Lohri

Lohri & Sikhism

There are many origins of Lohri all forming part of folklore. The celebration of lohri has it's roots in the worship of fire and sun, it was typically observed as the sun moved out of capricorn and into aquarius.
Fire was used in worship by many cultures at the time and was a sign of regeneration, the ancients believed that the flames carried their messages to the sun.

Lohri is commonly celebrated on the 13th of January. The exact date is hard to trace as we now mostly adhere to the Gregorian calendar, however, in ancient times different cultures adhered to their own calendars, the one used by Hindus at that time would have been the Saka calendar and the one traditionally used in the punjab would have been the Bikrami calendar, which was later changed to the Nanakshahi calendar.

Lohri has no roots in Sikism and does not have any religious significance for Sikhs. It is largely celebrated by Punjabi's some of who may be Sikhs because of it's strong ties to the Punjabi culture. It actually goes against Sikhism's beliefs of equality as it was only celebrated when a son had been born into a family, thereby subjugating a woman's status. This is contrary to the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Added to this is the fact that Sikhs do not worship fire or sun. Nowadays there is a push that people celebrate lohri even when a girl is born into the family. (My opinion is that getting rid of what may seem an obsolete tradition would also serve as a step to equality but without the added cost that in many years from now will become a hugh burden on many people who believe that these traditions have to be kept alive, thus promoting consumerism, which is also against a Sikh's simple way of life)

Raksha Bandan & Sikhism

Before I get to whether or not Sikhs should tie a rakhree on their arms, lets take a look at history and the significance of this custom. Like many customs in India the female is portrayed as being inferior to a man, the main significance of the rakhee is to symbolise that a brother should protect his sister, and thereby imply that sisters are helpless and not able to look after themselves, I'm sure if I was to put this to a female nowadays I would be told otherwise. Back in the old days things were a lot different to now, but I believe females now are more than able to look after themselves and in most cases look after their brothers too. It saddens me to see females subjugating themselves in these days of equality, and whats worse is they don't even know their doing it. Granted, Raksha Bandan is an old Hindu custom but even during the Mughal era they called upon the Sikhs to protect their sisters, even though it was they who wore the rakhree and pledged to protect their sisters.

Like many old customs that did not originally start off as being orientated around money, I fear this too has become commercialised and now only serves as a money spinner, in fact I would even go as far as to say it breeds greed, nowadays sisters expect money or gifts in return for tying the worthless piece of thread to her brothers arm. To those that say it signifies love,  and love is priceless, I say love is not materialistic, well at least not real love. Those that truly love, are loved and need no external reference.

I have said may times before that no religion should become diluted, I have respect for other religions but am disappointed to see so called Sikh's celebrating customs that belong to other religions. Just because we live in a western society does not mean we have to lose our religion or take parts of other religions just to conform to societies expectations. Don't sit on the fence, make a choice and stick to it. If you call yourself a Sikh, then be a Sikh, if you call yourself a Christian, then be a Christian, if you call yourself a Muslim, then be a Muslim.

Back to the rakhee, if it's about protection then wouldn't it be more appropriate for a husband to have a rakreee tied on his arm as he is best placed to protect his wife and not her brother who probably doesn't even live anywhere close to his sister, and is it really feasible that a young boy can protect a sister that is 10 or 15 years older than he.

Raksha Bandan is not a Sikh custom but many Sikh's have celebrated this custom, some say it's harmless, others say they don't want to offend or disappoint their sisters, but wouldn't it be better to have this discussion with her and explain your reasons. Every Sikh woman was given equality and this should be promoted, every Sikh was freed from customs that instead of empowering them, sought to subjugate them.

Alan Watts is God for 10 Minutes

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Halloween

Halloween or All Hallows day was something I grew up taking part in as a child without questioning or even knowing what halloween was about. In my later years I stopped taking part because I could not identify myself with this celebration and what seemed to me to be a day of promoting Satanism by way of dressing up as an evil character.

The 31st October is generally regarded as the day of the dead, where those that have passed away are remembered, especially the hallowed, saints. I don't particularly have a problem with this or any other celebration apart from the fact like most celebrations this has also been hijacked by capitalists for profit, and them knowing that children are taught/coerced to take part in schools and parents not wanting to let their children be left out of what has become a 'normal' and accepted activity. I fear we've come to far from the origins of this day of contemplation and placed too much value on the presentation and trick or treating, we seem to have forgot that people sat quietly in remembrance and it didn't cost anything to do so. It is only in the last few decades that people started wearing witch and devil outfits and now even outfits that are synonymous with evil characters in movies. this has nothing to do with Halloween but no one seems to be stopping this.

Theres a lot of difference between celebrating the dead and masquerading as a witch or wearing a devil mask and when I see Christians doing this in the name of fun, I think to myself surely this is going against their religious beliefs, moreover, when I see other members of the community, Indians, Hindus etc all taking part I wonder why in the name of fun are we diluting our culture and beliefs and do we think we are actually enhancing our culture by integrating into the western culture.
I've always said... you don't have to believe in something to respect it but would you expect a Christian or anyone else for that matter to go to the Gurdwara on our guru's birthdays, vaisakhi, diwali etc and then would you expect them to wear a turban if they did attend out of respect.

