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TheeTurbanator

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Everything posted by TheeTurbanator

  1. Education, as well as creating a more accepting environment where victims can come out. We need to also expose these groomers even more. The key factor these groomers exploit is the Punjabi family sense of “honour” which prevents famalies from coming out. We need to fight this Desi perversion of “honour”, and install Gurmat values in famalies to give them a hunger of justice. Along with education, exposing, and changing the family framework, we also need to take harder stances against these crimes and set up bait accounts as well as increase sting operations.
  2. I see people have three main interpretations: 1) raagi darshan/neo-missionaries who say DG was a brahmin (?) writing with no role historically. demonstrably false 2) The view that Adi Granth is the Guru, but Dasam Granth is also bani to be respected, revered, and read. this is the prevalent view today and what I think to be the historical view 3) That the "Guru Granth Sahib" is not one text but is in fact represented by three darbars. The Adi Guru Darbar, the Dasam Guru Darbar, and the Sarbloh Guru Darbar. This is propagated by some Nihang sites (I believe manglacharan as well) but I have not found any historical evidence for it - yet
  3. One main point of confusion that I see among anti dasam granth people is the whole argument of "why didnt the Guru include it in SGGSJ" or "are you saying SGGSJ is incomplete". How would you respond to that? I would personally highlight the differance between the two, and state how the SGGSJ is meant for humanity, while the DG is more specialized towards the Khalsa.
  4. Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! I have a friend in Birmingham UK who needs Sangat, but not just any Sangat, preferable younger Sangat that is into Sikhi. She is also looking for a close group of Kaur friends who she can discuss Sikh matters with.
  5. Yes, it's something that every single physical Guru did (except Siri Harkrishan Ji becuase he was literally too young). The Anand Karaj is not like the western concept of "marriage", its a contract between the couple and the Guru to live a life according to Sikhi. It has a spiritual requirement that is not met with a simple registry marriage. There is a specific reason the Guru created the Anand Karaj, and it was to put the couple on the path of Sikhi as well as to give Sikhs a distinct identity.
  6. Reddit.com/r/NoFap
  7. I have heard stories of Sikhs who don’t even academically study, and just do Bhagti and automatically start learning things they never knew.
  8. No, otherwise it will just turn into an empty ritual.
  9. BoS does not put ads on their videos, and even if they did, it would not be anywhere near enough. To put it simply: expenses outweigh their income. The parent charity “Everythings 13” has many projects, one of which is Basics of Sikhi, among others which are the Parchaarik Academy, Sikh Press Association, the Amritsar Visitor Center, etc. What people don’t realize is that BoS is just one of many sub projects of Everythings 13z
  10. Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! Basics of Sikhi urgently needs help, it only has enough money to last 3-4 months! Basics of Sikhi has helped spearhead Parchaar of Sikhi online. The parent organization “Everythings 13” has multiple projects which include not only Parchaar, but also training the first generation of western Parchaariks, creating content for the children of the Panth, countering anti Sikh propaganda in the media, and spreading the message of Sikhi to the world. Organizations such as Basics of Sikhi are currently playing an important role in the survival of the Sikh Dharam. Basics of Sikhi is more important than any single Gurdwara, because without organizations such BoS, there won’t be anyone to use all these big and fancy Girdwara’s that we like to throw money at. It’s time to invest in the community, which will only generate more returns in the future! Basics of Sikhi had a very major role in my, and many other Sikhs lives. I know for a fact that if it wasn’t for that famous Jagraj vs Dhawa Man video, that I would have never be inspired to become a Sikh, and would just be some Punjabi Boi who plays video games on YouTube. I personally know a lot of Sikhs and families who had their entire lives changed by BoS. I am not getting paid to say this message, I’m just an average Sikh who is trying to do my part. It is my request that you all donate to Basics of Sikhi. If you don’t have the money, then try to donate your time, but in both cases, please share this message EVERYWHERE!
