IS SIKHISM SEPARATE FROM HINDUISM? by Sadhu Prof. V. Rangarajan *** Jai Maharaj posts
and/or www.mantra.com/jai
Is Sikhism separate from Hinduism?
Sadhu Prof. V. Rangarajan
Friday, December 25, 2009
Addressing the World's Parliament of Religions at Chicago on
September 11, 1893, when Swami Vivekanand greeted the congregation
with the words, "I thank you in the name of the mother of religions",
he meant what he said: Hinduism is the mother of all religions of the
world. History is replete with evidences that the most ancient Vedic
culture of Bharatavarsha nourished and nurtured civilizations all
over the world and the world religions have all their roots in the
sanaatan dharm which came to be known as Hinduism. The Greco-Roman
culture and the Semitic religions were influenced by the thoughts of
the Vedas and the Upanishads. Swami Vivekanand pointed out that Greek
philosophy began with Pythagoras who had his training in India.
Impartial historians of the West, like Prof. Heeran, have traced the
origin of western knowledge and religion to India. The religion of
Christ originated from the philosophy of Essenes and Therapeuts. The
Therapeuts of Alexandria based their philosophy on the Theraputta
doctrine of Buddhism. According to Swami Abhedananda, the illustrious
gurubhai of SwamiVVivekanand, the Essenes emerged from the Nath Yogis
of India. 'Essene' or 'Ishana' is Shiva and 'Ishani' or 'Isha Nath'
is the follower of Shiv. Ernest Renan says that Bondasp
(Bodhisattv) is the founder of Subeism or Baptism, the origin of
Mendites, the Christians of St. John, the Baptist. E.A. Payne traces
the origin of the concept of Virgin Mother Mary in Kanya Kumari, the
Virgin Mother Shakti of Shaktism. Many distinguished authors like
Nicholas Notovich, Prof. Roerich, Paul Brunton, Spencer Lewi, G.L.
Christe and Swami Abhedananda have thrown ample light on the
evidences of Jesus's life in India.
When the entire western world is looking towards India to trace the
origins of their religions and philosophical thoughts in India, it is
surprising that sects and sub-sects and offshoots of Hinduism in
India endeavour to establish that they are not part and parcel of
Hinduism. At the very outset, one thing must be made very clear, that
Hinduism is not the name of a religion, but it is an eternal and
universal way of life -- sanaatan dharm -- evolved by the great sages
and seers of ancient Bharatavarsha. Dharma is not religion though
religion forms part of dharm. Hinduism, since times immemorial, has
accepted all religions as various pathways to the realization of one
Ultimate Reality and hence all those who adhered to the Hindu way of
life had absolute freedom to follow any religion or to create their
own religions. According to the needs of time and clime, many
religious schools and sects were founded by great men like Buddha,
Mahavira, Gurunanak and Swami Dayanand in Bharatavarsha, but never
did they dissociate from the parent dharm. They all considered
themselves as part and parcel of Hindu Dharma. The Hindu society also
considered these great men as avatara purushas or incarnations of the
Divine. Buddha is hailed as an avatara of Mahavishnu in Gita Govinda
of Saint-Poet Jayadeva. Rishabahadeva, the first thirthankara of
Jainism is one among the Vedic Rishis. Neither Buddha nor Mahavira
ever renounced Hinduism to found a new religion.
When the universal and unifying force of Sanatana Dharma started
declining, Guru Nanak (1469-1538) appeared on the scene to re-
establish the truths proclaimed in the Vedas and Upanishads. The
Oneness of the formless, nameless Ultimate Reality, hailed in
hundreds of names and adored by people in countless forms, was
stressed by the great teacher. He founded Sikhism which was a
historical development of the Vaishnava Bhakti Movement that began in
the South and introduced into the North by the great saint, Shri
Ramanuja. It adopted a catholic and universal approach and we find
all the names of God, as were current in those times in Asia,
mentioned in the Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib. The Hindu
mythology and Upanishadic idioms have enriched the vocabulary of the
scripture. Shri Kushwant Singh says, "Almost nine-tenths of Granth
Sahib composed largely by Guru Arjan, is in fact Vedanta, and essence
of all that you read in the Upanishads and the Gita."
