Scholastic jugglery to find quotations from Gurbani and set them against those of other faiths to prove the "Unity of Religions" is a misplaced enthusiasm. By relying on common points, such as remember God, love thy neighbor, help the needy, refrain from violence, do not tell a lie, do not cheat, one cannot prove the unity of religions. All such statements or principles are accepted even by the agnostics as essential for becoming good human beings. If one wants to prove the "unity of religions" by proving that the real method of worship is the same in all religions, no research work is needed for that. It can be right away stated that as all religions believe in God, therefore there is unity of religions. Such statements mislead the people because they conceal a lot.

Constitutions of the two countries may not be the same, just because both punish robbers and reward good workers. One may be a democracy and the other a dictatorship. Similarly, two religions cannot be equated just because both say, "Love thy neighbor. Do not steal." To understand a religion, we must know its definition for God and its mission of human life. Quoting humans from different religious scriptures to compare their principles is meaningless. While doing so, the writer ignores the basic philosophies of the two faiths compared. Such "research" achievements of interfaith scholars can be compared to those of a child, who after studying a book on animals, concludes:

Cow and cat are not different kinds of animals. They both begin with the letter C and each consists of three letters with a vowel in the middle. Research revealed that in the description regarding each animal, there were the same number of related vowels, i.e., 100A's and 66 O's. Finally, both are classified as mammals, having four legs and a tail. Therefore, basically the cow and the cat are the same.

The research conclusions drawn by some Inter-faith scholars are as "logical" and as misleading as the results of the above research.

Let us consider another example to understand how comparing quotations and words from two scriptures can mislead the reader. God is worshiped by the followers of all religions. many Christians believe that God accepts only Christians and throws all other people into hell even if they love Him sincerely. According to the Sikh faith, God loves everyone, believers and non-believers alike. Therefore the statement "God loves us" has a different meaning when stated by a Christian and when said by a Sikh. As long as basic differences exist among the faiths, comparative statements become meaningless.

Many Christians believe all people are born sinners. To be saved one must have faith in the only begotten Son of God, the Christ, who took upon him all the sins of the people. On the other hand, Gurbani says that all people are born blessed. God grants us this valuable life in order to know and love His virtues.

With these facts before us, believing in the "unity of religions" is showing ignorance of the Sikh faith and lowering its image.

We may go on saying all religions are the same and there is unity of religions, however science has shaken the foundations of the major old faiths. The Pope appeared personally on television on October 5, 1989 to regret the imprisonment given to Galileo about three centuries ago. He agreed that the scientist was right and the Pope, who ordered his punishment, was wrong. The 'crime' of Galileo was his discovery that the earth revolved around the sun which was against what was mentioned in the Bible.

During the 19th century, Darwin suffered all kinds of abuses from the Christians, just because he suggested the theory of the evolution of man. This challenged the concept of creation in the Bible. This theory, now having been accepted to be largely true, is causing serious concerns for people who believe the Bible to be the word of God.

In general, if confronted with two opposing beliefs one given by science and the other mentioned in religious scriptures, people tend to accept the finding of science.

Christianity may well be thriving in parts of Africa and Asia today, but in the West, Christian faith is eroding at an alarming rate. Secular humanism is fast becoming the prevailing "religion" of the Western world. For instance, it is no longer true to describe either Canada or England as Christian country, since the vast majority of their respective populations have no traditional ties with any religious body. (The Church of England alone has closed nine hundred churches since 1974.) Add to this the fact that only a small fraction of children and young people now receive any religious instruction whatever, and the prognosis for the year 2000 looks very bleak indeed.

Page 4 For Christ's Sake (1984) by Tom Harper of the Toronto Star.

Tom Harper holds science and technology mainly responsible for this erosion. Not just millions but trillions of dollars spent on preaching will have no effect on the people unless the message has a value for the scientific man of today. New churches are appearing which do not adhere to the 'old' concepts. The Unitarian and Universalist churches do not accept Christ as the Savior or as the only Son of God.

In India too, people worshiped (some do it even today) the sun, the moon, and other heavenly bodies as gods. Science has given them a new message.

On the other hand, when we go through Gurbani, we find that it limits itself to the purpose of human life, which is to love God. The best method of doing so, according to Gurbani is to love people, serve and "see" God living in them. Gurbani is a message, not just for Sikhs, but for all people and for all ages.

While laying down its own path for human beings, Gurbani unambiguously and emphatically disagrees with old beliefs of sectarian faiths.

(i) Because of their ignorance some people worship idols while others worship graves. They waste their life in hollow rituals and fail to realize the truth.

(ii) The Kazis (judges) are corrupt, the Brahmans such the blood of the innocent, and the Yogis mislead people. They themselves don't know the path for peace and are responsible for the problems of the people.

(iii) this human life has been gifted to us to love people and realize His presence everywhere.

(iv) I do not believe in Hinduism or Islam. I love the Almighty, the Lord of our bodies and souls, Who is addressed as Ram by Hindus and Allah by Muslims.

(v) There is no other worship than to love Him.

(vi) One Almighty has created this universe and it works under His Will. He prevails everywhere, we should sing His virtues to realize Him.

Unfortunately, a few Sikh interfaith activists are trying to prove a unity of religions and that the "real method of worship" is the same in all religions. They indirectly say the Gurus did not understand the "real worship" of other faiths when they criticized their beliefs and method of worship. These people, thus, give disinformation about the Sikh faith and lower its image while trying to build up their own thesis of the unity of religions. The Sikh faith when presented without distorting its spirit, meets the needs of all, people, whatever their faith. In this sense Sikhism as such is an Interfaith religion.