Sikhism and Christianity: A Comparison between the Two Credos

Post Comment   Email Story   Print Story   Read Comments

By Baldev Singh

Abstracts
Sikhism has been distorted in literature largely because of the influence of Vedantic philosophy to represent it as part of Hinduism. Now some Christian theologians are using this flawed literature to compare Christianity with Sikhism. In contrast to that we know that Aad Guru Granth Sahib (AGGS) is the only authentic source to understand the Nanakian Philosophy (gurmiq, Gurmat). According to AGGS, Guru Nanak rejected all the essentials of Hinduism: incarnation of God, caste system, transmigration, karma, hell, heaven, gods, goddesses, and idol worship. Guru Nanak also rejected the method or approach of attaining salvation preached by the Semitic and the Indian religions. Moreover, while the fundamentalist Christians oppose the teaching of evolution even in the twenty-first century, Guru Nanak discussed and imparted credence to the subject of evolution of life about five hundred years ago, roughly 350 years before Charles Darwin. Furthermore, while the custodians of Christianity were investing despots with “divine rights” and the Hindu elite was hailing them as Ishwro va Dillishwro va (the king of Delhi is as great as God); Guru Nanak denounced them and their allies in no uncertain terms. He called for the establishment of just rule¾Halemi Raj (the rule of humility and benevolence). Nanakian philosophy postulates that the ultimate source of spiritual as well as temporal power is Godhead.

Introduction
In September 2004 Colonel G.B. Singh, the author of Gandhi: Behind the Mask of Divinity came across a Web site, “Hope for Sikhs” operated by Reverend Tony Zekveld, Canada-based missionary. Expectedly his motives were to witness the Sikhs for the purposes of converting them to Christianity. G.B. Singh persuaded the Reverend to have an open debate on the Bible--God, soul, and heaven etc. on the pages of Sikh Spectrum, an online publication. At that time G.B. Singh asked me to add my comments on these topics from the perspective of Nanakian philosophy. This particular article is an updated version of my “A Comparison Between the Two Credos: Christian and Sikh: Rejoinder to Rev. Tony Zekveld.” This earlier version was published on Sikhspectrum.com in its November 2005 issue.

Discussion
Like G.B. Singh, I too would like to express my thanks to the Reverend for sharing his article with us. G.B. Singh has already written two letters explaining some problems in the article authored by Reverend Zekveld1. For the understanding and discussion of Nanakian philosophy, Aad Guru Granth Sahib (AGGS)2 is the only authentic source; not what others have written about it, which is the case most often we encounter. In the last issue of the Sikh Spectrum, G.B. Singh has described the attributes of Biblical God straight from the Hebrew and Christian texts of the Bible3 whereas Reverend Tony Zekveld has used the interpretations of others (Hindus, Christians and others) to describe Guru Nanak’s God. That is why his article contains many erroneous statements and misinterpretations.4 It is beyond the scope of this article to respond to all of them, therefore, I am discussing only a few of them, which show very clearly Reverend’s misunderstanding or misinterpretation or ignorance of Gurmat.

1.The Granth Sahib states the simple fact that God created the universe. How and why He created no one knows. Furthermore, by the immanence of God, the Sikh means that the universe is "an emanation of God, who willed its existence," like a spider, which emits its own web from itself. Sikhs, therefore, do not have any difficulty with the scientific theories of evolution….

I find this statement amusing. What is Reverend trying to say? Is he trying to scare ignorant and simple-minded people just because the Sikhs believe in the scientific validity of evolution? While the Biblical God is opposed to the idea of evolution of life, the Nanakian philosophy (Gurmat) supports it. While the fundamentalist Christians oppose the teaching of evolution even in the twenty-first century, Guru Nanak discussed and imparted credence to the subject of evolution of life about five hundred years ago, roughly 350 years before Charles Darwin, and come to think of it, finally, science is catching up with the Nanakian philosophy. Moreover, the Creator according to Guru Nanak is Itself evolving as in the very act of creation of the cosmos when the Transcendent became Immanent¾the Invisible became Visible¾the Unmanifest became Manifest. Guru Nanak has expressed his views on the vastness of the cosmos, the time of its creation and how it came into being.
When was the cosmos created?


What was the moment or time or date or day or season or month when the cosmos was created? Had the authors of Hindu scriptures or Quran known it, they would have mentioned it. Neither did the yogi know the date or day or month or season. It is only the Creator, Who knows when the cosmos was created. AGGS, Jap 21, p 4.

