Conversations with the world

(Sonu's reply to Sheldon's message number 3)

Dear Sheldon,

Thanks for your reply.
Now, here's my reply. I hope that you read it with complete attention and patience.
And, I will reply to your other messages as soon as possible.

Sheldon: "I beg you to be open minded."
Sonu: "My friend, firstly, you don't have to beg from me. I cannot give anything. I can only share, what God has given to me. This is what Sikhs(=disciples) of God believe in. Beg only in front of God, who is the lone giver. Secondly, what is your definition of an open mind? I hope it is not based upon the idea that somebody has to agree with your viewpoints to be open minded in your view. According to me, a person with an open mind listens to everything someone else has to say, with full attention and does not fight or flee during the conversation. Such a person advocates her/his points of view but does not dictate or impose them on others. Such a person is not biased, and remains impartial in her/his analysis about the issue under consideration. This is the only way by which people can have a frank and worthwhile conversation. If you have your faith, your beliefs, your viewpoints and your visions of God, there are others too, who have their own understanding and experiences of all these concepts. Hence, in the process of being critical about someone's views, one should also respect the other's right to have her/his own views and not just take an air of superiority, claiming that 'What i know, you cannot comprehend without following the path that i follow.' You are a young lad who has only recently started learning about the spiritual path. You have just become aware that there is some higher truth which is infinitely higher than what you knew before. You have found a good source, 'The Holy Bible', to gain knowledge about this truth. But, please don't assume that you already comprehend it. That will lead to spiritual stagnation and degeneration. Don't be under the impression that you've gained all the wisdom of God. Peter was a steadfast disciple of Lord Jesus and always remained in His company and devotedly served Him and listened to His preachings. But when Lord Jesus was arrested by the pharisee priests and Peter was identified as one of His disciples, it is well known that Peter denied knowing Lord Jesus at all! And, he had earlier made big promises to the Lord, saying that he would always follow Him, whether he had to go to prison or even to death. Even Judas, betrayed Lord Jesus by divulging information about his location to the pharisees. Both of these had spent a greater part of their lives in the company and service of Lord Jesus. Both of them learned about God directly from Him and not through visions or priests or ministries. And, both of them still failed Him at the right moment. You and some of your friends claim to have seen visions of Lord Jesus and are claiming complete loyalty towards Him, even when it is evident that the ones who were in constant company with the Lord couldn't comprehend His ultimate greatness and grace. Peter and Judas knew the Lord's teachings firsthand, but still failed Him. Lord Jesus had confirmed Himself as the Lord and their Saviour many times and they always claimed that they believed Him and openly proclaimed their allegiance to Him, but still failed Him. Now, look at yourself claiming to know the right path and the right knowledge and overtly proclaiming that God speaks with you, et al. All these claims of yours, do not convince me of anything. Anyone with a human brain and tongue can make big claims like Peter and Judas, but that is nothing more than labeling oneself as pure. Being actually pure is a totally different experience. The spiritual journey starts when one begins to understand the Truth and ends when one enters the Truth and becomes part of it.
By the way, in short, let me give you a great example of discipleship from Sikh history. Our 9th Guru, 'Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji' was requested by the Hindu Pundits of Kashmir to save them from the forced conversions and constant atrocities of the Moghul Emperor Aurangzeb. Guruji challenged Aurangzeb and told him that if he(Aurangzeb) failed to convert Him(Guruji) to Islam, then Aurangzeb would have to stop his brutal atrocities and also give up the forced conversions of the people of India. Aurangzeb accepted this challenge and arrested Guruji and three of Guruji's disciples, namely, 'Bhai Mati Daas', 'Bhai Sati Daas' and 'Bhai Dyal Daas'. Now, these disciples never denied knowing the Guru and were steadfast in their allegiance to the Guru. They were ready to die with the Guru for the sake of Truth. Bhai Mati Daas was tied between two posts and was cut alive from head to loins, with a saw. Bhai Dyal Daas was tied up like a bundle with an iron chain and was put into a large cauldron of boiling oil. Bhai Sati Daas was hacked to pieces, limb by limb. Even for a moment they did not give up their faith in God, Guruji and His teachings and were constantly reciting prayers. And, later Guruji also bore the brunt of torture with steadfast devotion to God and sacrificed Himself to save humanity. And, I can give you many other similar examples from Sikh history when followers of Guru Nanak always remained steadfast in their faith and never denied Him. Comparing all this to what Peter and Judas did, one could easily convince a gullible person that the teachings of Lord Jesus are incomplete because they couldn't even give His closest followers the strength to die with Him for the sake of Truth. Wouldn't it be a blasphemy to carry out this propaganda? Clearly, the fault did not lie in the message that Lord Jesus brought but it was in the minds of Peter and Judas. Peter denied Jesus probably due to fear of persecution and Judas denied Him for the sake of worldly money, which he later repented. And I've heard many Christian missionaries constantly make baseless assumptions about other spiritual paths, to convince naive people that there is only one path to God!"

