Nanak had very spiritual thoughts and he often preached to many people.
He believed that no one is “only Hindu” or “only Muslim”. He believed
that everyone was a man belonging to the human
race. He believed in an inner spirit between Islam and Hinduism and
that’s what he preached to other people. Nanak only believed in only one
god (monotheism). He believed that universal toleration is the goal of
all religions in the world. Nanak found Hinduism and Islam useless. In
Guru Nanak’s day, the common people paid tribute to a large number of
minor gods and goddesses that were known to Hindus. Hindus believed in
many superstitious bondage and fear over the centuries that had nothing
to do with the religion of Hindu itself. Guru Nanak didn’t believe in
any of the superstitions and he emphasized strict monotheism in all of
his teachings. Guru Nanak also respected the "untouchables" in the caste system unlike the rest of the society. He put all his teachings and beliefs and composed the
“Mool Mantra” and he taught it to all his followers. “There is one God,
His Name is Truth, The All-pervading Creator, Without fear, without
hatred, Immortal, unborn, self-existent, By grace, the Enlightener. True
in the beginning, true throughout the ages, True even now, Nanak, and
forever shall be true.” (Japji, Mool Mantra). Lehna was one of Guru
Nanak’s followers and he was destined to be Guru Anand (the second
guru), and he believed in Nanak’s words seriously. Lehna propagated this
idea, and he intended that all Sikhs need to repeat this to remind them
of God’s one-ness. Sikh’s believe in many different aspects which all
lead up to the religion itself. They believed in reincarnation which is
an idea from the Hindus. He also believed that the Goal of life is to
appreciate the face of his eternal spirit and becoming reunited with
him. They also believed in illusion and suffering. “Adversity is a
medicine and comfort a disease.because in comfort there is no yearning
for God.” (Asa Di Var XII.1)
Thursday, January 17, 2013
The Origin of Sikhism
Sikhism originates from the Punjab area of South Asia (Northern
India) in 1500 CE which is now Pakistan and India. The two main
religions that were followed in that time period were Islam and
Hinduism. Punjab is a state in India which is mostly consisted of people
who follow the Sikh religion.
Who was Guru Nanak?
Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism. Guru Nanak was a great saint of
medieval India. He was born in 1469 AD in Lahore which is the district
of trade in Punjab. He was born into a Hindu family and his father was a
trader. His father wanted Nanak to be part of business but Nanak was a
very religious person even from the beginning of his life. Instead of
him earning money,
he would give away money to the poor from his father’s business
accounts. He then devoted himself to deep spiritual thoughts. Nanak
traveled to religious places like Mecca and Medina. Nanak believed that a
person can live a saintly life without giving up home. Guru Nanak is a very important person in the history of Sikhism because he founded Sikhism. There was no Sikhism before his birth. Not only that, but he was the first guru. A guru is a spiritual teacher.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)