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Table Of Contents

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Sikhism , religion and philosophy founded in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent in the late 15th century. Its members are known as Sikhs. The Sikhs call their faith Gurmat (Punjabi: “the Way of the Guru”). According to Sikh tradition, Sikhism was established by Guru Nanak (1469–1539) and subsequently led by a succession of nine other Gurus. All 10 human Gurus , Sikhs believe, were inhabited by a single spirit. Upon the death of the 10th, Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708), the spirit of the eternal Guru transferred itself to the sacred scripture of Sikhism, Guru Granth Sahib (“The Granth as the Guru”), also known as the Adi Granth (“First Volume”), which thereafter was regarded as the sole Guru. In the early 21st century there were nearly 25 million Sikhs worldwide, the great majority of them living in the Indian state of Punjab .

The following discussion of the lives of the 10 Gurus relies on the traditional Sikh account, most elements of which are derived from hagiographic legend and lore and cannot be verified historically. This point should be borne in mind throughout, especially in the sections on the early Gurus.

History and doctrine

Sikh in Punjabi means “learner,” and those who joined the Sikh community , or Panth (“Path”), were people who sought spiritual guidance. Sikhs claim that their tradition has always been separate from Hinduism . Nevertheless, many Western scholars argue that in its earliest stage Sikhism was a movement within the Hindu tradition; Nanak, they point out, was raised a Hindu and eventually belonged to the Sant tradition of northern India , a movement associated with the great poet and mystic Kabir (1440–1518). The Sants, most of whom were poor, dispossessed, and illiterate, composed hymns of great beauty expressing their experience of the divine , which they saw in all things. Their tradition drew heavily on the Vaishnava bhakti (the devotional movement within the Hindu tradition that worships the god Vishnu ), though there were important differences between the two. Like the followers of bhakti, the Sants believed that devotion to God is essential to liberation from the cycle of rebirth in which all human beings are trapped; unlike the followers of bhakti, however, the Sants maintained that God is nirgun (“without form”) and not sagun (“with form”). For the Sants, God can be neither incarnated nor represented in concrete terms.

Certain lesser influences also operated on the Sant movement. Chief among them was the Nath tradition, which comprised a cluster of sects, all claiming descent from the semilegendary teacher Gorakhnath and all promoting Hatha Yoga as the means of spiritual liberation. Although the Sants rejected the physical aspects of Hatha Yoga in favor of meditation techniques, they accepted the Naths’ concept of spiritual ascent to ultimate bliss. Some scholars have argued that the Sants were influenced by Islam through their contact with the Mughal rulers of India from the early 16th century, but there is in fact little indication of this, though Sufism (Islamic mysticism) may have had a marginal effect.

The 10 Gurus

Sikhism: Religion and Theology

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Introduction

Sikhism is a practical religion which does have merely words or any certain set of beliefs. This religion does not involve visiting shrines and tombs or following Yogis. This religion believesthat a life should be lived in some patterns.it’s main asset is its simplicity. It does not have any kind of supernaturalism or mythology where it keeps its feet up. It does not have any concepts of devils, angels or heavenly spirits (Sikhism, n.d., Para 1).

Sikhism is a universal religion and it objects all ritualism and formalism. It does not nourish any blind faith. It discourages blind follow to any external authority. Sikhism believes in Karma and it identifies the modification of one’s karma with the grace of God (Sikhism, n.d., Para 2-5).

Historians in Eastern religions normally believe that Sikhism is a syncretistic religion that can be related to Bhakti movement within Hinduism. They associate Sikhism with Hindu religion. But many Sikhs disagree on this point; they believe that Sikhism is direct revelation from God and does not originate from any religion like Hinduism or Islam (Robinson, 2006, Para 2).

Marriage and Family: Marriage is sacred and it’s a bond not only between the man and woman but also in the whole families. Normally Sikhs have arranges marriages where the partners are chosen by the parents for their children which is based on mutual interests and similarities in culture. Divorce is against the lessons of the guru (Sikh family life, 2007, Para 7).

During the wedding ceremony, the couple sits before the Guru ranth sahib where the Granthi reads certain wedding hyms from the holy book. The couple takes round of the it slowly and friends and family shower their blessings by throwing flowers on them. The bride wears red wedding costume that represents health and wealth and after ceremony prashad, sweets are distributed (Sikh family life, 2007, Para 8 & 9).

Childhood and the naming ceremony: Just after the birth of the baby, parents go to the gurudwara with the baby where Guru Granth Sahib is opened and a random reading is done. The first letter of reading becomes the first letter of the baby’s name (Sikh family life, 2007, Para 1-3). A Sikh child starts learning the language of Guru Granth Sahib when he is just seven years old. The Children are supported by the family. There is no discrimination between sexes.The girls are expected to achieve same as boys (Sikh family life, 2007, Para 1-3).

Getting old and death: Older people of this community get lots of respect. When athere is a death in a Sikh family, they are cremated wearing the five Ks. They believe in incarnation and union with God (Sikh family life, 2007, Para 10).

Foundation of Sikhism: Sikhism is the youngest religion which is just five hundred years old (Introduction to Sikhism, 2009, Para 1). Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji was the person who satrted this religion. He got the vision to preach the way to God (Robinson, 2006, Para 3). At this time India was being segrated on the basis of castes, religious factions and sectarianism. He respected all religions (Introduction to Sikhism, 2009, Para 1).

He preached, “There is no Hindu and Muslim” which became one of the pillars of Sikhism (Robinson, 2006, Para 3). Guru Nank and his followers who were called Panth built a temple at Kartarpur (Robinson, 2006, Para 3). He showed a real path to God by saing that God is Truth, “Sat Nam” (Introduction to Sikhism, 2009, Para 1).

A succession of nine Gurus who were considered as reincarnations of Guru Nanak guided the movement during the period from Guru Nanak’s dealth until 1708. During that course, the activities of the Guru were passed on to the Panth and to the holy text (Robinson, 2006, Para 4).

Philosophy and Teachings: The word Sikh means a diciple. A true Sikh is not attached to wordly things but he must do his duty towards his family and community. They believe in Bhagti which is possible after fullfing following conditions (Sikhism, Main Principles, n.d., Para 1):

Faith in God
Following Truth
Conrol over world and deed
Unattachment and desirelessness
Association with holy men which is Satsang
Humanity and submission to Hukam

Salvation: it is also called Mukti. According to Guru, “The man of God rejects salvation. He just wants love. The happiness lies only in merging in Divine Spirit. A man can have Mukti only when he medidates on God (Sikhism, Main Principles, n.d., Para 3).

Khalsa: The Khalsa is about worshiping one God and meditating daily on his name. A Sikh has to keep the symbols (Panj Kakar) whole life. He should not believe in one caste instead he should believe in brotherhood. He should not be involved in any of the four offenses (Kurahat) as cutting of hair, eating Halal meat, adultery and the use of any intoxicant. He should not commit any of the social offences (Tankhah) like, giving dowry, using liqours, raising monuments over graves and associating with traitors (Sikhism, Duties of the Khalsa, n.d., Para 3).

He must donate one-tenth (daswand) of his income for religious purposes. He must practice arms and should be ready o protect the weak (Sikhism, Duties of the Khalsa, n.d., Para 3).

Renunciation of the world: Sikhism does not favour that one leaves his family and live away from it. The Gurus conveyed that married life is the best mode of life. Escaping from the realities of life is a saintly act (Sikhism, Main Principles, n.d., Para 12).

The 5K’s of Sikh:

Sikh’s who have done Amrit Cermony or public commitment to the faith, are called Khalsa. They have accepted 5 symbols. These symbols are called 5 K’s. They not only prove the Sikh identity, but also have spiritual meanings (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 1). They are powerful symbols of faith. Most Sikhs follow the traditions of Khalsa (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 1).

Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru, gathered together the first members of Khalsa on Baisakhi in 1699 and gave them the five items of dress, which had uniformity (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 2). These items of dress or appearance are (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 2):-

Kesh – uncut hair & beard, as given by God, to sustain him/her in higher consciousness and a turban, the crown of spirituality.

Kangha – a wooden comb to properly groom the hair as a symbol of cleanliness (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 2).

Kachera –specially made cotton underwear as a reminder of the commitment to purity (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 2).

Kara – a steel Band, worn on the wrist, signifying bondage to Truth & freedom from every other entanglement (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 2).

Kirpan – the sword, with which the Khalsa is committed to righteously defend the fine line of the Truth (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 2).

Meaning of these 5 K’s:

It is a bangle, which is generally made of iron or steel and it is worn on the right wrist. The steel represents strength and the circular shape represents unity and eternity (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 4). It shows Sikhs’ belief that God is eternal (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 4).

A Kangha is a wooden item to keep the hair clean and tidy. Guru Gobind Singh stressed on cleanliness while performing Khalsa (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 5). After washing and then combing their hair, Sikhs tie a topknot and then they keep Kangha in the topknot which is covered with a turban (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 5). Kangha represents discipline in all facets of life (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 5).

Guru Gobind Singh told Sikhs to wear short trousers which was to depict Khalsa uniform (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 6).There are many explanations to the use of this Kachera. One of them is that it made Sikhs move easier to move in battle. Many Sikhs believe that it represents modesty (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 6).

It is a sword that is worn by the Khalsa (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 7). The Kripan is worn as a memento of the bravery of the first five Sikhs, who were keen to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their religion. The Kripan is therefore a symbol of bravery and of faith in God. For many, the most important meaning is that the kripan stands for the commitment to fight ‘one’s own internal enemy’ that is weakness in one’s own character & behaviour (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 7).

By tradition, Sikhs both men or women do not cut their hair and male Sikhs should not cut their beards The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 8).This natural condition shows devotion in god. Guru Gobind Singh encouraged that Sikhs grow their hair, which is to follow ‘as God intended’ (The 5 K’s, n.d., Para 8).

Scriptures: There are two main sources for the Sikhs: The Guru Grinth Sahib and the Dasam Granth (Sikhism, n.d., Para 9). The Adi Granth means ‘The First Volume’. It is referred to the version the sripture which was created by Arjan Dev in 1604. The Guru Granth Sahib is the final version of the scripture which was developed by Guru Gobind Singh (Sikhism, n.d., Para 9).

Adi Granth: The compilation of Adi Granth was done by Bhai Gurus under the guidance of Arjan Dev in 1963 and 1964. Its script is Gurmukhi, which was standardised by Arjan Dev for using it in Sikh scriptures.It was created to protect the hymns and teachings of the Sikh gurus (Sikhism, n.d., Para 10-11).

The original version of Adi Granth is expected to bemantained by the Sodhi family of Kartarpur. Actually, the history says that original version of this scripture was burned by Ahmad Shah Durrani’s army in 1757 when they burned Kartarpur (Sikhism, n.d., Para 10-11).

Guru Granth Sahib: It has the original version of Adi Granth with some addition of Teg Bahadur’s hymns. Guru Gobind Singh’s verdict was that Guru Granth Sahib will be the eternal guru for all the Sikhs (Sikhism, n.d., Para 12).

It consists of the composition of the first five gurus, Teg Bahadur and just one ‘Salok’ from Guru Gobind Singh (Sikhism, n.d., Para 13).

Dasam Granth: The Dasam Granth is also called The Book of the Tenth Master. It is an eithteenth-century collection of poems, which are written by Gobind Singh (Overview of Sikh Scriptures, n.d., Para 9). It was given a shape of book by Bhai Mani Singh (Overview of Sikh Scriptures, n.d., Para 9).

Janamsakhis: They are the biographies of the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak. It is the proof of amazing acts and mystic conversations. The composition of new Janamsakhis was the result of three great schisms of the Sikh religion: the Minas, the Handalis and the Udasis (Overview of Sikh Scriptures, n.d., Para 11, 12 & 14).

The Ten Gurus and their teachings: The word “GURU” in Sanskrit means person having great knowledge, wisdom and authority, a teacher, a soul who can dispel darkness. In Sikhism, Guru, means the divine guidance provided through their ten Enlightened Masters (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 2). Starting with Guru Nanak in1469 & ending with Guru Gobind Singh in 1708, their wisdom, preaching’s have been compiled in the Holy Scripture “The Guru Granth Sahib” (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 2).

First Guru – Guru Nanak Sahib

Guru Nanak was born to Tripta, a simple religious woman and wife of Mehta Kalyan Das, on April15, 1469 in Shekhpura (Pakistan), now Nanakana Sahib (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 1).

