I was a Dalit but not anymore; I a full human being! I thank
God for opening my mind. I learned through a friend that I shouldn't be
treated like a piece of dirt, that I am not a sub-human but a complete human being with all the birth rights that every human enjoys.
God doesn't want me to live under any kind of oppression, no other human is above me or superior to me by birth or castes, color or creed since we all have equal rights. We are created by the same god who give life to all.
Since I changed my religion in the 60's and got good education, I never
felt I am intellectually behind anyone in my classroom or at the university. I became a doctor and now live with my husband in USA. I am equal with all human beings and I pity my brethren in India, those who followed Ambedkar's idea of a Dalit land, a subhuman Hindu or Buddhist land. This did not work out well and till today my brethren are suffering like 50 years ago. They cannot walk or live peacefully in the upper class neighborhoods.
What a shame? How long can dalits live in this blindness? How long will they believe the lies that "you are untouchable, your Karma caused this, You are doomed by the gods"? All this is nonsensical. They put this conditioning on your children and their children and their fate will not be better than yours. Sixty years since independence, Hindu upper classes fight against your reservations, your rights, I have a question for all Dalits and their leaders: How long can you hold on to this? Do you enjoy the position of rejects and victims? Throw away your "Slave Mentality" the "Fear of good and free life that upper class Hindus implanted in your psyche" throw away, throw away, and come out.
You are not sub-humans or dalits but complete human beings who enjoy
all rights.
I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Prof. N. Muthu Mohan for his article “Sri Guru Granth Sahib: Towards Making a New Civilization.” This is an article of supreme importance, the subject matter was in my thoughts for a long time and Prof. Mohan brought it to the surface.
The responsibility to bring about a new civilization based upon Gurmat rests on the Sikhs and those who have realized the threat of Hindu as well as Western civilization. Even though the Western Civilization has made strident improvements, however it cannot dissolve its connections with the Bible. Lately, there have been attempts in some circles to cleanse this civilization of Judio-Christian background with mixed results. Most likely the future will still be dictated by the Bible-ordained worldview.
Yes the time has come to usher a new civilization based upon the principles and teachings of Guru Granth.
"God is true, though every man be a liar".
Coincidentally, my name is "Charles Wallace" too, though I am not the
author of the article. I didn't get time to read through the whole article, but I have a few points to make on what I did read.
1. The Bible never says, as the article claims, that God "brought order
out of chaos".
2. It's not the "early church fathers" who claimed that Adam and Eve
brought death upon all creatures; it's the Bible itself which teaches
that.
3. Scientists don't "know" that different geologic layers represent
different epochs; that is only an unproven (and perhaps disproven) theory.
This sounds shocking, I know, but consider the case of the eruption of Mt.
St. Helens, a canyon was carved out from lava in a matter of a few days or
less. Multiple "geologic layers" are there for all to see today, in the
canyon walls. A river runs through it. If a scientist stumbled upon that
canyon, not knowing its true history, he would assume, falsely, that it
took millions of years to form, and that the river carved out the canyon.
But we KNOW that is not true. The canyon was there first, and water founds
its way into it, forming a river. The same could be true for the Grand
Canyon and all other canyons as well.
4. Any kind of "dating" of past ages is, after all, speculation. None of
us were walking around thousands of years ago to witness what was going
on. The speed of light, for example, is only assumed to be a constant; it
may actually be changing. Measurements of the speed of light for the past
four hundred years or so since they began measuring it show a slight
downward trend (even when experiments are repeated after twenty years,
using the exact same equipment). That can imply that the speed of light,
in the past, was much higher, perhaps infinite. And that would mean that
radiation would flee from host materials at infinite speeds, depleting
them of their original radioactive content, leading the misinformed to
assume that they are vastly older than they really are.
I believe the Reverend has a basic misunderstanding of Christianity. First
the Name "Sat Naam" is the Name of God in both the Old and New testament.
for example:
JUDAISM
Ex 3:14
“God said to Moses: I AM WHO AM. He said: Thus shalt thou say to the
children of Israel: HE WHO IS, hath sent me to you“. God is saying He is
the identity of existence.
