Which Religion you would choose.

Society Religion & Philosophy
61

Re: Which Religion you would choose.

^ it is true that Hinduism should not really be compared to the other 'religions' in the same sense. Very different concepts.If you were to define what a religion is based on its 'objectives' what I am saying will be become clear.

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It is not exactly true. They do conversions, they just don't seek or encourage them.

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Re: Which Religion you would choose.

I am poor guy living in a third world country. I work on daily wages as a labourer in poultry farm. I will convert to any religion if a rich country gives me citizenship. Like if they adopt me as a fellow citizen in Bandar Seri Begawan then i will accept their official religion wholeheartidly.

That way I will be able to earn handsome daily wages and send some back to my family at home they will enjoy good food instead of living on cocconuts. I will eat good food and present that cocconut to my mandir in Bandar Seri Begawan as a gift.

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Re: Which Religion you would choose.

I am born "hindu". But i dont believe in any religion. To lead a liberal or moderate or conservative or even to believe in god or not, religion doesnt matter. I am happy to be this way. For me survival of any religion doesnt matter including my own religion of birth. For me, alligning yourself with any religion doesnt give any happiness.

But i have been influenced very much by Buddhism, Hinduism (excluding the mythological part) and Sufism.

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Re: Which Religion you would choose.

.

66

Surely this is a description of Dunyaprasti as the chosen religion

67

that aint a religion dude.

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Re: Which Religion you would choose.

Born Muslim and even if I wasn't I would still convert to Islam.

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i am born sikh, and hope not to convert.
sikhism draws inspiration from islam and hinduism, like we also do sazda and join our hand.
sikhism also teaches to be hard working, and about helping the needy.

other choices
1. Christianity
2. Buddhism

jeetIAF

70

That is true.

Matha-Tek and Sajdah is the same thing, we Muslims also sometimes say "Mein Matha-tekan ja reha haan" when going to the Masjid to pray.

The Guru's incorporated the poetry of Muslim saints into the Granth Sahib.

The word Khalsa comes from the Arabic word Khaalis meaning pure.

The Guru Granth Sahib also uses Islamic terms for God such as Rabb, Allah, Rahman, Raheem, Kareem etc.

The Mool Mantra is full of Muslim concepts of Tawheed as opposed to the Hindu trinity/polytheism.

Some Muslims believe that Guru Nanak Dev Ji was a Muslim saint who converted to Islam from Hindu-Brahminism but the later Gurus deviated from his message of Islam because of their political differences with the state.

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The Guru Granth Sahib, contains the word "Ram", ਰਾਮ (Gurmukhi script) 1697 times. It hardly contains words like Wahe Guru, Allah, Kareem. When was the last time you read Granth Sahib? and I wonder why only vegetarian food is served in all Gurudwaras in the world?
Why do they cremate rather than burying their dead?
Why do they not believe in the concept of heaven and hell?
Why does non vegan Sikh never ever consumes halal meat?
Why do Sikhs have hindu/sanskirt names rather than arabic/islamic names?

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**guruji was born in bedi clan, now this title is used by both sikhs and hindu brahmins, he and later gurus always wore saffron like hindu clothes and beard and turban like muslims.
Guru Gobind Singhji always advocated 'no state interference in religion' concept which did not suit the ruler aurangzeb. there is no mention that he converted to islam.

sikhism was born to bring peace between hindus and muslims in this region. it incorporate values of both religion hindu and muslim
I always saw hindus in gurudwara even in golden temple

jai hind
jeetIaf**

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I did not say Sikhism is Islam, or that Sikhism is inspired only by Islam.

I simply pointed out the similarities between Islam and Sikhism.

I simply mentioned that some Muslims believe that Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji was a Muslim saint, I don't know how true this is, I'm not confirming or denying it.

I agree with you that Sikhism is inspired by both Islam and Hinduism but the Sikh concept of God is more like that of Islam rather than Hinduism.

I agree that on some aspects Sikhism is more like Hinduism such as cremation, rebirth etc. but when it comes to God and idolatory it is more like Islam.

The Sikh scriptures condemn Hindu idol-worship in the strongest way.

