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Summary of Question:	Are There Different Types Of Sikhs?
Category:	Other
Date Posted:	Tuesday, 6/11/2002 12:57 PM MDT

I was under the impressions that there were no different categories of Sikhs until recently. My friend said that Naamdhaari's, Nirankari's are classified as Sikhs. But are they really? Because Naamdhari's only believe in Guru Nanak Dev Ji but not in the other Gurus so if they do not believe in all the Gurus how are they classed as Sikhs? I do not know anything about Nirankaari's and would also like to know more about what they believe. How can these people be classed as Sikhs if Guru Gobind Singh Ji gave the name Khalsa to us and said that we should follow the Guru Granth Sahib, and they do not follow these teachings. After all, Guru Gobind Singh Ji had the Gurgadi descended from Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

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Sat Siri Akal.

The nature of evolution is diversity-it allows life to be more resiliant, more strong. There are different branches of Sikhism-but they all come from the same trunk of Gurbani. Naamdhari's hold the Guru's bani as higher than any person, just as any other Sikh. They happen to have a Sat Guru as a person, that's all.

The maya of all this is that people argue with each other about whether they "should" or "shouldn't" whether it's "right" or "wrong." But the fact is, these people exist. It is God's will they exist. Only God knows why He created them. So the best study is to discover our similarities and learn to live together harmoniously. Be the best Sikh you can be, don't worry about whether or not anyone else is a good or proper Sikh. Meditate and know yourself. Everything else is just a distraction.

Sincerely,

GPK