The All’ is in All." ([URL="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn9"][9][/URL]) ‘The All’ can also seen to be hermaphroditic, possessing both masculine and feminine qualities in equal part ([URL="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn10"][10][/URL]). These qualities are, however, of mental gender, as ‘The All’ lacks sical gender. According to Hermetic doctrine, ‘The All’ is a bit more complicated than simply being the sum total of the universe. Rather than ‘The All’ being simply the physical universe, it is more correct to say that everything in the universe is within the mind of ‘The All’, since ‘The All’ can be looked at as Mind itself.([URL="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn11"][11][/URL]) ‘The Alla's’ mind can be seen as infinitely more powerful and vast than any of us could hope to achieve.([URL="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn12"][12][/URL]) Therefore, it may be capable of keeping track of each and every particle across the expanse of the Universe, as well as maintain symbolism that applies to many lesser entities such as that seen in astrology and numerology. However, even with everything in the universe being part of The All, it is possible that other things exist outside of ‘The All’. This way it is trying to close on to Science. [B]The Ultimate[/B] Eastern conceptions of ‘The Ultimate’, except for Shaivism and Vaishnavism, which do focus on a personal God, are not conceptions of a personal divinity, though certain Western conceptions of what is at least called "God" resemble Eastern conceptions of ‘The Ultimate’. Christian theologian Paul Tillich, in the first volume of his Systematic [URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematic_Theology']Theology[/URL] defines God as being that factor about which we have, in his language ,ultimate concern. In this view, true self, God, or the Absolute all have legitimate grounds to be called the ultimate.. [B]Monotheism [/B] Monotheism holds that there is only one God, and/or that the one true God is worshiped in different religions under different names. The view that all religions are actually worshiping the same God, whether they know it or not, is especially emphasized in Hinduism ([URL="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn13"][13][/URL]) and Sikhism ([URL="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn14"][14][/URL]). Universalism Monotheists believe that: the salvation is eventually available for everyone; however in religions like Islam the belief is that the chosen people only have exclusive access to absolute truth, generally through revelation or encounter with the Divine only of their particular faith. Pantheism holds that God is the universe and the universe is God. Panentheism holds that God contains, but is not identical to, the Universe. The distinctions between the two are subtle, and some consider them unhelpful. It is also the view of the Liberal Catholic Church, Theosophy, Hioduism, some divisions of Buddhism, and Taoism, along with many varying denominations and individuals within denominations. Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, paints a pantheistic/panentheistic view of God- which has wide acceptance in Hasidic Judaism, particularly from their founder The Baal El Shov — but only as an addition to the Jewish view of a personal god, not in the original pantheistic sense that denies or limits persona to God. [B]Scientific perspective[/B] There is a lack of consensus as to the appropriate scientific treatment of religious questions, such as those of the existence, nature and properties of God - mainly because of lack of common definition of God. Also major point of debate has been whether God's existence or attributes can be empirically tested or gauged. According to one view of the scientists, questions of the supernatural as those relating to the existence and nature of God, are non-empirical and are the proper domains of theology. The methods of science should then be used to answer any empirical question about the natural world, and vice versa - lack of empirical footprint makes science sole player in the natural world. The opposing view, advanced by Richard Dawkins, is that the existence of God is an empirical question, on the grounds that "a universe with a god would be a completely different kind of universe from one without, and it would be a scientific difference." ([URL="https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/Desktop/Tejwant's%20questions.docx#_edn15"][15][/URL]) Third view is that of scientism: any question which cannot be defined cannot be answered by science - is therefore either nonsensical or is not worth asking, because there can be no empirical answer. [/QUOTE]
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Guru Granth Sahib
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