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Summary of Question:	Progression Of Religion
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Tuesday, 8/07/2001 4:34 AM MDT

Although I know Sikhism is a modern religion, society does change as do people. I was just wondering what method does Sikhism use to keep up to date and make major decisions? For example, the Pope and Vatican make major decisions in RC Christianity. Does Sikhism use a democratic approach of election or another method?

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REPLY
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Sat Sri Akal,

Saying that Sikhism needs to be kept "up to date" implies that Sikhism has somehow become old and faded. This is FAR FROM THE TRUTH! In Christianity there is no direct connection between a follower and God, it is always through a minister, reverend, priest or the pope, etc. In Sikhism, each Sikh has a direct connection to Waheguru. She or he does not need intermediaries to tell them how to act or what to believe. It is already there for us in the Guru Granth Sahib.
Christians need people to tell them what to believe because their religion has been corrupted by people who use religion for their own gain. These people have no philosophy, just a set of rules with no explanation. With no guidance from religion, they look to people like the Pope for what to do and believe. In Sikhism, if I am lost or have no guidance, I go to my Guru and from there I can find the right path.

A building with no foundation will crumble, no matter how elegant and sophisticated it looks from the outside. In Sikhism, the Guruji teaches us to build our foundation strong, because without that nothing else matters. In this sense, we each build our foundation using the same guide: the Guru Granth Sahib. We do not necessarily need people of "high moral/religious authority" to tell us what to do - the Guruji has already told us.

Society changes all the time. But God does not change. Sikhism doesn't need to change because it follows the path of the Waheguru, not some arbitrary society which has no foundation. If a religion needs to change to follow society, how true can that religion be?

Gur Fateh,
HSD