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Summary of Question:	Jesus Mentioned In Sggs
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Monday, 2/04/2002 6:03 PM MST

Dear Sikhnet,

I have enjoyed reading your questions and, especially answers lately. Thank you for this service!

I do have one question regarding an answer that was given. The question was posted on 01/25/02, and answered on 01/31/02, by DDK. The question was whether there was any mention of Jesus in our Guru Granth Sahib, and if not, then why not. The answer, given by DDK, was no, and he explained the reason for this being that Christianity was not prevailent in India during the Guru's time. Does this then totally negate the claims of Jesus? If I was to look at the picture this way, I could then say that the claims of the Guru's are negated to anyone who was not living in India, and therefore Sikhism is not the true religion/belief, but is only a figment of a persons imagination, adopted by a nation.
I am very curious about this, because Jesus actually claimed to be God. I want to be certain about the religion I choose to follow, or I will not be able to follow it whole-heartedly. If Sikhism is the true teaching, then how could the Guru's minds, and spirits be ignorant of one who claimed to be God himself. Please explain to me what is wrong about Christianity.

I also, more importantly, would like to know how we are suppose to chose the correct path to follow in life, when both good and wrong eminate from the Divine Will. If both paths come from the Divine will, then, by choosing EITHER path, I chose the path of Divinity?

Thank you for your time on this, very much.

Sara Genh

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REPLY
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Dear Sara-
Just because Jesus is not literally mentioned in Siri Guru Granth Sahib in NO way means that he did not exist, nor does it mean that Guru Nanak or his successors had no knowledge of him. That is faulty logic. Really, why is it so important that Jesus be mentioned in Siri Guru? If you are going to take that approach, then the Buddha, Zoroaster, Zeus, the Goddess, Kuan Yin, and countless more 'gods' or divinities would also need to be mentioned. Sikhism preaches a kind of universalism that is often misunderstood. When Siri Guru APPEARS to denigrate muslims or hindus, it is not with the intent of saying that Islam or Hinduism is BAD in and of itself. It is to say, if you are calling yourself a Muslim or calling yourself a Hindu, then live according to the truth of the teachings of that faith. Mere ritual does not a spiritual being make. Siri Guru teaches (how to be) spiritual, it does not teach how to be religious, and there is a big difference. Siri Guru's recipe for spirituality applies to anyone, no matter what their faith: meditate on the Name of God/the Creator, and serve others in His/Her/Its name.

I am familiar with Christian faiths. Jesus preached he was/is the son of God, and he taught that all of us are children of the Creator. This has, however, been mis-interpreted to mean that God only has ONE son and the rest of us are lucky to exist at all. Said differently, Jesus preached exactly what SIri Guru tells us: that God is in all people/things and all are part of God. His teaching of 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you' is another way of recognizing the God in all.

Anyway, your final point is so true. Sikhs indeed believe that all religious paths lead to the same Source, that all of us worship the same Creator, whether we call it Jesus, God, Ram, Kuan Yin, etc. It is how you go about practicing your faith that develops your spirituality or not. Find a path that suits you and go for it!
-DKK