Sikh and ye shall find!

So on a local news website I saw a commercial for Sikhs, how that they are good people, patriots, and misunderstood. My initial thought is that they must be getting mistaken for Muslims a lot and are on an information campaign. But I had forgotten anything I had read about them in the past so I thought I should check out the website they referred to (http://www.wearesikhs.org/). So now I know they are “farmers to veterans, business leaders to little league players, Sikhs are a diverse mix of Americans united by common values and beliefs”. I don’t doubt that; their religion appears less easily convertible to violence and murder relative to the Koran and Islam (which seems to insist upon it). But when you are trying to research a religion to determine if it is rational (non-contradictory), that they support ‘gender equality & racial diversity’ or ‘community and military service’ does not help determine if it is rationally coherent.

 I had to seek a bit further, and I found a BBC article with a little more information (http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/beliefs/beliefs.shtml). Here we learn some about their view of God:

There is only one God * God is without form, or gender * Everyone has direct access to God * Everyone is equal before God * A good life is lived as part of a community, by living honestly and caring for others * Empty religious rituals and superstitions have no value (umm… Like their ‘5 K’s’? uncut hair, a steel bracelet, a wooden comb, cotton underwear, steel sword http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/customs/fiveks.shtml)

Sikhs believe that God is inside every person, no matter how wicked they appear, and so everyone is capable of change.

Well other than an explanation of how everyone has access to God and that he’s in everyone (he is a ‘he’ in scripture although male and female are created to represent his goodness and severity) that description of God sounds Christian-like and appealing. But we want to know more about this God and about sin and evil to test the internal coherence of the system of thought. We still do not have enough information. Where do sin and evil come from? What kind of God is this? How is God in every person and wickedness in them also? We further learn of reincarnation and karma from this article (as well as from a book I have Experiencing World’s Religions by Molley- pg.206). This seems now to infer a good and evil existing apart from God. If God is truth from whence comes error?

The BBC article further informs us “The three duties that a Sikh must carry out can be summed up in three words; Pray, Work, Give. Nam japna:  Keeping God in mind at all times. Kirt Karna:  Earning an honest living. Since God is truth, a Sikh seeks to live honestly. This doesn't just mean avoiding crime; Sikhs avoid gambling, begging, or working in the alcohol or tobacco industries. Vand Chhakna: (Literally, sharing one's earnings with others) Giving to charity and caring for others.

A Sikh serves God by serving (seva) other people every day. By devoting their lives to service they get rid of their own ego and pride. Sikhs try to avoid the five vices that make people self-centred, and build barriers against God in their lives.

Lust, Covetousness and greed, Attachment to things of this world, Anger, Pride

If a person can overcome these vices they are on the road to liberation.” But why are we in a state that we are in bondage needing liberation from these vices? Why is their ego and pride evil to be liberated from?

Still seeking answers I find this website which provides quotes from their founder Nanak. (http://www.sikhs.org/philos.htm) This website is very informative, it elaborates on God being formless and genderless- God cannot take human form. "He neither has father, nor mother, nor sons nor brothers." (Guru Nanak, Maru- born in 1469) And in further agreement with Hinduism they teach Maya- “The world is just an illusion and some get enchanted with this illusion and forget God”.

So this God has limitations such as being incapable of coming in the flesh (1 Jn.4:1-3). How do we know he can communicate in human words; or are human words illusion? If he cannot manifest himself in the flesh does he not control the worlds? Is he a person or an energy or force or both? Well relating to God incapable of taking human form we read “Sikhs believe that the “voice” with which the word is uttered within the believer’s being is that of the spirit of the eternal Guru. Because Nanak performed the discipline of nam simaran, the eternal Guru took flesh and dwelt within him. Upon Nanak’s death the eternal Guru was embodied, in turn, in each of Nanak’s successors until, with the death of Guru Gobind Singh, it was enshrined in the holy scripture of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib.”- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sikhism  I guess he can somehow embody people; so I’m not sure why he couldn’t become flesh. Oh well.

We learn also “Heaven and Hell as physical entities. In Sikhism there are no such physical places. Hell is equivalent to the cycles of births and deaths and heaven is equivalent to the soul merging with God.” (http://www.sikhs.org/relig_se.htm ; http://www.sikhs.org/relig_h.htm) Again consistent with ideas of karma and reincarnation.

