Sikhism A Warrior Sect ?

[Steve]

Is Sikhism a warrrior sect originating from Hinduism ? In most dictionaries, I find the same definition.

 

[FireStorm]

Dear Steve,

Sikhism is not a warrior arm, or a warrior sect of Hinduism. The Hindu concepts of incarnations, idol worship, multiple Gods, heaven and hell were totally rejected by the Gurus.

Of course there may be similarities, between sikhi and other religions including hinduism, but then thats the uniqueness of sikhism, it doesnt just bash concepts because they belong to other religions. The concepts which are logical and are true are not bashed or rejected.

It is a unique scientific religion, which balances the saint and the soldier aspects of the human beings.

You must have seen Steve, that, many sects or religions tend to be either saintly or warrior like and hence a bit unbalanced.

A saint cannot practice his saintliness, because there is always someone with a distorted mind, distorted concepts who wont let him go about his work. This means that the Saint will have to rely on the soldier (an external entity) to protect him. The siant will not be independent. To save himself from one tyrant he may have to go to a lessser tyrant. He may have to make compromises on the basic morals, so that he can live to practice them another day.

Now if a person were totally a soldier, his fight would be meaningless. He would fiht for temporary causes, unless some moral force guided him. Most probably as he became powerful, he would become a tyrant at one point or the other.

This is the aim of sikhi. It strives to present these two facets into a single individual. These two facets would then balance each other.

1. The saint would keep the soldier in check and not let him become a tyrant

2. The soldier would protect the saint, make him independent and protect his morals.

The sword - one of the K's of the Khalsa is meant to signify the soldier aspect. The drawers - high morality and hence an spect of the saint, the hair the signifier of abiding by the will of God and as a mark of respect, the comb, meant to keep the gift clean, the Steel Bracelet to protect the warriors hand and to signify the nevernding cycle of creation.

Would appreciate your comments.

Akal Sahai
FireStorm

 

[anders]

It would be more correct to say that sikhism evolved as a reaction against Hinduism (and other religions). The way I (as a non-sikh) see it, is that sikhism only has fought in defence, and even that sikhs have been killed in efforts to protect people of other regligions.

 

[BabbarSher]

Rightly put Anders, Sikhism evolved because people had forgotten about God and :

The powerful had become cruel

The weak did not oppose oppression

The society was gripped in evils of worship of creation and not the creator

The Lust, Greed, Anger, worldly love, ego were prominent

Sikhs have fought for the oppressed and always championed their cause, and have paid with their lives.... but then that is the way of the Khalsa

Akal Sahai
Babbar Sher

 

[Admin]

Dear BabbarSher

I hear almost from every sikh that gurbani pronunces that idol worshipping is bad or stuff but does Gurbani really condemn the way idol worshipping is done or it totally rejects on the face of it ?

Regards

 

[Arvind]

However, unfortunately, in recent times warrier sect is the image, we have managed to project so far.

The Saint-soldiers fight to protect themselves and defend others, considering - Person tolerating injustice is worse than person doing injustice.

 

[Heathen Dawn]

If there is any impression I have gained about Sikhism, it is that Sikhism is a merger of the Islamic idea of monotheism with the Hindu idea of escape from the Wheel of Reincarnation through bhakti (devotion). Guru Nanak conversed with both Muslim and Hindu theologians.

Of course, this is an outsider’s superficial impression, and I hope you won’t find it offensive.

 

[Bharat Vir Singh]

Heathen,I don't blame you for being quite brainwashed by Hindus who want to paint every great religion as an offshoot or sect of Hinduism which is like an giant Sheshnaag(snake,python)that endeavours to swallow everything and everyone into itself.

So I suggest you first of all get de-programmed from your current Hindu-bias,and then start searching for the Truth with a clean slate.By the way,Hinduism is not a religion.It is a hotch-potch of ideas,beliefs,traditions,myths and customs.So come out of the wilderness and the marshes,and ride the Highway of Sikhi that leads straight to the Ocean of Almighty Waheguru.

 

[etinder]

Heathen,I don't blame you for being quite brainwashed by Hindus who want to paint every great religion as an offshoot or sect of Hinduism which is like an giant Sheshnaag(snake,python)that endeavours to swallow everything and everyone into itself.

So I suggest you first of all get de-programmed from your current Hindu-bias,and then start searching for the Truth with a clean slate.By the way,Hinduism is not a religion.It is a hotch-potch of ideas,beliefs,traditions,myths and customs.So come out of the wilderness and the marshes,and ride the Highway of Sikhi that leads straight to the Ocean of Almighty Waheguru.

Pyare veer bharat vir ji
I would like to say one thing here that dearest brother we here to be positive constructive and to learn from each other, so i request u brother to please dont say anything that can hurt any of our fellow forum members, these kind of comments most of the timedilutes the sanctity as well as the efficacy of the view point..whatever u want to say please present that with logic..
and
to dear heathen
i just want to say that whenever a new phenomenon is discovered or sighted people always perceive or judge it by their previous or existing experiences or knowledge, and try to correlate it..thats what thats has happened because Hinduism and Islaam were the most prominent religions so people have always tried to use em as benchmarks.
bhul chuk maaf if i have offended anyone
and
regards

 

[Bharat Vir Singh]

Dear veer etinder jee, Sat Sri Akal.

I have no intention of hurting anybody.I was merely responding to Heathen who seems to insist that Sikhism is based on Hinduism.She is obviously misinformed.So I endeavoured to correct her impression of Sikhi by an honest and frank response.I think if people come on a discussion forum they should be prepared to be criticised for their views.Otherwise what's the point of discussion?As far as I can see Heathen has not even replied to my post.So how do you know she is 'hurt'?Please clarify.

 

[etinder]

Dear veer etinder jee, Sat Sri Akal.

I have no intention of hurting anybody.I was merely responding to Heathen who seems to insist that Sikhism is based on Hinduism.She is obviously misinformed.So I endeavoured to correct her impression of Sikhi by an honest and frank response.I think if people come on a discussion forum they should be prepared to be criticised for their views.Otherwise what's the point of discussion?As far as I can see Heathen has not even replied to my post.So how do you know she is 'hurt'?Please clarify.

Dear Bharat veerji
first of all would like to apologise if whatever i said has brought in any kind of negativity, when i said that a forum memeber could be hurt i was not just referring to heathen but i was refering to other fellow forum members who are non sikhs and especially belonging to Hindu faith, what i actually meant was that no body should think that this is just a forum where anything anti sikh or not as per our ideology is snubbed, rather i am an ardent believer of debate n positive criticism that is backed by logical evidence.
In the above case why dont u support your statement with different examples and factual evidences, i guess that way we would be able to deliver the message across with more force and would be in return more acceptable, then that statement wont be just a belief or view point but truth.
Once again i most humbly apologise if i have disturbed or offended you
lots of regards and chota veer samajh ke bhul chuk maaf

 

[Neutral Singh]

ADMIN NOTE : I think etinder ji has got a valid point because this is an interfaith forum. Besides discussing the fascinating philosophy of sikhism, it is a place where people from various religious backgrounds can meet and discuss their ideology in an open environment. We should rather take it easy in such cases. Let us convince Heathen without belittling his faiths as he would rather only become more adament in his views, the views which sound rather strange to us.


I would remove the last two or three posts under this thread in two days as they do not contribute to the discussion.


Thank You.