From the earlier child hood Nanak was an extraordinary child. He learnt Hindi & Sanskrit at the age of seven and by thirteen learned Persian too. He got married to Mata Sulakhni, who gave him two sons: Sri Chand and Lakhmi Das. (Ten Guru, n.d., Para2)

In August 1507, while bathing in ‘Vain Nadi’, at the age of 38, Guru Nanak dedicated himself to the service of humanity.” There is no Hindu, no Musalman” were his first divine words (Ten Guru, n.d., Para3). He started long travels and preached his unique and divine doctrine that is Sikhism (Ten Guru, n.d., Para3). The preaching’s during these tours are compiled as Char Udasis of Guru Nanak Sahib (Ten Guru, n.d., Para3).

In the year 1522 Guru Nanak Sahib founded the city of Kartarpur (now in Pakistan) and spent the rest of his life there (Ten Guru, n.d., Para5). There he pioneered the Langar or free kitchen. In 1539 he established Bhai Lehna ji (Guru Angad Sahib) as the second Nanak. On Sept 22, 1539 he left for the heavenly aboad. He was a good poet and musician. He wrote approximately 947 hyms comprising Japji Sahib, Asa-di-Var, Bara-Mah, Sidh-Gosht and, Onkar. Guru Arjan Sahib compiled all these in Guru Granth Sahib (Ten Guru, n.d., Para5).

Second Guru – Guru Angad Sahib

Guru Angad Sahib (Bhai Lahna ji) was born on March 31, 1504 to Mata Ramo ji wife of a petty trader Pheru ji in a village named Sarai Naga (Matte di Sarai) in district Muktsar (Punjab). (Ten Guru, n.d., Para1)

Bhai Lahna was a worshipper of Goddess Durga and use to go to pilgrimage to Jwalamuki Temple. During one such pilgrimage he heard the hymn of Guru Nanak Sahib and decided to meet him. He got fully changed after this meeting. He became a follower of Guru Nanak Sahib and became his Sikh (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 2 & 3).

Guru Angad Sahib introduced Gurumukhi Script, a new alphabet modified from old Punjabi Script (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 5). He started Mall Akhara were physical as well as spiritual was given to the youth. He also wrote the first biography of Guru Nanak Sahib (Bhai Bale Wali Janamsakhi) (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 5).

At the age of Forty eight on March 29, 1552 Guru Angad Sahib breathed his last but before that he nominated Amar Das Sahib as his successor. (Ten Guru, n.d., Para7)

Third Guru – Guru Amardas Sahib

Guru Amardas Sahib was born on May 5, 1479 in the village Basarke Gillan in Amritsar, to mother Bakht Kaur and father Tej Bhan Bhalla, who later became the Third Nanak (Ten Guru, n.d., Para1).

Influenced by Guru Angad Sahib and preachings of Guru Nanak Sahib he converted to Sikhism and adopted Guru Angad Sahib as his spiritual Guru. In 1552 he was made the Third Nanak by Guru Angad Sahib (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 2). Establishing his headquarter in Goindwal, he propagated the faith in a planned manner (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 2).He added 869 self composed verses to Guru Granth Sahib (Ten Guru, n.d., Para6).

He transferred the Guru ship to his son-in-law, Guru Ramdas Sahib, making him the Fourth Nanak. On September 1, 1574 at a ripe age of 95 Guru Amardas Sahib passed away for heaven (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 7)

Fourth Guru – Guru Ramdas Sahib

Guru Ramdas Sahib was born on September 24, 1534 at Chuna Mandi, Lahore (Pakistan).His father Baba Hari Das ji Sodhi Khatri and mother Mata Daya Kaur were too poor and he use to sell boiled grams to earn his bread (Ten Guru, n.d., Para1).

Guru Amardas Sahib married his daughter Bibi Bhani ji to Guru Ramdas Sahib. Due to his dedication, energy, saintliness and eloquence Guru Amardas Sahib found him apt for the Guruship and made him the Fourth Nanak on September 1, 1574. Foundation of Ramdas Pur or Chak Ramdas (now Amritsar) was laid by Guru Ramdas (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 3).On September 1, 1581 he passed away to heaven but before that he nominated his youngest son Guru Arjan Sahib as the fifth Guru (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 2).

Fifth Guru – Guru Arjan Sahib

Guru Ramdas Sahib and Mata Bhani ji’s youngest son Guru Arjan Sahib was born on April 15, 1563. He learnt Gurmukhi script and was also taught Persian, Hindi and Sanskrit languages. He became Guru at the young age of 18 years. (Para1)

Guru Arjan Sahib commissioned two sacred Tanks Amritsar and Santokhsar. He also laid the foundation of a town (Taran Sahib) near Goindwal Sahib and created a large tank and Gurdwara (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 2 & 3).

He contributed 2000 verses for the same. He also institutionalized the tradition of Daswandh and Masand system that helped in attracting large number of followers to Sikhism from far distant places from Punjab (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 4 & 5).

Guru Arjan Sahib was also called as “Sacha Patshah”. The fast paced spread of Sikhism during his period made the orthodox Hindus and princely Muslims very jealous. He was tortured for 3 days, he was made to sit on the hot iron plates and burning sand was poured on his naked body (Ten Guru, n.d., Para6).Later he was thrown into river Ravi. May 30, 1606 is celebrated as the day of Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Sahib (Ten Guru, n.d., Para6).

Sixth Guru – Guru Hargobind Sahib

With the sudden demise of Guru Arjan Sahib, his father and fifth Nanak, Guru Hargobind Sahib succeeded and became Sixth Nanak at the age of eleven years in 1606. He was the only child of Guru Arjan Sahib and Mata Ganga ji, born on June19, 1595 at village Guru Ke Wadali. He had one daughter Bibi Viro ji, he had five sons. His fifth son Tegh Bahadur became the Ninth Nanak in 1664 (Ten Guru, n.d., Para1).

Guru Hargobind Sahib popularised the idea of “Saint – Soldier” which was the need of that hour. He used to keep with him two swords Piri – Miri. The first one was supposed to have the Spiritual Power and the second one was supposed to have Military Power. He also encouraged Sikhs for participating in Martial Arts and military Trainings (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 3). During his life time he fought many wars with the Mughal Emperor and always stood victorious (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 3).

He breathed last on February 28, 1644. Before his demise, he nominated his grandson Har Rai Sahib as the Seventh Nanak (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 23).

Seventh Guru – Guru Har Rai Sahib

At the tender age of 14 Guru Har Rai Sahib was nominated as successor and Seventh Nanak by his Grand Father Guru Hargobind Sahib. He was son of Baba Gurdita Ji and Mata Nihal Kaur (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 1).

Guru Har Rai Sahib was a believer of non –violence or “Ahimsa Parmo Dharma” but he never disbanded the Saint Soldiers. In Kiratpur Sahib, he founded an Aurvedic Herbal Hospital & Research Centre. Ha also established 360 Manjis (missionary seats) (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 2 & 3).

Guru Har Rai Sahib left for heavenly abode on October 6, 1661, but before that installed his younger son Har Krishan as the Eighth Nanak (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 10).

Eighth Guru – Guru Har Krishan Sahib

He was born on July 7, 1656 at Kiratpur Sahib, and was the second son of Guru Har Rai Sahib and Mata Krishan Kaur (Ten Guru, n.d., Para1). Before the death of Guru Har Rai Sahib in 1661, at an earlier age of about five, Guru Har Krishan Sahib was made Eighth Nanak by his father (Ten Guru, n.d., Para1).

In his short span of three years as Eight Nanak, Guru Har Krishan Sahib took over the masses with his simplicity and humanitarian deeds. He was nicknamed Bala Pir (Child Prophet) by the local Muslim population (Ten Guru, n.d., Para5).

During his last days when he was seriously ill, he was asked to name his successor, t which he said Baba Bakala, which referred to Guru Teg Bahadur. Finally, Guru Har Krishan Sahib passed away on March 30, 1664 (Ten Guru, n.d., Para6).

Ninth Guru – Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib

Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib was born on April 1, 1621. He was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind Sahib (Seventh Nanak) He was a great swordsman, horseman and shooter (Ten Guru, n.d., Para1 & 3).

With the untimely demise of Eight Nanak, Guru Har Krishan Sahib without declaring his successor there was a situation of uncertainty for some time. Then in August 1664, some prominent Sikhs from Delhi, acknowledged Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib as the Ninth Nanak (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 5).

During 1674-75 the Muslim state forcefully converted people to Islam. To fight this nefarious act with peaceful means Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib sacrificed himself. On November 11, 1675 he was executed, his head was severed from his body at Gurudwara Sis Ganj in Chandi Chowk, Delhi. Before his execution in July 1675 he installed, his son Guru Gobind Sahib as the Tenth Nanak (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 27).

Tenth Guru – Guru Gobind Singh Sahib

Guru Gobind Singh Sahib, the tenth and the last Guru of Sikh faith, was born on December 22, 1666 (Ten Guru, n.d., Para1 & 2).His name was Gobind Rai Sodhi. After the execution of his father and ninth Nanak, Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, Guru Gobind Singh was formally made Guru on November 11, 1675 (Ten Guru, n.d., Para1 & 2).

Guru Gobind Singh fought many wars during his period. On October 7, 1708, he passed away in Nanded. With this Guru Gobind Singh ended the line of personal Gurus and passed on th succession to the Holy Book “The Guru Granth Sahib” (Ten Guru, n.d., Para 13).

Sikhism in History: The time period of all the ten gurus lasted for more than 239 long years. The Sikh religion prospered very well during this period, which could be possible under the guidance of the Gurus (Sikh History, Gurus Period, n.d., Para 1).

Banda Singh Bahadur whose real name was Madho Das possessed spriritul powers. He was the follwoer of Guru Gobind Singh. Under Guriji’s direction, he collected an army from Punjab and started fighting against tyrants. After winnig Surhind he established the first Sikh kingdom and a new fort near Nahan which was called Lohgarh. Later Bandha Singh was prisoned by the emperor of Delhi and he was killed in 1716 (Sikh History, Gurus Period, n.d., Para 1-4).

After martyr of Banda Singh, the religious persecution of the Sikhs started soon after that (Sikh History, Religious Persecution Era, n.d., Para 1-3).They were attacked and robbed. They stayed alive on vegetables and fruits but they were not discouraged. Having faith in Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s prediction that the Sikh would rule the country one day, they continued their mission of religious persecution which went for 50 years. Then Sikhs regrouped got ready to fight tyrants and after gathering strength they were ready to defeat the tyrants and then they started ruling around 1760s (Sikh History, Religious Persecution Era, n.d., Para 1-3).

Maharaja Ranjit Singh became their leader and conquered Lahore in 1799. He ruled Punjab for 40 years. His Kingdom was so big that he had to divide it in 4 different states. He died at the age of 59 in 1839 (Sikh History, Sikh Kingdom Era, n.d., Para 1 & 2).

The British bought then the generals of the army and attacked the Sikh kingdom (Sikh History, Colonial Era, n.d., Para 1 & 2). In 1849 they finished the Sikh kingdom era and controlled Punjab with other parts of India. As the British knew that the Sikhs are brave warriors, they appointed them with jobs in their army (Sikh History, Colonial Era, n.d., Para 1 & 2).

The Sikhs proved themselves very useful for the British in many wars wherever they fought for them (Sikh History, Colonial Era, n.d., Para 1 & 2).The British awarded the Sikhs with portions of lands after their retirement from the army. This action of British encouraged lots of sikhs to join the British army. The Sikhs had covered about 80 percent of the army population by the time the British left India after Indian independence (Sikh History, Colonial Era, n.d., Para 1 & 2).

The Indians’ struggle for freedom began in 1920s and it lasted in 1947. The Sikhs played a major role during that struggle by participating in this mission enthusiastically (Sikh History, Colonial Era, n.d., Para 5). The Gurudwara movement of the sikhs was the starting of the national struggle for freedom (Duggal, 2008, Para 4).

The Battle of Saragarhi was fought between the fourth Battalion of the Sikh Regiment of British India and approximately 10,000 Afghan and Orakzais tribesman on 12 September 1897 (Battle of Saragarhi, Sikh Regiment, 2009, Para 1).This battle has been noted as the exampe of exceptional bravery. UNESCO has portrayed the battle of Saragarhi as one of the legends of joint bravery (Battle of Saragarhi, Sikh Regiment, 2009, Para 1).