Sat Naam means the Name or Identity of Absolute Existence. Sat means
Absolute: Existence, Truth, Being, and Good, while Naam means the name of,
or identity or expression of Sat in the case of Sat Naam. Sat Naam is
therefore the Sanskrit translation of the Name of God, as understood in
the scripture of Judaism and the Old Testament of Christianity..
CHRISTIANITY
John 14:6
"Jesus saith to him: I am the way, and the truth, and the life"
When Jesus says He is the Truth, he is saying his identity is Truth. Sat
Naam means the Name or identity of Absolute Truth. Sat Naam is therefore
the Sanskrit translation of the Name of Jesus, who in Christianity is
understood as the embodiment of Truth. It is also the way to the Truth,
for by transcending on "Sat Naam" we follow it to it’s source, where the
Name of God is God.
The Holy Spirit of Christianity is referred to as "The Spirit of Truth"
When translated into Sanskrit it would also be rendered as "Sat Naam"
In a proper way of understanding Christianity God is Pure Sat (Father or
source). He manifests or expresses Himself in the Spirit of Truth or the
Naam from the Sat or Sat Naam. If a person such as Jesus unifies with Sat
Naam (which is the true goal of both Sikhs, Christians, and other
monotheistic religions) he can then become the embodiment of Sat Naam (as
have gurus in the Gurbani) There is absolutely no contradiction between
the teaching of Guru Nanak and Jesus.
Regards,
- John Theobald
As you are aware Sikhs are facing....
-Gobind Singh, USA
Dear Editor,
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa,
Waheguru ji ki Fateh.
As you are aware Sikhs are facing new challenges in modern times which require innovative solutions. As such, in hopes to promote Sikhi identity and punjabi culture in our youth, myself and
others are organizing an event we hope will be the first step in addressing these challenges.
Modelled after other Sikh pageants elsewhere in the world,
this Sikh pageant is looking for a Mr Singh and Mrs. Kaur in the tri-state
area (NY, NJ, PA). This event is planned for Sunday, October 7th,
2008. As this is our premiere event, we are looking to our sangat for
assistance in promoting it and making it a success. Sikhspectrum targets a large population
aimed at truth and addresses challenging issues, and as such, its readers
may be interested in the event we are organizing. For more information please visit our website:
http://www.sikhpageant.com .
Gur Fateh,
-Gobind Singh
Sikh Pageant: Purpose & Mission
Hosted by the Sikh Student Associations of NYU, Baruch, & St, Johns, the
Sikh Pageant is a revolutionary event aimed to encourage the Sikh way of
life and promote Sikh culture within the youth community in the tri-state
area.
The Sikh Pageant Committee recognizes the challenges Sikh
youth face while growing up in today's world and often find that these
children need to feel appreciated. They have therefore created this event to
give the youth an opportunity to display their individuality, exhibit their
strength, and illustrate their pride as Sikhs.
The Sikh Pageant Committee is looking for a role-model and a leader — a Singh
and Kaur whose understanding of Sikhi and involvement in sewa deserves our
respect, praise, and applause.
All contestants will receive the opportunity to share their knowledge and
passion of Sikhi, demonstrate their talents and present their Punjabi
speaking skills in a competition to become the Sikh of the year.
I believe my friend John is in error....
-Gurpreet Singh Sumra, Canada
Dear Editor,
Mr. John Theobald writes:
“I believe the Reverend has a basic misunderstanding of Christianity”, and “Sat Naam is therefore the Sanskrit translation of the Name of God, as understood in the scripture of Judaism and the Old Testament of Christianity”.
I believe my friend John is in error.
1. Gurbani is not written in Sanskrit.
2. Where in Gurbani has the word “Sat Naam” been used for the name of God. Satnaam is actually the name of my friend who was my roommate in college.
John tries to feed his misunderstanding to others when he writes: “There is absolutely no contradiction between the teaching of Guru Nanak and Jesus.”
But Guru Nanak says “Gosain tera Kaha Naam kaisi Jaati”(GGS,992) (O Lord of the Universe, what is Your Name, and what is it like?) In other words, who knows Your name or who can name You? Let me ask John a question. Did he name his father or his father named him?
Further, John writes:
John 14:6
"Jesus saith to him: I am the way, and the truth, and the life"
I will appreciate if he can tell us where Guru Nanak has said this about himself? Or, if he is trying to say this for Jesus, then where has Guru Nanak said this about Jesus?