What it boils down to is to challenge your actions, think why you are taking part in something and be brave enough to say no, this is not part of our culture or religion as the case may be. I'm proud of integrating into western society but I am not willing to give up or compromise my beliefs in doing so. I have chosen my own path and will do my best to stay true to it.

  

Diwali

Hinduism 

For Hindus, Diwali welcomes in the New Year and symbolises the defeat of the darkness that engulfs the light of knowledge.
The festival was originally held to honour the return of Lord Rama and his family back to their kingdom in Ayodhya after his years of absence fighting the demon king of Sri Lanka. As they returned home at night, people lit oil lamps to guide their way. For these reasons, homes and businesses are decorated with lights at this time of year. Diwali can fall at the end of October or the start of November because it is celebrated on Amavasa, the 15th day of the dark fortnight (new moon) of the Hindu month Kartika.

Hindu celebrations stretch over five days:
Day One – Lakshmi Pooja: On the first day of celebration, homes are cleaned in order to welcome the Goddess Lakshmi. They are then decorated with lamps, mango leaves and marigolds around the doorways and gifts are given in the family.

Day Two – Naraka Chatrudashi: On this day, there is a focus on abolishing evil and the Goddess Kali is worshipped. 

Day Three – Diwali Day: This is the end of the Hindu year and is celebrated by lighting lamps in the home and fireworks displays. 

Day Four – Nutan Varsh: This day is the start of the Hindu New Year. 

Day Five – Bhai bij or the Teeka Ceremony: This day is important to Hindus as it celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters.

Jainism

Jainism is one of India’s most ancient religions. It was revived by Bhagwan Mahavir, who organised the teachings in their current form. Jainism teaches the path of non-violence towards all living beings and attempts to explain the meaning of life and the purpose of existence.
Diwali is celebrated by the Jains as it is the day that Lord Mahavir attained moksa – this is believed to be the final liberation of the soul, which brings an end to all of the suffering that is attached to being caught in the repeated cycle of death and rebirth. For Jains, Diwali commemorates this permanent happiness of the soul. Leicester boasts the largest Jain temple in England.

Sikhism

Bandhi Chhorr Divas

For Sikhs, the story of Diwali, or ‘Bandhi Chhorr Divas,’ is a story of the struggle for freedom. Concerned by the growing power of Sikhism in India, the mogul emperor Jahingir devised a plan to imprison the 6th Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind Ji. Guru Hargobind Ji was held for 40 days at the Gwalior Fortress with fifty two Hindu Rajas (Kings) who were deprived of their kingdoms and badly treated in the fortress. Seeing this, Guru Ji shared all of his rations with the Hindu Rajas and survived on very little himself. Outside the fortress, many influential people and Holy Men were outraged with the actions of the mogul emperor, including the highly regarded Muslim holy man Hazarat Mian Mir, who demanded Guru Ji should be released immediately. The emperor agreed to this but Guru Ji refused to leave on his own, stating that he would only leave if the 52 Rajas were also set free. After being told that only those who could hold onto the Guru Ji’s robe would be released, Guru Ji had a special robe made with 52 Khalia (tapers) so that each of the Rajas could walk free with him.

The release of Guru Ji and the Hindu Rajas coincided with Diwali Day - this is why Sikhs celebrate the day. Guru Ji was named ‘Bandhi Chhorr’, the deliverer of prisoners. Sikh’s celebrate in Amritsar (Golden Temple) by lighting candles on the sacred water that surrounds the temple, called the sarowar. Out of love and respect for the Guru Ji, this tradition continues today. Sikhs around the world celebrate
in Gurdwaras (temples).

Jainism

Jainism believes that universe and all its substances or entities are eternal. It has no beginning or end with respect to time. Universe runs own its own accord by its own cosmic laws. All the substances change or modify their forms continuously. Nothing can be destroyed or created in the universe. There is no need of some one to create or manage the affairs of the universe. Hence Jainism does not believe in God as a creator, survivor, and destroyer of the universe. However Jainism does believe in God, not as a creator, but as a perfect being. 

When a person destroys all his karmas, he becomes a liberated soul. He lives in a perfect blissful state in Moksha forever. The liberated soul possesses infinite knowledge, infinite vision, infinite power, and infinite bliss. This living being is a God of Jain religion. Every living being has a potential to become God. Hence Jains do not have one God, but Jain Gods are innumerable and their number is continuously increasing as more living beings attain liberation. 

Jains believe that since the beginning of the time every living being (soul) is attached with karma and also it is in delusion (ignorant) state of its true nature. The main purpose of the religion is to remove this delusion through self-knowledge and self-effort. This knowledge will remove karma which are associated with it from the beginning of time. When all karma get removed, the soul becomes liberated soul.

Gil Noble "Like It Is" Interview with Bob Marley