The British rulers of india had built many forts in the North West Frontier Province to strengthen their position and to control the hostile activities of the local tribal groups who were living in the north western frontiers of undivided India (Battle of Saragarhi, Sikh Regiment, 2009, Para 2 & 3). Fort Gulistan and Fort Lockhart are the examples of such forts (Battle of Saragarhi, Sikh Regiment, 2009, Para 2 & 3). They were built on the ranges of Hindukush and Sulaiman ranges (Battle of Saragarhi, Sikh Regiment, 2009, Para 2 & 3).

As the two forts were situated a little bit far from each other, a signal post called Saragarhi was created to have interations between the two forts. In 1897 Afridi tribes attacked Fort Gulistan and later the troops of Orakazai and Afridi made fresh attacks and seiged Fort Lockhart and Saragarhi (Battle of Saragarhi, Sikh Regiment, 2009, Para 2 & 3). The strength of Afghani force was about 12000 to 14000 who were fully armed tribesman.

They tried to make the Sikhs surrender but the Sikhs were determined to fight against them and they continued fighting. For this reason it became the famous battle of Saragarhi. Sepoy Gurumkh Singh was the person who continued giving every detail of the battle through heliographic signal until the enemy set the place near Saragarhi on fire. When the enemay were close Sepoy Gurumukh Singh took out his rifle after closing heliograph and he killed 20 people of them before dying (Battle of Saragarhi, Sikh Regiment, 2009, Para 2 & 3).

Every soldier who defended Saragarhi died in this outstanding action of bravery. When this courgeous deed was narrated in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the memebers gave standing applause to it. Even Queen Victoria also came to know about this incident. It was annouced in the Parliament that the army having the brave Sikhs cannot loose any war (Battle of Saragarhi, Sikh Regiment, 2009, Para 2 & 3).

All the Sikh officers and soldiers who died in this battle were honoured as the Indian Order of Merit, which was the highest bravery award of that time (Battle of Saragarhi, Sikh Regiment, 2009, Para 4 & 5). The current Sikh Regiment now celebrates the day of the Battle of Saragarhi on every 12 th September as the Regimental Battle Honours Day (Battle of Saragarhi, Sikh Regiment, 2009, Para 4 & 5). The British also built tow Saragarhi Gurudwaras one in Amritsar and another in Ferozepur to respect those soldiers (Battle of Saragarhi, Sikh Regiment, 2009, Para 4 & 5).

Observances: Sikh Culture: Sikh culture is the mixture of many asects, including many festivals and ceremonies. There are songs which are many religious as they are sung in praise of God. For that reason they are different from other songs (Sikh Culture, n.d., Para 1).

Sikh festivals are time for these people to rededicate themselves to the faith (Sikh Festivals, n.d. Para 1). Even they take death anniversaries of their Gurus as festival since it reminds them the value of sacrifice for a good cause(Sikh Festivals, n.d. Para 1). Some of the main Sikh festivals are (Sikh Festivals, n.d. Para 1):

Baisakhi: it is a New Year festival in the Sikh calendar. The Sikh new years starts with Chet 1 (Sikh Calendar, 1998, Para 2). On this day in 1699 Khalsa was created by Guru Gobind Singh Ji. It generally falls on 13 April. Nishan Sahib, the Sikh flag is replaced with a new one (Sikh Festivals, n.d. Para 3 & 4). The flag post is cleaned. The flag cloth which is Chola is rehoisted. This ceremony is completed by Ardas. A Bhog, which is completion of ceremony, takes place on the morning of Baisakhi and the singing of divine hyms takes place. Also all the Sikh men, women and children participate in Sewa that is Langar which remains open for the worshipers for three days (Sikh Festivals, n.d. Para 3 & 4).

Diwali: Sikhs celebrate Diwali since Guru Hargobind reached Amritsar on this particular day after he got released from Gwalior jail (Sikh Festivals, n.d. Para 5). It is the festival of lights. On this day the Golden Temple complex is decorated with lights and magnificient displays of fireworks occur. The historic weapons of the Gurus are displayed (Sikh Festivals, n.d. Para 5).

In 1577 the Golden Temple’s foundation was kept on Diwali itself (Sikh Festivals, n.d. Para 6).Sikhs have continuedthis yearly celebration with lighting up lamps and distributing sweets. The largest gathering takes place at the Golden Temple on this day (Sikh Festivals, n.d. Para 6).

Hola Mohalla: This is an annual festival which takes place at Anandpur Sahib (Sikh Festivals, n.d. Para 7). Guru Gobind Singh started this festival to exercise millitary practices. Mock battles are also fought on this day which is just after Holi festival. Music and poetry competitions follow mock battles (Sikh Festivals, n.d. Para 7). On this day kirtan and religious lectures are performed in number of durbars where Sri Guru Granth Sahib is present (Sikh Festivals, n.d. Para 7).This festival generally falls on March 17 (Sikh Festivals, n.d. Para 7).

Ceremonies: There are many events like birth, marriage and death in any family but in a Sikh family there are special ceremonies for such events, which are done to receive blessings from God (Sikh Ceremonies, n.d., Para 1). All Sikh ceremonies are done in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji that involves singing of hymns, Ardas, Hukamnana and distribution of Karah Prashad. Langar is provided for all the guests (Sikh Ceremonies, n.d., Para 1).

Following are some of the main Sikh ceremonies:

Nam Karan: After the birth of child the mother and the child go to the Gurudwara with relatives and friends for the naming ceremony (Sikh Ceremonies, n.d., Para 2 & 3). The Granthi stirs water and sugar crystals in a bowl that is kept in front of Guru Granth Sahib and read the ‘Mool Mantra’ and first few lines of the ‘Japji Sahib’ (Sikh Ceremonies, n.d., Para 2 & 3).

First few drops are put into child’s mouth and the rest is given to the mother to drink (Sikh Ceremonies, n.d., Para 2 & 3).Hymns are spoken publicly to bless the child. The child name is chosen from the first letter of the ‘Hukam’ (Sikh Ceremonies, n.d., Para 2 & 3).The title of Singh (Lion) is given to male and Kaur (Princess) to the girl (Sikh Ceremonies, n.d., Para 2 & 3). Prashad is distributded afer that (Sikh Ceremonies, n.d., Para 2 & 3).

Dasar Bandi: This is a very important and exciting moment in the life of a Sikh hen he starts tying the turban. Sometimes family celebrates this occasion which is called Dastar Bandi (Sikh Ceremonies, n.d., Para 4).

Marriage Ceremony: The wedding takes place in the morning in a Gurudwara.After the both family of the boy and family of the girl greet each other then they enter the Gurudwara congregation hall where bride sits alonside with the bridegroom facing the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. The ragees sing the hymn of ‘palla’ that is bridegroom’s scarf. Then the couple walk gracefully around the Guru Granth Sahib where the bride folow the bridegroom. Later prashad is distributed and lunch is provided by the bride’s family (Sikh Ceremony, n.d., Para 5).

Amrit Sanchar: This ceremony is done for the initiation into the Khalsa brotherhood (Sikh Ceremony, n.d., Para 6). The initiate can be done by a man or a woman of any caste or religion (Sikh Ceremony, n.d., Para 6). Before seeking baptism, they start behaving, acting or looking like a Sikh (Sikh Ceremony, n.d., Para 6). It is done at a quiter place where Guru Granth Sahib is installed. The initiate will wash his hair, cover his head, wear clean clothes and the 5K’s (Sikh Ceremony, n.d., Para 6). Hymns are recited. If a person does not have a Sikh name, they keep a new name at this time (Sikh Ceremony, n.d., Para 6).

Funeral Ceremony: At the ime of death loud wailing is discouraged (Sikh Ceremony, n.d., Para 6). Cremation is preferred for the dead body but if it is not possible then burial or submergence at sea are also acceptable (Sikh Ceremony, n.d., Para 6). The body is usually washed and clothed by the family members and then hymns are recited. A continuous reading of Sri Guru Granth Sahib is done till ten days. It concludes the end of mourning period (Sikh Ceremony, n.d., Para 6).

Gurupurbs: Following are the major Gurupurbs celebrations (Sikh Ceremony, n.d., Para 8):

Birth of Guru Nanak Dev Ji
First installation of Sri Guru Grath Sahib Ji
Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Ji
Birth of Guru Gobind Singh Ji
Martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadur Ji
Martyrdom of the Sahibzadas

Sikh Art and Culture: Maharaja Ranjit was an ardent lover of art. For that reason he bacem the first patron of Sikh paintings. He made the painters decorate the walls and the panels of the Golden Temple (Sikh Paintings, n.d., Para 1, 2& 9). Sikh paintings show the historical events and characters.

They give us complete understand ing of the political struggle of Sikhs and the roles of some unforgettble heros of that struggle. There are three different schools of Sikh paintings: Guler School, Kangra School and Lahore School (Sikh Paintings, n.d., Para 1, 2& 9). Some famous paiters are Gian Singh, S.G. Thakur Singh, Sobha Singh and S. Kripal Singh (Sikh Paintings, n.d., Para 1, 2& 9).

Sikh Music and Musical Instruments: Sikhs developed their own instruments like Rabab, Dilruba, Taus, Jori and the Sarinda (Sikh Music and Musical Instruments. n.d., Para 1). The Sarangi was also promoted by Guru Har Gobind (Sikh Music and Musical Instruments. n.d., Para 1).Rabab was first used by Bhai Mardana and Jori and Sarinda were designed by Guru arjan Dev (Sikh Music and Musical Instruments. n.d., Para 1). The Taus was made by Guru Har Gobind. The Dilruba was made by Guru Gobind Singh (Sikh Music and Musical Instruments. n.d., Para 1).

Sikhs in the Western World: Sikhs arrived in the United States and Canada in the late 1800s (Sikh Community, 2006, Para 1). Sikhs who have migrated to this region are generally tensed of maintaining their identity when adapting to the Western culture. Those educated in the United Kingdom or Other British Commonwealth countries, this change to life in North America is easy (Being Sikh in a Western world, 2006, Para 1).

In recent years, the conflict between the values of Sikh beliefs and Western culture has created difference at the work place. The employers are demanding that they cut tehir hair and remove their turbans. Sikhs performing in sports have shown their capabilities of doing well with their turbans on the fields (Being Sikh in a Western world, 2006, Para 2).

Regardless of these stresses, Sikhs have maintained their religious beliefs. They have demonstrated excellence in the football, basketball and boxing etc (Being Sikh in a Western world, 2006, Para 3).

Notable Sikhs in the modern era: Sikhs are very well represented in Indian Politics like recent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Chairman of the Indian Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia and the former President, Giani Zail Singh (Sikh, 2009, Para 5 & 6).

Indian millitary services include Sikhs like General Joginder Jaswant Singh, who is the General of the Indian Arrmy. The highest ranking general in the history of the Indian Air Force has been Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh (Sikh, 2009, Para 5 & 6).

Sikhs can be seen in various kinds of professions like scientists, engineers and doctors. Some of these are Professor Piara Singh Gill, a famous Nuclear Scientist who has ben associated with American Manhattan Project; Dr. Narinder Singh Kapany who is a famous Scientist and gets the credit of the father of fiber optics; Simon Singh, physicist and Science writer and Professor Baldev Singh Dhillon, a famous Agricultural Scientist (Sikh, 2009, Para 6).

Sikhs can be found in industrial ventures as UK based New Look, which is women’s clothing fashions and Thai based JASPAL. Both are started by Sikhs only. India’s biggest pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy Laboratories is leaded by the Sikhs only (Sikh, 2009, Para 7).

Writer Khushwant Singh, Singer Daler Mahendi, Jaspal Bhatti, Milkha Singh former world record holder, Bishen singh Bedi, cricketer and Parminder Nagra, English actress all are distingushed sikhs (Sikh, 2009, Para 8).

Conclusion: Sikhism is a beautiful religion. It offers meaning, peace and divine bliss. It shows the path to realisation of Akaal, a timeless god (Why I choose Sikhism, n.d., Para 1). Due to unawareness many youth are being unused to this rich and amazing heritage (Why I choose Sikhism, n.d., Para 1).

