| Petaling Jaya, Malaysia | 23 Oct 2016 | Asia Samachar |
Rituals, cultures, misinterpretation of Gurbani and self-interest of leaders in the gurdwaras and the political fields are some of the challenges faced by Sikhs in connecting themselves with the message embedded within Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS).
“There is a lot of change in the message when presented at the gurdewaras. When you go direct to Gurbani, it could be something totally revolutionary and different,” Sharan Kaur told a Sikh conference in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia in a presentation entitled ‘Game of Throne’.
Sharan was one of the speakers at the one-day Leadership of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 3rd Conference held today (23 Oct 2016).
She shared her own Sikhi experience.
“My Sikhi journey started on blind faith, dragged to the gurdwara by your parents, sitting there undergoing the worship….all those (rituals) were the primary focus when growing up. It’s blind faith conceptualised by fear and rewards.
“So, mum would tell me, if you want good results, pray. If you don’t do Waheguru simran, you cannot escape the cycle of life and death, you will come back as an animal. I thought it was pretty cool. I wanted to come back as a dog. What’s wrong with that!” she said, to the laugher of the crowd.
Summing up her experience, she said it was religion like all others, with consequnces and rewards, with issues like the afterlife playing an integral role.
“Today, I sum up the Sikhi teaching as: man jithey jagjeet. At the end of the day, the miracle is not changing external forces around you through mantras, blind faith and prayer. It’s to do with the miracle of internal change, of changing your own perspective,” she said.
You can view the full presentation at the Facebook page of Asia Samachar. See here.
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