Message of Sikhism...

[sikhphilosophy]

What is the Supreme Religio...

Of all religions, the best religion is to chant the Name of the Lord and maintain pure conduct. Of all religious rituals, the most sublime ritual is to erase the filth of the dirty mind in the Company of the Holy. Of all efforts, the best effort is to chant the Name of the Lord in the heart, forever. Of all speech, the most ambrosial speech is to hear the Lord.s Praise and chant it with the tongue. Of all places, the most sublime place, O Nanak, is that heart in which the Name of the Lord abides. || 8 ||

http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/sikhphilosophy/showthread.php?p=105#post105

[sikhphilosophy]

Guru Says :

"Let no man be proud because of his caste.
For the man who has God in his heart, he alone is the true Brahmin.
O stupid fool, be not proud of your caste, by this pride many sins arise.
Everyone says there are four castes, but they are all created from the Lords seed (essence).
All men are moulded from the same clay, but the potter has fashioned it into vessels of numerous forms.
By joining the five elements, the form of the body is made, no one can say that the element is less in one and more in another" Pg 1128 SGGS

[Avinash]

Namaskar,

A similar stance is taken by Anandamurti:

"Those who believe in casteism in fact go against the fundamental principle of the Universal Family. One and the same creator is the Universal Progenitor, so where is the scope for caste discrimination? All are brothers and sisters with equal dignity. This is the principle of equality as enunciated by Lord Shiva. You are not inferior to, nor insignificant by comparison to anyone; nor are you superior to or more important than others. You must not have any defeatist complex in your mind."

P.R.Sarkar in 'Discourses on Tantra', Pg192 (18 Oct 1979, Sambalpur)

[sikhphilosophy]

Fateh Ji,

Yes, that is great to read & hear but, unfortunately, there is a lot of difference in saying a thing but actively working for it and implementing it...

Casteism does exist even today primarily in Hindu Samaj and I won't even say that its totally eliminated in Sikhs but its effect is more or less subsided in Sikhism and we can understand that mental transition takes some time...

And I think "nobody has a monopoly over a truth" neither did Sikh Gurus ever make such a claim... and the truth is that there should be no discrimination... but still casteism is, even today, widely prevailent in Hindu Samaj, as move towards South of Indian continent... a great deal needs to be done in this regards.

Chardi Kala (Live life in high spirits)

PS.: Please provide some information on Anandamurti... seems to make an interesting reading...

[Avinash]

Originally Posted by sikhphilosophy

PS.: Please provide some information on Anandamurti... seems to make an interesting reading...

Namaskar,

Anandamurti (1921-1990) is the tantric guru of the Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha. In Tantra there are no castes and things like avatars and incarnations of God are also not recognized. The Vedas are not considered as an absolute authority on spiritual life and in AMPS there are no temples or hindu type rituals.

So it is up to your personal viewpoint whether you would consider Ananda Marga a part of mainstream Hinduism (if there is such a thing). I wonder if Ananda Marga is as different from mainstream Hinduism as Buddhism or Sikhism is? I suppose that depends on the criteria you would use.

The monks of Ananda Marga have to keep their hair longer than a certain length and also have to grow a beard of a certain minimum length. They wear turbans to keep their hair in place. The nuns wear caps and have short hair.

In Tantra the need for struggle against all negativity is emphasized and one of the spiritual exercises is the Tandava dance that was first taught by Lord Shiva. This dance involves rigorous jumping in a certain style and can be done with either a snake and fire torch or with a skull and dagger to represent the negative forces and the (opposing) positive forces. Anandamurti has developed a parallel dance called Kaoshiki that can be danced by females as well as males.

You can read more at: http://www.anandamarga.org or http://www.anandamarga.net

[sikhphilosophy]

Thanks for the info...

A beautiful Shabad (words of the Guru)... The line in blue is the crux of the whole Shabad (Stanza)

Yoga (A Hindu theistic philosophy; union of self and the Supreme Being is sought through a state of complete awareness and tranquillity attained by certain physical exercises)

Guru Says :: Yoga is not attained by putting on a patched coat, Yoga is not attained with a walking stick in hand. Yoga is not smearing the body with ashes and wandering about aimlessly. Yoga is not wearing the ear-rings, and not the shaven heads. Yoga is not the blowing of the horns (Yogies/Saints blow loud horns as if to awake the Almighty from sleep.). Remaining unblemished in the midst of the filth of the world - this is the way to attain Yoga. ||1||

By mere words, Yoga is not attained. One who looks upon all with a single eye, and knows them to be one and the same - he alone is known as a Yogi. ||1||Pause||

Yoga is not wandering to the tombs of the dead; Yoga is not sitting in trances. Yoga is not wandering through foreign lands; Yoga is not bathing at sacred shrines of pilgrimage. Remaining unblemished in the midst of the filth of the world - this is the way to attain Yoga. ||2||

Meeting with the True Guru, doubt is dispelled, and the wandering mind is restrained. Nectar rains down, celestial music resounds, and deep within, wisdom is obtained. Remaining unblemished in the midst of the filth of the world - this is the way to attain Yoga. ||3||

O Nanak, remain dead while yet alive (means:: live life and face the world with strength but even then do not get attached to worldly things) - practice such a Yoga. When the horn (mentioned in first stanza) is blown in our heart and mind without being manually blown, then you shall attain the state of fearless dignity. Remaining unblemished in the midst of the filth of the world - this is the way to attain Yoga. ||4||1||8||

Page 730 SGGS Ji

[Avinash]

Originally Posted by sikhphilosophy

Yoga is not wandering to the tombs of the dead; Yoga is not sitting in trances. Yoga is not wandering through foreign lands; Yoga is not bathing at sacred shrines of pilgrimage. Remaining unblemished in the midst of the filth of the world - this is the way to attain Yoga. ||2||

Namaskar,

Thanks for the posting,... very nice. All sounds like a mystic outlook objecting to superstition and ritualism.

[samabudhi]

Remaining unblemished in the midst of the filth of the world - this is the way to attain Yoga.

But how to avoid isolation? It's always a two way street.

[I, Brian]

The filth of the world? Isn't that a rather negative way of perceiving life?

Surely the ultimate act of spiritual awareness is to embrace the world, not shun it?

[samabudhi]

Spiritual elitism. This marginalisation will be it's downfall.

[Avinash]

Originally Posted by I, Brian

The filth of the world? Isn't that a rather negative way of perceiving life?

Surely the ultimate act of spiritual awareness is to embrace the world, not shun it?

But Mr Sikhphilosophy didn't speak of "shunning" the world but of "remaining in the midst of (the filth of) the world". The idea is to be in the world but not of the world (an idea that can also be found in the Bhagavad Gita).

[I, Brian]

Ah, yes - it's also in the New Testament, I believe.

[sikhphilosophy]

Sat Sri Akal

I sorry for being not too active in this forum...

Spiritual elitism. This marginalisation will be it's downfall.

Does not make sense to me... How does this means this suggests that society should be governed by an elite group of individuals. Please make me understand. thanx.

But how to avoid isolation? It's always a two way street.

Well... I put the same question in my forum... Let us read the discussion... quite interesting...

http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/sikhph...?p=300#post300

Fateh Ji

[samabudhi]

Hey!
How did one of my posts end up on your site?!

I've heard of mirror locations, cloning websites, hot linking images, but copying forum posts?! That's a new one. ROFL

[sikhphilosophy]

haha... its my way of getting opinions from the members... and as you can see it works... i hope you do not copyright your comments...