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Summary of Question:	'Because Guru Said To"'; Repetitive Bani
Category:	Other
Date Posted:	Thursday, 5/29/2003 11:37 PM MDT

Waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh.

I am an avid reader of this site and i find this Q&A forum to be very useful. For the most part, the responses to the questions asked are very logical and make sense. However, the answers which bother me the most are those along the lines of "we do it cause our Guru told us to"... or "do this path for these many times." I find these answers very humorous. Sikhism mean to find the truth. Sikhs are not blatant followers that do what is told to us. We do what is right. If we started following practices just because we are TOLD TO DO SO, then what is the difference between our religion and a cult. The question on keeping hair, and what not have been answered in the past with a very logical explanation. However, recently ive come across answers such as "we do it because we are told to do so." My other point is in regard to doing a certain path for a certain number of times. Ive seen this response so many times, and i laugh every time i see it. I see no sense in doing a specific path for 11 times. Will our wishes not be granted if we do it 10 times... or 12 times. Why 11 times?? It is just an example im using. If this practice is written in the Guru Granth Sahib ji, then i apologize. However, if it isnt, then who came up with such numbers, and what are the basis for it. I personally feel, if one does path from the heart and any number of times, Waheguru will listen to him. Will someone please explain this to me. I am a firm believer of sikhism. Although im no expert on sikhism, these are just my personal beliefs. Sikhism isnt an irrational religion, it is based on truth and logic. I find no logic in following something blatantly, without there being a valid reason behind it. It is very simple to answer questions by saying " we are told to do so", however i feel we are misguiding our youth (me being a youth as well). The youth in this day and age believe what is rational, and thus we require a rational and logical explanation. Please forgive me if i have said something wrong and please correct me whereever i am wrong. Other than that, keep up the good work, i will continue reading this site every nite. Waheguru ji ka khalsa, Waheguru ji ki fateh.

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REPLY
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Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh. While I agree that everything a Sikh does needs to be done from the realm of conscious choice, I think the idea that Sikhs do something 'because our Guru said so' is really about honoring the truth or the purpose--as Guru understood it--of the practice in question, which is why it was given to us. For many Sikhs, knowing that Guru asked us to practice such-and-such is ENOUGH. However, in my own experience most people of faith who I have met, at some point in their lives looked at their practice(s) and beliefs and made a choice, consciously, as to what they would and would not keep. This is an important step in spiritual consciousness, no matter what the path one follows.

OK, as for doing something XX number of times, it is not because Waheguru needs to hear it so many times. It is for setting the vibration of the intent through prayer. It is a subtle thing, and you forget that when something SACRED is repeated over and over, the one doing the repeating is blessed with that vibration which, over time, shifts his/her consciousness, thus (re)molding the repeater into or towards the goal s/he first had in mind with the repetition. It is a technology I'm talking about, not about whether God & Guru are listening. It's a technology of the mind, and of creating or shifting one's personal projection. Many people sabotage their own intent because they pray to Waheguru for something but in their subconscious minds their belief systems are that they can never get what they want because their minds do not believe it to be possible (for whatever reason). Our subconscious minds are full of such negativity. Prayer, repetition of Gurbani/shabds, and of course, Naam Simran, all serve to neutralize the negativity in our subconscious minds so that we can live happy lives. So laugh away, but really, don't knock something until you try it. Guru ang sang,
-DKK