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Summary of Question:	Why Worship God?
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Tuesday, 1/07/2003 4:49 AM MST

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa

Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

I am a religious Sikh. My brother asked me a question, which i need help with please:

Q/ "Okay, God exists and God is the Creator. Why do we have to worship God? Why is remembering God seen as God? God's created us and i am sure He wants us to get on with life and not spend hours praying, or praising Him?

If worshipping/praising/praying is what God wants us to do or it is seen as Ultimate good, then does God have an ego? Why do simran? Why remember God with each breath? Doesnt God want us to live like normal human beings or add to his ego?"


My answer wasnt very helpful to him, so could you please give an answer. Much appreciated. Rab Raka and thanks again!

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I've actually never heard that God has an ego. Is that written in the Guru and I've missed it somehow? I guess because God is within us, He expresses His through us. But, my understanding is that by praising God it helps us still our negative egos, which is the cause of our misery in life. It is when we think we are the doer and the cause, that we become separated from our soul, our very essence. Praising and meditating on God, Who is actually right inside of us, helps us EXPERIENCE that God is us - God and me me and God are one. We experience infinity, which is limitless and boundarylesss. This experience brings bliss in our life; it helps us accomplish great things, things which we couldn't possibly do depending upon our finite self. It is actually a very practical thing; we can reach our highest potential.

It is also through the experience of reciting God's name, we obtain a certain elevated conscioiusness, which will serve us in our daily lives. "It's not the life you lead, its the courage you bring to it." In other words, no matter what you do in your life, what matters is the consciousness in which you do it. Lets say I own a store. I can either have that store to earn lots of money, taking advantage of my customers along the way; or, my goal can be to serve the customers, and out of that attitude of service, I make a lot of money. It is my choice. One is a life of ego and pettiness; the other is a life of love.

In my life, I find that the more I meditate, the more He does for me. I can either hassle and hussle, doing and doing...or I can allow God to do it for me. I'm not saying that I do nothing, but the time I meditate helps me to be more efficient with my time and to create an atmosphere around me to attract opportunities to me. In this way, I am allowing God to be the doer and I am just following His instructions. I think this is what the Guru is saying when He says to be His slave. I see my life like a partnership with God. I am serving Him, and He guides me in what I need to do. He gets what he needs and I am living my destiny. We are both happy. I hope this answers your question to some extent. GTKK