Why join Sikhism: As it is a beauiful religion, which shows the path to truth and believes in one God, I have become passionate about this religion. It has selfless love in it. It has bravery and treats everyone similarly. It has its unique scriptural canon, ceremonies and traditions (Sikhs: A distinct religion, panth and nation that welcome all, n.d., Para 1). For that reason I join Sikhism.

Reference List

“ Battle of Saragarhi. Sikh Regiment ”. 2009. Web.

“Being Sikh in a Western World”. 2006. Web.

Duggal, K. S. 2008. “ Sikhs in the Freedom struggle ”. Vol XLVI No 35. Web.

“ Overview of Sikh Scripture ”. Web.

Robinson, B. A. “ Introduction to Sikhism ”. 2009. Web.

“Sikh”. Web.

“Sikhism”. Web.

“Sikhs a Distinct Religion, Panth and Nation that Welcome All”. Web.

“ Sikh Calendar ”. 1998. Web.

“Sikh Family Life”. Web.

“Sikh History”. Web.

“ Sikh Paintings ”. Web.

“Ten Gurus”. Web.

“ The 5 Ks ”. Web.

“ Why I choose Sikhism ”. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2018, May 10). Sikhism: Religion and Theology. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sikhism-religion-and-theology/

"Sikhism: Religion and Theology." IvyPanda , 10 May 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/sikhism-religion-and-theology/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'Sikhism: Religion and Theology'. 10 May.

IvyPanda . 2018. "Sikhism: Religion and Theology." May 10, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sikhism-religion-and-theology/.

1. IvyPanda . "Sikhism: Religion and Theology." May 10, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sikhism-religion-and-theology/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Sikhism: Religion and Theology." May 10, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sikhism-religion-and-theology/.

Origins and development of Sikh faith: The Gurus

Gurus are central to the sikh faith. eleanor nesbitt looks at the founder of the sikh faith – guru nanak, the concept of guru in sikhism, the central principles of the gurus’ teachings and the sacred scripture – the guru granth sahib..

There are currently about 24 million Sikhs worldwide. The majority live in the Indian state of Punjab. They regard Guru Nanak (1469–1539) as the founder of their faith and Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708), the tenth Guru, as the Guru who formalised their religion. Religions and religious teachers do not exist in a vacuum: India, in the Gurus’ time, was ruled by Mughal emperors who were Muslim. Punjabi society was a mix of Muslims and Hindus.

The Sikh religion has evolved from the Gurus’ teachings, and from their followers’ devotion, into a world religion with its own scripture, code of discipline, gurdwaras (places of worship), festivals and life cycle rites and Sikhs share in a strong sense of identity and celebrate their distinctive history.

A central principle of the Gurus’ teaching is the importance of integrating spirituality with carrying out one’s responsibilities. Sikhs should perform seva (voluntary service of others) while at the same time practising simaran (remembrance of God). The ideal is to be a sant sipahi (warrior saint) i.e. a person who combines spiritual qualities with a readiness for courageous action. Guru Nanak, the first Guru, and Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru, continue to feature prominently in Sikhs’ experience of their religion.

Who was Guru Nanak?

Guru Nanak was born in 1469 in Talvandi, a place now renamed Nankana Sahib, in the state of Punjab in present-day Pakistan. His parents were Hindus and they were Khatri by caste, which meant that they had a family tradition of account-keeping. The name ‘Nanak’, like Nanaki, his sister’s name, may indicate that they were born in their mother’s parents’ home, known in Punjabi as their nanake . Guru Nanak’s wife was called Sulakhani and she bore two sons. Until a life-changing religious experience, Nanak was employed as a store keeper for the local Muslim governor.

One day, when he was about thirty, he experienced being swept into God’s presence, while he was having his daily bath in the river. The result was that he gave away his possessions and began his life’s work of communicating his spiritual insights. This he did by composing poetic compositions which he sang to the accompaniment of a rabab , the stringed instrument that his Muslim travelling companion, Mardana, played. After travelling extensively Guru Nanak settled down, gathering a community of disciples (Sikhs) around him, in a place known as Kartarpur (‘Creator Town’).

A portrait of Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the first Sikh Guru, Durgashankar Pathak, Sarvasiddhāntattvacūḍāmaṇi (Crest-jewel of the Essence of all Systems of Astronomy), 19th century, traditional gouache and gold on paper ( The British Library )

Guru Nanak’s poems (or shabads ) in the Guru Granth Sahib (scripture) give a clear sense of his awareness of there being one supreme reality ( ik oankar ) behind the world’s many phenomena. His shabads emphasise the need for integrity rather than outward displays of being religious, plus the importance of being mindful of God’s name ( nam ) and being generous to others through dan (pronounced like the English word ‘darn’) i.e. giving to others. His poems are rich in word-pictures of animals and birds and human activities such as farming and commerce.

The British Library holds a number of lithographs and manuscripts of much-loved stories of Guru Nanak’s life; these include the Vilaitvali Janam-sakhi and the more famous, beautifully illustrated B40 Janam-sakhi . (The word ‘ janam ’ means birth and ‘ sakhi ’ means testimony or evidence.) Some of the events recounted in the Janam-sakhis are miracles, despite the fact that Guru Nanak and his successors criticised miracle-working. The stories are written in such a way as to glorify the Guru; the anecdotes often convey a deeper message: for instance when Nanak asked a rich man to take a needle to heaven for him, so showing the futility of accumulating wealth.

Guru Nanak is seated under a tree with his travelling companion Mardana; standing before them is a rich money-lender whom the Guru had entrusted with a needle, requesting that it be returned to him in heaven. Having understood the futility of amassing wealth, the money-lender is shown with hands joined in supplication as he begs for the Guru’s forgiveness. Janam-sākhī , 1733 C.E. ( The British Library )

Guru Nanak’s importance results not just from his inspirational teaching but also from the practical basis he provided for a new religious movement: he established a community of his followers in Kartarpur and he appointed a successor, Guru Angad, on the basis of his devoted service. Guru Nanak is respected as ‘Baba Nanak’ by Punjabi Muslims as well as by Sikhs and Punjabi Hindus.

Each year Sikhs celebrate his birthday on the day of the full moon in November. Like other gurpurabs (festivals commemorating a Guru) it is marked by an akhand path (pronounced like ‘part’), a 48-hour, continuous, complete reading of the Guru Granth Sahib which ends on the festival morning. Commemorative events in 2019 celebrated the 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak’s birth.

What is the concept of Guru in Sikhism?

At first Nanak was called ‘Baba Nanak’, with ‘Baba’ being an affectionate term, like ‘grandfather’, for an older man. These days he is better known as Guru Nanak. Just as the word ‘Sikh’ means learner, so ‘Guru’ means teacher. Sikhs explain ‘Guru’ as meaning ‘remover of darkness’. The Gurmukhi script that is used for the Punjabi language has no capital letters, but in English the correct practice is to use a capital ‘G’ for Guru in the Sikh sense. There have been just ten human Gurus. Their lives spanned the period from Nanak’s birth in 1469 to the passing away of Guru Gobind Singh in 1708. Since then the Sikhs’ living Guru has been the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred volume of scripture. The Guru Granth Sahib is much more than a book: it is believed to embody the Guru as well as containing compositions by six of the ten Gurus. The preeminent Guru (Nanak’s Guru) is God, whose many names include ‘Satguru’ (the true Guru) and ‘Waheguru’ (a name which began as an exclamation of praise).

Sikhs believe that all ten human Gurus embodied the same spirit of Guruship and that their different styles were appropriate to the differing circumstances in which they lived. Guru Nanak’s first four successors, Guru Angad Dev, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das and Guru Arjan Dev, were also poets. Their compositions, together with Guru Nanak’s, became the basis of the Guru Granth Sahib. While their spiritual emphasis seamlessly continued Guru Nanak’s, each made a distinctive contribution to Sikh community life. Guru Angad formalised the Gurmukhi script in which the scripture is written. It was almost certainly developed from the shorthand that accountants used for keeping their accounts, as a simpler version of the script that is still used for the older language of Sanskrit.

Guru Amar Das made the langar a key feature of Sikh life: a shared vegetarian meal eaten by people of all ranks sitting together regardless of their social status. His other innovations included setting up a Sikh place of pilgrimage and appointing preachers to lead local Sikh congregations. His son-in-law and successor, Guru Ram Das appointed stewards-cum-missionaries to organise worship and collect offerings and he started the settlement which in due course was renamed Amritsar. Its name, meaning the pool of immortality, referred to the pool associated with the temple, Harmandir Sahib, that was completed in the time of the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev. In 1604 Guru Arjan Dev installed in Harmandir Sahib the volume of scripture, his compilation of the poems of the first five Gurus plus works by other spiritual poets such as Kabir.

Guru Arjan Dev is also remembered as the first Sikh martyr. Following his death, the sixth Guru, his son Har Gobind, became a military leader. Similarly, the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Rai, whose father Guru Tegh Bahadar is also remembered as a martyr, assumed a high military profile. The seventh, eighth and ninth Gurus, Guru Har Rai, Guru Har Krishan and Guru Tegh Bahadar, were not military leaders – in fact Guru Har Krishan passed away as a child. Guru Tegh Bahadar championed the brahmins of Kashmir who had appealed to him for help. He was put to death when he refused to become a Muslim.

According to tradition, Guru Gobind Rai became Guru Gobind Singh in 1699, when he called his followers together and initiated five men who volunteered their lives for him. These five (known as panj piare or five beloved ones), and all Sikhs who have been initiated in a similar way in the years since, make up the Khalsa , the community that owes its allegiance to the Guru. Guru Gobind Singh received the amrit (holy water of initiation) from the panj piare and, like them, took the name ‘Singh’ (lion) in place of his earlier name.

A portrait of Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708), the last in a lineage of ten human Gurus under which Sikhism flourished. Durgashankar Pathak, Sarvasiddhāntattvacūḍāmaṇi (Crest-jewel of the Essence of all Systems of Astronomy), 19th century ( The British Library )

Khalsa initiates (known as amritdhari Sikhs) accept a daily discipline which includes having five identifying marks (the ‘five Ks): kes (hair i.e. not allowing hair or beard to be shortened or removed), kirpan (sword), kachha (shorts – usually nowadays worn under one’s outer clothing), kangha (comb) and kara (iron or steel bangle). Female initiates take the name ‘Kaur’ (literally ‘prince’). In practice, many Sikh parents give their children the names ‘Singh’ and ‘Kaur’, so these names do not mean that someone has been initiated.

Guru Gobind Singh incorporated his father, Tegh Bahadar’s, hymns in the Sikh scripture. Shortly before his death, he instructed Sikhs to regard the Granth (volume) as their Guru – hence its respectful title, Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Gobind Singh himself was a poet and his compositions are in another volume, the Dasam Granth.

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Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology

Overview Essay

Environmental Theology in Sikhism

Dr. Rajwant Singh, Founder EcoSikh

“Creating the world, God has made it a place to practice spirituality”

(Guru Granth Sahib, p 1035)

See also “Sikhism and Caring for the Environment in Practice” by Dr. Rajwant Singh

The Sikh scripture declares that the purpose of human beings is to achieve a blissful state and be in harmony with the earth and all creation. It seems, however, that humans have drifted away from that ideal. The earth is today saturated with problems. It is agonizing over the fate of its inhabitants and their future. It is in peril as never before. Its forests are being denuded. A smoky haze envelops the cities of the world. Its lakes and rivers are being filled with urban and industrial pollution killing aquatic life. Human beings are exploiting human beings. There is a sense of urgency in all parts of the world, across ethnic, religious, and national boundaries. The demands of national economic growth and individual needs and desires are depleting the natural resources of the earth.

There is serious concern that the earth may no longer be a sustainable bio-system. The major crises facing the earth - the social justice crisis and the environmental crisis - together are heading the earth towards a disastrous situation. The social justice crisis is that of humanity's confrontation with itself and the environmental crisis is caused by humanity's confrontation with nature.

The social justice crisis is that poverty, hunger, disease, exploitation, and injustice are widespread. There are economic wars over resources and markets. The rights of the poor and the marginal are violated. Women constituting half the world's population are excluded from public decision-making, making them even more vulnerable in situations of conflict and crisis.

The environmental crisis caused by humanity's exploitation of nature is leading to the depletion of renewable resources, destruction of forests, over-use of land for agriculture and habitation. Today pollution is contaminating air, land and water. Smoke from industries, homes and vehicles fills the air. Industrial waste and consumer trash is affecting streams and rivers, ponds and lakes. Much of the waste is a product of modern technology; it is not biodegradable, not re-usable and its long-term consequences are unknown. The viability of many animal and plant species, and possibly that of the human species itself is at stake.

