# Do Sikhs Believe In Heaven Or Hell?



## Jasdeep118 (Jan 30, 2016)

So, I am pretty curious. Everyday I always ask questions about religion and I sometimes doubt about god, but I still believe in him. I just have this one question," Do us Sikhs believe in heaven or hell"? For some reason, I don't want to ask my dad, because he is pretty religious and might say this, "If you don't pray to god you go to hell", and I know that the Guru Granth never forces people. So, I am just wondering if we believe in a heaven or hell.


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## ActsOfGod (Jan 31, 2016)

Before getting to Gurmat, how about first exploring what you have to say on the subject.

What do you think, does heaven and/or hell exist?  What is your personal belief?

Once we hear from you, we can go from there.

Sikhi is not about forcing any kind of beliefs upon you.  Rather, it encourages you to engage in contemplation and self-discovery, which leads to awareness.  So the process of going within and asking yourself what is truth for you at any moment in time is very important.

[AoG]


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## Jasdeep118 (Jan 31, 2016)

ActsOfGod said:


> Before getting to Gurmat, how about first exploring what you have to say on the subject.
> 
> What do you think, does heaven and/or hell exist?  What is your personal belief?
> 
> ...


Well, for me I don't believe in a heaven or hell. I believe in a god, but I believe that once we die, we are part of God, that's it.


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## ActsOfGod (Jan 31, 2016)

Jasdeep118 said:


> Well, for me I don't believe in a heaven or hell. I believe in a god, but I believe that once we die, we are part of God, that's it.



Thank you for the reply.  Now you have a starting point.

I think a good place to begin will be to study Japji Sahib.  If you can read Punjabi, Guru Granth Darpan is an invaluable resource.  If you can only understand English, then there are some sources online with English Katha, here's one.  I would stay away from the English translations of Gurbani for now, because they will most likely just introduce confusion (most of the English translations are unreliable and atrociously bad)

And while you're engaged in that study, here's a question to think about:  where do we come from when we are born?  Are we already existing, or does God create us brand new?  What is your belief?

[AoG]


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## swarn bains (Feb 1, 2016)

it is easy to question others, curiosity on this site is norm of the day. did you ever look in your own soul to find the answer. Even if some one answers your question will come from a book he read. no body has seen the wind. no body has seen God. no body saw heaven and hell and came back to tell the world. it is just a scarecrow created by the soceity for fear of death and from doing bad deeds


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## RD1 (May 27, 2017)

I am not really sure exactly what Sikhism says about heaven and hell - or if it really goes into much depth about this at all....

From my understanding - and I am only just really starting to scratch the surface - heaven and hell may be more of mindsets than actual physical places. Hell may be attaching to the five thieves, living life in falsehood, attached to ego - and therefore being driven further away from the One. Whereas heaven may be becoming Gurmukh - living in Hukam, attaching ourselves to the One, understanding that everything is Him, and everything runs in accordance to His will.

I think Sikhims does not tend to emphasize a heaven and a hell - physical places where we go in the 'after life.' But instead, making the most of our actual lives when we are here on earth. The purpose of life is not to do good deeds in order to be rewarded in 'heaven' and to avoid being punished in 'hell.' This would ultimately be living a life of blind ritualism. Instead, we are here to cultivate the best in us - the One is us- while we are alive. We do not necessarily have to die and go to a physical heaven to unite with the One. Reminds me of a theme in Gurbani I have come across many times - "remaining dead while yet alive."


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## Pathfinder (May 28, 2017)

Yes, heaven and hell exist. Both exist on the plane that we exist. We constantly choose between one or the other.  Heaven is a state of happiness and is called "Chardi kala".

But then, what is happiness really??

Happiness.It isn't always fulfillment of your goals.It isn't always acquisition of your dreams.It can be the simplest of things.Happiness can be a glimpse of the stars through the clouds.Happiness can be a patch of sunlight in the forest.Happiness can be the most unexpected and out of place thing in the universe.And that is what makes it so brilliant.Happiness is the smile of someone you love.Happiness is knowing that everything will go right, even just for a second.Happiness is the realisation that you are not alone in this world.And happiness is helping someone else to realise this too.Happiness isn't just a reaction to certain stimuli.It is an attitude, a mode in which to put yourself.It is a state of bliss, not ignorance nor defiance of all that is evil, but understanding that there is no such thing.More than anything else though, happiness is the purest and most spectacular light shining from every hole in your body, and it shines onto anyone around you, rays of brilliance and joy.So be happy, and spread the light, because sooner or later, it will be dark, and you had better hope someone has a light. And it will shine. It always does.