Sheldon: "I am introducing myself to be a simpleton average teenager of the age 13-15."
Sonu: "Now, that's a better introduction, eh! The first one was a crude generalization. Now, let me stretch this a bit! Do you know all the teenagers in the world? Can you tell me how average teenagers in United Arab Emirates behave? They probably don't listen to rock music! Or how about teenagers from Siberia? They hunt almost every other day and eat raw meat everyday. Do you? Okay, how about a teenager from Israel in the 5th century B.C.?! My pal, you have to be specific across space and time when you make a generalization otherwise it becomes ambiguous! Although, I understood what you meant, the very first time, all I wanted to point out was that you tend to make assumptions and generalizations about things that are beyond your reach. Just like you assume that other religious paths and their propreitors are lightbulbs compared to the sun that Lord Jesus is. So, is religion just about competition, as to who is superior and who is not?! Religion is just a path that leads one to God. You know, there is no greater sin than disrespecting those who are in Union with God and comparing them and trying to prove the superiority of one of them over the other. What do you know about the Sikh Gurus and what they preached. Nothing much, I'm sure!
Did you know that some of our Gurus and many Sikhs sacrificed themselves and their families for the sake of humanity just like Lord Jesus did? You must be knowing well about the crucifixion of Lord Jesus. But, do you know anything about how the 5th Sikh Guru, 'Guru Arjan Dev Ji' sacrificed Himself for the sake of Truth? I'm sure, you don't. Guruji was tortured for 5 days by the minions of Emperor Jehangir, after which Guruji propagated into Godhead. During the peaking summer heat He was made to sit in a pot of boiling water and was kept out in the hot sun during the daytime. Hot sands were poured over Him all day long with no respite. He was made to sit on a hot iron plate. But, He faced all of this without a single complaint and was always meditating on God. He even blessed the people who were torturing Him, just like Jesus asked forgiveness for the sins of others, from God. And with a totally blistered and shattered body, Guruji was made to take a dip in the cool flowing water of a river. He knew that His spiritual mission was complete and hence left for His Godly abode. His body dissolved into the river water. And, this is just a small part of Sikh history. If I spoke of the Sikh Gurus like you speak of Lord Jesus, I would be delighted to tell you that God blessed the Sikhs(=disciples) with 10 Jesus Christs! And at the same time, I love Lord Jesus as much as I love the Sikh Gurus because I've come to believe that they're all the Same. Since, we humans are forgetful of God's gifts and also get corrupted very easily, God had to keep sending His Pure children throughout the ages to remind the masses about the Truth! Imagine a one room house that has windows in the four directions. As the Sun moves in the sky, the same light enters the house through different windows. Similarly, the light of God is always the same, but enters this world through different Gurus at different periods of time. I hope you get the point this time. You probably also deny the Godliness of Lord Krishna because someone has misinformed you! Did you know He was born of a virgin, just like Lord Jesus was? Did you know that teachings similar to that of Christianity were already available to the Indian people 3000 years before Jesus Christ, through Lord Krishna! I will elaborate on this when the moment is right."

Sheldon: "I was blinded by the devil just as the world outside is", "The biblical scripture I am quoting here is 2Corinthians 4:4, 'In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them.'"
Sonu: "There is a similar verse on Guru Nanak, which if translated to english, would go somewhat like this, 'The light of God, Nanak, has come into this world. In His presence, the fog of ignorance shall vanish and the glory of light shall prevail!' By the way, were you not 'unbelieving' a few years back? And now you are a believer, right? So, even the unbelievers can become believers, all they have to do is, truly follow their Guru, in your case, this Guru would be Jesus Christ. In your testimony, you had made the assumption that the entire outside world is blinded by the devil. I just wanted to point out that you should stop generalizing in this fashion. To be more precise, 'not everyone in the outside world is blinded by the devil'."