This crisis cries out for an immediate and urgent solution. The crisis requires a going back to the basic question of the purpose of human beings in this universe and an understanding of ourselves and the Divine creation.

We are called to the vision of Guru Nanak which is a world society comprising God- conscious human beings who have realized God. To these spiritual beings the earth and the universe are sacred; all life is unity, and their mission is the spiritualization of all. Guru Nanak laid the foundation of Sikhism in the late fifteenth century. His writings, those of other human Gurus who succeeded him, and other spiritual leaders, are included in the scripture - Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Granth has been the Guru and Divine Masterof the Sikhs since 1708, when Guru Gobind Singh declared that there would be no more human Gurus. Guru Nanak and his successors during their lifetime worked towards creating an ideal society that has as its basis spiritual awareness and ethical integrity. The name ‘Sikh’ means disciple or learner of the Truth.

Guru Nanak in his philosophy states that the reality that humans create around themselves is a reflection of their inner state. The current instability of the natural system of the earth - the external environment of human beings, is only a reflection of the instability and pain within humans. The increasing barrenness of the earth's terrain is a reflection of the emptiness within humans.

The solution to problems manifest in our world lies in prayer and accepting God's hukam. It is difficult to translate certain Sikh concepts accurately. Hukam is one such concept - it may be best described as a combination of God's will, order, or system. With an attitude of humility, and surrender to the Divine Spirit, conscientious human beings can seek to redress the current crises of the environment and of social justice. In the Sikh way this is done through the guidance of the Guru, who is the Living Perfection of Divine Wisdom. A Sikh theologian, Kapur Singh, explains that Sikhism has three postulates implicit in its teachings:

One, that there is no essential duality between spirit and matter. Two, that humans have the capacity to consciously participate in the process of spiritual progression. Three, the highest goal of spiritual progression is harmony with God, while remaining earth- conscious, so that the world itself may be transformed to a spiritual plane of existence.

UNITY OF SPIRIT AND MATTER AND INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF ALL OF CREATION

The Sikh view is that spirit and matter are not antagonistic. Guru Nanak declared that the spirit was the only reality and matter is only a form of spirit. Spirit takes on many forms and names under various conditions.

“When I saw truly, I knew that all was primeval. Nanak, the subtle (spirit) and the gross (material) are, in fact, identical.” (Guru Granth Sahib, page 281)

That which is inside a person, the same is outside; nothing else exists; By divine prompting look upon all existence as one and undifferentiated; The same light penetrates all existence. (Guru Granth Sahib, page 599)

The chasm between the material and the spiritual is in the minds of humans only. It is a limitation of the human condition that spirit and matter appear as duality, and their unity is not self-evident.

The material universe is God's creation. Its origin was in God and its end is in God; and it operates within God's Hukam or Divine Will. Guru Nanak declares that God alone knows the reasons for and the moment of earth's creation. The origin of the universe is unknowable. The act of creation itself, the creation of the primeval atom, was instantaneous, caused by the Will of God.

Further descriptions of the universe and its creation in Sikh scripture are remarkably similar to recent scientific speculation about the universe and its origin. One of the basic hymns in the Sikh Scripture describes the indeterminate void before the existence of this universe. (See Appendix 1.0) Guru Nanak speaks of innumerable galaxies, of a limitless universe, the boundaries of which are beyond human ability to comprehend. God alone knows the extent of creation. (Appendix 3.0) God created the universe and the world, for reasons best known to Her. And being the results of God's actions all parts of the universe are holy. God is an all-pervasive being manifest through various elements of creation. (Appendix 4.0)

Having created this universe and the world, God directs them. All actions take place within God's hukam. God alone knows how and why. God, however, not only directs this vast and massive theater, but also watches over with care and kindness-the benign, supportive parent!

Men, trees, pilgrimage places, banks of sacred streams, clouds, fields. Islands, spheres, universes, continents, solar systems. The sources of creation, egg-born, womb-born, earth-born, sweat-born, oceans, mountains and sentient beings.

He, the Lord, knows their condition, O Nanak. Nanak, having created beings, the lord takes care of them all. The creator who created the world, He takes thought of it as well. (Guru Granth Sahib, page 466)

The world, like all creation, is a manifestation of God. Every creature in this world, every plant, every form is a manifestation of the Creator. Each is part of God and God is within each element of creation. God is the cause of all and She is the primary connection between all existence.

“The Creator created himself…… And created all creation in which he is manifest. You Yourself the bumble-bee, flower, fruit and the tree. You Yourself the water, desert, ocean and the pond. You Yourself are the big fish, tortoise and the Cause of causes. Your form can not be known (Guru Granth Sahib page 1016)

In the world God has created She has also provided each species and humans with means of support and nurturing.

In Sikh beliefs, a concern for the environment is part of an integrated approach to life and nature. As all creation has the same origin and end, humans must have consciousness of their place in creation and their relationship with the rest of creation. Humans should conduct themselves through life with love, compassion and justice. Becoming one and being in harmony with God implies that humans endeavor to live in harmony with all of God's creation.

The second postulate is that humans, practicing a highly disciplined life, while remaining active in the world, are capable of further spiritual progression. It is important that Sikhs retain the primacy of spirit over matter, while it is desirable that they do not deny matter or material existence. It is not required that humans renounce the world. They must maintain their life in the world and uphold all responsibilities in the world. Humans should be renouncers of plenty and maintain a simple life. Further spiritual progress fundamentally starts with an individual conquering himself/herself with the guidance of the Guru. (Appendix 6.0) The emphasis is on mastery over the self and the discovery of the self; not mastery over nature, external forms and beings. Sikhism teaches against a life of conspicuous, wasteful consumption. The Guru recommends a judicious utilization of material and cultural resources available to humans.

Then why get attached to what you will leave behind. Having wealth, you indulge in pleasures bout, From that, tell me, who will bail you out? All your houses, horses, elephants and luxurious cars, They are just pomp and show, all totally false. (Guru Granth Sahib)

The Gurus taught humans to be aware of and respect the dignity in all life, whether human or not. Such a respect for life can only be fostered where one can first recognize the Divine spark within oneself, see it in others, cherish it, nurture and fulfill it.

This little shrine of the human body! This great opportunity of life! The object is to meet the Beloved, thy Master! (Guru Granth Sahib)

SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE

Humans have the capability to further their spiritual progression through conscious choice and it is important to identify the method by which they might do so. The method suggested by Guru Nanak is one of spiritual discipline, meditation & prayer, and sharing. Sikhism emphasizes mastering five negative forces: Lust, Anger, Worldly or Materialistic Attachment, Conceit and Greed. These together constitute what Sikhs term Haumai - “I am-ness.” Mastering haumai is achieved by developing five positive forces: Compassion, Humility, Contemplation, Contentment and Service (seva) without expecting any material or spiritual reward. The guiding principles are Love and Forgiveness. Every decision in life has to be based on Rationality and a personal code of ethics. Guru

Nanak's philosophy of values inspires the individual to transcend his/her existencethrough this spiritual discipline. Sikh religion preaches strong family involvement. A person pursuing this spiritual discipline must also work to create an atmosphere for other members of the family to progress spiritually.

THE IDEAL SIKH – ONE WITH THE INTENSE DESIRE TO DO GOOD

The third postulate is that the true end of the human beings is in their emergence as God- conscious beings, who remain aware of the earth and operate in the mundane material world, with the object of transforming and spiritualizing it into a higher plane of existence. In this spiritual state individuals are motivated by an intense desire to do good, transforming their surroundings.

Through a life based on the method prescribed by the Gurus humans may achieve a higher spiritual state. Such truly emancipated, valiant and enlightened spirits (jivan- mukta, brahma-gyani) become the true benefactors of humanity and the world around them. Such an individual would not exploit another human or sentient being, as each is a manifestation of the eternal and the supreme. In this God-conscious state they see God in all and everything.

“I perceive Thy form in all life and light; I perceive Thy power in all spheres and sight.” (Guru Granth, page 464)

Spiritualization is a liberation from material compulsions and attractions. It means an awareness of the Cosmic Order and striving towards the execution of Divine Will. So, the spiritualized human is creative and constructive. Therefore a Sikh life is a life of harmony with other individuals with other beings and other forms. For an enlightened individual the world has only one purpose - to practice spirituality. That is the ultimate objective of all humans.

Such a person is involved in human problems and society and has to prove his or her effectiveness there. Such a person lives with a mission - and works for the emancipation of all. A true Sikh is for individual human rights, the environment, and justice for all.

“The God-conscious person is animated with an intense desire to do good in this world.” (Guru Granth Sahib, page 273)

Header photo: Sikhs inside The Golden Temple, Amritsar, India

Who are Sikhs? What is Sikhism?

A short overview explaining the basic beliefs and practices of followers of Sikhism

The Sikh community invites all people to join them in bringing about mutual understanding and deep respect for all people.

Since Sept. 11th, Sikhs, like other Americans, have been grappling with grief and fear. But their fear is not only about another assault from outside. Many Sikhs have become victims of hate crimes because of their appearance. Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh American ( Balbir Singh Sodhi ), was killed on Sept.15 as a result of mistaken identity. Across America, the only people who wear turbans are followers of the Sikh religion. Sikhs are from Northern India (Punjab) and are neither Hindus nor Muslims.

Although Sikhism encourages self-defense, it pointedly teaches not to seek revenge or retribution, and teaches observers to be free of hatred.

Sikhs at a Glance

99 percent of people wearing turbans in the U.S. are Sikhs from India
Sikhs have been in the U.S. for over 100 years
There are roughly 700,000 Sikhs in the U.S. today
Sikhism is the world’s fifth largest religion with 25 million adherents worldwide
Sikhs believe in one God, equality, freedom of religion, and community service
Sikhs cover their uncut hair with a turban
The Sikh turban represents a commitment to equality and justice
Sikhism is a distinct religion, separate from Hinduism and Islam

Sikhism - The word Sikh (pronounced "sickh") means 'disciple' or 'learner.' The Sikh religion was founded in Northern India in the fifteenth century by Guru Nanak Dev Ji and is distinct from Islam and Hinduism. Sikhism is monotheistic and stresses the equality of all men and women. Sikhs believe in three basic principles; meditating on the name of God (praying), earning a living by honest means as well as sharing the fruits of one’s labor with others. Sikhism rejects caste and class systems and emphasizes service to humanity.

History and Beliefs

The almost 25 million Sikhs worldwide constitute the fifth largest religion in the world. Despite almost a million Sikhs living in North America (USA and Canada), Sikhs are often confused as Arabs or Muslims. Sikhs arrived in North America in 1897 and played a pivotal role in the opening of the West and construction of the Panama Canal in 1904. In 1906, Sikhs established their first gurdwara , or place of worship, in the United States. 700,000 Americans and Canadians are Sikh and nearly every major city has a Sikh place of worship and community center.

The Sikh faith is five hundred years old. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, taught a message of love. He spoke of a universal God, common to all mankind, not limited to any religion, nation, race, creed, color, or gender. The Sikh religion is strictly monotheistic, believing in one supreme Creator, free of gender, absolute, all-pervading, and eternal. Sikhism views lfe not as a fall from grace, but a unique opportunity to discover and develop the divinity in each of us. Human rights and justice form a cornerstone of Sikh belief, and Sikh history features countless examples of Sikh Gurus and their followers making tremendous sacrifices for the cause of religious freedom and justice. More recently, Sikhs have been some of the most highly decorated soldiers of the British armed services during both World Wars. They played a significant role in the memorable battles of El Alamein in the Burma-China front and also in the allied assault in Italy. In India’s struggle for independence from the British, over two-thirds of all the Indians who were sentenced to life imprisonment or death were Sikh. This is in spite of the fact that Sikhs form less than two percent of India’s population

Guru Nanak surrounded by the successive 9 Guru's.

