(Sonu's reply to Sheldon's message number 1)
Dear Sheldon,
(NOTE: I've marked this message to Vignyan and Chirangad because they too were interested in this conversation between us.)
It was nice to see your e-mail in my inbox. I had been expecting it. I read your testimony with complete attention and was happy to know about the spiritual transformation that you've recently undergone. And, it's good that you're sharing your knowledge and experiences with your friends. But, at the same time I've also heard about the sacrilegious opinions that you probably hold about other religious paths that lead to God (a.k.a. the attainment of Nirvana). I'm not sure to what extent these are true, so it would be great if you could shed some light on this matter. For now I will just assume that you know very little about the many other paths that lead to God.
As far as Sikhism is concerned, I'm absolutely certain of my faith in the preachings of my Gurus, since their Words directly come from the One Supreme Lord. And their teachings are not just for Sikhs alone, they're for the entire human race and anyone who follows them, very easily walks the path that leads to blissful Union with God. Apart from Sikhism, I've also devoted part of my life to learning about paths such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sufism. And, let me assure you that all of these religious paths, at the core, point in one direction. My regular studies have given me a perspective that is much broader than preachers of individual religions, many of who are just involved in defaming other paths and creating differences between people on the basis of religion, which is a real shame because none of these religions preach malice or hatred.
Anyway, here's an essential dissection of your testimony. I hope you read it with an open mind and respond likewise. It is not meant to enrage you or cause any distress to you. That has never been my intention. But, I've tried to be as frank and forthcoming as humanely possible.
From here on your statements are followed by my replies:
Sheldon: "I was just like any other teenager in the world."
Sonu: "Your very first statement made me realize that you tend to presumptuous. Hey, not every teenager is the same. My teenage years bear very little resemblance to yours. I was never involved in any of those crippling habits that you had a hard time getting rid of. Infact, many of my spiritual experiences can be traced back to my pre-teenage years. Saying that you were like any other teenager sounds far-fetched, don't you think? The point I want to make is that we shouldn't make assumptions about things we've not experienced firsthand. Consider this example - I know a Sikh child as little as 5 years old, who talks about God and our Gurus like he was a wise saint! Wouldn't we be taking liberties if we classified him as any other pre-schooler?"
Sheldon: "I was blinded by the devil just as the world outside is."
Sonu: "Again! You are making the assumption that everyone in the world outside has been blinded by the devil. My friend, there are people in this world, who are already in blissful Union with God and the so-called devil can't even dream of reaching them! And it is due to such souls, elevated to the ultimate heights of Godhead Himself, that the world even deserves to exist!"
Sheldon: "God shook up the entire system so that I could get a seat in one of the best colleges. I secured admission on merit in a college just ten minutes away from the place I live and it also happens to be one of the best colleges for engineering in Mumbai."
Sonu: "Come on, our education and admissions system is already shaken up to the core! In your statement above you've clearly mentioned that you secured admission on merit, which means that you got what you deserved. God never had to shake up the system! As per a famous English quote: 'God helps those who help themselves'. This is what happened in your case. You went around looking for admission and God just gave you what you deserved based on your merit. And if you now insist that it was not based on merit then you probably shattered someone else's right to get that seat in college. I wish to point out that by default we always get what we deserve. God is always fair to all."
Sheldon: "This seriously melted my stone cold heart and I was just amazed as to what God had done."
Sonu: "So, God had to give you something worldly to melt your heart? That's strange. Anyway, apart from that, what have you done with God's gift? You say that God blessed you with an impossible admission. So, aren't you supposed to cherish God's gift and perform well in your studies? To respect God's decision you should have actually worked hard and performed well instead of failing, isn't it? Isn't it a blasphemy to misuse God's gift? Think about it my friend. You say that God shook up the system to give you an admission, so is this the way you repay Him, by failing? Then why should God trust your faith in Him, when you have failed to honor His blessing by not performing your best? Or was that your best?" (No offense meant.)
Sheldon: "One fine day, at a fasting prayer meeting, God proved to me his power and I decided that after that day, COME WHAT MAY, I will never give in to worldly lusts."
Sonu: "A good decision. I hope you remain firm."
Sheldon: "I also decided to cling on to God for now all my doubts were cleared."
Sonu: "A noble decision."
Sheldon: "I never wanted my friends to perish and I expressed that desire to God."
Sonu: "A noble idea indeed! It's good to know that you want to help your friends on the spiritual path. But I wish to inform you that there is not just One path to God. For example, if we had to reach the top of a mountain, we would have to climb 'Upwards' and follow a certain path. The important thing here is the direction. We have to ultimately climb 'Up', the path that we actually take wouldn't matter in the end. Similarly, there are many paths that lead to the One God on top, but for that one has to take the correct direction and a path assigned to us by God at birth. God even sends His Enlightened children to guide us. For example, Guru Nanak, who was One with God, showed the people of His time the correct way to reach God. Similarly, Lord Jesus on the other side of the world was also One with God and showed the people of His time and place the Path that He had traced to God. And, the same is true of many other Saints, Prophets and Messengers."
Sheldon: "One fine day when God asked me to go out, I began to preach boldly Jesus Christ as Lord."
Sonu: "So, how did God ask you to go out and preach? Did he speak up in your head or did he appear in your dream or was it something else? Let me know in detail. Even I constantly feel powerful urges to serve God. Very often, I just get up and walk out and on the way I find someone who needs my help."
