INTRODUCTION
This book has been prepared in response to a deeply felt need of Sikh youth to know about their faith and practices. Sikh children who live in North America are confronted daily with what they perceive to be a set of unjustifiable and unresolved contradictions. These confrontations arise both from within and from outside. When Sikh youth interact with other youth raised in western cultures and beliefs, they are obligated to explain many beliefs and practices of their Indian-born parents. Curiosity about their faith arises naturally, because their living styles and cultural practices often differ from those of their peers. Another factor that
promotes questioning about their beliefs is the nature of contemporary education of Sikh youth. In their schools, young Sikhs are given westernized education,which is most modern in its scope and methodology. It is a western tradition to inculcate in the young mind the skills of reasoning and the attitudes of seeking factual information. They are encouraged not to shy away from asking challenging questions.
Traditional questions: It is obvious that Sikh youth develop a lot of curiosity and questions about every aspect of their life in which belief in the religion of their parents ranks high. However, there is little effort by our traditional institutions to provide answers to their inquiries. As a result, it is feared that they may rebel against their religion. This phenomenon is not peculiar!
to Sikh youth but is being observed in every community today. To leave the young mind in a state of doubt is a dangerous precedent. Community leaders are increasingly alarmed over the growing indifference of youth towards religion. Talking of Christianity, Tom Harper, a Christian theologian of the Toronto Star observes in his book, For Christ's Sake:
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 a
Christian country, since the vast majority of their respected
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 re-
ligious instruction whatever, and the prognosis for the year
2000 looks very bleak indeed. . . but no amount of techni-
cal sophistication will avail unless the message itself
makes sense.

The youth, not satisfied with the available sources of knowledge about their faith, feel torn between loyalty to tradition and a lack of understanding of the tradition. Confronted with these situations, some Sikh youth have already begun to question many of their beliefs and practices. This is not because they wish to discard these beliefs but often simply because they need the answers to increase their understanding and pride in their beliefs. They ask straight and honest
questions. They seek answers from their preachers,their parents and their teachers. Some of these questions might have rarely occurred to their Indian-trained preachers and Indian-born parents. In Punjab, where practice of tradition is taken as a living fact, many of these questions may never be formulated. Thus parents and preachers alike are finding themselves without answers in many situations, and they themselves are beginning to seek sources of the necessary knowledge.
Modern scholars' views: Harper holds science and technology responsible for the indifference of youth towards the Christian faith. These two modern devils, science and technology, which are held "guilty" for "misguiding" the youth, however, may turn out to be
devtas (gods) for promoting Sikh philosophy. The very science and technology which are blamed for eroding many foundations and pillars of the major religions seem to have inherent potential to promote faith in Sikh doctrines and explain that Sikhism (founded only five centuries ago) is the faith for the modern age. Many scholars both from the West and the East have felt this way about Sikhism. This is illustrated with some examples here.
"Sikhs must cease to think of their Faith as just another
good religion but rather they must begin to think in terms of
Sikhism being the religion of this New Age . . . The Sikh
religion is truly the answer to the problems of the
modern man." Reverend Bradshaw in the Sikh Review,
Calcutta, India.

"In this coming religious debate, the Sikh religion and its scriptures, the Adi Granth, will have something special of value to say to the rest of the world." Professor Toynbee in "The Sacred Writings of the Sikh S" published by UNESCO.

"There is something strangely modern about these scriptures (Guru Granth). They speak to a person of any religion or of none. They speak for the human heart and the searching mind." Pearl S. Buck, a Nobel Laureate. Preface to the translation of Adi Guru Granth Sahib by Gopal Singh
Dardi.

(See "Sikhism, A Universal Faith", pages 37-40, published by the
Canadian Sikh Study & Teaching Society, P.O. Box 60153, 6417
Fraser St., Vancouver, B.C. V5W 4B5 Canada)

Teaching Sikh Faith: For a long time,there have been no systematic arrangements established to teach the Sikh youth about the basic principles of their faith and its suitability for the world of today. Neither could Sikh youth find any forum where they could collectively, without fear of their parent's objection, ask important questions regarding Sikh beliefs and practices (Reht-Maryada). They have been keeping their agony and frustrations to themselves
without giving free vent to their feelings and without finding answers to their questions.
It is a practice in every Sikh household to take children to Sadh Sangat (holy- congregations) where they join their parents in singing the holy hymns. In these gatherings Sikh youth are exposed to many traditions of Sikh religious practices. Most of those who do visit the Gurdwaras and participate in the religious functions do not enjoy them. Further, they remain un-
convinced, hence uninterested, in the answers given to them by the traditional preachers who are usually not educated in the modern institutions. As a result, the Sikh youth pay little attention to what is said there, because often it does not meet the test of modern logic and is not based on factual reasoning.
Sikh Youth Camps: To respond to the intellectual inquiries of their children, various Sikh communities in North America started summer youth camps and weekend schools. There they teach their children the Sikh faith and its relevance to modern-day living. These retreats are beginning to encourage the Sikh youth to ask questions, and attempts are made to find
answers to their questions.
This effort to provide some answers in the form of published communication started in 1986. The participants attending various youth camps were provided with opportunities to ask in writing any question without the fear of being considered wrong, disrespectful, or even silly. Disclosure of the name on the question sheet was not made obligatory so that one could
choose to conceal one's identity. To encourage the youth to get genuinely interested in asking serious questions, a $50 prize was announced at each camp for the best question asked.
At the youth camps in Canada and the USA, about 500 questions were received from the trainees. After eliminating duplications, the questions were grouped in sections to facilitate their reference. To retain the original spirit and tone of the questions and to convey the feelings of the youth to the readers, little editing was attempted. The answers were drafted in an attempt to provide information in simple and straight idioms. As far as possible, the jargon of mystic termi-
nology was avoided. The typed version was sent to a number of friends for soliciting their critique and suggestions. Similarly, a number of youth leaders were asked to go through the draft and make suggestions.
The outcome of the above described efforts is being published in this book. It is hoped that the youth will be pleased with this effort and the reading of this book will satisfy their curiosity to a great extent. They will be encouraged to ask more questions for the next
edition of this book.
This book is being published and distributed with the help of the friends who care. The purpose of this book will be considered fulfilled if Sikh youth increase their pride in their faith as a result of browsing through it. The publishers will be amply rewarded if the readers take time to send their critiques and suggestions for future editions of this publication.