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Summary of Question:	More Comments On Fear Of God
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Sunday, 1/06/2002 12:43 AM MST

waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh

I think when in gurbani they say fear no one but god they are talking about different type of fear. forexample children are afraid of their fathers but that does not mean they dont love him. the type of fear they are talking about is that when u are about to steal something u should be afraid that god is going to punish me. sikh should fear no one but god i am not talking about be afraid of him but fear because one who has the power to do anything should be feared. i fear my parents actually its not really fear but dissappointmet i dont want them disspoinment in me so i dont do anything that might cause disspoinment it is some kind of fear but it does not mean i dont love them. everyone should fear god. people are afraid of poliice so they dont do bad things and people fear god so they dont do bad things.

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REPLY
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Sat Siri Akaal.
I have always had trouble with the idea of 'fearing' God. God is all-powerful, and yes, that can be fearsome, but really, God is Love, perfect Love, unconditional love. How can anyone fear perfect Love? God loves us when we are good, and God STILL loves us when we are not so good, and God SERVES the ones who are completely devoted to God. You see this repeated again and again in Guru's bani in Siri Guru. This is amazing, if you think about it. So, consider that fear of God as fear of what you would be if God does NOT love you or have compassion for all that you are, faults and virtues.

Another way of looking at this 'fear of God' is to consider fear as a bad choice of words for 'honor' or for 'namastang' (as used in 10th Guru's Jaap Sahib, it means "I bow to"). When we bow completely to the One who has made us, we are recognizing that without that One we do not exist. We recognize that our no matter how cool or great we think we are, there is One Who is more so! Remembering that the One is behind all our actions, this kind of surrender could be seen by some as a kind of fear.

Guru ang sang,
-DKK