The Udasis, an ascetic order of the Hindu Naga Sannyasins, was
founded by Baba Shri Chand, the elder of the two sons of Guru Nanak.
Nanak himself had predicted that the religious sect to be founded by
his son will be popular all over the world and he himself had
initiated Baba Shri Chand, at the age of seven, with the mystic
symbol 'Satnam' and advised him to do Jap. Shri Chand initiated Baba
Mohan, son of Guru Amardas, in the jap of 'Ek Omkar Satnam'. Shri
Chand bestowed his gadi or succession to Baba Gurudita, a householder
and son of the sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind. The Udasis are usually
celibate and wear ochre clothes while some of them wear only kaupin
(loin cloth) and besmear their bodies with sacred ash. Baba
Gurudita's four disciples established four dhunis that constitute
Bara Akhara or the Senior Assembly. A Bhakshis Sanghai founded by
Bhai Pheru with the permission of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru,
established the Chota Akhara, They all pay reverence to Shri Guru
Grant Sahib. During the Moghul tyranny, when the Sikhs were hunted
down and they withdrew into deep forests, the ascetic order of the
Udasis kept the torch burning as custodians of Gurudwaras and kept
the spirit of Sikhism alive. The Order of Nirmala Sadhus created by
Guru Gobind Singh helped Sikhs in missionary activities. Writing the
biography of Shri Chand, Shri K.M. Munshi points out that, at the
time of Shri Chand's birth, astrologers predicted his great future
and the wise believed that Bhagavan Shankar Himself had appeared.
Udasis, also known as Nanakputras, were recruited from all castes of
the Hindus and they ate food from any Hindu. They revered Adi Granth
as well as Granth Sahib of Shri Guru Govind Singh and repeated the
clarion call, "Wahe Guru" -- "Well done, Master!"; "Wahe Guru ka
Fateh"�"Well done, Master's victory!"
The valiant history of the Sikh Gurus and the martyrs who shed their
blood and laid down their precious lives as a great sacrifice at the
altar of sanaatan dharm and the Hindu Nation, is written in golden
letters in the annals of Bharatavarsha. When the Mughal emperors
raised their swords to slash down the mighty banyan tree of Hindu
Dharma, it was the brave Sikhs, the sword-arm of the Hindu Nation,
who stood up to protect the Hindu race and Hindu culture. Guru Arjan
Dev, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs, was tortured to death in 1606,
because he stood against the Islamic fundamentalism, fanaticism and
imperialism of Jehangir. Guru Arjun Dev's grandson and the ninth
Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was cut down by the sword of the fanatic
Muslim ruler, Aurangazeb, who was grandson of Jehangir, in 1675.
Every patriotic Hindu hails, with a heart swaying with pride and
heroism, the name of Guru Gobind Singh, the son of Teg Bahadur and
the tenth Guru. Right from the age of nine his life was a saga of
heroism and sacrifice. He unsheathed his sword when the devil dance
of unrighteousness under the hellish rule of Aurangazeb spread a veil
of darkness over this land. He lost his mother, wives, kith and kin.
His two elderly sons fell in the battle field and his two younger
sons -- Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh -- captured by Aurangazeb,
refused to give up their dharm and therefore were made to stand in an
open ground where walls were erected around them burying them alive.
