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Summary of Question:	Seeking some definitions/interpretations
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Tuesday, 3/07/2000 3:42 PM MST

Before I begin, I would like to thank the people involved in upkeeping this forum. What a great place to come! I have a lot of questions about the Sikh faith and places like this really help out people like me who are in need of answers.

Like I said before, I have a lot of questions. So recently I have been reading the English translation of the SGGS made ready by Singh Sahib Sant Singh Khalsa, MD (another useful tool!). Now, either it's my incomplete Punjabi vocabulary or my lack of previous Sikhism study, but there are a quite a few terms that I don't understand: Shaastras, Simritee, Hukam, Puraanas, Dharma, Siddhas......the list goes on. Is there somewhere that I can go to get the "definitions" of these terms?

Also, I have a question regarding some statements in the SGGS:

i) What are the sixty-eight holy places of worship? Is this a reference to all the places on Earth or in India in particular?

ii) On page 7, ||30|| the statement goes like this: "The One Divine Mother conceived and gave birth to the three deities. One, the Creator of the World; One, the Sustainer; and One, the Destroyer...."
So this it seems is a reference to the Hindu "trinity" of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. I have always been told that there were many connections or references to Hinduism in our own Sikh faith. Upon moving to the big city, my friends vehemently told me I was misled. Isn't it true that the Sikh Gurus recognized many aspects of Hinduism? Indra, Vedas, Shiva...these are all ancient (pre-Guru Nanak) names. There has to be some correlation between Hinduism and Sikhism....Yes? No?


Thanks for your time and effort,

NS

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Reply
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The 68 places of pilgrimage are in the general area of India.
As to Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva etc...
Hindus breathed oxygen first. Sikhs breathe oxygen, so therefore we have Hindu influence. Hindus found there was a Sun in the sky, therefore any religion that notices a sun in the sky has Hindu influence. Sikhs will fight if attacked, therefore we are like the warrior class of Hindus. etc. etc. etc. If you want to, you can demonstrate all kinds of "influence" of one religion to another. But it's meaningless.
Just because SGGS refers to various aspects of nature and the Universe that are also reffered to in Hindu scripture, doesn't mean we relate to them the same way. We can acknowledge that they exist without worshipping them.
On the other hand, we don't need to deny their existence out of some fear of polluting *our* knowledge. We worship the One who is beyond all things in the creation. It has many forms and aspects. And it is all a PLAY!
LSK