  11. Ok so heres the deal: There's going to be two versions of my argumentative Q/A, one is going to be specifically catered towards the Ex-Sikh user/Muslims who attack Sikhi, and I will be for general Q/A's, the general one will basically be the same version except without the meantones of Islam, and will be designed to be applicable against a wider section of critics, but mainly still Abrahamic people and Atheists, as they are the main ones who intellectually try to attack Sikhi. We dont really need to worry about the Dharmic people, but if the need arises, I will create rebuttals against them as well. Chill bro, we wont know if he's a Jihadi, LoL
  12. NOTE: This post is a work in progress Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! Often times I hear Non-Sikhs bring up common arguments against Sikhi, and as someone who likes to create a lot online resource hubs for Sikhs, I am taking it upon myself to create a list of Q/A's. I recently got a series of arguments (posing as questions) from an anonymous user on the Sikh Reddit who was allegedly Ex-Sikh. He frequently made references to Islam, and also claimed that he had done a lot of research on his "questions", yet the questions themselves seem as if they are taken from wikipedia or some anti-sikh site. Here are some of the arguments I would like to debunk: Q: If Sikhi is against the Caste System, then why are their Caste based Gurdwara's? A: Anyone can just create a "Gurdwara" and install their own beliefs into it, that doesn't make it valid. The key part here is that this cannot be supported by the actual theology of Sikhi, and all the main Gurdwara's still allow people of lower-caste to enter. All of these so called "caste Gurdwara's" are also not backed by the Akal Takth, and are not recognized by the Khalsa Panth. Q: Why were the Gurus themselves all from the Khatri caste and married within their own caste despite preaching against such barriers? A: The very premise of this question is incorrect, Guru isnt from the Khatri caste becuase the concept of caste itself is invalid. There is no evidence to suggest that caste was involved in the marrage decision, and neither was any proposal rejected due to caste. Furthermore, the Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji itself contains writings from people of different "castes" and backgrounds. When the Guru created the Khalsa Panth, the Panj Pyare were from different occupations, locations, and families, the entire concept of the Khalsa itself destroys the caste system. If the Guru was secretly supporting the caste sustem, he would have not created the Khalsa and passed on the Guruship. Gurbani itself is the Guru, and its anti-caste message is very clear, but it's some food for thought. Q: How about the succession of the Gurus? How do we go from the 4 first being chosen by merit and from different lineage, then suddenly it turns into a system of monarchy resulting in the succession of Guru Harkrishan Ji at such a young age who also passed away at a young age. A: "Nepotism" is defined as: The practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs. A lot of people like to accuse the Guru of being Nepotistic, and use it to bring down Sikhi by stating the successors of the Guru were not truly worthy of the title. The next Guru was never chosen on the basis of nepotism, and was always chosen based on Merit, the Guru tested each of his followers to see if they were worthy of the title of Guru. We are all just vessels filled with the same light, "family" is an illusion, we are all One. Although some of the Gurus did pass the Guruship on to their human sons, many did not, and even if they did, it was becuase their sons just happened to pass the test.If Sikhi allowed Nepotism, then why didnt Guru Nanak Dev Ji or many of the other Guru's pass it on to their children? Guru Nanak could have easily made Sri chand or Lakhmi Das the next Guru, the same applies with Guru Gobind Singh ji who did not have to let any of his sons sacrifice themselves for Sikhi, and could have asked them to not give Shaheedi. The fact that Guru Gobind Singh Ji established the Khalsa in 1699 before the death of all his human offsprings shows that he was going to stop the line of Human Guru's anyways. The ultimate argument against nepotism in Sikhi is the fact that the Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji & the Khalsa Panth were made the eternal Guru. Hypothetically, even if the Guruship was passed down based solely on Nepotism, I would have no problem with it becuase it is the Guru's decision and looking back at history and how each Guru lives his life, I can say the Guru made the perfect decision. As for Guru Harkrishan Ji, the reason the Guru chose the vessel of a young boy was to show that spirituality isnt affected by age, and even a child can attain liberation. The reason Guru Harkrishan Ji physically passed away at such a young age was to exemplify shaheedi, it makes no sense for the Guru to go around curing other people of small pox, yet die from it himself. Q: why has Sikhi remained confined for the most part to the Punjabi population? A: Sikhs dont go out and actively convert people like people of Abrahamic theologies do, the Sikh community is also generally very young compared to others. This issue is already starting to change, there are already hubs of non-punjabi Sikhs thriving in places like America, Indonisia, UK, Canada, etc, and we just need time. Q: Why did/are some Sikhs converting to other religions, if Sikhi is supreme, then why would people leave it? A: The message itself is supreme, but the people themselves are not. The argument of people leaving/joining a certain religion can be made for any group. The larger abrehamic religions are the ones that generally have a higher turnover rate compared to easter Dharams. Q: why hasn’t history seen Gurus with a similar message in the West or other corners of the world? A: There are other people with similar messages, there's even some new relgion in the west called "Eckankar" which is very similar to Sikhi on certain aspects. Gurbani also contains Bani from a lot of people who lived before the physical arrival of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, who's Bani is inline with Gurmat. Q: Why is Gurbani repetitive? A: I dont know if your reading the english translation or something, but in Gurmukhi the way certain words are used has a different meaning depending on the context. Furthermore, Gurbani is also multilayered, and speaks to the mind during its different states. As for repetitiveness in message, it's important becuase Humans learn