Sheldon: "So I believe that my admission was a miracle and beyond my imagination."
Sonu: "Exactly! Only whatever is beyond our imagination is labeled a miracle, which is very unfortunate. Albert Einstein quotes, 'There are two ways to live life, as though nothing is a miracle or as though everything is a miracle.' If you only consider some things or actions to be miracles then you miss the big picture and remain lost in the duality of discriminating between miracles and non-miracles. Actually, everything in this universe is a miracle. But we take all of it for granted. And when we experience some phenomenon beyond our earthly comprehension we label it as a miracle. The closer one gets to God, the more understanding one gets, of these so-called miraculous powers, which are commonplace in higher domains of consciousness. These miraculous powers dance on the fingertips of saintly God-realized people because they've earned the trust of God and have been blessed with powers that ordinary human beings cannot comprehend. But they should not be misused and should not be used to force someone to perform some action. For example, if Lord Jesus wanted, he could use His powers to transform every human being into a God-realized person, but He did not do that. Although he performed many healing miracles, He never used His power to force someone to believe. He knew that miracles alone could not lead to a solid spiritual foundation and could just be used to reinforce one's faith in the Almighty. And that is all he used them for. He knew that true spiritual transformation could only occur from within a person by listening and contemplating the Word of God. That's why He preached more than He performed miracles. That is why we have 'The Holy Bible', which is a book filled with the Word of God and not with tips and tricks for performing miracles. He could have transformed the minds and thought processes of the pharisee priests through his miraculous powers. But he did not, because He knew that the Word of God is the only true way to enlighten people and help them transcend into Godhead. And this is the philosophy of Sikhism, we only believe in the Word of God, which we also refer to as His Naam or Name. We don't worship Naam, but we recognize its potency to transform us into believers and unite us with God. Although countless miracles happened in the presence of our Gurus, by the will of God, they never preached miracles. They preached the Word/Naam of God. I hope you get the point. So, don't base your faith on the so-called miraculous happenings. If you want a strong spiritual foundation and want others to have the same, just preach the Word of God. Miracles can then be used to reinforce your faith. As for me, anything that happens in the Will of God, I consider it a miracle. And nothing happens outside His Will."

Sheldon: "Being a practical person, I could imagine only that which was in my reach and that was BSc."
Sonu: "So, you are practical, eh? Practical people use logic and reason to determine the cause of any effect. God performed His perennial miracle when He Created this Creation that we inhabit. Everything that has resulted due to that is also a miracle. God does not come and shuffle His Creation to reward someone every now and then. His System is totally Perfect and automatically rewards or punishes the inhabitants of this Universe based on their actions. My point is that you got admission because God's system found you deserving of it, not because God suddenly found you becoming more spiritual and wanted to give you a worldly reward. Unless, you actually went forth and asked Him for it! The rewards of spiritual progress are spiritual by default, just like the rewards of worldly effort are worldly by default. But, if you use the worth of your spiritual progress to acquire worldly objects then you have wasted your spiritual attainment. There have been countless saints who just lived by God's Will and never desired anything more than His company and that is what they got. They lived in material destitution throughout their lives even though they could have easily attained any worldly object. That is because they knew that everything worldly perishes and is not worth asking for, in lieu of their spiritual progress. God is the only One who never perishes and with one-pointed devotion towards Him, they attained Him and accepted anything that His system gave them. If it was poverty, they accepted it. If it was wealth, they accepted that too. God's system can never be partial or biased. You will always get what you deserve. Lord Jesus said, 'Let thy Will, be done!' So, just have faith in His Will. Just submit to Him in spite of good or bad times and you will come out a winner. If you need worldly objects for sustenance, make worldly effort to attain them. Don't trade your spirituality to attain material objectives. Basically, just remember, 'As you sow, so shall you reap.'"