The Guru's, Shaeeds, bhagats and countless others lived in the eternal state of 'Chardi Kala'. We can consider ourselves blessed if we can find a brief and spordic visit to 'heaven', away from the hell we lovingly dwell in, lol.


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## sukhsingh (May 28, 2017)

ActsOfGod said:


> Before getting to Gurmat, how about first exploring what you have to say on the subject.
> 
> What do you think, does heaven and/or hell exist?  What is your personal belief?
> 
> ...


I think the second part of your response is spot on. However I think the first part was possibly unnecessary.. It's a honest question for someone to ask who may be unfamiliar with the theological /philosophical thoughts on the matter


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## sukhsingh (May 28, 2017)

To add my own two pence worth I would say that Sikh philosophy does not believe in the traditional sense of heaven and hell.. How can Akaal be  hav nirbhau, nirvair if that were true.. However the language of heaven and hell is employed in bani.. So I would say hell is the reality in this life one experiences and lives with when not being 'true'. Our consciousness of our behavior and the burdens we carry we carry when we behave and live without ethics ultimately makes us live in hell... We may bury these feelings of guilt etc deep and never address them but like a itch they manifest themselves.. And until we resolve and grow we are always aware of the shortcomings of our selves


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## RD1 (May 28, 2017)

Pathfinder said:


> Happiness.It isn't always fulfillment of your goals.It isn't always acquisition of your dreams.It can be the simplest of things.Happiness can be a glimpse of the stars through the clouds.Happiness can be a patch of sunlight in the forest.Happiness can be the most unexpected and out of place thing in the universe.And that is what makes it so brilliant.Happiness is the smile of someone you love.Happiness is knowing that everything will go right, even just for a second.Happiness is the realisation that you are not alone in this world.And happiness is helping someone else to realise this too.Happiness isn't just a reaction to certain stimuli.It is an attitude, a mode in which to put yourself.It is a state of bliss, not ignorance nor defiance of all that is evil, but understanding that there is no such thing.More than anything else though, happiness is the purest and most spectacular light shining from every hole in your body, and it shines onto anyone around you, rays of brilliance and joy.So be happy, and spread the light, because sooner or later, it will be dark, and you had better hope someone has a light. And it will shine. It always does.



Well said. To add, happiness/chardi kala is also a state of acceptance - even in the face of something we perceive as adversity. Remaining in that state of happiness/contentment with hukam/chardi kala even when faced with 'hell,' is 'heaven.'



Pathfinder said:


> So be happy, and spread the light, because sooner or later, it will be dark, and you had better hope someone has a light. And it will shine. It always does.



How true it is - these cycles of light and dark we seem to rotate through. 



Pathfinder said:


> The Guru's, Shaeeds, bhagats and countless others lived in the eternal state of 'Chardi Kala'. We can consider ourselves blessed if we can find a brief and spordic visit to 'heaven', away from the hell we lovingly dwell in, lol.



In love with duality! 

Those few moments in life I think I may have tasted heaven are exalting. Like time stops....and i feel as if I am truly immersed in the moment - nothing else exists or matters. An immense feeling of joy, and awe overwhelms...difficult to explain with words - and perhaps this isn't even truly heaven i am feeling....but definitely a blessing to have these rare and brief moments....whatever they may be....


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## RD1 (May 28, 2017)

sukhsingh said:


> How can Akaal be hav nirbhau, nirvair if that were true



I have never thought of it that way! But so true!
If the One is without fear, without hate, how does it make sense that there is a physical hell that God will condemn 'bad' people to fro eternity? 
I don't know if its abrahamic influences or what, but the ingrained image of God seems to be of a punisher, looking down and judging everything we do, punishing us mercilessly for our 'sins'....but this really does not align too well with how Sikhs interpret God.....and Mool Mantar is excellent to refer to when we need reminding....Oneness and Love are at the core.


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## RD1 (May 28, 2017)

sukhsingh said:


> Our consciousness of our behavior and the burdens we carry we carry when we behave and live without ethics ultimately makes us live in hell.



How would ethics be defined?


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## sukhsingh (May 28, 2017)

RD1 said:


> How would ethics be defined?


That's a very good question and even as I wrote it it felt problematic.. I think in most circumstances our consciousness tells us if our behavior is not ethical and if it doesn't then sometimes after the fact we reflect upon our behavior and learn.


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## Sikhilove (Jun 2, 2017)

Heaven and hell are states of mind which we have according to the Psychology we practice. 

An evolved psychology practice and actions lead to a heavenly state of mind and a super highly evolved psychology is a Sachkandh state of mind- true freedom.