Guru Gobind says in the Zafar-Nameh:

I have killed the hill Rajas (kings) who were bent on mischief. They were stone idol worshippers, I am the breaker of idols and I worship the one Lord. (Zaffarnama, Guru Gobind Singh Ji)

In the Guru Granth Sahib it is said:

*The Hindus have forgotten the Primal Lord; they are going the wrong way. As Naarad instructed them, they are worshipping idols. They are blind and mute, the blindest of the blind. The ignorant fools pick up stones and worship them. But when those stones themselves sink, who will carry you across? ||2|| (Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Ang, 556) *

In the Dasam Granth:

*So what if you worshipped statues, monuments or pictures? Worshiping these, your soul has been tired (meaning you are close to death) but you have not found anything. You donate rice rice, you burn joss-stick, wick lamps or frankincense, you burn oil lamps and perform many other rituals but that statue does not get you anything because it has no life. You fool! What do you get out of performing these rituals? What can a stone give you? If this stone had life, then it would have been able to give you something. Think this over and start reciting God’s praises, then you will know the right path and you will know that without God, you cannot get away from this cycle of birth and death. :::: (Shabad Hazaray, Guru Gobind Singh Ji) *

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The word Wahe-Guru is still the main term for God in Sikhi.

The word Ram is indeed used in the Granth many times but not in the same sense as in Hinduism.

The Hindu Pantheon of gods has no value in Sikhi.

Like us Muslims the Sikhs believe in Ik-Onkar (Al-Ahad), not Om (3 gods broken down into a million more).

Extremist Hindus try and destroy the Sikh religion and identity by assimilating it into Hinduism but Sikhism is a seperate religion from Hinduism.

Sikhism rejects many Hindu concepts like idol-worship, caste system etc.

Hindus are trying to introduce Hindu concepts into Sikhism such as vegetarianism, idol worship, caste-system etc. and to some extent they have become succesful (worship of Guru Nanak as a deity in some Hindu temples) but most devout Sikhs oppose this.

Many Sikh leaders have even considered serving beef as karra-parsad because of Hindus trying to make their religion out as a sect of Hinduism.

Your post reminded me of this.

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Only vegetarian food is served in the Guruduwara so that people of all religions can partake of it.

Many Sikh leaders opposed to the extremist Hindus who want to eliminate the Sikh identity have suggested serving beef in the Langar to distance Sikhism from Hinduism.

I have a very good friend Amanpreet and he loves a juicy beef steak.

Eating meat is not against the Sikh religion, infact Hindus who advocate vegetarianism are called "fools" in the Sikh Granth:

"The fools argue about flesh and meat, but they know nothing about meditation and spiritual wisdom.

What is called meat, and what is called green vegetables? What leads to sin?
It was the habit of the gods to kill the rhinoceros, and make a feast of the burnt offering.

Those who renounce meat, and hold their noses when sitting near it, devour men at night.

They practice hypocrisy, and make a show before other people, but they do not understand anything about meditation or spiritual wisdom.

O Nanak, what can be said to the blind people? They cannot answer, or even understand what is said.

They alone are blind, who act blindly. They have no eyes in their hearts.

They are produced from the blood of their mothers and fathers, but they do not eat fish or meat."

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Hindu religion/hindu religious books do not say that hindus have to worship idols or should indulge in idol worship. No hindu scripture says that hindus have to built temples or idols for worship. Building of Temples were started by Kings. No hindu scripture mentions that.

As per Granth sahib....Hindus have forgotten the Primal Lord, that does not mean that hindus do not believe in Primal Lord. Skihs reformed the
mal-practices and curruption that had grown in the hindu religion. Mool Mantra of Sikhsim is Ek Onkar Sat naam, that is very similar to hindusim. The Granth Sahib does not have word "God" the word is "Ram". Sikhs and hindus go to each other temples, you will never find any Sikh going to a Masjid.

Yes, there are non vegan Sikhs and so are many hindus and Chirstians....a true sikh will never touch halal meat.

They do not believe in Muhammad PHUB as a prophet. They would prefer to die rather than covert to Islam.

Inkar/Omkar in Sikhism is nothing but Om/Omkar of hindus.
And. Omkar/Om in hinduism does not mean 3 gods broken into millions.

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Sikhism forbids Halal meat because it wrongly assumed the Halal method of slaughter to be cruel.

The Gurus taught some great things such as One God, no caste system etc. but they were falliable human beings and humans have been given a limited intellect and wisdom, they tried to preach what they saw as right and proper but they sometimes made mistakes and wrong assumptions, especially about Islam…

One of these assumptions is that the Muslim method of slaughter is cruel…
The method that the Prophet Muhammed PBUH, the Antim-Rishi of the Vedas taught us was not cruel and this has been proven by science.

Is Islamic slaughter cruel?
The question of how an animal should be slaughtered to avoid cruelty is a different one. It is true that when the blood flows from the throat of an animal it looks violent, but just because meat is now bought neatly and hygienically packaged on supermarket shelves does not mean the animal didn’t have to die? Non-Islamic slaughter methods dictate that the animal should be rendered unconscious before slaughter. This is usually achieved by stunning or electrocution. Is it less painful to shoot a bolt into a sheep’s brain or to ring a chicken’s neck than to slit its throat? To watch the procedure does not objectively tell us what the animal feels.

