reading about sikhs

so i went through some old ww1 and ww2 photographs of sikhs, and it struck me how amazing it was that these people resembled those that i'd seen at gurudwaras, photos taken at least 60 years ago, and in some cases more alike 90, resembled people whom i knew to be in their 20s and 30s today. this is amazing because its striking how similar the sikhs really look.

i see these photographs and i see young strong sikhs then when i look to the photographs of gurudwaras today i see humble hobbles of humanity huddled together hiding away from the outside world. to me its a strange thing that the community isn't extending like it should. people seem more interested in silently worshiping anonymously rather than doing anything else besides that. it's absolutely rediculous and crazy that these things are the case, but they are. i don't understand how these people have managed to do all that they have but it's just insane that there's been so much persecution of sikhs over the years. i mean i would not have expected to see so much, not nearly as much asi've read about, from the british taking over the sikh raj, to the survey of those that could decipher the sikh guru granth sahib falling under 30 within the entire country of india, to the partition of india severing the punjab in half, to the '84 attacks on the golden temple itself prompting an assasination which then prompted a massacre of sikhs, the '01 terrorist attacks in america which then prompted years of xenophobia, and racism, death and injury both mentally and bodily... and then the crushing conservatism of today's folk-view filled midwest, considering those "brown-skinned devils" to be little more than scourges of god.

not to mention the years where sikhs were not allowed to immigrate to america, from 1925 to 1945. its crazy. but these are the facts of our society, of our people. some would wish our history to be forgotten, i say some but i really mean most all.. because these people just literally would not raise a finger to the injustice they know all to well about in america, india, and in the world at large. just willing to "go with the flow" all teh way to their grave, they are the people that are eating away at what it is to be sikh - a strong resistance can compel a people to achieve great feats but isntead of doing so we've allowed ourselves to become consumed by that which as come our way - you could say these early events in our religions history are things that perhaps will define us in years to follow, allthis century's trials and tribulations may be remembered as well as the christians seem to recant the adventures of jesus and his nerdy gang of devotees.

then there's this whole conversion thing, these people trying to supplant religion in the mindsof the religious, why bother trying to have this new form of warfare take place, what good is it to destroy all other beliefs, why does this honor your own, certainly honoring your fellow man includes honoring his beliefs... it is possible that a man can live a life in a world with many beliefs without it coming into conflict with what more or less he's found to be what he feels is right in the world. religion is a poetic form of verse which gives physical form through literary inference to the divinely unseen. there is no proving and there is no disproving. it is not something that can be scientifically tested since it is nowhere at all scientifically rooted. religion has more to do with philosophy & art than anything else, as these things give life to the unknown, that faceless and nameless expanse that exists beyond our cranium can then be thought of with much though in the direction of critical thinking. there is no critical doing, there is no physical act which shall illuminate your religious beliefs.

and then another bone to pick, the initiation of children into religion, how is this right in any way whatsoever, this is an adult pursuit through and through and children have no place in its halls, children can't even imagine themselves in the universe let alone question the universe's makeup. these religions are postulations into artful specultion as to why and what and to give answers to the otherwise unanswerable, its mankinds greatest gift in some ways to itself by making sense of of the senseless and then giving man the true ability to excersize his influence across the universe. our ability to thikn and imagine is a pwoerful one but a child has no concept of such things and perhaps should not be made ot live an as orthodox member of such a religion or sect. to do so is to shut the mind off from any other stimulation and to remove the choice from teh child which is then to disengenously make the assertation of specific devotion of said child to parent-introduced dogma. these things should be outlawed, children should be educated of the worlds many philosophies and ways, and should be made to choose, to find within themselves which one speaks most to them. to me this is what essentially is the college process today in that we go to pick a major try it out and eventually find something we specialize in - in the spritual sense it is much the same, finding a religion within which to specialize, something that we can indeed go and do a great deal of good within. thats what exactly we need to do and these are the things that people should eshew in their lives amongst their community members and families.

