Is Sikhism elitist?

[Mus Zibii]

There are religions that seem to have a doctrine of convert or die and burn in hell--Islam, Christianity. While others, like Hebrew Judaism has a provincial flavor (one could argue that Arab Moslems and American Christians share this to an extent) with God's favor often limited to a perceived race or region.

Are the Punjabi the center of Sikhism, Punjab a sort of Mecca?

[sikhphilosophy]

Sat Sri Akaal,

There is no concept of elitist in Sikhism... there is not concept of hell or heaven in sikhism... you can read the articles on hell and heaven elsewhere under this forum... The God or Almighty in Sikh Philosophy is all prevading and omnipresent and resides in the hearts of all... there is no distinction or favourtism to a choosen few in Sikhism...

The idea of Sprituality in Sikhism is of "Being and Becoming". The being is having the knowledge and awareness of the essential nature of the divinity of individual Soul and its relation with the Supreme Soul. i.e. God. The spark of divinty in a individual, having the same content as God, has the potential to 'Becoming' a perfect like Him and become one with Him. This awareness is the basis of "Universal Brotherhood" or the "Equality of Mankind" as the 'Spirit Consciousness' is same in everyone and every kind of life form from the lowest to the highest. It is this spiritual realization which made Gurus declare the Mankind as One and No enemy and No stranger.

The Spirit being divine and everfree and infinite cannot be expressed in a finite way as only the infinte can be expressed only in infinte way, no one can seal the Truth/Infinite in a book and say that is it!! It's just childish. Only a dogma can be sealed and has final conclusion/revelaton... not a Religion. Spiritualism is ever evolving !!!

Start loving every one and you are half way there, but in schematic creeds God is only limited to centain people, it favours the few but damns the rest of the lot. It's a partisan God not a Universal one thats why schematic creeds lack the appeal of the bliss of Super Soul and is void of Sprituality/Divinity, hence crushing the inituitive spirit of their adherants leading them to neither way and Spritually Dead.

The God realised person i.e. Prophet or Messenger of God etc. has no abilty to damn any one to hell as he sees divine spark in everything and this has always been the measurement of one's depth of spiritual experiences. Involution of the Soul/Spirit to the universal consciousness should be the aim of the Religions.

Best Regards