The scientific facts
A team at the university of Hannover in Germany examined these claims through the use of EEG and ECG records during slaughter. Several electrodes were surgically implanted at various points of the skull of all the animals used in the experiment and they were then allowed to recover for several weeks. Some of the animals were subsequently slaughtered the halal way by making a swift, deep incision with a sharp knife on the neck, cutting the jugular veins and carotid arteries of both sides together with the trachea and esophagus but leaving the spinal cord intact. The remainder were stunned before slaughter using a captive bolt pistol method as is customary in Western slaughterhouses. The EEG and ECG recordings allowed to monitor the condition of the brain and heart throughout.

The Halal method
With the halal method of slaughter, there was not change in the EEG graph for the first three seconds after the incision was made, indicating that the animal did not feel any pain from the cut itself. This is not surprising. Often, if we cut ourselves with a sharp implement, we do not notice until some time later. The following three seconds were characterised by a condition of deep sleep-like unconciousness brought about by the draining of large quantities of blood from the body. Thereafter the EEG recorded a zero reading, indicating no pain at all, yet at that time the heart was still beating and the body convulsing vigorously as a reflex reaction of the spinal cord. It is this phase which is most unpleasant to onlookers who are falsely convinced that the animal suffers whilst its brain does actually no longer record any sensual messages.

The Western method
Using the Western method, the animals were apparently unconscious after stunning, and this method of dispatch would appear to be much more peaceful for the onlooker. However, the EEG readings indicated severe pain immediately after stunning. Whereas in the first example, the animal ceases to feel pain due to the brain starvation of blood and oxygen – a brain death, to put it in laymen’s terms – the second example first causes a stoppage of the heart whilst the animal still feels pain. However, there are no unsightly convulsions, which not only means that there is more blood retention in the meat, but also that this method lends itself much more conveniently to the efficiency demands of modern mass slaughter procedures. It is so much easier to dispatch an animal on the conveyor belt, if it does not move.

Appearances can deceive

Not all is what it seems, then. Those who want to outlaw Islamic slaughter, arguing for a humane method of killing animals for food, are actually more concerned about the feelings of people than those of the animals on whose behalf they appear to speak. The stunning method makes mass butchery easier and looks more palatable for the consumer who can deceive himself that the animal did not feel any pain when he goes to buy his cleanly wrapped parcel of meat from the supermarket. Islamic slaughter, on the other hand, does not try to deny that meat consumption means that animals have to die, but is designed to ensure that their loss of life is achieved with a minimum amount of pain.

The holistic view
Islam is a balanced way of life. For Muslims, the privilege of supplementing their diet with animal protein implies a duty to animal welfare, both during the rearing of the animal and during the slaughter. Modern Western farming and slaughter, on the other hand, aims at the mass consumer market and treats the animal as a commodity. Just as battery hens are easier for large-scale egg production, Western slaughter methods are easier for the meat industry, but they do neither the animal nor the end consumer any favours. The Islamic way guarantees a healthier life for the animal and a healthier meat for the consumer.

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Brother, Sikhs do not eat halal meat because, Sikhs are strictly prohibited from eating meat killed in a ritualistic manner. They do not eat halal/kosher meat, because it is an Islamic/jewish religious way of cutting meat. It has nothing to do with cruelity to animals.

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Sikhs are not meant to pray at Hindu temples because idolatory is strictly forbidden in Sikhism.

Sikhs might not go to Mosques but many Sikhs and Hindus do visit Muslim Dargaah's (Muslim Samadhi-Mandir's) but this is against Sikhism too..

Muslims who pray at Dargaah's (tombs) and Hindus who wroship idols are both condemned in the Guru Granth Sahib.

Building Dargaahs (tombs) and praying at them is against Islam aswell but some Muslims have done this against our religion, they adopted it from Catholics etc. against the teachings of Islam.

[quote]
Yes, there are non vegan Sikhs and so are many hindus and Chirstians....a true sikh will never touch halal meat.
[/quote]

The difference is Christianity or Sikhism do not teach vegetarianism.

[quote]
Inkar/Omkar in Sikhism is nothing but Om/Omkar of hindus.
And. Omkar/Om in hinduism does not mean 3 gods broken into millions.
[/quote]

In-Onkar comes from the word Om but like I said the meaning and symbolism behind the two is completely different.

The SIkh Gurus rejected the OM trnity, that's why they add the Ik (one) prefix.

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Even Muslims are not requied to have Arabic names.

Greek Muslims can have Greek names, English Muslims English names, Punjabi Muslims Punjabi names... Hindi names etc. as long as they are crude, erotic or show servitude to other than God.