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A Message of Tolerance and Understanding
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Sikh View Of Other Faiths
A Message of Tolerance and Understanding
A Sikh loves all creation as God’s own manifestation. Acceptance of
all faiths, and interfaith tolerance and understanding are basic to
his faith. History of the Sikhs shows remarkable consistency in the
pursuit of these ideals and in the defense of the right to free
worship of people of all faiths.
Many Faiths
People have tried many different ways to realize God or to achieve
perfection. No faith that believes in prayer to God can be false.
Emphasizing the essential unity of faiths, Siri Guru Granth Sahib
tells us:
"Don’t say the Vedas and the Books (Torah, Bible, Qura’an) are
false. False is the one who does not study them."
"Kabir says this loud and clear, and you should think over it in
your own mind. God pervades all persons unseen. He is the same in
the Hindu as well as in the Muslim."
God created all people and all faiths. All worship the same God. The
apparent differences in form are indicative of God’s glory in
revealing Himself to people in language, idiom, and metaphor
appropriate for them. For example:
"Some people call you Ram, others call You Khudaa. Some serve Gosain,
some Allah. O Merciful Creator and Doer, have mercy upon me. Some
bathe at holy places and others go for hujj. Some do pooja, others
bow their heads. Some read the Vedas, others the Books. Some wear
blue, others white. Some call themselves Muslims, others Hindus.
Some seek bahisht, some suarg. O Nanak, say; whosoever has
understood the Hukam (Divine order), has learnt the secret of God,
the Master."
"Some shave their heads and become Sanyasis, some become Yogis, some
are celibate and some are known for continence. Some are Hindus and
others Muslims, Sunni or Shia. Recognize all mankind as one. The
Creator and the Merciful, the Provider and the Gracious are the same
God. Do not, in error or doubt, accept any other. All serve the One,
He is the One Divine Teacher of all, there is but One Form, let all
understand Him to be the same Light."
"The temple and the mosque are the same, pooja and namaaz are the
same. All mankind is one but appears to be several (groups). (The
existence as different entities) of gods, the anti-gods, the yakshas
and gandharvs; of the Muslims and the Hindus; is merely the
difference in dress (outer appearance) of (people from) different
countries. All have the same eyes, the same ears, the same body and
the same form. They are all made of earth, air, fire and water.
Allah and the Formless God are the same; the Purans and the Qura’an
are the same; all are the same appearance, the same form." [2, page
19]
For a Sikh, there are no bad people. All are created by God. They
may appear to be different but all are God’s creation and part of
God Himself. Siri Guru Granth Sahib tells us:
"This entire creation is a manifestation of the Omniscient God and
He is everywhere. If one carefully studies the (Guru’s) Word, how
can one call anyone bad. A person talks about good and bad people
only so long as he is caught up in Duality. One who has followed the
way shown by the Guru has understood the Unity and is absorbed in
God."
Hypocrites in Various Faiths
In every faith there are persons who do not follow the essentials of
their professed faith and merely flaunt their dedication to rite and
ritual. They mislead people, seek their own personal worldly gain,
and are lost in false pursuits. About such hypocrites, Siri Guru
Granth Sahib tells us:
"Those who wear three-and-a-half yard long loincloths and triple
sacred threads, have rosaries around their necks and polished
vessels in their hands, should not be called saints of God. (In
reality) they are thugs of Banaras. I do not like such saints. They
will eat the trunk along with the branch (for personal benefit they
will not hesitate to kill those they profit from). They scrub the
utensils before putting them on the fire; they wash the wood they
burn; they dig the earth to make two places for fire; but (their
actions are such that) they will eat whole humans. They are sinners
who always go around committing crimes but claim they never go near
Maya. They are always going about in their pride. They (ruin
themselves) and their entire families (followers). However, every
one does what God has engaged him in. O Kabir, one who has met the
True Guru is not born again (is liberated)."
"The Qazi lies and takes bribes. The Brahmin bathes at holy places
but hurts people (of low castes). The Yogi too is blind and does not
know the correct lifestyle. All the three are in spiritual
wilderness. The (real) Yogi is one who know the way of life and
through the Guru’s grace understands the One (God). The Qazi is one
who turns away from Maya and through Guru’s grace become unattached
to the world while living in it. The (real) Brahmin is one who
contemplates on God and swims across (the ocean of fear) along with
all his family (followers). The wise person is one who washes his
mind (of sin). A Muslim is one who rids himself of sin. The learned
one is he who understands true lifestyle. He is received with honor
at (God’s) Door."
"With your tongue you recite (the scriptures) with paraphrasing but
you do not have God in you nor do you live a clean life. You preach
to others and ask them to understand carefully but you yourself do
not follow what you say to others. O Pundit, study the Vedas and get
rid of the anger in you. You place the idol before you but your mind
wanders in all ten directions. You apply the saffron mark (on you
forehead) and fall at the idol’s feet but you do all this to please
the world. Performing the six good acts, sitting on a cushion and
wearing a dhoti (while engaged in prayer); going to a rich man’s
home and reading the book (for him); counting the beads on his
rosary and then asking (the rich man) for money; my friend, no one
has reached his destination in this manner. He is the (true) Pundit
who follows the Guru’s word. The Maya of three gunas cannot
influence that man. All the four Vedas are in God’s Name. O Nanak,
(only a fortunate one) comes to the service of such a one." [
Interfaith Understanding In Sikh History
Throughout history, Sikhs have been committed to religious harmony
and interfaith cooperation. Siri Guru Nanak Sahib, the founder of
the faith, was loved by Hindus as well as Muslims. He was referred
to as Pir of the Mussalmans and Guru of the Hindus. The Ninth Nanak,
Siri Guru Tegh Bahadar Sahib, sacrificed his life for the right of
the Hindus to wear the sacred thread and the saffron mark on their
forehead even though he did not believe in those rituals himself.
Siri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib writes about it as follows:
"He protected their (right to wear) the sacred thread and the
saffron mark. He did this great act in Kalyug. He did this for the
sake of the sadhus; he gave his life and quietly suffered pain. He
did this for Dharam. He gave up his head but not his determination."
Sikh Gurdwaras have always been open to everybody regardless of
religion, race, color or caste. Gurdwaras have free kitchens that
are open to all and everyone is treated as equal. Harmandar Sahib in
Amritsar has doors on all four sides signifying acceptance of
visitors from all the four corners of the world. The Gurus spoke
against hypocrisy and false emphasis on outer formalisms and
practices of every religion but respected the right of all to
profess their faith and serve mankind in their own ways.
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