We have trodden through many
paths, collated the studied opinion of many scholars and researchers. Finally
we come to the end of the journey…. Sikhism began as a radical reformation,
modifying and challenging Hinduism as a whole. But gradually, it reabsorbed
many of the concepts and practices, it once discarded. Sikhism changed the
course according to the political and religious exigencies of the times. Still,
the fundamental concepts regarding the ways of salvation of Hinduism have been
retained in Sikhism in grater or smaller measure. Bhakti, nishkama karma,
jivanmukti, are some of these terms, karma, transmigration and vithi have been
accepted as such. Directly or indirectly, explicitly or implicitly, the four
ways of salvation is found in Sikhism. So, the four ways of salvation and the
Biblical responses may be considered. The four ways are Karma, Gnana, Bhakti
and Yoga….
Within the Lutheran evangelism Pastor Gamaliel was a
renowned leader. To his credit this Pastor acknowledged his “limitations” while
relying exclusively on books written by “Sikhs and western scholars” on
Sikhism. The question is: What compelled him to write this flawed book? The
answer is lodged in the preface section of the book. Apparently during
Gamaliel’s passing tenure at the Concordia University (in southern California,
USA), in 1994, the Pastor had an encounter with a certain Ramona Kaur Miller at
St. John’s Church located in Orange, California. As stated, Ramona Kaur
(married to certain Dr. William Miller) wanted her father, a Sikh gentleman, to
convert to Christianity and was seeking help from Pastor Gamaliel to accomplish
this objective.
This un-named Sikh person, the father of Ramona Kaur, had
earlier married an “American lady” and so it seems (though not clearly stated
in the book) his wife was instrumental in raising their three daughters
(including Ramona Kaur) to her own belief system of Christianity. Apparently,
even after the death of his wife, this Sikh person was reluctant to embrace
Christianity, and Ramona Kaur--a good Christian that she was--would leave no
stone unturned making sure her old-aged father to renounce Sikhism. After all
isn’t a good daughter suppose to behave this way? Even when her father, as
stated in this book, was 96-years-old, and sensing her father failing to
renounce Sikhism, she contacted Pastor Gamaliel again pressing him to write
this book solely for the purpose so that she might convince her dying father to
make a switch!
The fabrication of this book is a result of the background
of religious clash within one mixed family and, in all likelihood, this Sikh
father was helpless in facing a new brand of missionaries by way of his own
daughter! Because this book is silent in its outcome, my feeling is Ramona Kaur
failed in her endeavors to convert her father. Moreover, I believe if Pastor
Gamaliel had embraced any sense of modern secular morality, he should have
counseled Ramona Kaur against pursuing such adventures against her own father
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