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Q:
Sikhs are a messed up group. They drink and party and have no respect for their
women. Some groups eat meat some don't and some even use marijuana. What kind of
religion is this?
A:
The Sikh faith cannot be judged on the basis of the Punjabi community. There are a
lot of arbitrarily "Sikh" individuals out there who were born in Sikh families and
thus call themselves Sikh. Sikhism is not something one can be born into, it is a
decision one makes to become a Sikh and receive Amrit initiation.
Punjabi culture and Sikh culture are totally different. Sikhs believe in the
equality of the genders, living a clean lifestyle without intoxicants, and no
caste system. Punjabi culture views women as inferior, believes it is good to
drink hard and puts full faith in the caste system. It's unfortunate that so many
people have not been able to break away from Punjabi culture to embrace the beauty
of Sikhism.
Sikhs have always given women a very important position in the community. Guru
Granth Sahib tells us the following:
ma 1 ||
First Mehl:
bha(n)dd ja(n)meeai bha(n)dd ni(n)meeai bha(n)dd ma(n)gan veeaahu ||
From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married.
bha(n)ddahu hovai dhosathee bha(n)ddahu chalai raahu ||
Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come.
bha(n)dd muaa bha(n)dd bhaaleeai bha(n)dd hovai ba(n)dhhaan ||
When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound.
so kio ma(n)dhaa aakheeai jith ja(n)mehi raajaan ||
So why call her bad? From her, kings are born.
bha(n)ddahu hee bha(n)dd oopajai bha(n)ddai baajh n koe ||
From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all.
naanak bha(n)ddai baaharaa eaeko sachaa soe ||
O Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman.
jith mukh sadhaa saalaaheeai bhaagaa rathee chaar ||
That mouth which praises the Lord continually is blessed and beautiful.
naanak thae mukh oojalae thith sachai dharabaar ||2||
O Nanak, those faces shall be radiant in the Court of the True Lord. ||2||
Sikh women were given prominent positions as preachers by Guru Amardas in the Manji
system. Practices which subjugated women such as Sati (widow burning) and the veil
(hijaab, burqa) were also condemned.
Sikhism is perfect, those calling themselves "Sikhs" are not.
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