As Sikhs we do not proselytize. We believe that 'every path leads to God.' This is part of Guru Nanak's ethos, "There is no Hindu, There is no Muslim". So it doesn't matter to which religion one belongs, because we are all part of the same One Universe human experience. We celebrate religious diversity, and welcome all people from all paths to join us for a nourishing plate of Langar. Amidst living our householder life, we serve all those around us, 'Sarbat da Bhalla'. And we strive to serve and protect others when it's needed, 'Deg Teg Fateh'.
We have no need for someone to join our religion, to convert. We don't think that others who believe and practice differently from us, are going to hell. Nothing bad is going to happen to them at all. Everyone is going to end up merged with Ik Ongkar. And everyone, has a different path to make it.
But, should we educate them? I have worn a turban for my whole life, and almost every single person I have talked to about why had never heard of Sikhism before. It's the 5th largest religion in the world, and at least in the places in USA that I've been, relatively no one knows about us. I've been to a few other countries as well, and except for India, there is even less knowledge about Sikhi. Think about it: There are more Sikhs than Jews in the world. But everyone has heard of Judaism and Moses.
This non-awareness (I avoid saying 'ignorance') is reflected in this eye-opening documentary. A student at Sul Ross State University went around campus showing 3 pictures of Sikhs, and asked what people thought. I wasn't surprised that the majority of the students thought the Sikhs pictured were Muslim. Iwas sad, but not surprised about the amount of Islamaphobia. These students are our future educators, historians, artists, police, engineers, and politicians. What is sad is some of them see a turban and immediately think "Terrorist".
So what is our role in bridging this gap? Should we "spread the good word"? Maybe some people would like to be exposed to Guru Nanak's message, and to Gurbani. The Siri Guru Granth Sahib is not just the Guru of the Sikhs. It is a Guru for all mankind, and for people of all religions. It is a Guru that is beyond religion and dogma. It is a gift to humanity.... but hardly anyone except the Sikhs even know it exists. I think we have a role to play in educating, informing... and maybe even inspiring people about Sikhism. I don't see Sikhs going door to door, and saying "I'd like to talk to you about the Siri Guru Granth Sahib today" and hand them a flyer. But there has go to be some way to get the word out. At least just for inter-religious awareness.
As we remember Oak Creek this week, I'd like to take this as a reminder. For the first time in US history we had the spotlight, and everyone was wondering "What is a Sikh?" SikhNet's traffic doubled in one day from Aug. 4 to Aug. 5, 2012. CNN and most of the other news outlets had little about "What is Sikhism?" Let's not wait for another tragedy to get ourselves in the public eye. Let's start small.
Angad Singh started small. He started with his own neighbors.
Harnek Singh and Rasna Kaur pointed out that if each Sikh educates 300 people, then all 6.8 billion people in the world would know about Sikhism. Watch their video where they filmed their 300, "iz u ignant bout Sikhi?"
I particularly like the sevadar at "Basics of Sikhi" and his style of explaining things. There is a youtube channel and a website. Just recently I saw a new series on this channel called "Street Parchar". I thought this was awesome. He's hit it. He's not proselytizing. He's just asking if people want to know about Sikhi, then he tells them.
Let's take a page out of these sevadar's books. Let's make an effort. Let's go out and invite people to join us for langar at our Gurdwaras. Let's hand out flyers to those who want one. Let's educate. Let's inform. Let's talk. Let's connect. Let's include. This Aug. 5, let's do it!