How vast is the cosmos?
After an immense and tiring search the authors of Vedas concluded that there are hundreds of thousands netherworlds under nether worlds and skies above skies. The Semitic texts say there are eighteen thousand worlds, but their Creator is One. However, the cosmos is so vast that it is beyond the scope of counting/measurement (i.e. beyond human comprehension)¾one would run out of numbers if one were to undertake the counting. Nanak salutes the Great One, as It alone knows the vastness of Its creation. AGGS, Jap 22, p 3.

How did the cosmos come into being?
Guru Nanak postulates that there was darkness for immeasurable length of time and the Creator with inherent Hukam (Cosmic Law or Universal Law) was in transcendent mode filling the void like fog fills space. And then at some moment according to the Cosmic Law, the cosmos was brought into being with infusion of Cosmic-consciousness (also referred to as Spirit, Light and God-consciousness).

2. “Because Sikhism is a reform movement within Hinduism, this statement from the Mool Mantra must also be understood from the Hindu context. Hindus teach the doctrine of the avatars, the descent of the gods to earth in human form.”

Guru Nanak rejected all the essentials of Hinduism: incarnation of God, transmigration, karma, caste system, hell, heaven, idol worship, miracles, demons and gods/ goddesses.5-12 On the other hand, Reverend’s own faith, Christianity, shares several common features with Hinduism like incarnation of God, hell, heaven, miracles, demons, angels and other kinds of ghosts. Guru Nanak also rejected the concept of salvation preached by the Semitic and the Indian religions. I hope my Christian friends would pardon me for saying that Christianity is the grandchild of Hinduism! On the other hand Guru Nanak rejected all earlier religious traditions when he declared: God is beyond the scope of Hindu and Semitic texts.

Neither the Vedas (four Hindu texts) nor the four Kateba [Semitic texts: the Torah, the Zabur (Psalms), the Injil (Gospel), and the Quran] know the mystery of the Creator of the cosmos. (AGGS, M 1, p. 1021).

It is the teachings of Vedas, which has created the concepts of sin and virtue, hell and heaven, and karma and transmigration. One reaps the reward in the next life for the deeds performed in this life¾goes to hell or heaven according to the deeds. The Vedas have also created the fallacy of inequality of caste and gender for the world. AGGS, M 2, p 1243.

The Merciful One is the only Emancipator (Maula), not the holy men (pir and sheikh), or Prophet. The Master of every heart, Who delivers justice, is beyond the description of the Quran and other Semitic texts. AGGS, M 5, p. 897. 3. Reverendhas quoted a stanza from “Dasam Granth”, which he ascribes to Guru Gobind Singh whom he erroneously calls “Padshahi 20.” He is also in error when he claims that this stanza is from “Granth Sahib.”
Dasam Granth is not the work of Guru Gobind Singh; rather it was the British East India Company, which hired the Mahants (priests/monks) of Takhat Patna to write Dasam Granth. Dasam Granth has been the favorite tool of Christian missionaries and Hindu writers for the misinterpretation and distortion of Sikhism. That is why Reverend Zekveld has attributed this passage from Dasam Granth to Guru Gobind Singh, though he is not sure what he is talking about. The British authorities and missionaries played a major role in the subversion of Nanakian philosophy. After the annexation of Punjab Kingdom, the British authorities kidnapped Maharaja Dalip Singh, merely a ten-year-old boy from his mother, placed him in the custody of missionaries, and then converted him to Christianity. The British took control of gurdwaras (Sikh places of worship) and made Hindu priests and caretakers their in-charge whereas not a single Hindu temple or a mosque was touched in the entire British Indian Empire.

There is no evidence that Dasam Granth was found in Punjab or Delhi in the eighteenth century. There is also no evidence that in the eighteenth century Aad Guru Granth Sahib was not given exclusive preference over the bani (composition) of Guru Gobind Singh. Prior to John Malcolm’s mention of Dasam Granth in his Sketch of the Sikhs published in 1810, there is no reference to it either in Sikh or non-Sikh sources (Muslim and European). However, by 1890 there were 32 Dasam Granths circulating in the Amritsar area. The presently published Dasam Granth (1902) was created by the Sodhak Committee made-up of British cronies (1895-1897) to bring it into closer conformity with the “Granth” floated by the British in the late eighteenth century prepared by Nirmalas/Mahants (Nawal Singh, Dayal Singh and Sukha Singh) at Takhat Patna.13 The “Patna Granth” was implanted in the East India Company Library by Colebrook and Charles Wilkins and used by John Malcolm to write his Sketch of the Sikhs in 1810.13 Devanagari version of this “Granth” was written in February 1847 after the Sikhs lost the first Anglo-Sikh War (Second treaty with Lahore, December 16, 1846 at Bhairowal when the British became virtual masters of Punjab). Treacherous Sardar Tej Singh (a Brahman) was the chief of the regency council when this Devanagari Dasam Granth was created. In recognition of his services, the title of Raja was conferred on him on August 7, 1847.13

Takhat Patna came under the control of East India Company near the end of eighteenth century. The revenue records of Patna treasury show that Nirmalas/Mahants of Takaht Patna were provided with pension and opium from 1814 onwards by the East India Company13.

