Sikhism and Vaisnavism - Diametrically Oppositional Goals
BY: NARAHARI DAS
Jul 29, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA (SUN) — The Rajputs were Kshatriyas from Northern India and were a brave and powerful people who were staunch protectors of Dharma. Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh (1688-1743), the King of Jaipur was a true Vasinava Rajput who constructed many of the temples in Vrindavan and all over Rajasthan and protected the Deities of Vrindavan from the Muslims.
Guru Nanak was born in the Punjab into the Rajput, Khatri or Kshatriya warrior class. In his time, India was ruled by the Muslims and under their rule there was much religious persecution, so Guru Nanak devised a religion that he believed would be more palatable to the Muslim Administrators and people in general. He created the Religion know today as Sikhism. He taught that God was: impersonal, unknowable, sexless and formless. This idea about God is similar to the Smarta understanding of an impersonal God. All Gods are one, and so on, blah, blah, blah…
Param gati, or the supreme destination of a person following the Theology of Guru Nanak - “I am God”, is diametrically opposed to the supreme destination of a Vaisnava - “I am the servant of God”.
I seriously cannot fathom why an ISKCON devotee would be preaching that the Sikh gurus were Vaisnavas? It is evidently clear that Radhika-kripa devi dasi's guru, Gopal Krishna Maharaja, does not know the difference either, if this is the result of the spiritual guidance he gives to his disciples. A Mayavadi Vaisnava is not a Vaisnava, I think you must already know this by now? If you don’t then please read one of Srila Prabhupada’s books before writing your own.
I also think that the Sikhs should know what their param gati is, even though Radhika-kripa dd thinks that she knows better.
"Amogha: Srila Prabhupada, in Sikhism there was Guru Nanak and Guru Granth Sahib. Is that actually a real scripture, and was Guru Nanak actually a devotee? Or is that not correct?
Prabhupada: They created a system of religion which can include Hindus and Muslim. That was at the time needed. But that is not a good system of religion.
"Paramahamsa: You mean a compromise between the two.
"Prabhupada: Compromise, yes. There was too much strain between Hindus and Muslims, so he wanted to make a compromise. Actually there was only Vedic culture all over the world. As the things deteriorated, new systems of religion came in. Either the Sikh religion or the Christian or this religion, Muslim religion. They are, what is called, deformed type of religion. Religion is that sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam. That is religion."
Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk, 05-07-75, Perth
There is ‘religion’ and then there is “Religion”. Srila Prabhupada believes that most religions are ‘deformed’ and he includes Sikhism in this category. Perhaps Radhika-kripa dd believes she knows something that Srila Prabhupada doesn’t.
Anyway her argument has more holes in it than I can poke a stick at.
What is the shame here is that devotees like her are promoting some interfaith homogenization process that warps and twists our Vaisnava Theology into a 'one size fits all'. It cheapens our Vaisnava tradition and wears us down as we struggle to justify our Vaisnava faith to our very own devotees, who should know better.
I also firmly believe that many devotees know better, but for some reason they are purposefully promoting apasiddhanta theologies with what can only be explained as - an ulterior motive. This is a subject I will delve into at a later date.
My friend, you really need to promote your book somewhere else for this website is for brahminical discussions, and after hearing your bogus Theological conclusions and realizations, I believe that I shall keep on reading Srila Prabhupada's books. I have no desire to pay money to buy or read your delusional work. We have enough internal problems with our leadership intentionally misinterpreting our philosophy without adding to the misunderstanding and confusion.
My further suggestion would be to take your work and ask your guru for his opinion. If he supports you, then maybe you need to reject him and accept a bona fide guru. Good luck finding a bona fide rubber-stamped guru in ISKCON! So better stick to Srila Prabhupada only.
Some months ago, when I was roughly woken from my ignorant slumber to see the bigger picture more clearly, I no longer wished to spend any time listening to ideas from people who have very little realization of our Philosophy and are leading us into the world of modernity and pluralism.
In Aus we have so many problems already with this Interfaith process misdirecting our devotees. Bhakta das here in Aus is heading up the “Interfaith Movement” within ISKCON, from the Hindu stronghold of Melbourne via the POWR or Parliament of World Religions - Chicago based. I hope that he looks more closely into his involvement, as I know he is intelligent enough to know better.
I especially advise devotees to look into the slogan, “Healing the Earth” which sounds very much like Tikkun Olam. The approach to developing a One World Religion is well under way and it will fly under the banner of Healing the Earth. Check out this website, which is an academic and professionally written website promoting interfaith and one world religion: TIKKUN.
And I can assure you that the Hare Krishna’s will never figure in that mix.