Also, while John 3:16 says:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”, Gurbani says, “Ek Pita ekas ke hum barik tu mera Gur haayi”(GGS,611) (The One God is our father; there is no such thing as one and only son of god, we all are the children of the One God. You are our Guru.)
Regards,
-Gurpreet Singh Sumra
I respect John Theobold’s faith and his....
-Baldev Singh, USA
Dear Editor,
I respect John Theobold’s faith and his understanding/interpretation of his faith, however, I disagree with his understanding of Guru Nanak’s teachings. For example, whereas Christianity is based on miracles (Virgin Birth, Resurrection, Holy Ghost), Guru Nanak rejected the notion of miracles and denounced those who claim to posses supernatural powers and perform miracles. Moreover, the Guru rejected the concepts like reincarnation of God, hell and heaven, karma and transmigration, the caste system and the Hindu and Christian concepts of Salvation.
Furthermore, as pointed out by Gurpreet Singh Sumra, Guru Nanak did not use Sanskrit as a medium for expression of his thoughts. He rejected both Sanskrit and Persian languages and their scripts for writing his thoughts. He and his successor, Guru Angad Dev, constructed a new script, Gurmukhi, from existing crude scripts. According to recent research there are words of more than twenty-five languages in the Aad Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scripture. Aad Guru Granth Sahib is written in verse form and its language is understandable to a large section of the Indian population.
In addition, before Guru Nanak there was no literature in Punjabi language, except the couplets of a Sufi saint Baba Sheikh Farid. Guru Nanak used the religious terminologies of Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and Jainism to express his thoughts, but their meaning is not necessarily the same. One can rightly say that Guru Nanak is the father of Punjabi literature and he was a poet par excellence.
Let us not forget that Guru Nanak’s philosophy is about Truth, understanding of Truth, and truthful living. And Guru Nanak’s Truth is understandable to all irrespective of their caste, creed, race, gender, language and ethnicity.
I would highly recommend your readers to The Last Mughal by William Darlymple.
Darlymple makes an extensive use of forgotten material from the archives of Lahore
and Delhi. The reasons for Sikh disillusionment with other Indians will
become apparent.
Regards,
-R. Sandhu
Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind was a pioneer....
-David Bhagat Thind, USA
from David Bhagat Thind
Place: USA
Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind was a pioneer of the early spiritual movement in America. His work introduced thousands to the Sikh Religion, the Spiritual Science Par Excellence as revealed by Sat-Guru Nanak. He said: "Nothing Too Sacred for Scientific Investigation. All Nature and ALL Life Need to Be Explained." Dr. Thind was Liberated on September 15, 1967, exactly 40 years ago. His teachings are as strong now as ever. Now you can enjoy the teachings and legacy of Dr. Thind with the launching of the new web site:
www.bhagatsinghthind.com
The website is rich in content and spirituality, holding many of Dr.Thind's writings, lectures, and photos of his life. Dr. Thind's spirit lives within the pages of this website. It will be as if he is talking directly to you...again.
Those who are interested in American and East Indian history here in the United States will enjoy the stories of his venture as a 19 year-old man working as a lumberman in Astoria, Oregon so that he may attend college as well as his induction into the United States Army in 1918.
The site goes into detail on Dr. Thind's struggle to become an American Citizen. We have provided many legal documents, scanned from it's originality, for you to study, enjoy, and reflect on Dr. Thind's pure determination.
Most important will be the emphasis on his spiritual teachings while here in the United States where he lectured to over 5 million Americans on Sat Mat or Spiritual Science here and now.
The site has original audios of voices from his disciples and Dr. Thind himself. We have a video of Dr. Thind's most valued work on the "Science of Breathing and Glands" exercises where he taught 16 breathing exercises and 3 Asana Yoga Exercises.
Email Dr. Thind's son David Thind at info@bhagatsinghthind.com or, better yet, get on his mailing list by entering the site and clicking on the "Contact Us/Email List" on the top menu.
Many Blessings.
-David Bhagat Thind
Mr John Theobald's views are....