The Sikh Identity In 1699, the tenth and last living Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, summoned his followers to the town of Anandpur in Punjab; over 80,000 came. According to history, Guru Gobind Singh appeared before his people, flashed a naked sword, and demanded a head. He repeated his call until five Sikhs volunteered. These five individuals came from different parts of India and from different castes. To these five, and subsequently to many others on that historic day, Guru Gobind Singh bestowed a new discipline, a creed to his Sikhs. The Guru initiated these five in the new order of the Khalsa and then, in a dramatic and historic gesture, they in turn initiated him. On that day, he gave the Sikhs a unique identity which includes five articles of faith:

unshorn hair as a gift of God and Guru and a mark of Sikh identity
a small comb for the hair
a steel bracelet which signifies a reality with no beginning and no end, and is also symbolic of a Sikh’s commitment to the ideals of his faith, much as wedding ring might indicate fealty and identity
a sword indicative of resolve and commitment to justice, and
knee-length breeches in keeping with the disciplined life-style of a Sikh

For the past 300 years, male Sikhs have been easily recognized by their long unshorn hair covered with a turban. Notably, in traditional Indian society only males of high caste or the elite, ruling class wore turbans. In requiring all Sikhs to don turbans, Guru Gobind Singh envisioned all individuals as noble. Sikh women adhere to the same life style, symbols, rules and conduct, but relatively few choose to wear turbans. Young Sikh boys, instead of wearing a turban, often cover their uncut hair, which is tied in a top-knot, with a simple piece of fabric.

Along with the aforementioned physical identifiers, Guru Gobind Singh went further in distinguishing Sikhs. In Indian society, an individual’s name reveals one’s caste and social status. Guru Gobind Singh freed Sikhs from the rigid caste system by ordering all Sikh males adopt the surname “Singh,” meaning a lion, and women use the surname “Kaur” meaning princess, thus shedding their caste identity. Each year, Sikhs worldwide commemorate and celebrate the historic events of Vaisakhi 1699 as a milestone in Sikh history when Guru Gobind Singh decreed the formation of the Khalsa and fashioned the nation of Sikhs.

The Sikh Scripture

Guru Gobind Singh (pictured to the right) also decreed an end to the line of Gurus in human form. The writings of the earlier Gurus were collated along with those of Hindu and Muslim spiritual figures whose teachings strongly resonated with Sikh beliefs. This collection of writings is known as Guru Granth Sahib , a uniquely ecumenical and eclectic collection of spiritual writings. For Sikhs, Guru Granth Sahib is the repository of all spiritual knowledge and authority. In temporal matters all authority rests with the Sikh community worldwide acting democratically and in mindful prayer with an awareness of the spiritual heritage which is embodied in the Guru Granth. Sikhs revere the ten Gurus, Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh, because they delivered the divine word of the one, timeless God. The word “Guru” acquires, therefore, a very special meaning for Sikhs. It is reserved only for the ten Gurus who gave us the divine message and to this message contained in the Guru Granth Sahib.

The Gurdwara

The Sikh place of worship, or Gurdwara, is more than a place of worship. It has historically served as a refuge for the homeless and the destitute. Gurdwaras usually display the Nishan Sahib , a saffron-colored triangular flag bearing the khanda , the symbol of the Sikh faith. Visitors, irrespective of their religion, are offered shelter, comfort, and food. The prerequisites for entering a Gurdwara are removing shoes and covering one’s head with a handkerchief, scarf, or other cloth.

In a Gurdwara, no special place or seat may be reserved or set aside for any dignitary, as all are considered equals. The service consists of singing of the liturgy, as well as the exposition of Sikh history, tradition, and theology. Non-Sikhs are always welcome. Sikh gurdwaras all over the world usually run free community kitchens, which provide meals to all. These kitchens are run and funded by volunteers. In traditional Indian society, people of high and low caste were rigidly segregated. To combat this social problem, the Sikh community kitchen, or langar , requires everyone to sit side by side and eat together, thereby teaching the concept of equality by shattering all barriers of caste and class. Every major city in the United States and Canada has Sikh gurdwaras and they are open to all.

The Sikh Way of Life

Sikhism is a practical religion and Sikhs are a pragmatic people. The emphasis is on a leading a worldly, successful life as a householder and a contributing member of society, but with the mind attuned to an awareness of God. Sikhism rejects all distinctions based on caste, creed, gender, color, race, or national origin. For Sikhs, God is not found in isolation or by renouncing the world, but is attained as an active family member and member of one’s community. The word “Sikh” means student. Therefore, a Sikh is and remains a student of the meaning of life. The core values of Sikhism are derived from three equally important tenets: an honest living and an honest day’s work, sharing with others what God and life have given, and living life fully with an awareness of the divine within each of us. Sikhism enunciates a philosophical concept termed Miri-Piri, which means living a life with an active, strong sense of commitment to the world and humanity, governed and directed by a strong foundation and underpinning of spirituality. Thus, the Sikh ideal is to strike a perfect balance and integration of these two states of existence.

In matters that affect the Sikh community, Sikhs have throughout history followed a simple but effective mechanism whereby individual voices are heard and decisions reflect the current state of knowledge, information and technology. In all such matters, and in honor of the first five Sikhs who heeded the call of Guru Gobind Singh in 1699, the voice of the community is channeled through five initiated Sikhs selected and authorized to resolve issues and speak as the voice of the community. Sikhs believe that God and Guru pervade the congregation when five Sikhs act in mindful prayer. Decision making, thus, becomes a collective process. Sikhs do not have a priestly hierarchy with its associated ecclesiastical authority.

The Sikh faith is committed to the equality of women, and necessarily so, as it defines God as gender neutral, perhaps one of the few major world religions to do so. There is no activity in a gurdwara or within the community that is permitted to a man but not to a woman. There is no religious function from which women are barred at any time of their lives.

Dietary Restrictions Sikhs have no food taboos except those that stem from one simple injunction – a life of moderation in which we shun all that harms the body or the mind. Animal sacrifice is forbidden and so is the consumption of animals killed in such manner. This also means that all intoxicants – tobacco, alcohol or any mind altering “recreational” drugs – are forbidden.

Other Religions Sikhism recognizes the universal truths that underlie all human endeavors, religions, and belief systems, though people differ in how they institutionalize those beliefs into a code of conduct and a way of life. Much as Sikhs love their religion, Sikhism is equally respectful and accepting of other ways of life and beliefs. Sikhism asks a non-Sikh to discover and live the essential message and meaning of his or her own religion so that a Christian can become a better Christian, Jew a better Jew, Hindu a better Hindu, while a Sikh becomes a better Sikh. Adapted from “Sikhs and their Religion” by Dr. IJ Singh and from SALDEF.org

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About Sikhism

The Sikh Way of Life and the Guru's Teachings

Gurmat Principles The Guide to Sikh Living

Life and Culture
Sacred Scriptures

The life of every Sikh has both personal and panthic , or communal, elements. For a devout Sikh, the secular life ( Miri ) incorporates standards of spiritual living ( Piri ). The Sikh way of life follows gurmat , principles taught by the ten gurus over a period of three centuries. Regardless of initiation status, a Sikh is to adhere to the conventions of the Sikh code of conduct from the time of birth and throughout all of life until death. Sikhs are to congregate with the like-minded company and when meeting, greet one another saying, " Waheguru ji ka Khalsa - Waheguru ji ki Fateh ," or "Khalsa belongs to God - Victory belongs to God".

Communal Aspects of Sikh Life

A Sikh's public life and responsibilities include:

Obligation - serving the collective consciousness and community of Sikhs.
Initiation - duty to live as a committed member of the Sikh Community.
Discipline - be subject to reprimand for default of commitments of Initiation.
Fundamentals - responsibility to live according to Sikh principles.
Appeals - petitions are made to Akal Takat, the seat of religious authority for all Sikhs.

Personal Aspects of Sikh Life

The individual Sikh’s private life incorporates:

Worship – meditating on God, and reading from the sacred scripture of Guru Granth .
Living - abiding by the teachings of the ten gurus and instruction of Guru Granth.
Employment - earning an honest income, and considering the sharing of earnings and engaging in voluntary, selfless, service, to be an offering to the Guru.

Sikh Religion and Worship

A Sikh believes in, and worships only one God .
A Sikh regards the succession of ten gurus, and the written word of the Guru Granth, a channel through which divine light manifests as salvation.
Sikhs worship in the gurdwara, congregating with spiritual companions, and communing with God, by singing divine hymns selected from the Guru Granth.
Sikhs perform ardas , a formal prayer , and read from Guru Granth before embarking on important endeavors.
The uniqueness of Sikhism is upheld without any derogatory attitude towards others, or belittling of others faith.

Daily Practice of the Sikh

The daily worship schedule of a Sikh is:

Wake up three hours before dawn and bathe.
Contemplate one God, repeating the name Waheguru until daybreak.
Morning - Japji Sahib, Jap Sahib, Tev Prasaad Swaye.
Evening - Rehraas.
Bedtime - Kirtan Sohila.
Utter a prayer after morning and evening nitnem .
Study and learn to read, and to write the Gurmukhi script .
Make a habit of reading from the scripture of the Guru Granth daily endeavoring to complete an entire reading every few months, or according to ability.

Family Life of the Sikh

The gurus taught the value of family life by example.

A Sikh is customarily wedded to another Sikh.
Sikhs are not to abort or kill an unborn or newborn baby, nor keep company with killers of a child.
A Sikh child is named according to the Sikh manner.
A Sikh respects a child's hair and keeps it unaltered and intact.
Along with general education and studies, children receive tutoring in Sikhism.
All Sikhs are to learn Gurmukhi script.
Sikhs may study other faiths.
A Sikh maintains intimate relations with a husband or wife only. Relationships with others are regarded as being the same as that of a parent, sibling, or child.

More: All About the Sikh Family All About Sikh Wedding Ceremony and Marriage Customs

Sikh Attire and Appearance

The required dress code for a Sikh is kachhera, an undergarment, and turban . A Sikh woman may opt to tie turban, but veiling her face and cloaking her body is considered improper. Earrings, nose rings, and other such ornamental piercings, are prohibited.

A Sikh keeps every hair on the head, face, and entire body intact and completely unaltered.

Sikhism does not condone:

Wearing a sacred thread.
Sporting a tuft of hair.
Shaving the head in observance of the dead.
Wearing a necklace of herbs picked from a grave site.
Painting a ritual mark on the forehead

More: Top Ten Reasons Not to Cut Your Hair Are Sikhs Allowed to Pluck Their Eyebrows? All About The Traditional Dress of Sikhs

Sikh Conduct and Comportment in Gurdwara:

Sikhs cover the head and go barefoot in the presence of the Guru Granth. Shoes may not be worn inside a gurdwara , or anywhere the Guru Granth is present, except when transporting the Guru Granth outside.

No one entering a gurdwara may possess tobacco or any kind of intoxicant.

More: All About the Sikh Gurdwara

Prohibitions

A Sikh, regardless of initiation status, does not smoke or otherwise use tobacco in any form, or indulge in other intoxicants including:

Opium and narcotics.
Other addictive substances.
Beer, wine or other liquor.
Marijuana, hemp, bhang and other cannabis products.

A Sikh avoids dishonest associations, gambling, and stealing.

More: Code of Conduct FAQ: Is Medical Marijuana OK for Sikhs? What Does Gurbani Say About Marijuana Use (Bhang)?: In Depth Insights

Customs Which Are Not in Accordance With the Gurus' Teachings

A Sikh reveres only the scripture of Guru Granth. Reading books of other religions is permissible for study purposes. A Sikh is to disregard and give no credence to:

Observance of gender bias, caste, status, or lineage.
Conjuring, incantations, charms, or clairvoyance.
Superstition, divination, omens and oracles.
Auspicious dates, horoscopes, or astrology.
Ritualistic worship, feasting, or fasting on particular dates.
Offering food to ancestors or for the deceased.
Grave markers, monuments, or cremation sites.
Idolatry, or ceremonial lighting of lamps or candles.
Pilgrimages, places, or scriptures sacred to other faiths.
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Sikh Missionary Society : Publications : Essays on Sikh Values :

The sikh gurus, introduction, guru nanak dev, sacha sauda.

Have faith only in God. Remember God only and worship nothing else.

Contribution

Ik-Oankar <> ie`kAoAMkwr - There is only one God. He is all pervading, in every thingand is the doer. God is one and the same for everyone from any faith. There are no different Gods for different faiths.

<> siq nwmu krqw purKu inrBau inrvYru Akwl mUriq AjUnI sYBM gur pRswid ] <> siq nwmu krqw purKu inrBa inrvY{ Akwl mUriq AjUnI sYBz gur pRswid ] Ik-Oankar Satte-Naamu kartaa purakhu nirbh-a-o nirvair akaal moorat-e ajoonee saibhn. gur parsaade.