Even today, the nation sings their praise, "Sir diyaa, par siraar na
diyaa!" -- "They gave their heads but not their faith!" Guru Govind
was not shaken by the tides of sorrow and suffering that lashed
against him. He gave a call to his men to give their heads in
sacrifice to Chandi -- the mighty war-goddess of the Hindus. The
first five men who stepped forward were made his commandents and he
thus founded the Sikh Khalsa. Every Hindu family offered one son to
the Khalsa and Guru Gobind initiated them and gave them theAdi Granth
as their Guru. With this band of dedicated followers, he defended his
fatih and the honour of the Hindu women and protected the sacred cows
and holy temples of the Hindu Nation. Even when he was in his death
bed after he was treacherously wounded by his own Pathan soldiers, he
gave a clarion call to his followers to carry on the battle for the
protection of dharm and thedharmabhoomi.
The banner of Freedom that fell from the hands of Guru Gobind was
soon lifted up by the brave Kukas, the Namdhari Sikh Community
founded by Sadguru Ramsingh Kuka. The Kuka Uprising was perhaps
another major valiant effort during the British period, immediately
after the First War of Indian Independence, to emancipate the
Motherland from the thralldom of slavery. On 13th January 1872, when
the Namdaris went to Bhaini, the birth place of Ramsingh Kuka, for
the celebration of Magh Mela, they got the news that in Malarkota,
the Mussalmans killed a cow sacred to the Namdharis and sprinkled its
blood on a Sikh soldier. The Namdaris, in made rage, captured a
British fort and drove away the British officers. However, the strong
hand of British Imperialism crushed them and the captured Namdaharis
were tied in tens and fifteens, fastened to the cannons and blown off
from the cannon mouth. A ten year old lad who was attempted to be
bribed with the bait of life by a British officer, Caven, sprang on
the officer for insulting his Guru, and was cut to pieces. Sadguru
Ramsingh Kuka was captured and transported to Brahmadesh.
The reformist movement in Hinduism started by Shri Ramakrishna and
his disciple, Swami Vivekanand, drew inspiration from the ideals of
Guru Nanak and his followers. Shri Ramakrishna, during the period of
his interaction with Sikhism, met many Nanakshahis and Nanak Panthis.
The Sikh ascetic, Udasi Totapuri, imparted to Shri Ramakrishna the
Sikh esoteric instruction efficacious for removing impediments on the
spiritual path. Swami Vivekanand often uttered and introduced into
his writings the Sikh mystic formula, "Wahe Guru!" In Eastern India,
the Bengal reformist movements drew inspiration from Sikhism
propagated by the Udasis and Nanak Panthis. Even in Maharashtra, the
impact of Sikhism was felt as the Hindu Emperor Shivaji's Guru,
Samarth Ramdas, met the Sikh Guru Har Gobind in Kashmir in 1634.
The Hindu reformist movements started by great men like Guru Nanak,
Shri Ramakrishna, Swami Dayanand and Swami Vivekanand had all one
common goal -- to reestablish the eternal and universal values of
life propounded by the great sages and seers of this holy land of
Bharatavarsha. However, unfortunately, many of the followers of these
movements and their narrow minded, ignorant, parochial and selfish
leaders with vested interests have tried to declare themselves non-
Hindus and claim an independent and separate identity for themselves.
May be because of historic reasons and the divide and rule game
played by the foreign masters during India's subjugation, the various
religions like Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism were considered separate
from Hinduism and in Independent India they claimed and got a
'minority status' along with religions like Christianity and Islam
which came from outside. The Arya Samaj and the Ramakrishna Mission
have also attempted in the recent past to claim 'minority status' by
declaring themselves to be non-Hindu organizations and going to the
highest court of law in the country, but they have failed. However,
the lure of the 'minority status' and the privileges associated with
it prompts even sects and sub-sects of the Hindus like the
'Lingayats' and some of the Tamil Shaivites -- the worshippers of
Shiva -- to declare themselves non-Hindus.