-Rawel Singh, USA
from Rawel Singh
Place: USA
Dear Editor,
Mr John Theobald's views are refreshing. For the first time we find a
learned Christian scholar giving an indication that Christians' concept of
God is as represented by Sat Naam. Sat means Truh and truth never gets old
or changes. Truth is therefore universal and is so through the ages. Sat
Naam is not the Sanskrit translation of the Name of God, it means God is
known as and is the Universal Truth. There is no such word as sat in
Sanskrit, the word there is satya. And the Mool Mantar where Sat Naam is
first used is not in Sanskrit.
The Christian missionaries have so far kept themselves in a shell saying
their's is the only way. If they associate themselves with the One
Universal God we could see a world in which other religions are
studied to understand and identify the Universal spiritual consciousness
that should bind all humanity as the children of God. Unfortunately,
Christian missionaries try to learn about other religions only to try and
prove them wrong or flawed with the aim of converting their followers to
Christianity. This was amply clear from Reverend Zekveld's article to
which I had responded in the February 2007 issue of the SikhSpectrum and
Mr John Theobald has continued.
His references to the quotations in the Old and New Testament are an
attempt to show that the Bible looks at God as the Universal Absolute
Truth. This claim is belied by what is contained in the Bible. For this I
take the liberty of repeating what I said in my article.
"On reading the Bible one comes across a God who is far from the perfect
Master one would have expected to find. He is described as an errant God
because He repented for having created man (Genesis 6:6). He is described
to belong to one nation Israel (Exodus 6:7) showing He is a partisan God.
In the New Testament God does not belong to the universe or even the world
but is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Matthew 22:32). He does not
have a sovereign status but is part of the Trinity comprising of the
Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. In the New Testament there is only one
statement which may be called God’s saying “And lo a voice came from
heaven saying, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew
3:17) which is in glorification of Jesus. Unlike in the Old Testament
where God plays a significant role God has no role in the New Testament;
everything is said and done by Jesus. God’s status is further degraded by
Jesus placing Him lower than the Holy Ghost when he says All manner of sin
and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men but the blasphemy against the
Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men (Matthew 12:31)".
If there is genuine rethinking on the subject it is welcome, but
equating Jesus to God and attributing Sat Naam to him would not help. When
Jesus was asked by men sent by John the Baptist if Jesus was the Messiah
that was to come or should they look for another(Matthew 11:13), the only
thing Jesus did was to quote his miracles. If John the Baptist doubts
Jesus' spirituality nothing more needs to be said. Further, Mathew 27:46
shows Jesus having been forsaken by God. One who was forsaken by God
cannot be God.
May I submit that if Christian Missionaries and others stop trying to
convert people to their faith most of religion-based conflicts will
disappear from the world.
Let us all understand the unadulterated glorification of God and also
enjoy the experience that one gets by practicing it in thought, word, and
deed. This is what Sri Guru Granth Sahib teaches us. The Sikh religion and
its scripture are truly modern and forever. Let us sit together and
experience the bliss.
"Majjhim Nikaya - Chul Dukkh Khanda Sutta clearly mentions that the
Buddha had said that there is only one birth and that is the present one."
I had a look in Chul Dukkh Khanda Sutta, but could not find a statement
similar to the above. Would you please help me find the above statement.
Thank you.
-Piyasena
It is very thoughtful of....
-Baldev Singh, USA
from Baldev Singh
Place: USA
Dear Editor,
It is very thoughtful of Mr. Sandhu to bring The Last Mughal by William Darlymple to the attention of the readers of SikhSpectrum. However, it would be good if Mr. Sandhu can publish its review on the SikhSpectrum, since he has read this book.
Regards,
-Baldev Singh
Congratulations to Professor....
-Baldev Singh, USA
from Baldev Singh
Place: USA
Dear Editor,
Congratulations to Professor N. Muthu Mohan for his excellent article: “Sri Guru Granth Sahib: Towards Making a New Civilization” (SikhSpectrum.com, August 2007). I was delighted to read that Prof. Mohan has brought out the “real message” of Guru Nanak i.e. universal humanism. To my knowledge he is the only academic scholar who has been emphasizing the universal message of love, justice and equality enshrined in Aad Guru Granth Sahib. I have always learned from his writings.
I was a Dalit but not anymore....