Are Radha Swamis Sikh?
Recently looked into Radha swamis and thought I should share some findings with the sangat. The goal of this post is to help those who consider themselves to be Sikhs but also follow the radha swami ideology so they can decide what to follow. Feel free to share your inputs.
The good:
- They believe in one god and heavily focus on spirituality. They claim the purpose of the organization is to help the followers find god and become a better human.
- They discuss a lot of complex topics that are mentioned in Guru Granth Sahib like Naam, sat guru, Shabad, and the 5 vices.
- They don’t do force conversions and anyone is free to join or leave.
- They have become a huge community with alot of power and political connection.
The contradictions with sikhi:
- Guru Granth Sahib is not considered a guru. To them, it’s merely a manuscript written by the gurus. They agree the gurus’ were divine but not the Guru Granth Sahib. They constantly just use the name “Adi Granth” when using references from GGS.
- They believe in a living guru who is believed to be on the same spectrum as the 10 Sikh gurus. According to some of their videos, the true guru is the Shabad, but they never say their group leader is not divine/guru.
- They believe that Guru Granth Sahib is not enough to progress spiritually. They claim a living guru is necessary in order to progress spiritually.
- They do not voice against the tyranny perpetuated by the political leaders of any country. They stay out of all conflicts and only focus on spirituality. Sikhi on the other hand focuses on being a Sant Sipahi.
Here is the link to a video by Sant Maskeen and his views on Radha swamis.
At the end of the day, no one can determine whether you are a Sikh or not. That’s between the guru and you. This post is not to judge but instead to help people who stand at a contradiction with their faith and make a decision.