Waheguru vwihguruU vwihgurU - The wonderful Lord, remover of ignorance.

gur-Sbd gurSbd - the Holy Hymns i.e. the Scripture.

sMgq sMgq - Worship of God by sitting together. It was to banish discrimination of every kind, and to create equality, mutual consideration, tolerance and selfless love.

lMgr lMgr - community kitchen, jointly cooked free food for everyone, to be eaten sitting together at one place. It was to affirm the removal of discrimination of every sort, and to develop the sense of equality, selfless service and compassion.

GURU ANGAD DEV

Selfless service, life as the guru, the next guru, guru amar das, guru ram das, guru arjun dev, life as a guru, guru hargobind.

Mata Damodri, daughter of Narain Das of the village Dalla. She gave birth to Baba Gurditta, Ani Rai, and daughter Veero.

Mata Nanki, daughter of Hari Chand of the village Bakala. To her were born Baba Atall, and Tegh Bahadur (Guru).

Matai Mahadevi, daughter of Daya Ram of the village Mandiali. Suraj Mall was born to her.

Gwalior Fort

Jahangir a friend, samrath ramdas, lohgarh fort, guru har rai, hakikat rai, guru harkrishan, selection as a guru, the perfect guru, sympathetic guru, guru tegh bahadur, makhan shah lubana, pundits pray at amar nath, appeal by the pundits, guru gobind singh, amrit - the khalsa, leaving anandpur, granth sahib, zafar-namah, bahadur shah, nanded - hazoor sahib, guru granth sahib.

IAS Preparation
UPSC Preparation Strategy

The word Sikh is derived from the Sanskrit word Shishya , meaning disciple or learner . The Sikh religion originated with the advent of Guru Nanak , the founder of the Sikh Religion. It was developed through the successive Gurus who appeared in the form of the same divine light and reached its climax with the creation of Khalsa by the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh.

This article will give information about Sikhism – one of the important religions of India, in the context of the IAS Exam.

This topic will be useful for the GS Paper 1 and GS Paper 4 section of the UPSC Syllabus.

The candidates can go through the relevant topics useful for their upcoming exams from the links provided below:

History of Sikhism

Sikhism was born at a time when there was a growing conflict amongst the two dominating religious traditions of Hinduism and Islam in India.
Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith, is generally depicted as a reconciler of the two conflicting traditions.
Guru Nanak got his enlightenment in Sultanpur in 1496 .
After enlightenment, he travelled extensively to spread the message of love and brotherhood.
The number of Guru Nanak’s followers increased through the sixteenth century under his successors.
They belonged to a number of castes, but traders, agriculturists, artisans and craftsmen predominated. They were also expected to contribute to the general funds of the community of followers.
By the beginning of the seventeenth century, the town of Ramdaspur (Amritsar) had developed around the central Gurdwara called Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple). It was virtually self-governing, and modern historians refer to the early seventeenth-century Sikh community as ‘a state within the state’.

About Guru Nanak

Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith, was born in Talwandi (near Lahore in Pakistan), now known as Nankana Sahib in Pakistan and belonged to Bedi gotra in 1469.
Guru Nanak received his early education in Sanskrit and Persian .
He was one of the greatest saints of the Bhakti movement.
Guru Nanak (1469–1539) was the first Guru.
He travelled widely before establishing a centre at Kartarpur (Dera Baba Nanak on the river Ravi).
Regular worship that consisted of the singing of his own hymns was established there for his followers.
Irrespective of their former creed, caste or gender, his followers ate together in the common kitchen ( langar ).
The sacred space thus created by Guru Nanak, known as dharmsal . It is now known as Gurdwara .
Contemplation of One God (nam- japna);
Earning one’s livelihood (kirat karna) and
Sharing one’s earnings with others (vand chhakna).
To practise his teachings of equality, Guru Nanak started the twin institutions of Sangat and Pangat , emphasizing that all sit in a congregation and while partaking food from the community kitchen should sit in one line without distinction of high and low or rich and poor.
Guru Nanak preached through kirtans, bhajans and ragas.
Before his death in 1539, Guru Nanak appointed one of his followers as his successor.
His name was Lehna, but he came to be known as Guru Angad, signifying that he was a part of Guru Nanak himself.

Teachings of Sikh Religion

The teachings of Sikh Religion are as follows:

God – Sikhism believes in the monotheistic concept of One God, who is Transcendent and Immanent; Impersonal and Personal; Nirguna and Sarguna.
Soul – There is an identical relation between God and soul, which is mentioned as ‘the Lord abides in the soul and the soul in the Lord.’ The aim of man’s life is to rediscover the real nature of the self which is in no way different from God, but indulgence in mundane aspirations reinforce his ego and strengthens this false notion of separateness.
Divine Will – In the Sikh religion, the concept of Divine Will (hukam) as an imperative has a specific metaphysical significance. Divine Will is all-pervasive and immanent and manifests itself in different ways which are incomprehensible to the human mind. Not only the creation but also the sustenance of the universe is in accordance with the Divine Will.
Divine Grace – It is often referred to in the scripture as kirpa, karam, Prasad, mehar, daya or bakhsis. One cannot understand God through cleverness, but He can be realized through Grace.
Salvation – The immortality of the soul is also conceived in the sense of realization of the eternity of values in the temporal world. Karma and rebirth are closely related to the moral life of man.

The Ten Sikh Gurus

There were a total of ten Sikh Gurus. Guru Nanak was followed by nine successive Gurus who not only continued his precepts and ideals but made significant contributions in evolving different institutions for the Sikh community.


Guru Nanak (1469 – 1539)
Guru Angad Dev (1504 – 1552)	.
Guru Amar Dass (1479 – 1574)
Guru Ram Dass (1534 – 1581)
Guru Arjun Dev (1563 – 1606)
Guru Hargobind (1595 – 1644)
Guru Har Rai (1630 – 1661)
Guru Har Kishan (1656 – 1664)
Guru Teg Bahadur (1621 – 1675)
Guru Govind Singh (1666 – 1708)	(comb), (long hair), (iron bracelet), (underwear) and (sword or dagger).

11th Sikh Guru

Nine gurus followed Guru Nanak and there is no living human successor, but the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, is considered the 11th Sikh Guru and eternal.
Apart from the hymns of the Sikh Gurus, the Guru Granth Sahib also contains the composition of the Muslim and Hindu saints, some of them belonging to the so-called lower caste of the Hindu society.
Therefore, the Sikh Holy Book can be considered as a unique example of the ecumenical spirit of the Sikh faith.

Sikh Institutions

The disciples of Sikhism come to the sacred places to take the blessings of Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book and eternal Guru of Sikhs.

The most sacred Sikh Shrines and Heritage are listed and briefed below:

The worship places of Sikhs are known as the Takhts which literally means ‘the seat of the divine power’.
There are only five Takhts.
It is said that ‘Takhts’ are places where various social and political settlements were done by the Gurus.


Akal Takht Sahib	It is founded by Guru Hargobind Singh.
Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib	It is a place where Khalsa Panth originated.
Takht Sri Damdama Sahib	It is a place where the complete version of Guru Granth Sahib was written by Guru Gobind Singh.
Takht Sri Hazur Sahib	It is a place where Guru Gobind Singh last breathed. It is located on the bank of River Godavari in the ‘Sanctified City’ of Nanded in Maharashtra.
Takht Sri Patna Sahib	It is situated on the banks of the River Ganga.

Gurudwara stands for ‘the doorway to the master’.
In India, there are several Gurudwaras but only five Takhts.
Lakhs of people, particularly the Sikhs, visit the Gurudwaras to commemorate the Gurus. Therefore, Gurudwaras hold significance from a pilgrimage point of view.
It is called the Golden Temple owing to the gilded dome that adorns the crown of the Gurudwara.
It is the most sacred for the Sikhs.
The town was founded by Guru Ram Dass, the fourth Sikhs Guru in 1577 on the land gifted by Akbar.
The fifth Guru Arjun Dev completed the temple.
When Maharaja Ranjit Singh covered the upper half of the temple, first with copper and then with pure gold leaf, it came to be known as the Swarna Mandir.
It is one of the most impressive and fascinating edifices in India and is intricately linked with the history of Sikhism.
Gurudwara Paonta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh
Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, New Delhi
Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib, Delhi
Hemkund Sahib, Uttarakhand

Sikhism – UPSC Notes:- Download PDF Here

FAQ-about-Sikhism

FAQ about Sikhism

What are the 5k’s that sikh men are required to possess.

The 5K’s that Sikh men are required to possess are Kangha (comb), Kesh (long hair), Kada (iron bracelet), Kachcha (underwear) and Kirpan (sword or dagger).

Who is a Guru in Sikhism?

What is langar and its significance.

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Essay on the sikhs in india.

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Sikhs originated In the Punjab, but they are found in all parts of India. They may be seen even in the far-off regions of the country, carrying with them the vital elements of the Punjabi culture. The contribution of the Sikhs to the Indian economy, particularly agriculture, transport and Industry, Is far more Impressive than their numerical strength. They are an important component in armed forces and in the service sector.

Rise of Sikhism:

Sikhism developed as a result of the teachings of Guru Nanak (1469- 1539) who was a great believer in the unity of God and the universal brotherhood of the humankind. He was a great reformer and had insights into the essential philosophy of both Hinduism and Islam. In its original form Sikhism emerged as a religious reform movement and attracted the attention of masses.

Initially, the Sikh converts came mostly from among the ranks of the Hindu agricultural castes, particularly the Jats. The initial concepts of the Sikh faith were developed as a result of the interpretation of the teachings of Guru Nanak and a line of Gurus who succeeded him. A Sikh believes in the teachings of the ten Gurus and the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book. Some of the salient features of Sikh faith are belief in one God (monotheism), rejection of idolatory and of discrimination based on caste and social hierarchy. The Sikh also insists on the futility of ritual and form.

The Gurudwara occupies the central place in the Sikh cultural and religious practice. With the passage of time, Sikhism acquired a new form under Guru Govind Singh (1675-1708) who insisted on separate Sikh identity and prescribed for the Sikhs five marks of distinction. These were supposed to be necessary elements of difference from the other communities.

In the face of the political threats from the contemporary rulers, it became necessary to give Sikhs a distinctive individuality of their own. Guru Govind Singh thus laid down the foundation of the Khalsa Panth on the Baisakhi day in 1699.’ The Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, contains a summary of the teachings of the early Sikh Gurus as well as the teachings of other saints who popularized the idea of unity of humankind and love for all.

Numerical Strength:

The last census, conducted in 1991, enumerated 16.26 million Sikhs in the country. Of this 12.76 million, or 78.5 per cent, were found living in the state of Punjab alone, thus indicating the traditional association of the Sikhs with the land of the five rivers. Besides Punjab, the neighbouring state of Haryana accommodates about 6 per cent of the total population of the Sikhs.

This segment of the Sikh population owes its origin to the process of spill-over from the densely populated parts of the Punjab to the relatively open tracts of land in the newly created state of Haryana. Thus, the concentration of Sikhs in the states of Punjab and Haryana (both parts of the undivided Punjab) should be seen in the context of Sikh history.

Sikhism originated in Punjab and the Sikhs remained confined to this region. However, the Partition created conditions for almost a complete exodus of Sikhs from west Punjab and their resettlement in the irrigated agricultural lands on this side of the border.

The redistribution of Sikh population in the wake of the Partition introduced Sikh elements in the neighbouring Haryana and Rajasthan where the irrigated colonies, such as in Ganganagar and Kurukshetra districts, emerged as the new foci of Sikh resettlement. Sikhs also settled down in the Tarai region of Uttar Pradesh, transforming this once malaria-infested wetland into a granary of northern India. This transformation came due to the sturdy Sikh farmer, an alien to the region and yet tied to the soil.

The post-Partition migration of the Sikhs to the regions lying to the east of the Ravi and the Satluj rivers was a second major migration in Sikh history. The first major redistribution had taken place during the colonial period when they migrated to the new canal colonies to the north and west of Lahore.

In fact, the Sikh Jats became a symbol of irrigation agriculture and perhaps the most active agent of agrarian revolution that followed the construction of canals in Punjab. During the phase of planned economic development since 1950, the Sikhs have been on the move showing a strong tendency of outmigration from Punjab to the other states of the Indian Union. They have also migrated out of the country in considerable numbers.