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## Harkiran Kaur (Jun 2, 2017)

Gurbani tells us there is only the ONE. That ONE is the same doer or 'I AM'..... the awareness behind every set of eyes. We think we are separate because of the illusion. Duality. We have forgotten we are the actor wearing costumes. Instead we think we ARE the character we are playing. But there is only ONE actor who is playing ALL. This sense of separateness and forgetfulness, causes a false ego haume identity to emerge. It's not who we are though. It's a false character we get immersed in because right now we happen to be playing this character and experiencing everything from this characters perspective. This is metaphorically... Hell. Being separated in amnesia and forgetting our divine origin. Being separated from Waheguru is Hell for a Gurmukh. 
There is in actuality no death. Does the actor die when he removes a costume when the play is over? Does the dreamer die when he awakens and stops playing the dream character in his own dream? 
Ultimate reality is ONE therefore no duality. If only ONE exists then everything must be happening within that ONE conscious awareness. In short, this world is like a dream. Or a play. Our physical bodies are merely the characters, the dreamer is Waheguru. When we die physically we don't cease to exist, we don't go to some heaven or hell, we simply wake up.


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## Sikhilove (Jun 16, 2017)

Harkiran Kaur said:


> Gurbani tells us there is only the ONE. That ONE is the same doer or 'I AM'..... the awareness behind every set of eyes. We think we are separate because of the illusion. Duality. We have forgotten we are the actor wearing costumes. Instead we think we ARE the character we are playing. But there is only ONE actor who is playing ALL. This sense of separateness and forgetfulness, causes a false ego haume identity to emerge. It's not who we are though. It's a false character we get immersed in because right now we happen to be playing this character and experiencing everything from this characters perspective. This is metaphorically... Hell. Being separated in amnesia and forgetting our divine origin. Being separated from Waheguru is Hell for a Gurmukh.
> There is in actuality no death. Does the actor die when he removes a costume when the play is over? Does the dreamer die when he awakens and stops playing the dream character in his own dream?
> Ultimate reality is ONE therefore no duality. If only ONE exists then everything must be happening within that ONE conscious awareness. In short, this world is like a dream. Or a play. Our physical bodies are merely the characters, the dreamer is Waheguru. When we die physically we don't cease to exist, we don't go to some heaven or hell, we simply wake up.



The Truth is One. God was the first Truth knower. As we begin to accept and apply Truth,we begin to realise that we too are One.


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## sukhsingh (Jun 16, 2017)

Sikhilove said:


> The Truth is One. God was the first Truth knower. As we begin to accept and apply Truth,we begin to realise that we too are One.


I'm not sure if I would say God was the first Truth knower.. Truth is God?


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## Sikhilove (Jun 22, 2017)

yeh and we are truth, we just dont realise it. He was the first one to discover himself


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## sukhsingh (Jun 22, 2017)

Sikhilove said:


> yeh and we are truth, we just dont realise it. He was the first one to discover himself


The truth is the truth.. It doesn't need discovering or realising. We can aspire to realise it, understand it and maybe even experience it fleetingly. We may profess to know certain truths.. All we should and can endeavour to do is search for it seek/Sikh it out.. The truth by its nature is wholesome and self existent. Doesn't need to discover


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## Dalvinder Singh Grewal (Jun 26, 2017)

Jasdeep118 said:


> So, I am pretty curious. Everyday I always ask questions about religion and I sometimes doubt about god, but I still believe in him. I just have this one question," Do us Sikhs believe in heaven or hell"? For some reason, I don't want to ask my dad, because he is pretty religious and might say this, "If you don't pray to god you go to hell", and I know that the Guru Granth never forces people. So, I am just wondering if we believe in a heaven or hell.



Heaven and hell do exist in a human mind. Mind creates heaven if it follows True Guru's teaching; it creates hell if it follows itself without any realisation.


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## Tejwant Singh (Jun 27, 2017)

If Sikhi believed in hell/heaven, then Sikhi would believe in reincarnation which it doesn't.
If Sikhi believed in God as per other religions, then there would be a soul and a deity to worship, which there are none.
If Sikhi believed in a religion, then there would be mechanical blind rituals and do's and don'ts imposed by the honchos which there aren't  any.


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## Harkiran Kaur (Jun 27, 2017)

Tejwant Singh said:


> If Sikhi believed in hell/heaven, then Sikhi would believe in reincarnation which it doesn't.
> If Sikhi believed in God as per other religions, then there would be a soul and a deity to worship, which there are none.
> If Sikhi believed in a religion, then there would be mechanical blind rituals and do's and don'ts imposed by the honchos which it does not.



