r/Sikh

I was born into Islam, and over the past few years I’ve been searching for truth more than comfort. I’ve spent countless hours studying different religions, histories, and philosophies, trying to find the path that truly brings me closer to God and helps me become a better human being.
While researching my own family’s history, I discovered that my Romani ancestors originally came from the Punjab region. That discovery eventually led me to Guru Nanak Sahib Ji and Sikhi. At first it was simply curiosity, but the more I studied, the more I found myself deeply moved by the Guru’s teachings—honest living, humility, equality, selfless service, and remembering Waheguru.
Today I finally worked up the courage to visit a Gurdwara.
I arrived early because I was honestly nervous. I wasn’t sure if I’d be welcomed or if I’d accidentally do something disrespectful. An older gentleman came over to me, and I explained that it was my first time and that I had been learning about Sikhi. I also mentioned that I had recently discovered my ancestors came from Punjab. The smile on his face immediately grew. He became genuinely excited and happy, and his warmth instantly made me feel like I belonged. That simple interaction calmed my nerves more than he probably realized.
I covered my head, washed my hands, bowed before Guru Granth Sahib Ji, sat quietly during the kirtan, and later shared langar with everyone else. Nobody cared about my background. Nobody treated me like an outsider. I was simply another person sitting alongside everyone else.
That experience affected me more deeply than I expected.
I didn’t grow up feeling truly loved. Much of my life I felt tolerated rather than accepted. Today, for the first time in a long time, I felt a genuine sense of peace and belonging.
I know one visit doesn’t make me Sikh, and I know I have so much to learn. I have great respect for the Guru, and I don’t want to rush something as important as faith. If I eventually become Sikh, I want it to be because I understand the teachings and strive to live them every day—not because of emotion alone.
Today simply felt like the beginning of something meaningful.
To everyone who welcomed a complete stranger with kindness, thank you. You may never know how much that meant to me.
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

From asking AI:

> In Sikhism, all success is commonly understood to occur by God's grace (nadar or kirpa)...the outcome is ultimately granted by the Divine.

So suppose there are 5 men who sow crops in the same way. 4 men have a bountiful harvest while one man has a failed harvest. This is by Waheguru's decree?

Suppose there are 5 men with the same resume. They send out their resume. 4 of the men receive job offers while 1 is ignored by everyone. This is by Waheguru's decree?

Please allow me to understand better. All my life, I have been under the impression that success comes from a mixture of genetic determinism (good looks), willpower and skill. But I have been questioning this for a while as I have seen those:

• without any skill succeed in a certain endeavour,
• those who apply no effort succeed,
• those who are ugly succeed, etc.

And there are some who seem 'cursed', whereby no matter what they do, or how they approach the subject, they inevitably fail when by their superior skill or just numerical probability, they should have succeeded by now. But something is preventing the door being opened.

It's incomprehensible, unless the Sikh doctrine of divine providence is believed, which I find it hard to convince myself of, as why would Waheguru bestow so many blessings on the ungrateful, evil and those who use the blessings for evil.

The atrocities that were commited the way they killed and raped so many of our brethren. How can we not want revenge and I don't know how to live with it.

I haven't been able to think clearly and I am struggling to digest that almost none of the conspirators have been punished.

How do I accept this because I don't think I can ever move on from this.

Any words of wisdom are more than welcome

Hi i am 20 M amritdhari sikh, I practice nitnem. But my parents aren’t even sehajdhari.My father also drinks.So its very difficult to hold or getting stick to maryada.But can’t learn extra curricular stuff such as gatka,gurbani santhya etc because i have to study to competitive exam(GATE).
Right now what should i do,
As an amritdhari sikh i am only practicing nitnem,which i think isn’t enough. Or i become sehajdhari because i am not matching the level of being a khalsa.
The fear of being a sehajdhari is also there,because there are very less people that stays in this state,either they become amritdhari or they trim…

Sat Sri Akaal ji,

Please forgive me if I am wrong for asking a question like this, but I am just a little curious. My relatives from Punjab, in particular the women and young girls, seem to have a very strong attachment to Baba Deep Singh Ji. There are 2 in particular who will post daily WhatsApp status’ about (for?) him. I’ve noticed this phenomenon grow stronger in recent years. Even my own mum is similar. I just want to ask for some context to this please. Of course there is nothing wrong with this and I am not saying this from a judgemental perspective, I’m just curious. Thank you

I wanted to share this for anyone who's questioning their faith..

I've had moments where I've struggled too. I've lived through depression, dealt with anxiety, and gone through hard times where one thing after another happened until I felt completely broken. During these times I didn't know how I was going to move forward, and recently, I reached one of the lowest points of my life. My whole system just seemed to shut down. Looking back, I think I was carrying a lot of trauma, and I retreated back into my shell. I was constantly in survival mode, just trying to get through each day.

But even through all of that, I never felt like turning away from Sikhi. If anything, I found myself turning towards it even more. I turned to Waheguru. I turned to the Guru's sanctuary. I turned to sangat. I continued doing Naam Japna, learning Gurbani, and reciting banis as much as I was able to. I didn't always have answers, and I didn't always feel strong, but I knew where i wanted to turn for healing.

Sikhi didn't promise me a life without hardship, but it gave me somewhere to place my heart when my own strength wasn’t enough, when I felt completely lost, when I felt like I had nothing left, and when things just seemed pitch black. 

