On Saturday 01 March 2008, ss wrote: [snip] > One more religion that is considered dharmic and non adversarial (towards > Hindus) and an offshoot of Hinduism is the Sikh religion. The Sikh > religion started off as a mild-mannered variant that took dharma from > Hinduism and a monotheistic theme.
This is something that probably every Sikh hears a lot and it still never fails to surprise me when I hear it. Sikhism is better considered a syncretic blending of Bhakti tradition and Sufism. I've often wondered: can a religion be monotheistic, anti-idolatory, anti-superstition (at least in theory if not in general practice) and caste-blind and still be considered Hinduism? If so, then to my mind Hinduism is everything and nothing, and the term devoid of value. -Taj.