If only the various limbs of the Hindu society comprising of
sampradayas or sections like Vaishnavites, Shaivites, Shaktas,
Bauddhas, Jainas and Sikhs stand united proclaiming the glory of
sanatana dharm and of the Hindu Nation and give up their narrow
selfish interests, the other religious groups like Muslims and
Christians in India in whose veins too the blood of the ancient
rishis flow, will be compelled to give up their fanatic and
fundamentalist ideas and the urge to convert people belonging to
other religions through force and lure and live in harmony and peace
as Children of Motehr Bharat. Sikh Gurus, Naga Sannyasins, Buddhist
Monks, Jain Acharyas and religious heads of various other
sampradaayas should come forward with a clear vision to raise Bharat
and make Her sit on the throne of Loka Guru in this new millennium.
The Sarsanghchalak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is right when he
says that Sikhs, like Buddhists, Jains, Mussalmans and Christians,
have an individuality and separate identity and the Sangh endeavours
to bring in unity and not uniformity, but as the spokesman of the
RSS, Shri M.G.Vaidya has rightly pointed out, all these religious
groups have their origin invariably in the Mother Culture, Hindu
Dharma, whether their leaders accept it or not. One can cut off
association with one's parents, but he can never change them. That is
Eternal Law! Wahe Guru! Vande Mataram!
[Founder Trustee, Bharatamata Gurukula Ashram &
Yogi Ramsuratkumar Indological Research Centre
Sister Nivedita Academy
"Shri Bharati Mandir"
Shrinivasanagar, Krishnarajapuram
Bangalore 560036
Phone & Fax:080-5610935; E-Mail: sadhurangarajan@ vsnl.com]
End of forwarded message from S. Kalyanaraman
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
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and/or www.mantra.com/jai
fanabba <fan...@aol.com> posted:
> Dr. Jai Maharaj posted:
> >
> > When the universal and unifying force of Sanatana Dharma started
> > declining, Guru Nanak (1469-1538) appeared on the scene to re-
> > establish the truths proclaimed in the Vedas and Upanishads. The
> > Oneness of the formless, nameless Ultimate Reality, hailed in
> > hundreds of names and adored by people in countless forms, was
> > stressed by the great teacher. He founded Sikhism which was a
> > historical development of the Vaishnava Bhakti Movement that began in
> > the South and introduced into the North by the great saint, Shri
> > Ramanuja. It adopted a catholic and universal approach and we find
> > all the names of God, as were current in those times in Asia,
> > mentioned in the Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib. The Hindu
> > mythology and Upanishadic idioms have enriched the vocabulary of the
> > scripture. Shri Kushwant Singh says, "Almost nine-tenths of Granth
> > Sahib composed largely by Guru Arjan, is in fact Vedanta, and essence
> > of all that you read in the Upanishads and the Gita."
> >
> > The Udasis, an ascetic order of the Hindu Naga Sannyasins, was
> > founded by Baba Shri Chand, the elder of the two sons of Guru Nanak.
> > Nanak himself had predicted that the religious sect to be founded by
> > his son will be popular all over the world and he himself had
> > initiated Baba Shri Chand, at the age of seven, with the mystic
> > symbol 'Satnam' and advised him to do Jap. Shri Chand initiated Baba
> > Mohan, son of Guru Amardas, in the jap of 'Ek Omkar Satnam'. Shri
> > Chand bestowed his gadi or succession to Baba Gurudita, a householder
> > and son of the sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind. The Udasis are usually
> > (loin cloth) and besmear their bodies with sacred ash. Baba
> > Bara Akhara or the Senior Assembly. A Bhakshis Sanghai founded by
> > Bhai Pheru with the permission of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru,
> > established the Chota Akhara, They all pay reverence to Shri Guru
> > Grant Sahib. During the Moghul tyranny, when the Sikhs were hunted
> > down and they withdrew into deep forests, the ascetic order of the
> > Udasis kept the torch burning as custodians of Gurudwaras and kept
> > the spirit of Sikhism alive. The Order of Nirmala Sadhus created by
> > Guru Gobind Singh helped Sikhs in missionary activities. Writing the
> > time of Shri Chand's birth, astrologers predicted his great future
> > and the wise believed that Bhagavan Shankar Himself had appeared.