There is no heaven or hell because only the ONE exists. All else is illusion caused by duality. 
Ultimate reality is ONEness.

There is no 'entity' called God per say. There IS a conscious creator, but it's not something separate from us. Because there is only that ONE conscious creator, and all else is as a dream of that creator (see double slit experiment to see how reality is consciously 'observed' into existence) then God is not some separate thing from us. We are the divine. We possess the divine within us. It's who we are. It's our identity. Therefore there is no separate entity to worship. We can find it by going within. 

Reincarnation is meaningless when you understand duality vs ONEness. It's the same ONE who is the actor playing ALL the characters. There is no 'me' or 'you' these are only characters. Every bird, every animal, every plant, every human, even the stars and planets and galaxies and nebulas, they are ALL infused with the ONE and ARE that ONE. Therefore to say that 'I' Harkiran Kaur can reincarnate is meaningless. harkiran kaur is not the true identity. However the awareness within Harkiran Kaur IS real. It's the only thing which is real. And it's the same awareness which is in ALL. 

Heaven is realization of ONEness. Lifting the veil of reality and losing duality. Hell is living in the illusion, and believing it.


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## Dalvinder Singh Grewal (Jun 28, 2017)

Tejwant Singh said:


> If Sikhi believed in hell/heaven, then Sikhi would believe in reincarnation which it doesn't.
> If Sikhi believed in God as per other religions, then there would be a soul and a deity to worship, which there are none.
> If Sikhi believed in a religion, then there would be mechanical blind rituals and do's and don'ts imposed by the honchos which it does not.



Please study Sri guru granth sahib abd you will find lot of material  on hell and heaven. If you wish I can give all the quotes. Sikhi v ery much believed in God and soul but not in deity. Sikhi believes in Dharma,. I do not know where from you have drawn your conclusions! It is better to provide evidence of the same.


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## Tejwant Singh (Jun 28, 2017)

dalvindersingh grewal said:


> Please study Sri guru granth sahib abd you will find lot of material  on hell and heaven. If you wish I can give all the quotes. Sikhi v ery much believed in God and soul but not in deity. Sikhi believes in Dharma,. I do not know where from you have drawn your conclusions! It is better to provide evidence of the same.



dalvindersinghgrewal ji,

Guru Fateh
You write, "Please study Sri gurugranth sahib abd you will find lot of material  on hell and heaven."

It is interesting to notice that you have prejudged me by claiming my not knowing what the Guru Granth, our only Guru says, without even giving me the benefit of the doubt which is one of the cornerstones of Sikhi, but it is OK. I am here to learn from you and others. This is the reason I am a Sikh. Please post the Shabads of hell and heaven with your own understanding. The reason for that is given below.

You continue, "I can give all the quotes. Sikhi v ery much believed in God and soul but not in deity."
Firstly, please elaborate what God is in Sikhi as compared to the other religions, and as asked in the other thread what soul is and what it consists of.
I am glad you agree that there is no deity in Sikhi.
What is the difference between deity and God as used by other religions?

Sikhi believes in Dharma,. I do not know where from you have drawn your conclusions! It is better to provide evidence of the same."

"Sikhi believes in Dharma,"
What is Dharma as per Sikhi?
Would you be kind enough to post the whole Shabad/s, not one liners from the Guru Granth, our only Guru regarding Dharma?

Also please share your own understanding of the Shabads because I find the English translations do not do any justice to our beautiful Gurbani because the original translators of our visionary Gurbani were Christian missionaries who were here to convert people to come to Jesus.

They happened to love Sikhi but had no inkling about Gurbani or Sikhi thought. As a result, they translated our Gurbani from the biblical point of view which has eschewed its meaning due to the biblical slant of biblical proportion. This is the reason, I urge you to express your personal understanding about the Shabad/s you post.

"I do not know where from you have drawn your conclusions! It is better to provide evidence of the same."
This is a very valid question. Once  I have learnt from your Gurmat wisdom about my queries, then only I will be able to express my thoughts which may change with your Sikhi wisdom.

Thanks & regards
Tejwant Singh


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## Sikhilove (Jun 29, 2017)

sukhsingh said:


> The truth is the truth.. It doesn't need discovering or realising. We can aspire to realise it, understand it and maybe even experience it fleetingly. We may profess to know certain truths.. All we should and can endeavour to do is search for it seek/Sikh it out.. The truth by its nature is wholesome and self existent. Doesn't need to discover



I get what you're saying. By discover, I kind of mean experience. Everything, everyone and everywhere is truth, so really we experience it always. Recognising it, recognising that Karam is truth etc Is wise. 

The best way of living is to be free and happy, balanced, honest and to never lose your integrity.


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