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Re: ARTICLE : Sikh view of Hinduism
Vaaheguroo ji ka Khalsa Vaaheguroo ji ki Fateh!
Well, there are Sikhs around. Sikhs are everywhere :-)
Sankar Jayanarayanan (kartik@Eng.Auburn.EDU) wrote in article <ghenDxL7Jt.L4J@netcom.com> on Wed, 11 Sep 1996 21:26:17 GMT :
>IMHO the Sikh Gurus were simply unaware of the subtleties of any school of
>Vedanta (advaita, vishishhTaadvaita or achintya abheda-bheda).
Somehow I have the feeeling that you are not at all versed in Gurbani [the
writings of Sikh gurus and other saints]. Because, along with many other
faiths' practices and beliefs, Gurbani also comments upon, in great detail,
Hindu philosophy, and that of course includes the core of Hinduism, Vedanta
and Vedas. Bhai Gurdas ji's bani, which holds place of great significance
in Sikh theology, also comments on Vedanta. All important concepts of classical
Hindu philosophy, including Maya, cosmography, rituals, advaita and so on,
are dealt with in Sikh scriptures. To claim that the Sikh Gurus [and other
saints whose bani is included in Gur Granth Sahib] were simply unaware
of subtleties of Vedanta is not at all valid by any means! Many Sikh concepts,
for example Maya, while sound like Hindu philosophy rehashed, are in fact
very subtly, and fundamentally, different from them. Unfortunately, even
a large number of Sikhs are unaware of it, because the names are similar
[e.g. maya].
Guru Nanak sahib was very well versed in all classic Hindu scriptures,
Islamic literature including the Kuran, as well as all the profundities of
other philosophies, like the yogis' and tantrics. So were all the other
Sikh Gurus. Guru Gobind Singh had 52 scholars in his court and he specifically
sent many of his Sikhs to Benares to learn Vedas and Hindu philosophy, just
as he had Persian and Arabic scholars write great philosophical works.
[Unfortunately, the bulk of their output, which is said to have weighed
around 75 kilograms, was lost to the flooded Sarsa river during the exodus
from Anandpur Sahib.]
>This is one of the major attacks on Hinduism by the Sikh Gurus:
>------------------------
>(Guru Gobind Singh, 33 Swaiyyas)
>"The All-pervading God, Unconquerable and Unconceived, how could He as Rama be
>born from the womb of Kaushalya?
[....]
>All loving is He and All Holy too then why did He drive Arjuna to battle?
[....]
>You forsake the One and cling to many; but thiswise even Sukhdeva, Prasara and
>Vyasa (famous Hindu sages) fell in error."
>------------------------
>I personally think these arguments are immature. The sikhs give these and other
>similar arguments and then pride themselves on following a "superior" faith.
Well, that is no problem, since it is only your own view. There are no faiths
superior to others, since all faith is in one and the same God, known by
various names to various peoples. However, what you call immature arguments
addresses very important issues and develops one very coherent argument. Of
course, as per your world view, the argument might be completely
incomprehensible.
However, Sikh theology is strongly opposed to many of the facets of
Brahminical Hinduism. The above example from 33 swaiyyas is just one of
the many, and many Revelations and statements are made in no uncertain
terms, and they deal with both philosophy and practice of classical
Hinduism [by which I mean the mainstream Hinduism of Vedas, Gita and other
major schools of thought]. Right from Guru Nanak onwards, the verdict has
been consistent: what is born and material is mortal and destructible,
whilst the Truth is Unborn and Timeless. Hence the tone of 33 Swaiyyas.
Bhagt Kabir ji, one of the severest critics of mainstream Hindu practices,
is one of the saints whose bani has been included in Guru Granth Sahib by
Guru Arjan sahib.
I do not know of many people who understood both Sikh and Hindu philosophies
really well [I am not one, BTW] and it may help to utilize the analysis
of those who did. I would recommend the writings of Sirdar Kapur Singh
in this regard -- this renaissance man knew all the major faiths of the world
very well, particularly Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. His masterpiece,
"Prasharaprashna" in fact deals with the very topic at hand.
Vaaheguroo ji ka Khalsa Vaaheguroo ji ki Fateh!
Rajwinder Singh
