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Summary of Question:	Bowing To Lord Buddha/Other Paths?
Category:	Sikh Practices
Date Posted:	Friday, 8/16/2002 7:10 PM MDT

Sat-Sri-Akaal,

You have a great site. I've asked a couple of questions before. I like the insight into Sikhism that you all show us. I have a concern about a question asked before and the answer given to it. Well, it's more of a belief or my misconception. Whenever the question about bowing to anyone comes up, I start to wonder what bowing really means here. We bow to our elders, which is a sign of respect. If we bow to any other religion as a sign of respect then I think it's perfectly fine. I think Guruji told us not to bow when it comes to bowing as in giving in or giving up. We are told that we should only bow to Guruji and no one else. So here it means that we should give in or only listen to Guruji and no one else. Bowing is not used in the physical term here. At least that's what I think. I would like to know if Guruji specifically mentioned anywhere that bowing to deities as a sign of respect or bowing to anyone as a sign of respect is not right? I would specifically like for you to notice the difference in bowing here.

Now when it comes to bowing to Lord Budha, the person who asked the question probably bowed to pray. That would be wrong on his behalf if he is a Sikh. A Sikh should only pray to the one Lord (Ek Oangkar) and no one else. Guru Granth Sahib Ji is our teacher, our Guru. If we start praying to Guru Granth Sahib Ji, then I think Guruji will also tell us to pray to Ek Oangkar. We go to the Gurudwara and bow our heads to Guruji, which mean that basically we give ourselves to Guruji and ask Guruji to lead us to Ek Oangkar. When we pray in Gurudwara, we pray to Ek Oangkar collectively under the guidance of Gurji. So when people started praying to deities, Guruji told us not to bow to them as he wanted us not praying to them. If we bow as a sign of respect then it shouldn't be a problem. That's why Guruji told us to respect all religions. Bowing to pray to anyone or anything except Ek Oangkar is not acceptable. Teachings of Lord Budha and teachings of Guru Granth Sahib Ji all take us to one path, and that is unity with Ek Oangkar.

Anyway, I asked my question in the first paragraph and I wrote what I believe in the next paragraph. I am sure that I'm not all correct in everything I believe in, otherwise I would have become a saint by now. So I'd like some insight to better myself.

Thank you,
Wahe Guruji ka Khalsa, Wahe Guruji ki Fateh.

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REPLY
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Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!
Bowing one's head to one's heart and bowing with head on the floor are 2 different things. As a SIkh, it is possible to show respect to other saints and other spiritual paths WITHOUT bowing one's head to the floor. The observant Sikh bows his/her head to no one but Guru in the form of Siri Guru. Period. One can prayerfully clasp one's hands in a kind of 'namastay' gesture as a sign of respect or gratitude as an option for showing religious respect.

If I'm a Sikh and other Sikhs see me bowing on the ground to Lord Buddha, how do you think they will react? Things misinterpret so easily. Our 10 Gurus taught us that the Lord is formed yet formless. In their time on earth, it was the norm for people to bow to all kinds of statues and other representations of what what was believed to be God, and people believed that bowing to, say, a statue of a rat, would protect them from evil and liberate them. Guru Nanak himself made it clear over and over in his bani that ritualistic practices are useless for knowing God, being protected, or getting liberated. The only way for people to know the God within and be liberated from birth & death is daily and dedicated meditation on the Naam. So the bowing issue needs to be understood in context.

Bowing to elders: in some cultures this is common. But it needs to be understood that it was done as a sign of the elder's authority over the younger. As I said, one can show respect to others/elders/other faiths without bowing one's head.

There are people who think that Sikhs bowing to a large book is idolatry. Our Scripture is Living Word, and so we bow to the Word of Guru as contained in Siri Guru, for the Guru of all Sikhs is Shabd Guru, contained in Siri Guru Granth. For a Sikh, bowing to Siri Guru is also a way of effacing ego, of reminding ourselves that we are nothing without our Guru, without the Hand of God writing our destiny on our foreheads. No one else has this relationship with a Sikh that our Guru has, which is another reason why we don't bow to anyone but Siri Guru.

Hope this helps. Guru rakha,
-DKK