Did Guru Gobind Singh intend to wash away Sin? Do Sikhs believe in Adam and Eve? Is the Christian concept of paradise and hell, the same in Sikhism? Do Sikhs believe in Original Sin? Does Sikhism teach that only the Khalsa can hope for salvation? Do children carry the sins of their forefathers? Is this similar to the caste system? Is Guru Gobind Singh that savior?

Without Baptism, one is not a’ Christian,

No child is permitted inside a Christian Church before he\she is baptized. It does not matter if both his parents are practicing Christians. It makes no difference if they were married inside the Church. It does not matter if his parents are kings or beggars.

The child is not clean, and is not a Christian until he is baptized. Baptism is performed in an annex adjoining the church, as non-Christians are not welcome in the house of God, Only through baptism does one become a Christian, gain entry to the Church, and access to other sacraments, No sacrament can be administered to one who is not baptized.

 Baptism is also the time when a child receives his or her name. Before one is baptized one is so worthless that one does not merit a name Are the Khalsa not Sikhs? ‘Are the children of Khalsa, not considered to be Sikhs at birth?

Are they fit to enter Gurdwara?

When do children become Sikhs?

Are new born children considered unclean, (full of sin)?

What about the Sikh teaching that the Gurdwara, being the house of God is open to all? Is the Gurdwara not Open to Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike?

Is Per shad not given to everybody in the Gurdwara, be they Khalsa, Hindu or Muslim?

Is Langar not given to everyone? When do Sikhs receive their names? Do the

Sikhs change their names when they take Amrit, and become Khalsa?

START USING THE INITIATION CEREMONY TERMINOLOGY

 “AMRIT SANCHAR”.

 In time it will enter the Oxford dictionary, but only if we ourselves insist on using it.

This chart may seem silly and simplistic, but if the answer to any of these questions is no … then it follows that Amrit is not Baptism. Certainty not in the way it is understood in Christianity. Why create confusion by using inappropriate language?

It may be interesting to note that there are religious rites in other religions the closely to the Sikh Amrit Ceremony: Curiously, is a sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church that closely resembles the intent, if not the form of the Amrit ceremony. In the Sacrament of Confirmation, a Christian man or woman, after being educated in the teachings and tenets of his religion takes an  oath of confirming his religious beliefs, and declares  himself ready to stand up and fight to defend his beliefs  if that ever should become a necessity. In taking Confirmation, one becomes a “soldier of Christ”. The ceremony is given great importance and is always officiated by a bishop of the Church, not a priest. This sacrament must be taken by ‘only those” who are old enough to know what they are doing. Today it is usually around the age of twelve, though traditionally it used to be much older.

Likewise the Jewish faith also has the Bar Mitzvah ceremony, which has similar intent, but is only open to men, It should be particularly interesting to Sikh is in that the Jews believe themselves to be not only a religion, but a nation. To prepare himself for Bar Mitzvah, a Jewish boy at the age of twelve, must study his religion, his history and his social traditions, He then goes to the synagogue and professes to the congregation that he is now ready to become a man, and take up the responsibilities of a man to his community, One of those responsibilities is of course to defend everything that his faith and tradition stands for.

Clearly Guru Gobind Singh did not “baptize” any one. He gave them Amrit and created the Khalsa with the clear intent of giving them status and dignity. The ceremony was not so much the birth of the Khalsa, as it was the culmination of the teachings of the ten Gurus. Let us take that dignity and show pride in which we are. We are Sikhs. We do not need to apologize to any one for that. Nor do we need to borrow their religious terminology or try to pretend that we are like someone else. We are proud to be Sikhs. We have our own faith and our own traditions. It may take a little longer to explain who we are and what we do, but we should do jt right and with pride and dignity, The British have nothing over us. We are equal to any man and any faith.

Article extracted from this publication >> April 8, 1994