Is Worshipping Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Akin To Idol Worship?

Aug 14, Messages: ActsOfGod , Oct 1, May 9, Messages: I agree with AoG insofar as Sikhs are not bowing to the book, but to the wisdom Guru contained therein. To me, there is no greater feeling in the world that bowing before the Guru in darbar sahib or at home in some random direction towards nothing in particular with love in the heart for Guru Sahib.

Ishna , Oct 2, I understand what you are sAying about bowing to wisdom, on one level, but you know, my grandfather was a very very wise person and yet I didn't need to bow down to him in order to show respect. For me, debating and discussion IS a way to learn things. Guru Nanak would not have been the person he was either if he had not rejected a lot of the teachings of his ancestors and asked questions and why this, why that, etc. Neither of you have done anything to address my questions about how the two are similar except to point out that it has to do with respecting knowledge.

Just because I am not Sikh does not mean that I take no interest in Sikhi far from it. I don't blindly follow however. I ask questions and I make my own opinions. This seemed partly relevant Sikh Nishan Sahib demystified The Nishan Sahib is, for all intents and purposes, a sign board that stands tall and calls out for those who need protection, solace and a meal But Sikhs have turned it into an article of worship. A few points on its origin, function and manner of respect may be as useful to the reader as much of some commentary on worship-like rituals that have sprung up in recent times in relation to the Sikh flag.

The cloth of the flag should either be Basanti Xanthic or Surmayee greyish blue in colour. At the top of the Nishan there should either be a Bhalla spearhead or a Khanda. One is hard pressed to find a Gurdwara flying the Nishan in the the Surmayee colour these days, even if it was the standard colour of Nishan Sahibs flying in the Gurdwaras in townships where I grew up.

Beyond being a primary place for the teaching and practice of Sikh Spirituality, the Gurdwara was to have a number of other functions. The Gurdwara was meant to serve as a sanctuary for the protection of dignity of women.

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If such a function sounds odd it is because we Sikhs have terminated this function for so long, that it is no longer part of our collective memory. I doubt our modern Gurdwara parbhandaks are even aware of this primary function of the Gurdwara. I further doubt that a battered, displaced or otherwise needy woman seeking protection in our modern Gurdwaras would be accommodated in any meaningful way!

The Gurdwara was also meant to serve as a resting place for the weary traveller.

Again, if this function sounds strange, it is also because we have stopped accommodating travellers in our Gurdwaras from a long time. Serving meals to the well fed or those who have better cooked meals waiting in their houses does NOT fall in this category even if this has become the standard practice of langgar in our modern Gurdwaras.

All the above functions were meant equally for the Sikh and non-Sikh. The Nishan Sahib is, for all intents and purposes, a sign board that stands tall and calls out for those who need protection, solace and a meal. It is inviting them, in the name of the Guru to come to the Gurdwara and be served. Some are visible from tens of miles. Such would be wonderful if the Gurdwara actually provided the appropriate services to those it did attract from afar by it feet tall flag pole. But if the Gurdwara fails to provide the basic functions as mentioned above, then its tall Nishan Sahib is akin to a defunct hospital that has a huge sign visible from ten miles, but tells patients who show up that there is no doctor, no treatment and no medicine there.

Sikhs are seen walking around the flag pole in parkarma circumambulation style , folding hands to metha tek or bowing down to the concrete base of the Nishan repeatedly, rubbing their noses on the base, tying pieces of cloth or ribbons to the flag pole and then taking them home a few days later as blessed material, and much more. Those who consider such practices as respect or reverence ought to think a little deeper. One does not respect road rules by metha tek or bowing to road signs. One does not display any reverence to a welfare home by circumambulations of its sign board.

One does not become educated by doing repeated parkirma of, or by rubbing ones nose repeatedly on the school sign board. If only everything was this easy! A Sikh ought to consider his or her head as priceless to only bow before the Guru Granth Sahib. Where we cannot steal from others, we invent our own.

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One wonders where the idea of dressing up the flag pole came from. The logic of it is dumbfounding. I asked him after his pseudo katha if the Nishan Sahib should also be adorned with the remaining three kakars — kirpan sahib , kra sahib and kanga sahib! There is no mention in the SRM of such a requirement. Logic dictates that the Nishan Sahib ought to be changed when it is torn or appears faded. Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. Eight Steps to Happiness: The Buddhist Way of Loving Kindness. The Tibetan Book of the Dead. The New Heart of Wisdom. Theravada Buddhism - Simple Guides.

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