from repetition, when you were a child, your parents had to constantly call you by your name so you remember it, etc. Gurbani is not like the abrehamic texts, it is not divided by chapters, but rather by Music. Gurbani does not have dedicated sections for certain topics, becuase as a Sikh our job is not to pick and choose what we want to learn, the Guru teaches us what we need, and the format Gurbani is written in ensures its multi layered and speaks to different people at different stages in their spiritual journey. The fact that there are other Bhagats whose Bani is inline with the Guru, reinforces the Oneness of the message of Sikhi. Q: Why did the Gurus have multiple wives? At least with Islam there is a specific guidelines prescribed, a lot of Sikhs like to argue based on emotion rather than historical evidence. A: The narrative that the Gurus were polygamists is highly contestable on the basis of historical analysis, not emotion. "The story of Guru Har Rai having married seven wives, who were all sisters, is found only in one MS of Suraj Prakash and is written on unpaged leaves which are clearly an interpolation. Unfortunately this copy became the basis of the editions nowadays in vogue. Other copies mention only one marriage. Mahima Prakash, which is much older than this book, also mentions only one wife. See on this point the annotation of Bhai Vir Singh on Suraj Prakash" -Dr. Ganda Singh, Baba Teja Singh; 'A Short History of the Sikhs,' vol. i, pg. 48. Here is a good post discussing this issue As for Islam, providing specific guidelines, I hope you realize that it also provides guidelines to beat ones wife, among many other things... Q: Why so much debate over a simple matter of canon scriptures (the Dasam Granth which oddly enough contains 2 of the prayers forming the Nitnem) A: There isnt "so much" debate over this. the Anti-Dasam granth crowd is a vocal minority, and the Dasam Granth is accepted by the Khalsa Panth as a whole, and even backed by the Akal Takth. Furthermore, the Debate that does happen isnt about the nitnem banis from Dasam Granth (Jaap Sahib, Tav Prasad Savaiye, Chaupai Sahib). Overall, Sikhs have still preserved their scriptures far better than many others, and the Quran itself was never even written down by Muhammad, Jesus never wrote the Bible, etc... Q: Why is there such a controversy over vegetarianism vs meat eating? Why didnt the Guru lay our a clear guideline? A: This wasn't really an issue before the start of the modern day meat industry, but we as a community have turned it into an issue. Sikhs historically ate meat, this is a fact, the reason there is a big vegetarian movement in the Sikh community is mainly due to the modern day meat industry and the idea that Sikhs dont really need meat anymore becuase they have so many more alternatives. As for the actual theology regarding this issue, its already clearly laid out by the Guru: Sikhs are to refrain from Halal Meat, if a Sikhs is to hunt or eat meat, then they must follow the Jhatka Maryada set up by the Guru. More information and sources can be found at jhatkamaryada.com Q: Why are Sikhs encouraged to be critical thinkers, yet told not to ask questions? A: People are getting two concepts confused: its ok to question the Guru similar to how a student questions a teacher, however its discouraged to question for the sake of trying to create an arguement or disruption. Final Thoughts A deep underlying issue that motivates a lot of these arguments is the idea that if Sikhi is true, then why would it not also temporally reign supreme, and why would "bad things" happen to Sikhs if they are morally correct? The answer to this is the simply: Hukam, and the fact that "good" and "bad" dont really exist. However, the issue here is that others will see this as a cop out. I am interested in developing a more indepth response to this strain of thought. Any recommendations? Feedback If you have any suggestions, please let me know any way you can, you can also email me at TheTurbanatore@gmail.com or contact me via Reddit at reddit.com/u/TheTurbanatore
  13. Is that why Israel is the only democracy in the middle east and a place where muslims, christians, jews, gays, etc can all live in peace? Is that why Israel allows people into its parliament who dont support it? Is that why Israel was willing to sit down and talk with others? I try to stay as objective as I can, but even I have to admit that you are misspeaking here. Im not implying Sikhs go join the war, im simply asking a question from a Sikh point of view. Please also post the original text, as well as a citation.
  14. "our people" are not just Sikhs or Punjabis, "our people" are all Humans, we as Sikhs should work towards Sarbat Da Bhalla, not just our own. Those who are also concerned with other issues tie everything back to Sikhi, which promotes helping others. This is why you see a lot of vocal Sikhs stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, Palestine, and you have organizations such as Khalsa aid which go out and help non-Sikhs, which again, there's nothing wrong with.
  15. Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! Recently, there was a big protest along the Israel border, and people on both sides got killed. While the Israel-Palestine conflict isnt new, I have started to see a lot of vocal Sikhs, such as Samsher Singh (Anandpur Exile), Harman Kaur, Sikh Talk, etc support Palestine. I find it interesting how some Sikhs support palestine, yet also advocate for Khalistan. I would just like to state that I personally am not choosing a side as I feel that I do not know enough about this situation, however I will say that both sides are not innocent and have blood on their hands. On one side, Israel is occupying lang, on the other side, Hamas is refusing to even negotiate and is calling for the death of Jews. From a Sikh perspective, it is like beef to a hindu or pork to a muslim to steal what rightfully belongs to someone else, however it's also immoral to want to exterminate an entire race. I just want to make it clear that Im just asking a genuine question, and dont support either sides. With that being said, What does the Sikh Community think of the Israel-Palestine Conflict?
  16. Talking about the issue of being an “ego maniac”, I don’t think you or him understand what that means. I’m talking about his Twitter...
  17. Dont know of any "ego manic" mod, but your a big one to accuse someone of ego. Have you tried talking to the guy? maybe you can work something out, better than bad mouthing him behind his back.
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