 Sikhism began about 500 years ago with the teachings of its founder Guru Nanak (1469–1539). Nanak was born in a high caste Hindu family but grew weary of the corruption and abuse of the caste system by the Brahmins, those in the highest caste, and of the brash militancy of Muslim rulers during this period. As a young man disillusioned with both Islam and Hinduism, Nanak, according to Sikh tradition, received a divine calling to initiate a new faith. “Nanak experienced the ultimate reality as without form and transcendent, above all things. He did not actually see the ultimate reality in any concrete form. He heard the divine words, the cup of nectar appeared before him, and he drank from it.…thus began the Sikh religion.”- http://www.equip.org/article/neither-hindu-nor-muslim/

They believe in evil and sin as is evident reading through the summary of the 10 gurus here - http://www.sikhs.org/10gurus.htm and a portion of their scripture here- http://www.sikhs.org/japji/jp18.htm

  With other religions teaching karma and conflicting revelations with Sikhism like how to break free from the cycle of karma, how does a Sikh distinguish between truths and falsehoods? For example, if Maya is true then the differences between Sikhism and Hinduism is illusion. If it is illusion- then what is illusion? If it’s from within us how do we know what thoughts are from God and true? If it’s from God how can we trust him communicating to us? If it exists outside of us and God then how do we know it doesn’t influence our thoughts or his? If evil originated outside his control how can we trust our thoughts are not deceit and illusion? This writer offers some reasoning for us to consider- “Man, says the Guru, is led astray by Maya, or illusion. The world itself is real enough; its unreality is mirrored only from the way in which man looks at it. Thus, when man begins to see God within himself, in others and in the whole world about him, he breaks the bonds of illusion; and gains peace of mind. Man suffers for two reasons; first because he either did not appreciate God's creation or he has chosen to forget His existence; secondly, his mind is not under control with the result that it is fixed on worldly pleasures, wealth, power, and self-indulgence. He is then led into an endless chain of actions which are not according to the ways of God, but properly consist of sin and selfishness, for which he has to pay the price in misery and suffering. The farther he remains from God, the more he suffers.” - Illusion and Suffering http://www.sikhismguide.org/sikh-belief.aspx  Again in another place we read “In Sikhism, however, the word maya is not used to suggest that the physical world is unreal or imaginary. Sikhs believe that everything in the world is real and good because it has been created by, and is part of, God.”- http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sikh_Beliefs  That sounds kind of panentheistic (all in god).

The problem with conceptions of karma (which is generally defined as ‘the totality of a person's actions and conduct during successive incarnations, regarded as causally influencing his or her destiny) is that it involves causation. Causes cannot be infinite, meaning if there is an infinite number of past events we could never be in the present inasmuch as the present is the end of the past. It would be as illogical as the end of eternity- eternity can have no end.  (Sikhs on karma- http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Karma)

So we approach and conceive a past in which there was a ‘balance’ between good and evil and there was no causal movement then we ask when and how this grand state of equilibrium was disrupted initiating series of events and cycles of births and deaths. And where is God in all of this? If this is out of his control then can we believe him or is he subject to these forces? Did these forces of good and evil reside within God? Furthermore are these principles of karma unchanging and how could we possibly know? Was there no evil before a point in time?

Well one writer tells us “The law of karma is part of God’s created order, not a force or power independent of God.” - http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sikh_Beliefs  The same writer informs us “The law of karma can be described simply as the belief that all actions have consequences for the person who acts.” So if karma is a created natural law such as Newton’s 3^rd law- ‘for every action (force) there is an equal and opposite reaction’ -then God could have made it another way and we descend into the problem of voluntarism.

 One quote from Nanak informs us "There is but One God, His name is Truth, He is the Creator, He fears none, he is without hate, He never dies, He is beyond the cycle of births and death, He is self illuminated, He is realized by the kindness of the True Guru. He was True in the beginning, He was True when the ages commenced and has ever been True, He is also True now. (Japji)” It further tells us “Guru Nanak did not believe in a Trinity of Gods, or the belief that God can be born into human form.” - http://www.sikhs.org/guru1.htm (Of course Christians don’t believe in a ‘trinity of Gods’ either.)

