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Summary of Question:	Sikhism And Its History?
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Saturday, 4/27/2002 4:21 PM MDT

Namaste,

I have a few questions regarding sikhism. Before proceed, let me just say that i believe that sikhism is one of the most peaceful and true religions in the world. I have much respect for it and its followers. I am a Hindu girl and am not clear on some of the issues regarding the faith.
Is it not true that Nanak created Sikhism to protect Hindu's from the harsh and cruel treatment by the Muslims at that time? Werent Sikhs suppose to stand up for the Hindu's even before the Hindus did for them selves? And isnt that why Sikhs are called warriors, they fought for truth and against unjustice. I do
not know about if the guru's were hindu or not, even though i have heard that many times before. But if they werent, then why do they have hindu names? And also, if guru gobind singh ji created Khalsa, which includes the 5 k's, then that means that they were irrelevant before his time and therefore the other guru's did not believe in the 5 k's. I have always been taught that sikhs were protectors of the hindu's and believing that it now disgusts me to see hindu and sikh brothers fighting. A religion that was once created for peace, seems now to have lost its true meaning. Sikhism seems more political than religious now days. Even in the gurudwara, there is much conflict about power.
I hope i have not offended anyone, please reply and correct me if i am wrong. Thankyou
God Bless

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Sat Siri Akal, ji.

Thanks for writing to us with your questions.

Sikhi is a unique and sovereign religion. Guru Nanaak began this tradition by trying to tear down the walls between all relgions, saying that there is just One God, let's sit down together, meditate and sing, and get the experience of it. Guru Nanaak favored neither Hindu nor Muslim, but taught, "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim." In other words, in the eys of the Creator, we are all one humanity. Labels that divide us are useless.

Over the course of the next two hundred years, through the succeeding nine Gurus, this simple philosophy developed into a full-fledged spiritual practice. Part of that spiritual practice was to defend the defenseless against the attack of tyrants. Because Sikhs see that the same God is behind every religious tradition, Sikhs defend the rights of all people to practice their religion as they see fit. Sikhs were not created to defend one religion from another, but to protect all people from the injustice of power-mad "leaders" who used religion as an excuse to steal and oppress others. If Hindus had attacked Muslims, Sikhs would have defended the Muslims just as quickly as they defended the Hindus. It is simply part of the Sikh practice of a warrior-saint that this is done. The name of the religion that needs protecting is not all that important.

The creation of the Khalsa, and the gift of the five K's, was a culminating moment in the spiritual history of the Sikhs. Through this act, and through the act of installing the Siri Guru Granth Sahib as the Sikh spiritual guide, Guru Gobind Singh strove to make his Sikhs self-sufficient, not dependent on any one person, but rather on themselves and each other through the guidance of the Shabd Guru and the support of the Khalsa Panth. What transpired between the time of Guru Nanaak and the time of Guru Gobind Singh was an evolution of a spiritual practice. Guru Nanaak planted the seed. Guru Gobind Singh plucked the fruit. Yet it was one continuous Spirit manifesting with a specific purpose through those two-hundred years.

From the higest point of view, we are all children of the same Divine One and, in that, we are all brothers and sisters. From a more practical point of view, Sikhi has a unique spiritual discipline that leads to the experience of the Divine-unique from anything that has come through any other spiritual tradition. Ideally, Sikhs live in the Spirit of One while valuing their distinct identity-both at the same time.

As for your comments about religion and politics, it is a very dark time for all people. The best solution is for each of us to search for the seeds of discord within ourselves and use a spiritual discipline to remove those seeds, so that the problems do not continue into the future. As Guru Nanaak wrote in Japji, "Let control of your own mind and self by your conquest of the world."

May you find the light within your Self.

GPK