Sheldon: "I've experienced often the Grace of God in areas where I haven't toiled as much. I don't call it luck but I can say that this kind of grace is biblical and promised. I don't disregard the English quote but I believe it has a limitation which I could only understand after being in a relationship with God. This Grace that many don't know is what I preach."
Sonu: "It's good that you didn't make a generalization about others, this time around! I thank God that you accept, that many know of this grace. But it would be very unfortunate if you still believe that only Christians know of this grace! God is not Christian! God has no religion. In fact, religion is just a vehicle that takes one to God. Since we humans lose faith in God's wisdom very easily, God keeps sending His pure children to guide the human race during every age. Every age has different kind of people with different languages and different levels of understanding. Hence, they have to be preached in a manner, such that they can make some sense out of God's message. Lord Jesus didn't preach in English, right? So, if someone hadn't thought of translating it into English and many other modern-day languages, how many people would have gone the length to translate it into their native language to understand it? Moreover, many translations of 'The Holy Bible' have not stood the test of time, which proves the corrupting human factor involved in such activity. Bhagvad Geeta was originally written in Sanskrit because the people of that time knew and spoke that language. Since not many Hindus know Sanskrit these days, most of them cannot comprehend the message in it and remain devoid of the treasure chest of spiritual knowledge that it is. Do you know Sanskrit? Or do the Christian priests and missionaries know it? Without knowing even an iota of Sanskrit how can they comment on what the Bhagvad Geeta or the Upanishads or the Vedas contain? Never thought that deep, did you? Just because some Christian missionary in a fit of fanaticism proclaimed that the Bhagvad Geeta or other similar scriptures contain nothing worthwhile, do you start believing them? Is your faith blind? You say that God created Lucifer, who later betrayed God and tried to take over His throne. Peter and Judas betrayed Lord Jesus. If God can be betrayed by His creation(Lucifer) and if Lord Jesus can be betrayed by His followers, is there any wisdom in your acceptance of missionary doctrine on face value? For 1500 years the Roman Catholic Church believed and propagated the idea that the earth was the centre of the universe and everything revolved around it. Based on this belief, they ordered the public execution of Giordano Bruno who actively opposed the geo-centric(earth-centric) view that the church had. Bruno was burnt alive because the helio-centric(sun-centric) view that he held was not acceptable to the Pope. When Galileo published his proofs about the helio-centric viewpoint, he was put under house arrest and forced not to speak of it, but he persisted, for which he was later put under trial by the church. During the trial of Galileo, Cardinal Bellarmine said, 'To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim that Jesus was not born of a virgin.' And, later science proved without doubt that whatever Copernicus, Kepler, Tyco, Bruno, Galileo and many others had discovered 400 years back was true. Due to this, in 1992, on behalf of his ancestors, 'Pope John Paul II' had to offer a public apology to the world for persecuting many great scientists and philosophers of the past who just believed that the earth revolved around the sun! If 'The Holy Bible' could be mistranslated in the past, what assures you that it is not being mispreached now? If Christian scholars could mistranslate the Bible, how can you rest assured that their rebuke of the Bhagvad Geeta is true. It is with great regret that I say this to you but if you could just become more than 'a frog in the well', you would learn to respect other's belief systems. God's grace is not meant just for Christians alone. There were no Christians before Lord Jesus, but God's grace still showered on this world before that time. It always does. Just relentlessly appealing that Lord Jesus alone is the light of the world is the biggest blunder that Christians have made. It is like doubting God's wisdom in sending countless messengers, saints and prophets before Jesus arrived and after He left, to guide mankind. And what limitation could you see in the quote, 'God helps those who help themselves'. You helped yourself by putting your faith in God and God helped you get closer to Him. What's the limitation in that! Earlier, when your back was turned on God, you could never comprehend what His plans were for you. The slightest bit of faith that you decided to put in God in the beginning, made you believe later!"