Why did the Christian missionaries convert Maharaja Dalip Singh to Christianity? How much of the brainwashing tactic was applied? Were these missionaries trying to duplicate the lessons learnt from their past successes of first going after converting the King and then expecting the rest of the masses to follow suit? The case in point is the example of conversion of Emperor Constantine and thereafter imposing Christian faith on the subjects through threats and force. Little did the missionaries realize that in Nanakian philosophy the real sovereign is God, and not an earthly monarch! A Sikh owes his/her allegiance to God and Guru. And that is why the abominable act of converting Maharaja Dalip Singh failed to follow through the en-masse conversion of Sikhs, except for a few solitary examples.

4. The Reverend stated: “This begs the question, of course, "If God is without fear and enmity," then why is it that the Sikh fears doing bad? How do they account for their own deep spiritual unrest? Moreover, how does one account for what we read in their own writings that God cuts the head of the devil? Note these lines from the Padshahi in the Granth Sahib.”

I have already dealt with the last part of this statement about Guru Gobind Singh and Dasam Granth. The Reverend asks, “Why the Sikhs fear doing bad things if their God is without fear and enmity?” The answer to this question is on the opening page of AGGS in the first stanza of Guru Nanak’s composition Jap. The primary purpose of human life is to be one with God by becoming a gurmukh (a God-centered being), which requires living in harmony with God’s Hukam (Universal Law). Moreover, civilized society demands of its members to be law-abiding and upright citizens. Sikhs, who have been misled about Gurmat, are the ones who suffer from spiritual unrest, not the ones who understand and practice Gurmat. Moreover, if the Reverend would look around, he will find that spiritual unrest is everywhere, especially among the Christians!
ikv sicafrf hoeIaY ikv kUVY qutY pfl]
hukm rjfeI clxf nfnk iliKaf nfil]
How could one become a sachiara (Godlike), a God-centered being(gurmukh) and how could one get rid of ignorance and falsehood? “By living in harmony with Hukam (Universal Law),” says Nanak. AGGS, Jap 1, p 1.

5. According to the Reverend: The concept of "grace" here must also be understood in the context of Hinduism. Because Sikhism is a particular kind of "guru cult," an adequate concept for their term of grace is "darshan" or "the guru’s glance”.

Here the Reverend has given a literal interpretation of “grace”. Grace in Nanakian philosophy (Gurmat) means the benevolence of the Creator towards the creation. The very act of creation is grace. Being born as a human being is grace. The Creator has endowed mankind with superior intellect, critical thinking/discerning intelligence and conscience; this is what grace means in Gurmat.

7. Guru Nanak rejected the type of God described in the Bible, as this God is nothing more than a tribal god, an exclusive God. For Guru Nanak the Creator is “One and Only” and Its creation, mankind is also one whereas belief in Biblical God leads to the balkanization or disintegration of mankind. The thoughts of many sages of diverse background that are compatible with the Gurmat are incorporated in the AGGS, however, there are no quotes from the texts of Semitic and Hindu religions, as these religions are based on the concept of an “exclusive God”. In addition to the millions of gods, Hindus also believe in a God who communicates only through the Brahmans and then there is a God for the chosen people, the Jews. Christian God is approachable only through his only son Jesus Christ. For the Muslim, Mohammed is the last and final in a long line of Prophets of Allah (God) and they claim that theirs is the only true prophetic religion. The God described in AGGS is easily understandable to all seekers of “Truth” irrespective of their creed, caste, gender, color, ethnicity and geographical considerations. Guru Nanak did not assign any specific name or gender to God. He used the prevalent names of God in usage by both the Hindus and the Muslims without any distinction along with addressing new names of his own. Most often in the AGGS, God is described by Its attributes like Creator, Formless, Transcendent, Omnipotent, Infinite and Ineffable or simply as True One, One or You or Oh meaning that or he/she.
(Courtesy:Sikh Bulletin)