> > Udasis, also known as Nanakputras, were recruited from all castes of
> > the Hindus and they ate food from any Hindu. They revered Adi Granth
> > as well as Granth Sahib of Shri Guru Govind Singh and repeated the
> > clarion call, "Wahe Guru" -- "Well done, Master!"; "Wahe Guru ka
> >
> > The valiant history of the Sikh Gurus and the martyrs who shed their
> > blood and laid down their precious lives as a great sacrifice at the
> > altar of sanaatan dharm and the Hindu Nation, is written in golden
> > letters in the annals of Bharatavarsha. When the Mughal emperors
> > raised their swords to slash down the mighty banyan tree of Hindu
> > Dharma, it was the brave Sikhs, the sword-arm of the Hindu Nation,
> > who stood up to protect the Hindu race and Hindu culture. Guru Arjan
> > Dev, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs, was tortured to death in 1606,
> > because he stood against the Islamic fundamentalism, fanaticism and
> > imperialism of Jehangir. Guru Arjun Dev's grandson and the ninth
> > Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was cut down by the sword of the fanatic
> > Muslim ruler, Aurangazeb, who was grandson of Jehangir, in 1675.
> > Every patriotic Hindu hails, with a heart swaying with pride and
> > heroism, the name of Guru Gobind Singh, the son of Teg Bahadur and
> > the tenth Guru. Right from the age of nine his life was a saga of
> > heroism and sacrifice. He unsheathed his sword when the devil dance
> > of unrighteousness under the hellish rule of Aurangazeb spread a veil
> > of darkness over this land. He lost his mother, wives, kith and kin.
> > His two elderly sons fell in the battle field and his two younger
> > sons -- Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh -- captured by Aurangazeb,
> > refused to give up their dharm and therefore were made to stand in an
> > Even today, the nation sings their praise, "Sir diyaa, par siraar na
> > diyaa!" -- "They gave their heads but not their faith!" Guru Govind
> > was not shaken by the tides of sorrow and suffering that lashed
> > against him. He gave a call to his men to give their heads in
> > sacrifice to Chandi -- the mighty war-goddess of the Hindus. The
> > first five men who stepped forward were made his commandents and he
> > impact of Sikhism was felt as the Hindu Emperor Shivaji's Guru,
> > Samarth Ramdas, met the Sikh Guru Har Gobind in Kashmir in 1634.
> >
> > The Hindu reformist movements started by great men like Guru Nanak,
> > Shri Ramakrishna, Swami Dayanand and Swami Vivekanand had all one
> > common goal -- to reestablish the eternal and universal values of
> > life propounded by the great sages and seers of this holy land of
> > Bharatavarsha. However, unfortunately, many of the followers of these
> > movements and their narrow minded, ignorant, parochial and selfish
> > Hindus and claim an independent and separate identity for themselves.
> > May be because of historic reasons and the divide and rule game
> > played by the foreign masters during India's subjugation, the various
> > religions like Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism were considered separate
> > from Hinduism and in Independent India they claimed and got a
> > 'minority status' along with religions like Christianity and Islam
> > which came from outside. The Arya Samaj and the Ramakrishna Mission
> > have also attempted in the recent past to claim 'minority status' by
> educational
> > purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may n=
> ot
> > have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of th=
> e
> > poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
> > fair use of copyrighted works.
> ead,
> > considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, curre=
> nt
> > e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
> others are
> > not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the arti=
> cle.
> >
> > FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
> > which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
> > owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
> > understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
> d
> > that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
> itle
> > 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
> uded
> > information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
> ion
> > go to: =A0http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
> > If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
> > your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
> > copyright owner.
> >
> > Since newsgroup posts are being removed
> > by forgery by one or more net terrorists,
> > this post may be reposted several times.
> Please continue to educate us !
You are welcome! I'm glad that you found the post useful.
hari....@indero.com
otherwise, just so much historical dust motes.