Sheldon: "For God to convince a materialistic person like me, such miracles were part of his plan to reveal himself to me or else I wouldn't believe."
Sonu: "It is unfortunate that so many people like you, need God to perform miracles, before you all can believe in Him, when everything He has always done is a miracle! My friend, His Creation is the perennial miracle and even though He gave you eyes to see it, ears to hear it, nose to smell it, tongue to taste it and skin to feel it, you wanted something more to believe in Him! God's Word alone is enough to convince anyone. Faith based on miracles alone, is like a building standing on one pillar. It won't stand long. Instead, let the verses of the Holy Bible become the foundations of your faith and you will never give up even in the face of your worst fears. There is an english quote by the famous author Isaac Asimov, 'There is no merit in discipline under ideal circumstances, I will have it in the face of death or it is useless.' Wait for non-ideal testing times and you will come to know how strong your faith is. It is very easy to make big promises in ideal times. Just like Peter promised Lord Jesus during ideal times that he would follow the Lord even unto death, but failed in the face of his worst fears. He lost his faith when it was most needed because he had based it on the miracles that the Lord performed to heal people. Just like you don't get to carry your books during an examination and you have to perform based on the faculties of your brain, similarly, you are not allowed to perform miracles when God is testing your worth because you have to pass the test only using the faculties that God had given to you naturally. If you do use miracles then you will not pass the test and you will not be able to reach Him because you can't use God-given powers to win God's favour."

Sheldon: "I could never believe till I saw the impossible becoming possible in front of my eyes."
Sonu: "There was nothing impossible in your admission. It was a very normal event. I know some people who studied with me during engineering and they used to secure high percentages, nearly 65 to 70%, but they were atheists. They had no faith in God, but still, they managed to be the toppers. So, would you call it a miracle? Or did Lucifer leak the papers to them? God gave them what they deserved, even though they had no faith in Him. They worked hard and got what they wanted. You work hard to reach God and you'll get to be with God. Basically, if you want to call your admission to college a miracle then everybody else's admission to that college is also a miracle. If you can't accept that then none of that was a miracle."

Sheldon: "I had left bad company by now and I did try to concentrate but I wasn't used to working hard. That's why I failed."
Sonu: "Fair enough! So, you mean now you will definitely pass, right? Hope you do. All the best. But, do let me know how you fare."

Sheldon: "God kept trusting me and motivating me even when the world mocked at me."
Sonu: "Let's see how you stand up to God's trust. By the way, you are generalizing again, by saying that the world mocked at you! I know what you mean, but your words don't exactly mean that. You have to learn to be more specific."

Sheldon: No man can remain sinless (That's what the bible tells me). But my commitment to God was regarding my past life. Again he knew what I meant and it is only subject to his judgement.'
Sonu: "So, the bible says that 'No man can remain sinless.' Guru Nanak says the same thing, 'Jo jo deesai, so so rogee. Rog rahit mera Satgur jogi.', which means that, 'Whoever you see around you is a sinner, only the Satguru is without sin.' And, Guru Nanak's Satguru was God, just like Jesus's Father(or Satguru) was God. Did you know this verse of Guru Nanak? I bet you didn't because you have closed all doors and windows of your mind. How then, can you know something worthwhile about other belief systems? How then, can anyone expect you or so many Christian missionaries to respect other faiths? They probably don't even know what the words 'Bhagvad Geeta' actually mean. Although I'm sure they'll claim to know it already, if I asked them! Even if you could just understand the title of this Holy Scripture, you would have some idea about what it contains and at least respect it on face value. Translated to english it would mean, 'The Songs of God.'"