but then there's the silent majority, the sikhs who go to the temple, wear the turban, grow the beard, who gasp when a sikh shears his hair, who mindlessly utter words whose meaning is unknown to them, these are the people who kill religion, who destroy immensely powerful gestures and gut them to their ritualistic core, and that's all that remains, blind ignorance and repetition, and those of us that do seek deeper meaning are left bankrupt and alone for the majority of sikhs just don't give a damn about their religion. it's turban-social club and little else, more like little india. these people jabbering with their social partners and gossiping about the lastest seen mishap or mystery in the community, the chilren scurrying about, elderly men and women sitting silently perhaps enjoying the chaos, adolescents outside playing basketball or handing the food out in the living out of their parents ways, the introduction of children to the life which they're asked to live, yet without any deep meaning, nor any real scholarship on the religion, people are left searching for intelligence and find there way out of the gurudwara and into the streets. because education especially within the sikh community is not prized and intelligence is so absurdly rare. this is not something im pleased with, i'd've rathered it be the other way where we had at least some who understood exactly what they were trying to do as well as some sort of an appropriate history of the religion.

and that's another thing, the history. we're emphasized the religious - folklore of the guru's but we're not given the battles, the life of those that came after the gurus, a clear timeline, no it's all garbled and almost impossible to follow along, these are people who are almost entirely lost in detail, who completely forget the big picture, and by doiing so lose those that perhaps need such a big one. the big picture is often the most satisfying, the most profound, and the most juicy, and yet in our schools our teachers just didn't make the grade, whilst we were just left there scratching our heads why we were even doing what we were, that these people going through their motions failed to teach us what was most important, the why, the big picture, and thereby depriving us of the reason those that followed the guru in the first place began their plight. whyd id they bother with the rantings and ravings of a most likely commonly percieved lunatic. because there wsa likely some promise in his words, some meaning and some truth, some profoundity and ultimately soemthing compelling that had people thinking to themselves this is a proper man with a proper message strong enough so that im going to abandon what ive got and pick up with what this man has.

and of course in the end there's the whole idea that we're following the words of one man who lived 600 years ago. do i really seem the type to be of that persuation? no i don't believe so. i was reading about the description of sociology earlier on, and it mentioned the phrase, "healty skepticism". to me i have a healthy skepticism and this in turn gives me the empowering sort of point of view that any man is capable of what the guru's came to, that we can be anything, that we can do anything, if only we practice, if only we try and force ourselves to bring ourself to greater heights. these pursuits take time, and time is something we don't have much of in life. the problem i often find myself faced with is the question of what seems most worthwhile to fill my own time. and this essentially is what makes a man, not the ability to do something, but the committement to doing so. and in that, we have very little difference in intelligence, but moreso importance on specialization and pursuit... how much hardcore training has someone had in something, and how hardcore are they about their topic. do they seem like they give a shit about it and are they really passionate about it to the point of exploring every rock nook and cranny, that they are pushing the boundary and letting it get woven into the fabric of their lives, are they able to take a step back, realize that even their pursuit has its place, that in the grand scheme all these things are basically just part of a larger human conscienceness that spans many views, theories, ideas, concepts, inventions, and social-states.

in genera i find it difficult to commit myself to a religion i was raised upon as a child. my natural state is to reject whatever iw as spoon fed as religion is something that essentially is only acceptable to an adult mind and that children are hardly in the state to be able to really make any sense of it at all. religion is something that should be left to adults, much like smoking sex and alcohol, because of its powerfully warping perceptions and potential to create violence and other undesirable outcomes. children should be allowed to frolic in fantasy, in the stories of the past, those that are more fanciful and even pagan, for these are the more ancient views of the world, and they are far more rich and old than even the oldest religious text. we should be encouraged to laern about all, and to remain impartial, to develop a personal sprituality, but not necessarily do it because of the prompting of ones mom or dad. thse things are generated by inner potential and drive, not necessarily by outward forces, and those who seek to convert by introducing thought-pollution into new minds only serve to confuse and destroy. the damage dealt by europeans advancing in the americas rings true to present day, and these are the results of transformative movements. there is nothing noble in them. to convert is to kill, and manslaughter is frowned upon. the killing of thought should similarly be considered criminal, especially when the supplanted thought is rich, rewarding, benign, benevolent, and contributory to happiness and peace of mind. destruction ,warping of views, these do not equate goodness. conversion is a blight upon humanity.