I'm not sharing this because I think everyone's journey will look like mine. We all carry different burdens, and I know that people have different reasons for questioning things, but if you’re struggling, I just hope none of you give up. I just simply wanted to say that, in some of the darkest moments of my life, leaning into Sikhi became my greatest source of comfort and strength. When my mind was restless… more than anything I just wanted to sit in the Darbar Sahib, it was an intense craving that I can’t even put into words, and I just knew I’d find healing there. Even if all you can do is sit quietly in Darbar Sahib or whisper "Waheguru," that's enough. You don't have to have everything figured out before you come to the Guru.

I truly believe Waheguru sees our pain. Even when we can't understand what we're going through, I believe he still watches out, hasn’t forgotten us, and sometimes has us go through difficult times to pull us out of this moh maaya and back towards him. It’s what I’ve experienced anyways… I just think he helped pull me out from being more consumed by the distractions and attachments of this world. These difficult experiences just seemed to remind me where lasting peace is found. I cant claim to understand his hukam but I strongly feel that he has a way of helping us out because he alone is the source of fulfillment. 

I pray that anyone who's hurting finds peace, strength, and hope, and that one day you can look back and see that Waheguru was walking with you through it all.

If you’re struggling or wrestling with questions, pls don’t feel like you have to carry it alone. Don’t be afraid to reach out to sangat. If you ever need someone to listen, my DMs are open too. 

I came across a webpage about a University of Khalsa located in California. On the website it says they offer degrees in CS and business programs. I wanted to know if this was real and if someone has attended. There is a Khalsa University near Seattle but that is just a preschool with Guru Sahib ji's parkash, is this something like that. If this is real, I'm surprised no one has talked about it.

https://universityofkhalsa.org/#

Just wanted to hear everyone's thoughts on this.

It feels like all around the world, people are becoming less religious. Even in our own community, more Sikhs are cutting their kesh, and it seems like there are fewer people who are really practicing Sikhi compared to before.

One thing I've been thinking about is whether mass migration has played a role too. A lot of Sikhs have settled in the West and Europe over the last few generations, where societies are generally more secular.

I'm not trying to judge anyone or start arguments, I'm just genuinely curious to hear different opinions.

And even if you're not Sikh or you're not religious at all, feel free to share your perspective too. Just keep it respectful. 🙏

​

My girlfriend (19) and I (20) have been together for almost 4 years. We don't care about caste, but our families are different. I'm a Mazhabi Sikhh and she's a Nai Sikhh.

She believes her parents have taken her to people who perform black magic or "toone tappan" 3–4 times because they want us to break up. They don't accept our relationship only because of caste.

I personally don't believe in black magic, but this situation is becoming stressful. Has anyone dealt with something similar? How did you handle family pressure like this?

I hate that I feel compelled to write this, but I believe there is no harm.

*IF YOU FIND THIS LIST USEFUL, CONSIDER COPY/PASTE OR SHARING WITH YOUR LOVED ONES.*

GENERAL SELF PROTECTION

1. Use your common sense, stay Tyar bar Tyar, ie be alert and prepare
2. Don't allow your teenagers out too late, most attacks are in the dark.
3. Carry a Farbgel Red Spray, Legal in UK.
4. Carry personal safety alarms for everyone in the family
5. Workout/gym and train Boxing and running

TARGETS

1. Targets are usually elderly sikh men with bright colour turbans, Protect your grandfathers especially.
2. sikh kids aged 16 and below in school wearing patka, should preferably picked up from school by family/family friend rather than walking home alone. If you have to walk home, walk home in a group.
3. Sikh kids, do not get lured into fights afterschool. They troll you to make you angry, you'll show up and a gang is waiting for you. Don't fall for it, settle the interaction at school during school time.
4. and lone adult asian women in remote areas like parks early morning/late night so all kaurs be accompanied by men.

TRAVEL

1. Stick to main roads (generally daytime), avoid alleyways if you don't know physical self-defense
2. Try to use car/transport to gurdawara and back.
3. Keep windows up during traffic lights, in case of acid attacks

EVENTS

1. Avoid areas/venues with drunkards, that start BS for no reason.

RESEARCH

1. Check historical incidents in your country (USA, UK, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, ETC), and which area it was. Remember the Sikh in USA who was murdered post the 9 11 incident.
2. Check for racist areas, to avoid violent attacks.
3. Please protect yourself, search up Legal ways to protect yourself in your country and what legal arms you are allowed.

COMMMUNICATION

1. Talk to each other about any experience; don't keep anything to yourself. This goes for women and youngsters of any gender.
2. Create Safety WhatsApp groups with family

SANGAT

1. Singhs, we should guard our local gurdawaras if we hear noise brewing about
2. Create Safety WhatsApp groups with gurdawara sangat
3. Any serviceman/ex-serviceman in the forces, please give tips to your local sangat, now is the time
4. Be Super Alert during Nagar Kirtans, this is where riots are likely to try target and attack.
5. YOUNG SINGHS (20 to 40 yr old), SHOW UP
6. Now is the time to UNITE ALL SANGAT, put out messages. Forget the cars/houses/luxuries, get involved with the sangat and stick together. There is real danger lurking with attacks likely to happen soon.

This is not fearmongering, this is being prepared. Hope the sangat stays safe in chardi kala. Bhul Chuk maaf if I said anything wrong