Sheldon: "I have heard his voice, seen him in dreams and felt his power in reality. The voice was not my conscience. It was the voice of GOD (as clear as if I were speaking to you in person), something I cannot describe but I can only desire that even you get to hear it so that you may believe."
Sonu: "Now, I really don't know when you will stop making assumptions about others!! By your words, it seems that I am a non-believer right now and will believe only when I hear God's voice! How can you claim to know that I've never heard the voice of God? Mainly, why do you assume so much about so many things? We've never met and never spoken with each other. All we've done is chatted once and exchanged a few e-mails. What do you know about my spiritual experiences? You know nothing much about me and you comment on my spiritual progress like you were speaking while sitting on God's lap! My friend, the voice of God lies in the Word of God. The 'Bhagvad Geeta' is the voice of God. The 'Holy Bible' is the voice of God. The 'Guru Granth Sahib Ji' is the voice of God. When the time is right, I will share more of my views on this topic. Again let me repeat certain examples to you. Lucifer must have heard the voice of God, right? But Lucifer betrayed God. Peter and Judas heard the voice of Jesus all the time, and that too in person. And they betrayed Jesus. How then can you be so confident that the voice that you hear in your head is going to keep you faithful? And for how long? How can you even be sure that it is God who speaks to you? Maybe, Lucifer talks to you in the garb of Jesus and you're falling for it! No offence meant, but again, basing your faith on supernatural phenomena will never lead you to God. In fact it can very easily misguide anyone. Maybe, it can help reinforce your faith, but nothing more. Suppose, if Lord Jesus wanted to pay you a visit in person and suppose that he walked over to your door in the garb of an impoverished man and told you that He was Lord Jesus, what would you do? Would you believe Him on face value? You will obviously doubt His words and naturally try to find a way to determine His authenticity. So, would you say to Him, 'If you are Jesus Christ then show me a miracle and prove yourself?' But that would be blasphemy. It would be very similar to what the pharisee priests asked Jesus to do. They told Him that if He was the Son of God and was sent to deliver the Jews then He should prove it by getting down from the cross! So, what would then be the difference between you and the pharisee priests? And, moreover, every Christian missionary these days, claims to be able to perform miracles! So, how would you differentiate between Jesus and those missionaries? Think about this. Only if that person could recite any verse from The Holy Bible and preach you like Jesus did in the past, would you actually be assured of His authenticity. That's the mark of a man who has attained Godhead. So, don't trust those visions to be authentic so soon, because they could be mind-made. What you deeply desire is what you see and hear and feel in your dreams. And while you dream, the dream appears to be as real as the reality outside. Do you know what the word 'sixth-sense' actually points to? It points in the direction of 'Intuitive knowledge of the Truth'. The 5 human sense faculties cannot perceive the infinite and supreme God. They are given to us so that we could sense the world outside. But to feel God, you need the sixth-sense, which is hidden deep within everyone. One who reaches it knows the Truth, knows God, knows all that is to be known. And the only thing that can help you reach within is the 'Word'/'Naam' of God, which is given to us by a Guru, like Lord Krishna, Lord Jesus, Guru Nanak and all the other kindred spirits."

Sheldon: "These are not manifestations of anger or anything natural. These were supernatural manifestations. I will tell you different demonic encounters I've had in detail. But if you want to ask Vignyanand, you can ask him about the manifestations he had seen when he had been to the Jesus Calls prayer tower at Ghatkopar."
Sonu: "I've heard what Vignyanand saw. But what do you want me to be convinced of? Since, things like that can be enacted. If you want me to be convinced of something then please get rid of all the problems in the world using those miraculous powers! That'll be of great help. And, please describe those demonic encounters in detail, so that I can give you my views on them."

Sheldon: "You will not believe if I tell you that God revealed to them heaven and himself. It would be better if they testified. You can ask Aabhas, Navneesh & Kanaad etc. There are more folks to whom God revealed himself. I'll give you their e-mail addresses if you want them."
Sonu: "Sure, give me their e-mail addresses!"

Sheldon: "What then is this name? and what is the meaning of Salvation?? If his name is God, then do people attain salvation each time they cry "Oh God" out of frustration?"
Sonu: "As you've already read above, the 'Name' or 'Naam' is the 'Word of God'. And, I've given you enough information above, so that you could understand what I mean. And simply speaking, 'Salvation' is the state of Union with God, a state of pure immortal perennial eternal incomprehensible bliss!! Let us consider these two expressions: 'Oh God' and 'O God'. 'Oh God' comes out of frustration(complaining) or bewilderment, and 'O God' comes out of pure love(yearning, longing) for God. Most people who say 'Oh God' don't even know what they are saying because its use has become so common that it has lost its meaning. Just like many people have forgotten that the entire Creation of God is a miracle because they've taken it for granted. One who listens to the Word of God(Naam) and Understands the Word of God and truly yearns for Union with God by reciting the Word of God, actually attains Union with God. Show me one person who says, 'Oh God' and actually means it! Or anyone, who actually thinks of God at that moment. Most of the time, people don't know they are saying it because it has become such a common public expression, and those who do know what they're saying are actually complaining to God, as if He has brought about the situation that they are so frustrated of! I've actually heard agnostics and atheists say 'Oh God' out of frustration or bewilderment and when I pointed out as to what they had said, they denied saying it! Anway, I hope these words of Guru Nanak, 'Without the Name of the Lord, no one attains salvation', make more sense to you now!"