 Another problem with karma is the infliction of evil upon the reincarnated soul is administered by another soul who is himself committing evil. You end up with a Ponzi scheme type of salvation where you always need someone inflicting evil upon you so your next life cycle will be better. And as populations grow exponentially it would seem evil will be a necessary component to bring about salvation at even greater quantities. Where could it ever end? I guess a tsunami could help.

If God took time to commune with Nanak then God is within time- is he outside it? We find this quote to be somewhat applicable and panentheistic again (all in god) "God first created light, All men are born out of it. The whole world came out of a single spark; Who is good and who is bad? The Creator is in the creation, and the creation in the Creator, He is everywhere. The clay is the same, the potter fashions various models. There is nothing wrong with the clay or the potter. God the true resides in all, Whatever happens is His doing. He who surrenders to Him gets to know Him. He is His slave. God is invisible, He cannot be seen. The Guru has granted me this sweet gift. Says Kabir, my doubts are dispelled. I have seen the Pure with my own eyes. (Parbhati)”- http://www.sikhs.org/guru6.htm

We further learn “Sikhism believe that everything happens in Hukam (due to Supreme Command). A person can do responsible actions only after thinking. All actions that happened are part of Hukam (Whether good or bad in the eyes of society / people). In Sikhism, there are two types of Karma: Dukrit Karma and Sukrit Karma. Dukrit Karma is thinking against Hukam and Sukrit Karma is to walk in Hukam. Person could only think against Hukam but could not act against Hukam. What action is going on in world are all in hukam whether good or bad (Temporally). As Guru Nanak gives us the viewpoint that ""Hukmey andar sab hai. Bahr Hukam na koye"" "Everything is in His Hukam, nothing is outside". This is the reason why Gurbani says there is no sin, no virtue (Paap punn hamre bass nahin)… For example If someone think to murder 10 persons, but he was able to murder only 5 and other 5 was saved. Both acts happened in Hukam, but Hukam used that person (who we will call murderer) as his ingredient to complete his wish. Now Temporal people will cry that murderer have made a family orphan and forget this fact that everything was planned by Supreme Power. Even you will try to convince them that everything done in Hukam they will say that no Hukam ever does bad. On other Side, when tsunami come and thousands houses vanish and many became widows, widowers and many become orphans then same people say that God or Nature has done all this which is also part of Hukam. ” http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Karma

 Somehow also demons and demi-gods play into this- http://www.sikhs.org/japji/jp26.htm.

 So far we have learned that apparently out of some obscure past, karma (originating in God) began to operate in his creation, seemingly by God’s command (indicating volition with God and personhood). In some panentheistic way God causes evil and good through karma calling into question the existence of evil within God and undermining his trustworthiness. Maybe God could change or has changed; maybe these arbitrary laws of karma which could have been otherwise are in fact now otherwise because God decided so. But nonetheless karma with its ever growing abundance of evil afflictions upon the due beneficiaries somehow by Gods supreme command matches the active sinners evil to an equal retribution of the passive sinners punishment. In other words the bad guy doing bad things to the other guy- just happens to be what the other guy deserves from past sins. But karma is really more like the sinner causes bad things to happen to himself. So he sort of causes another sinner to sin against himself, which makes you wonder who is responsible. But really it is God causing it all… I guess.

 And if delusion and sin originates in God and we are his subjects slavishly controlled from without and within due to his Supreme command we could not really know whether we are being deceived by him. When considering all other religions that began well before the 1500’s, according to Sikhism they would be following delusion and error by God’s supreme command, so we could never trust that the 10 gurus were actually telling truth simply because they experienced something they thought was divine.

 Now I know there is a place for divine mystery with God (http://www.sikhs.org/japji/jp24.htm) but this whole religion so far appears to introduce more confusion than it dissolves. It appears to me like trying to put a 3 fingered glove on a 7 fingered hand. And doubtless at some point logic will need to be abandoned and experiences embraced- like all the similar yet contradictory competing religions. At this point Sikhism appears like a dead end religion that only serves to try to unify other religions- which is the course of this world, according to the prince of this world (Eph.2:1-3). Salvation is internal and self centered where you introspectively find God already inside you (a popular theme). And denying Jesus Christ is come in the flesh (1 Jn.4:1-3 another popular theme) clearly indicates that it is anti-christ according to biblical doctrines (1 Jn.2:18, 22).