Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Boro Nut · 03-19-2002, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by hinduwoman:
It was the Sikh police who were responsible for breaking their backbone.

Eeeeh! And I remember when they used to just tell you off and give you a clip around the lughole.

Boro Nut

WWSD · 03-20-2002, 02:49 PM

Hello Sikh,

I am somewhat familiar with Sikhism, in fact, I know quite a few Sikhs myself.
Right now I am even wearing a large stainless steel bracelet that one of them brought me from India.
Are you Indian? Many of the Sikh I know are not, they are American Sikhs.
Last summer I went up to the temple in Espanola to attend a wedding. A very interesting experience to say the least.
I cannot tell you what it "wrong" with Sikhism, in fact, as long as it does not blow me up, try to convert me, or otherwise interfere with my life, there is nothing wrong with it.

Hey, I know a girl named Gurmukh. Her sisters are Devmukh, Sirimukh, and Santmukh. I think her mothers name is Harimukh but I can't be sure.
They are all American Sikhs.

The Indian Sikhs I know are quite a bit less into thier religion than the American Sikhs are. A fact which I found interesting.

Did you go to school in India? Do you have one of those knives? Do you know why they are curved like they are? I do, and its not a pleasent reason.

OK that is enough random stream of conciousness for today.

Nice to meet ya Sikh.

WWSD · 03-20-2002, 02:53 PM

Hello Sikh,

I am somewhat familiar with Sikhism, in fact, I know quite a few Sikhs myself.
Right now I am even wearing a large stainless steel bracelet that one of them brought me from India.
Are you Indian? Many of the Sikh I know are not, they are American Sikhs.
Last summer I went up to the temple in Espanola to attend a wedding. A very interesting experience to say the least.
I cannot tell you what it "wrong" with Sikhism, in fact, as long as it does not blow me up, try to convert me, or otherwise interfere with my life, there is nothing wrong with it.

Hey, I know a girl named Gurmukh. Her sisters are Devmukh, Sirimukh, and Santmukh. I think her mothers name is Harimukh but I can't be sure.
They are all American Sikhs.

The Indian Sikhs I know are quite a bit less into thier religion than the American Sikhs are. A fact which I found interesting.

Did you go to school in India? Do you have one of those knives? Do you know why they are curved like they are? I do, and its not a pleasent reason.

OK that is enough random stream of conciousness for today.

Nice to meet ya Sikh.

roshan · 04-19-2002, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by voltaire321:
Ok having read some of the links posted and gotten a basic background in what Sihkism is....

The teachings of Sihkism seem to be fairly rational compared to some religions. I like the idea that everyone is equal. Also refreshing is the concept that non-sihks aren't eternally damned.

BUT...

It's very hard for me to approve of any religion that causes death in it's name. Assasinating people over whether they eat at tables? What the hell is that about? Basically it seems that no matter how well meaning a religion is there are plenty of fanatics that kill in the name of their religion.

It all boils down to this: As an atheist I believe that no god exists. Therefor I must believe that all religions are false, as their "god" is mythical. I can accept people believing in a mythical god, whatever floats their boat. The problem I have is that invariably people hurt and kill in the name of a being that doesn't exist. Show me a religion where no member of that religion has ever killed because of his beliefs and I will show you a religion that I don't have a problem with. The only one I can think of that even comes close is Buddhism (and I may be naive about that too.)

actually, there have been killings in the name of buddhism.. and they are going on right now.

in burma, the buddhist military regime is committing genocide against the muslims and the christians.

hinduwoman · 04-20-2002, 06:21 PM

Hi, WWSD.
I noticed also on the internet that American Sikhs are more into their religion. They also seem to insist more on Sikhism being a completely separate religion from hinduism, while in Indian villages so far I have seen Sikhs go as much to the temple to offer sacrifices as to the Gurdwara. I guess being in a foreign country makes you more anxious about your heritage.

WWSD · 04-20-2002, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by hinduwoman:
Hi, WWSD.
I noticed also on the internet that American Sikhs are more into their religion. They also seem to insist more on Sikhism being a completely separate religion from hinduism, while in Indian villages so far I have seen Sikhs go as much to the temple to offer sacrifices as to the Gurdwara. I guess being in a foreign country makes you more anxious about your heritage.

Oh yeah, they are much more into it than the Indian Sikhs I know. It has been so long since my original post that I've forgotten if I told the story about the Sikh wedding I attended last summer.

It was a fascinating experience and I learned quite a bit about Sikhism. There were very few Indians there and the one that I went with acted quite irreverant about the whole thing.

I noticed that all of the American Sikhs were wearing white turbans and mostly white clothing while the Indians were wearing suits and had more colorful turbans on. My Indian friend was wearing a black turban and some semi-formal clothing while I myself had arrived in a suit, seeing as it was a wedding. I had to tie a handkerchief on my head to get into the temple. My Indian friend laughed quite hard at that.

Mostly all of the American Sikhs were wearing long shirt like things the name of which I've forgotten and the women were all wearing Saris (I'm sure I spelled that one wrong.) Many of the males also had the long curved knives the name of which I forgotten as well.

What I found most interesting was the sale of said knives by an American who had recently returned from India. I fully intended to buy one until I noticed the exorbatant prices he was offering the knives for. As I stood wondering about a 400$ knife, I proceeded to explain to my Indian friend why the knives are curved. When I had finished telling him about the dynamincs of throat slitting with a curved knife, the young man who was selling the knives looked at me and said "Really, that's why they're shaped like that?"

In any case, it seems that some of the American Sikhs I know are very serious about thier religion on the surface, but upon further inspection, are not as educated about many aspects of it as they want to seem to be. Some could not even answer the basic questions that I was asking.