Sheldon: "I know only one Sun. There may be artificial sources of light though. I know one way to see the Sun every morning. Open the curtain of the window that is present in the room inside which all the tube lights and bulbs are present and shut them out because the real Sun has risen."
Sonu: "I can say the same thing about the Sikh Gurus, so who is to prove, which one of us is right? Just because you can see one Sun, doesn't deny the possibility that there are many other Suns. You've clearly said that you know only one Sun, which means your knowledge is limited to just one Sun, just like the limited knowledge of the Roman Catholic Church in the medieval period that denied that the Earth revolved around the Sun and whose fanaticism destroyed the lives of innocent people. To label someone as a tubelight or a bulb, you should have actually learnt all there is to learn about them. Have you done that? No, you haven't. You know practically nothing about the Gurus of other religious belief systems and have so easily labeled them! That is ludicrous! You accept the propagandist and fundamentalist doctrine of missionaries on their face value, without using reasoning of your own. That's really unfair. It has just been a little while since you've entered the spiritual dimension and you've already begun to proclaim that all other paths to God are false. And you say you are tolerant! Tolerant people learn from each other and try to find commonalities in beliefs based on which they can co-exist harmoniously, they don't go around claiming superiority in one form or another! I'm not angry or anything. There's no reason to be angry. I'm just amazed by your ignorance."

Sheldon: "Sonu, I believe that if God wanted to reveal himself to man, he could have done it in one single way without creating different religions and groups that would differ in doctrine and teaching. Then who created them? Man? If he placed different people in the world to show the people the way, is he so lacking in wisdom to know that these people would meet as technology advances and there would be differences?"
Sonu: "You talk as if you have complete understanding of God's Wisdom! How can you claim to understand what God has done? And, why He has done it? Who is to say that only one religion is required or more than one is required? How do you know what would have happened if the world had only one religion? God's Creation is full of variety. But in this variety, there is hidden similarity. Life comes in many forms. There are animals, plants, insects, birds, humans, etc. From the outside they appear to be different, but deep inside they are made from the same kind of cells that are encoded with DNA. If you look deeper still, you will find similar atoms and molecules in all of them. Look deeper still and you will find that the whole of Creation is made of the same matter, neutrons, protons, electrons, etc. And you can keep going deeper to find new levels of equality. My aim here is not to give you a science lesson, but to point out that deep within God's Creation there is complete equality in diversity. Similarly, from the outside every religion may appear to be different. But, the deeper you look into their nuances the more similarities you'll see! I've seen many such similarities and I'm sure that if someone reaches the end of the road, (s)he will find no difference between them at all! God has created foods of countless kinds. Imagine if you had to chew on wheat flour all your life! He has Created innumerable suns, planets and galaxies, all of different sizes, shapes and compositions. He has created so many humans, but all of them are unique. Why didn't He create all humans with the body and mind of Sheldon? Can you tell me why? Why did He create so many colors? What if there was just one color, white? Why did he create hundreds of natural elements? Why didn't He just create the hydrogen atom and leave it there? And, why create the Creation at all? What was the need for all of this? Only the one who has united with God knows all this perfectly. The farther you go into anything that God has created, you will find infinitely more variety and the deeper you explore it, you will find infinitely more similarity. I just hope that God grants you the vision to see this Unity in Diversity."

Sheldon: "I've heard that some people experience God by meditating after smoking marijuana. I think that's sad because I've been smoking marijuana and I never experienced God. Instead when God intervened in my life, all that he did was help me get out of these. So there are so many ways to God as people say. Let's reason out how genuine they are."
Sonu: "Are you implying that paths other than Christianity are comparable to smoking marijuana? I hope not. Everyone in this world seeks peace and rest in some way or the other. Everyone wants to be free of suffering. And the restless human mind tries to find every possible solution to end the constant suffering that life brings. Some people want to be free of all pain and suffering quickly, even if such a solution lasts only for a short time and such people may indulge in drugs and alcohol which easily make a person more unconscious. One loses even basic comprehension of reality. Although these agents can make one intoxicated and carefree, their effect lasts only as long as the drug remains in the body's system. And as soon as the effect is gone, the problems of worldly existence again start to overwhelm such people. So, it is not a solution to end all suffering. On the other hand, a true religious path does not make one unconscious or give a short term solution. Instead, it offers a permanent solution that leads one to eternal peace and bliss. Such a path eventually raises one's consciousness to such a level where one becomes acceptable to God. Such people are also intoxicated and carefree, but not due to unconsciousness but due to intense and ever-present superconsciousness. And, one more thing. Before you begin to reason out the genuineness of other paths, please make an effort to learn something about them."

