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Summary of Question:	Devil In Sikhi?
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Tuesday, 9/11/2001 6:17 AM MDT

Waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh

ive read that sikhi doesnt say that there is a devil but then i heard a sakhi about danh sri GURU NANAK DEV JI meeting the devil
that is guru ji was pressured by the devil etc
also there is a shabad regarding this ang 14 sggs (first shabad of sri raag)
ive also seen in many translations of hukamnanas where "satan" is used
please can u enlighten me aswell as others upon this subject.
WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH

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REPLY
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Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki fateh.

Sikhs do not believe in a devil as a being or (evil) deity. Siri Guru tells us about devil-ish behavior or thinking. 17th pauri of Japji talks about all the spiritual and holy people God has created; 18th pauri of Japji Sahib talks about all the cutthroats, burglars and murderers that exist as part of God's creation. 19th pauri explains that those who have the destiny writ on their foreheads transcend ego to know God and His creation. Good and bad exist side by side in this world; but not as incarnated evil. One who has a bad or devilish mentality is blocked from spirituality. This does not mean such a person cannot change or open up; history if full of examples of people who change their ways and come to know God (St. Paul, NamDev, Milarepa to name a couple of well-known examples).

Guru Nanak in no way believed or was tempted by a devil. I have read the first shabad in Siree Raag and it does not reference such a thing at all.

Your example above actually fits the case of Jesus the Christ, who in Christian belief spent 40 days in the desert overcoming his ego. At one point, he felt 'tempted by the devil" but did not give in. At the end of 40 days, he was victorious and prepared for the destiny that awaited him.

As for references in English translations of Siri Guru Granth Sahib, this is a holdover from the fact that the first English translations of Siri Guru were made by Christians looking at Gurbani with a purely Christian world view. Use of words "evil", "Satan", and "devil" in Siri Guru are inaccurate and misleading. Better words would be vice or corruption, ego or egotists, and manmukh, which means one who follows their mind rather than Guru (there is no single English word that equals the concept of manmukh). Whenever you see these inaccurate words, substitute one of these other words and the shabad's meaning becomes clearer.

Guru ang sang,
-DKK