Although, this same situtation applies to many an Xtian that I know as well, so who knows what reasons there might be for such things.

The free food at the temple was good, but, as you've said in a previous post on this thread, it did not compare to actual Indian cooking.

99Percent · 04-20-2002, 09:05 PM

WWSD: noticed that all of the American Sikhs were wearing white turbans and mostly white clothing while the Indians were wearing suits and had more colorful turbans on.

Well, I was once one of those "white" Sikhs you mention. They aren't really Sikhs, let me honestly tell you. They are a derivative sect, a cult really began by <a href="http://rickross.com/groups/3ho.html" target="_blank">Yogi Bhajan</a>.

Ron Singh · 04-21-2002, 12:31 AM

99Percent, WRONG. All of the caucasian sikhs I know are very in touch with sikhism. They are more rational and spiritual than any of the indian ones I know, including maybe even me.
<img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" /> <img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" /> <img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" />

Ron Singh · 04-21-2002, 01:09 AM

Oh woops. I meant to say that MOST of those caucasion sikhs are just sikh. I beleive that the ones that follow the Yogi are the minority. For the ones that do follow the Yogi, for such pious people, practicing such a rational faith, they need to learn how to question others and religion itself.

Ron Singh · 04-21-2002, 01:20 AM

Once I read about a man with a mother that was a fundamentalist sikh (oxymoron, i know

). The mother later became an atheist, after trying to translate the Guru Granth Sahib into Spanish. Was this you, 99 percent? Could someone please give me the link to this thread? Thanks.

What are some interesting things you find about sikhism? Thanks a lot.

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03-20-2002, 02:49 PM	#42
WWSD Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Albucrazy, New Mexico Posts: 1,425	Hello Sikh, I am somewhat familiar with Sikhism, in fact, I know quite a few Sikhs myself. Right now I am even wearing a large stainless steel bracelet that one of them brought me from India. Are you Indian? Many of the Sikh I know are not, they are American Sikhs. Last summer I went up to the temple in Espanola to attend a wedding. A very interesting experience to say the least. I cannot tell you what it "wrong" with Sikhism, in fact, as long as it does not blow me up, try to convert me, or otherwise interfere with my life, there is nothing wrong with it. Hey, I know a girl named Gurmukh. Her sisters are Devmukh, Sirimukh, and Santmukh. I think her mothers name is Harimukh but I can't be sure. They are all American Sikhs. The Indian Sikhs I know are quite a bit less into thier religion than the American Sikhs are. A fact which I found interesting. Did you go to school in India? Do you have one of those knives? Do you know why they are curved like they are? I do, and its not a pleasent reason. OK that is enough random stream of conciousness for today. Nice to meet ya Sikh.

03-20-2002, 02:53 PM	#43
WWSD Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Albucrazy, New Mexico Posts: 1,425	Hello Sikh, I am somewhat familiar with Sikhism, in fact, I know quite a few Sikhs myself. Right now I am even wearing a large stainless steel bracelet that one of them brought me from India. Are you Indian? Many of the Sikh I know are not, they are American Sikhs. Last summer I went up to the temple in Espanola to attend a wedding. A very interesting experience to say the least. I cannot tell you what it "wrong" with Sikhism, in fact, as long as it does not blow me up, try to convert me, or otherwise interfere with my life, there is nothing wrong with it. Hey, I know a girl named Gurmukh. Her sisters are Devmukh, Sirimukh, and Santmukh. I think her mothers name is Harimukh but I can't be sure. They are all American Sikhs. The Indian Sikhs I know are quite a bit less into thier religion than the American Sikhs are. A fact which I found interesting. Did you go to school in India? Do you have one of those knives? Do you know why they are curved like they are? I do, and its not a pleasent reason. OK that is enough random stream of conciousness for today. Nice to meet ya Sikh.

04-20-2002, 06:21 PM	#45
hinduwoman Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: India Posts: 6,977	Hi, WWSD. I noticed also on the internet that American Sikhs are more into their religion. They also seem to insist more on Sikhism being a completely separate religion from hinduism, while in Indian villages so far I have seen Sikhs go as much to the temple to offer sacrifices as to the Gurdwara. I guess being in a foreign country makes you more anxious about your heritage.

04-20-2002, 09:05 PM	#47
99Percent Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: my mind Posts: 5,996	WWSD: noticed that all of the American Sikhs were wearing white turbans and mostly white clothing while the Indians were wearing suits and had more colorful turbans on. Well, I was once one of those "white" Sikhs you mention. They aren't really Sikhs, let me honestly tell you. They are a derivative sect, a cult really began by <a href="http://rickross.com/groups/3ho.html" target="_blank">Yogi Bhajan</a>.

04-21-2002, 12:31 AM	#48
Ron Singh Regular Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Fremont, CA Posts: 163	99Percent, WRONG. All of the caucasian sikhs I know are very in touch with sikhism. They are more rational and spiritual than any of the indian ones I know, including maybe even me. <img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" /> <img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" /> <img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" />

04-21-2002, 01:09 AM	#49
Ron Singh Regular Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Fremont, CA Posts: 163	Oh woops. I meant to say that MOST of those caucasion sikhs are just sikh. I beleive that the ones that follow the Yogi are the minority. For the ones that do follow the Yogi, for such pious people, practicing such a rational faith, they need to learn how to question others and religion itself.

04-21-2002, 01:20 AM	#50
Ron Singh Regular Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Fremont, CA Posts: 163	Once I read about a man with a mother that was a fundamentalist sikh (oxymoron, i know ). The mother later became an atheist, after trying to translate the Guru Granth Sahib into Spanish. Was this you, 99 percent? Could someone please give me the link to this thread? Thanks. What are some interesting things you find about sikhism? Thanks a lot.

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