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Summary of Question:	Sikh Baby Names
Category:	Other
Date Posted:	Friday, 4/12/2002 4:10 PM MDT

HELLO,

MY NAME IS HARPREET SANGHA. I AM THIRTEEN YEAR OLD SIKH GIRL. SOMETIMES I BELIEVE IN GOD AND SOMETIMES I DONT. I MEAN SOMETIMES WHEN THING ARE GOING ROUGH, EVERYTHING WORKS OUT AND TURN PERFECT. SOMETIMES I JUST CANT GET THE FEELING THAT THERE IS GOD, I MEAN WHEN I THINK OF THE CHILDREN IN AFGHANISTAN, I FEEL SORRY FOR THEM , THAT THEY DONT HAVE ANY FOOD OR CLOTHING AND NOT EVEN PEACE. HERE IN AMERICA, WE THROW AWAY FOOD. SO WHY DIDNT GOD CREATE US ALL EQUAL. IF GOD IS ONE, THEN WHY DO WE HAVE SOME THOUSANDS RELIGIONS THAT BELIEVE OPPOSITE THINGS. IF GOD IS THE SAVIOR, WHY WOULD HE LET SOME TWENTY TERRORISTS CRASH PLANES INTO THE TOWERS. WHERE IS GOD? HAS ANYONE SEEN GOD? IF HE IS JUST SOME ONE THAT WE BELIEVE THROUGH HER EYES.ALSO WHY DOES OUR CULTURE GIVE MORE FREEDOM TO BOYS THE GIRLS. ARENT THEY EQUAL. WHAT IS THE POINT OF LOHRI, IF IT IS ONLY CELEBRATED WHEN A BOY IS BORN. USUALLY AT THE END THE GIRLS ARE THE ONE WHO END UP TAKING CARE OF THEIR PARENTS. I AM NOT AN ATHEISIST NEITHER I AM RELIGIOUS PERSON. SO PLEASE ANSWER MY QUESTION.
THANKS

(REPLY) Sat Nam. Dear Harpreet, you have asked excellent questions. they are questions that have been asked by people for centuries. The only way I have come to understand the existence of suffering, poverty, "evil" or darkness in the world is to think of this entire Creation as something that God (not a person, but an Infinite state of Being) created out of His/Her/Its own essence, in order to have the experience of itself as darkness and light, polarities, the pair of opposites. Like a vast, limitless ocean that suddenly (or slowly) started to get cold in one spot, and form icebergs that crashed against each other, but utimately were still water, and would revert to water when the crashing was done. God created all the universes and continents and all the beings, and in the beginning when the creatures evolved to humans, they all lived in harmony. However, God also gave free-will, which enabled the people to experiment and get off the path of following God's will, so that in time, the human condition was far away from God's original will. It's called in ancient philosophy, God's 'LILA" His "play" -- like a game he is watching, and experiencing, like a movie, which, when it's over, the lights go on, and the spectators go Home, even though they have laughed and cried and become really involved in the story on the screen. That story is what is called "maya." and we each are born with parts to play in this great Movie of Life! There are also rules of the game, called Karma, which is how the story plays out. Our actions determine the events that can happen to us. Of course we take life seriously, because we are finite creatures, and we want to make life as happy as possible, for ourselves and others. But ultimately, we are all going to return to that Infinity which is God - the ultimate Truth, which has been defined as SAT CHIT and ANANDA. Truth, Knowledge and Bliss. SAT NAM is our real identity. The body and the mind are temporary vehicles which we travel around in while we're on Earth. This is a lot of philosopny, and uses analogy to explain something that really can't be adequately explained in words. That is why the aim of a Sikh (and the purpose of our lives!) is to win the game by EXPERIENCING that truth of God within ourselves. The great Masters and Saints and Gurus have all taught that there is One God, and to chant God's Name in order to unite our consciousness with the Infinite. Meanwhile, we do our best to make the world a better place for our having lived and breathed on it. When you read the Siri Guru Granth Sahib it tells us that the family we have, and all the worldly goods we may acquire will not go with us when we die. Similary, the poverty and sorrow and suffering doesn't go along either. it's just the playing out of tragedy on the screen of God's great Theater. It is good to pray for those who are in need, and do what we can to help them, but we can't blame God for letting the people in the world assert their egos and even do wrong, and we must understand that we are all paying our karmas by the country in which we are born, and the families and customs that we have been given. Each soul chooses to come to Earth to learn lessons, and hopefully to win the game of life by recognizing that it is just Maya. I hope this helps a little bit to give you a different perspective. As for the existence of God, know that God lives and breathes in you! Every time you receive (and it's a gift) an inhalation, it is God reaffirming His/Her/Its presence in you. We are all Divine beings, here on Earth to have a human experience -- and that's what God is experiencing through us. May God and Guru bless you with wisdom and patience and the experience of your own beauty and radiance. SP