Sheldon: "Let's not spend more time on this testimony issue, because there are much serious topics to deal with."
Sonu: "The serious exchange of information has already begun."

Sheldon: "I never preach to convert people but only to reveal the truth about Christ and what he did for entire mankind."
Sonu: "The fault does not lie in your revealing the truth about Lord Jesus's contribution to humanity's awakening. It lies in your being ignorant of the truth that other people wish to reveal to you, about their paths and how these paths have led to a similar awakening of mankind."

Sheldon: "If all religions were from the creator, I would be the happiest person in the world."
Sonu: "Religions do not come from the Creator. Messages come from the Creator through His pure children. These messages come at different times and places due to different reasons, as and when God deems them fit. His Wisdom is beyond the comprehension of the human mind. Hence, most eastern religions preach the conquering of the human mind as a method of knowing Godhead. Religion is just an embodiment of the messages from God. If you actually explore these messages, you'll find the same meaning deep down. So, please try to understand this, so that you can quickly become the happiest person in the world!"

Sheldon: "I am sending you the testimony of a famous devout Sikh who met Christ."
Sonu: "I know you'll probably not accept what I've to say about this story. Anyway, just read my reply on it. I read this story that you'd sent about this person called Sadhu Sundar Singh who converted to Christianity. I also found the same content on some Christian missionary kind of websites. I have to point out that this is not a testimony. It is a story that someone else has written down. Sundar Singh cannot be a devout Sikh becuase he was not at all serious about Sikhism. No devout Sikh can burn a holy book. If you are ascribing devoutness to blind faith then you're mistaken because a devout person is most serious about one's faith and earnestly yearns to move further on it. In this story, all the major religions of the east, especially those that originated in India, have been attacked in some way or the other. Firstly, Singh is shown to have given up Sikhism, without even having known it, as if Sikhism was a splinter in his mind! So, Sikhism was cleared off from the path as easily as it was introduced into the story. Although the writer has tried to flatter the Sikhs by saying that Singh continued to wear his turban, this means nothing to me becuase the writer doesn't know why true Sikhs wear a turban and keep long unshorn hair. The writer has also tried to calm down Hindu readers by saying that Singh kept the Saffron robes of a Sanyasi. Later on he's shown to have visited Tibet, where he met Buddhist monks that have been portrayed as nothing less than monstrosities who tried to kill him because they didn't like his doctrine! As far as I know, Tibetan monks are the calmest of people and have had to face a lot of suffering at the hands of the Mongols and the Chinese, due to which they became even more introverted and for protection, many had to settle down at their main centres for Buddhism in India. In this story, Buddhism is done away with, by portraying it as a path of mindless brutes although in reality the situation is entirely opposite. Lastly, the Maharishi at Kailash is shown to have been a muslim by birth, enlightened by Christ and meditating like a Yogi in the caves of Kailash. The writer probably didn't consider Jainism to be such a big threat and didn't make it part of this story. Although there were some interesting points in the story, the very obvious indirect battering of the most practiced religions of India, makes it sound like a long-term propaganda by Christian missionaries to spread Christianity by hook or by crook throughout India. I can't believe this story on face value. I could only find it on websites that were connected to Christian missionary work. I can raise many other contradicting issues in the story that the writer probably didn't think of. This is a story meant to slowly deviate people from paths such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Islam and get them to accept Christianity. It is more like a bait meant to lure and dupe gullible followers of other faiths. It is purely a work meant to inspire one to become a Christian. Apart from the story's obvious religious connotation, I found it quite inspiring at some places."

Sheldon: "I've been tolerant all my life and am still tolerant but I like to reason out things."
Sonu: "Since, you say you are tolerant, I hope you will patiently try to reason out all that i've said in this message."

Sheldon: "I wish to share some knowledge and evidence I have come across as a result of posing questions of various kinds. I have a request. Let's be friends. That gives us the opportunity to meet and discuss in person if it's okay with you."
Sonu: "Everyone is my friend and so are you! Indeed, you may pose questions of any kind and I'll try to reply as frankly as I can. I'll be delighted to meet you in person, as and when I get free time."

Good day.

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