Sheldon: "I saw demons manifest from my friends."
Sonu: "Please elaborate. How did the demons manifest themselves? If you are refering to negative qualities like anger, ego, hatred, malice, etc. then mention that instead of demons because they are the real demons that inhabit our minds and can only be eradicated by our devotion to God and His grace."
Sheldon (to God): "I am not bothered about what people think of me because no one loves me like you do."
Sonu: "Actually, anyOne who has realized God, will love you like God does. You said that because you probably haven't met a truly God-realized person in your life till now, because they would love you as much as God does. For example, Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, Gautam Buddha, Mahavir, Zarathustra, Lord Jesus, Guru Nanak, Kabirji, Shams-Tabriz, Hafiz, Rumi and all other God-Realized souls would love you just like God does because they all have realized the Truth."
Sheldon: "...So now please use me for the extension of your kingdom because I don’t want anyone else to miss out on what I now have."
Sonu: "God's kingdom is infinite. All that we see around us and that which is beyond our body's reach, is within God's kingdom. We just need to realize God in our lives and become aware of His All-pervading disposition. Once we realize God, we become present in His kingdom. We can just create more presence in God's kingdom, we cannot actually extend it because it already contains everything! It's always a noble idea to share what one has, with one's kith and kin. But preach not with the motive to convert people to some religion but to transform their lives such that they find the Truth on their own path because God has no religion and once we are with God, we need no religion. Since God is Not about multiplicity, but about Oneness!"
Sheldon: "...and every time a new person came to God, he never failed them."
Sonu: "God never fails anyone who approaches Him with a True Heart and complete Faith. We have to approach God with a longing in our hearts for His Blissful Union. We have to truly yearn for His company to attain Union with Him. Anyone with a strong conviction can attain Godhead even without belonging to a particular religion. In the end, it's our faith and yearning that matters and not our religion. But, our doubting minds always want proofs, and under the veils of ignorance we are unable to see the all-pervading proofs throughout His Creation, with the miracle of life being the biggest testimony to the truth about God."
Sheldon: "I began to see everyone around me seeing visions and dreams. They hardly knew them for a few days or weeks and he would manifest himself to some of them personally and confirmed himself as Jesus Christ to them."
Sonu: "Please describe one of your Visions in Vivid detail. Just like Jesus Christ is the shepherd of devout Christians, Lord Krishna is the guide of devout Hindus and Guru Nanak is the guide of devout Sikhs. As far as devout Sikhs are concerned, I'm aware of many who have attained Union with God through Guru Nanak, just like you might be aware of people who reached God through Jesus Christ. And, such Sikhs have constant companionship of Guru Nanak, just like you're talking of Jesus Christ appearing in visions. Infact, I've a Hindu friend who has similar dreams of Lord Kartikeya, whom he considers his Guru. So, God bestows His true followers with visions of their Gurus, which tends to happen more often as one rises higher in one's state of consciousness."
Sheldon: "And it shall be that everyone who shall call on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Sonu: "I can provide you with similar preachings from many prophets and saints, even from those that existed long before Jesus Christ. But that's not the point. My point is that we have to practice tolerance towards other belief systems and not compete with them. God belongs to no particular religion. Everyone has a right to be with God for eternity, in Supreme Bliss. Christianity just happens to be one of the many Paths that can lead one to God."
Let me quote some lines by our Gurus (translated to English for you). You'll be able to relate these lines to the line you quoted above:
"Without the Name of the Lord, no one attains salvation. Stubborn self-discipline and living in the wilderness are of no use at all. (Guru Nanak Dev Ji)"
"In this age, salvation comes only from the Lord's Name. (Guru Amar Daas Ji)"
"One who knows and loves the Truth - chanting the Name of the Lord (s)he obtains salvation. (Guru Arjan Dev Ji)"
Sheldon: "I am now surrounded with friends who were once non-Christian but are now power packed Holy-Spirit filled children of the Most High God."
Sonu: "There is nothing wrong in preaching the Word of God. That's our basic duty as spiritual beings. But you've probably tried it with people who know very little of their own paths. Anyone who first bathes in the Sun's light after remaining in darkness since birth, would naturally accept this Sun to be the only Sun. But who shall tell him that there are countless Suns out there, inspiring others like him to reach the kingdom of God. Jesus is your Sun and Guru Nanak is my Sun and Lord Krishna is someone else's Sun. They all came to shed the light of God on the ones living in the darkness of ignorance. So, please learn to acknowledge the existence of other paths because you don't sound like you do."
That's enough typing for today! I've tried to be as frank and forthcoming as possible. I hope I've been able to reach you in some good way. I hope my reply just helps you expand your horizon and acknowledge other paths that lead to God.
You are always welcome to share any teachings from "The Holy Bible" with me. This could be the subject of our future discussions. Then I will come forth with similar teachings from "Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji" (Our Holy Scripture) and also from other Great Eternal Scriptures that I constantly read, just to bring to your notice that the Truth about God is not limited to Christianity alone.
Take Care & Thanks for taking the time out to e-mail me and for reading my response.
It has been a pleasure reading your testimony and replying to you from this part of God's Universe that you were probably not aware of!
And, just to inform you, I love Jesus as much as I love Guru Nanak or as much as I love all the other great kindred spirits sent to us by God for our salvation.
Good Day.
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