Today, the three states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan accommodate around 90 per cent of the country’s Sikh population (Table 7.11).

Spatial Distribution:

As noted above, the Sikhs are mostly found between the Ghagghar and the Ravi rivers. This concentration is, however, understandable in the context of the country’s Partition in 1947 and the reorganization of Punjab afterwards. Today, the major concentration of the Sikhs is seen in nine districts of Punjab where they constitute an overwhelming proportion of population. Included in this category is Faridkot where more than 80 per cent of the population consists of Sikhs.

In Amritsar, Firozepur, Ludhiana, Kapurthala, Rupnagar, Patiala, Sangrur and Bhatinda they constitute from 50 to 80 per cent of the district population. They are also an important component of population (20-50 per cent) in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur and Sirsa. They have a sizeable population (10-20 per cent) in Ganganagar, Kuruk- shetra and Ambala (Table 7.12).

Frequency Distribution of Districts According to the Percentage of Sikhs in Total Population, 1991

In all the districts of high dominance the Sikhs are mostly a rural phenomenon. For example, in five districts (viz., Amritsar, Ludhiana, Faridkot, Sangrur and Bhatinda) Sikhs constitute more than 80 per cent of the rural population. In the six adjoining districts (Table 7.13) they account for 50-80 per cent of the rural population.

Frequency Distribution of Districts According to the Percentage of Sikhs in Rural Population, 1991

This reveals the traditional dependence of the Sikhs on agriculture and allied activities. However, a section of the community is also engaged in trade and commerce, activities based largely in urban centres. The Sikhs constitute about 40-50 per cent of urban population in Amritsar, Faridkot, Rupnagar, Patiala and Bhatinda (Table 7.14).

Frequency Distribution of Districts According to the Percentage of Sikhs in Urban Population, 1991

From one- fifth to two-fifths of the urban population is comprised by Sikhs in the remaining districts of Punjab. Moreover, their presence is significant in major Haryana towns, particularly in Ambala, Sirsa and Yamunanagar districts (Fig. 7.9).

Cultural Topography:

The Gurdwara is the religio-cultural hub of the community. Sikhs visit the Gurudwaras as a matter of routine and particularly on occasions which are important in the life of an individual or the community as a whole. One such occasion is the Baisakhi, which marks the birth of the Khalsa Panth and the two Gur Purbs (birthdays of Guru Nanak and Guru Govind Singh) as well as the occasion of the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dav and Guru Tegh Bahadur. On such occasions, the Guru Granth Sahib is taken in procession through the streets. Sikhs also celebrate Holi and Diwali. Some of these celebrations are held inside the Gurudwaras.

There are several Gurdwaras which have an all-India importance. Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar is the foremost among them. Other important Gurudwaras are Patna Sahib, Nanded Sahib, Anandpur Sahib and Damdama Sahib. These Gurdwaras attract large crowds on special occasions.

The Sikh community consists of several sects, such as the Ni- hangs, Namdharis and Udasis. However, over the last three centuries several sects emerged and gradually lost their importance. Reference may be made to Nirankaris, Nanak Panthis, Niranjanis, Sutra-Shahis, Sanwal-Shahis, Dhirmalids, Sevapanthis, Sat-Kartaris, Nirmalas, etc.

The Nihangs are easily distinguished by their dark blue dress. The Namdharis are distinguished by their headgear and white dress. Udasis who are ascetics are themselves divided into four orders. The rise of the Akalis is a recent phenomenon and may be traced to the early part of the twentieth century. It was as a result of the Akali efforts that the Gurudwara Act of 1925 was passed. The affairs of the Gurudwaras are now controlled by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee which is an all-India body.

Hindu-Sikh Communalism in India
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A brief overview of Sikhism

Sikhism is a progressive religion well ahead of its time when it was founded over 500 years ago, The Sikh religion today has a following of over 20 million people worldwide and is ranked as the 5th largest religion in the world. Sikhism preaches a message of devotion and remembrance of God at all times, truthful living, equality of mankind and denounces superstitions and blind rituals. Sikhism is open to all through the teachings of its 10 Gurus enshrined in the Sikh Holy Book and Living Guru, Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

Further information is available at:

BBC information on Sikhism
Faith Guides for Higher Education: A Guide to Sikhism

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Sikh Texts in Translation

The Ādi Granth; or, The holy scriptures of the Sikhs . Translated from the original Gurumukhī with introductory essays by Ernest Trumpp. New Delhi, Munshiram Manoharlal [1970] Located at ReCAP (RCPPA) (BL2017.4.A4 T78 1970 )

Kabitt swayye Bhai Gurdas Ji / translation by Shamsher Singh Puri ; [revised by Devinder Singh]. Guradāsa, Bhai, approximately 1555-1629, author. Amritsar : Singh Bros., 2007. Located at Firestone Library (F) (PK2659 G83 K3313 2007 )

The Dasam Granth = Shrī Dasama Grantha Sāhiba : the second scripture of the Sikhs written by Sri Guru Gobind Singh / translated into English by Surindar Singh Kohli. New Delhi : Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 2005. Located at Firestone Library (F) (BL2017.455 .D37 2005 )

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URL: https://libguides.princeton.edu/religion

Ruinations: Violence in these times

Thinking about religion and violence

In the past fifty years, the study of religion and violence has grown exponentially. One reason for this is obvious: the rise of strident religion-related political movements around the world, many of which challenge conventional notions of secularism and the secular nation-state. But another reason has been the scholarly interest in the materiality of culture. Elaine Scarry’s groundbreaking book, The Body in Pain , is emblematic of a growing interest in the way that physical suffering alters perception and challenges our understanding of socially constructed realities. The essays in this Immanent Frame forum display the diversity of topics related to the subject of religion and violence and the rich discussions they evoke.

The focus on the topic of religion and violence has occasioned close scrutiny of what is meant both by religion and by violence. For decades, scholars in the study of religion have recognized that the term is a fairly recently created Western fiction. In 1963, the long-standing director of Harvard’s Center for the Study of World Religion published The Meaning and End of Religion , a book in which he advocated that scholars abandon the use of the word. “Religion” was a contrivance, Wilfred Cantwell Smith averred, that held no existential meaning and had no ancient roots. He allowed for forms of religiosity that could be described adjectivally, such as religious rituals, religious beliefs, and so on, but there was no intrinsic essence to religion itself.

In the years since Smith’s book, there has been a great deal of discussion of the socio-political contexts in which the concepts of religion and its uneasy partner, secularism, originated. The works of Talal Asad, Charles Taylor, and Rajeev Bhargava are particularly notable in raising the level of these discussions. Twenty years ago, a working group of scholars convened by the Social Science Research Council held a multi-year project examining the notions of religion and secularism. The group, which included Asad, Taylor, Bhargava, and others, published their essays in Rethinking Secularism , a book edited by Craig Calhoun, Jonathan VanAntwerpen, and myself, which concluded that the terms were shaped in the West in recent centuries by political and historical contexts in a dialectical tandem.

Still the terms persist in popular discourse. Even Smith capitulated to the use of the word “religion” when he supported the creation of an academic program in Harvard College in the Study of Religion, preferring that phrase to “religious studies,” which Smith thought might be misunderstood as saying that the studies themselves were religious. Other scholars use the term as well, though they usually qualify what they mean by using it.

Late Berkeley sociologist Robert Bellah took a different approach. He argued that religion was something, or at least a shared perception, and not just a set of adjectives. In a magisterial book completed shortly before his death, Religion in Human Evolution , Bellah posited that the origin of religion as an element of human culture was in play. Like Dutch historian Johan Huizinga, Bellah thought that the earliest forms of culture were activities, such as dance and ritual. These were embryonic forms of alternative realities that in time became internalized as realms of imagination, alternative realities in the mind. From these acts of cultural creativity spring religion, an alternative reality with persuasive powers of its own. As a sociologist, however, Bellah would never reify the alternative reality of religion or lift it out of its social and cultural context. He regarded it as one of many alternative realities that interact with our daily worlds. This brings Bellah’s position in line with the dominant view of the scholarly community, which is that religion cannot do anything on its own but illumines and interacts with various aspects of human practice and performance.

Hence the English word “religion” can refer to all kinds of things. Smith preferred to speak of religion as composed of tradition and its internalized form, which is faith. Or it can be, as Bellah described it, the perception of an alternative reality. As social phenomena, religion can be the dogmas, sets of beliefs, or ideological positions thought to originate with or be provided by some divine power. It can also mean the organizational institutions that are based on those beliefs and help maintain them, or describe the holders of clerical positions within those organizations. But religion need not be confined to institutions; it can refer to a culture of habits, practices, and shared values as well as to traditions that have been maintained, some of them over many centuries. It can also simply mean the social identity of a particular ethnic group.

The ambiguity around the word “religion” makes the study of religion and violence problematic. Sometimes commentators and authors of popular books aver that “religion causes violence.” No scholar would say such a thing, not only because of the difficulty in defining religion, but because of the causative implication in the phrase, as if religion could do anything on its own.

Scholars who use the phrase “religious violence” do not mean that religion causes violence. When used adjectivally, as in “religious ritual” or “religious art,” the implication is not that there is something called religion that causes rituals or art, but that these cultural forms are colored or characterized by a relationship to a transcendent alternative reality.

Similarly, scholars who speak of “religious violence” simply mean that things or cultural forms associated with religion are in some way related to violence. It is a shorthand for “religion-related violence.” That relationship is precisely what many scholars attempt to understand in their research. Invariably, this leads to a consideration of the social and historical milieu in which violent acts are committed, and of the ways that religious elements of culture are injected into conflict situations. Sometimes religious sanctions are used to shore up the legitimacy of those committing violent acts, sometimes religious images are part of the ideology of a movement, and sometimes religious identity is part of a cultural context.

The religious aspects of the Islamic State are an interesting case in point. Though it has often been referenced as a violent religious movement, “religion” in the sense of beliefs and ideology was limited to the small inner circle of the movement’s leadership. They imbibed apocalyptic images and beliefs from the past and fashioned a contemporary ideology of revenge against perceived foes, including Shi’a Muslims and their Western supporters, that would support their quest for political power. Most of the militants who joined the movement, however, were Sunni Arabs who saw the movement as a form of empowerment for their own ethnic community. They had little interest in the theological complexities of the ISIS ideology. The movement was religious, but in two quite different ways. In neither of these ways can religion be said to have caused the violence that ISIS perpetrated.

The diversity of meanings attached to religion is matched by that evoked by another problematic term: “violence.” The term usually conjures up images of physical violence, bodily harm and potential death. The images that are most striking are those associated with large-scale political violence — wars, genocide, terrorism, and the like. But there are forms of state violence apart from war that are enormously destructive, including pogroms and unjust incarceration. Even in political violence, religion is often a factor. Particular religious communities can be targeted for expulsion or destruction, and religious justifications can prop up the autocracy of the state. In every war, God seems to bless one side or another, and it is invariably the side of those claiming divine sanctions for their actions.

Religious images and ideas also are connected to interpersonal suffering and self-inflicted injury. When monks and nuns immolate themselves to protest injustices against their religious communities, they are described as martyrs. Martyrdom has an honored place in many religious traditions and contradicts the usual religious proscription against suicide. When I referred to certain Islamist activists as suicide bombers, the Hamas leader with whom I was speaking corrected me and assured me that they were “self martyrs.” [1]

There are other forms of violence besides physical violence, and these also often have a religious dimension. Extreme forms of social control and forced behavior can violate the integrity of the other. Mohandas Gandhi considered any kind of coercion a form of violence, and he believed coercion should be rejected as firmly as physical violence. Religious institutions and restrictions are often perpetrators of these less-tangible forms of violence, alas, enforcing coercion with self-righteousness.

Symbols of violence abound in virtually every religious tradition. From the swords of Sikhism and Islam to the execution device that is the cross Christians venerate, such images remind the faithful of violent and brutal death. The crucifixion of Christ, the martyrdom of Guru Arjun, and the killing of Ali ibn Abi Talib are central moments in the histories of Christianity, Sikhism, and Shi’a Islam, respectively. These events are woven into their legends and shape their rituals.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, scholars frequently pointed to sacrifice as a defining element of religion. Almost every early religious tradition has sacrificial offerings, usually of animals, but some cases also evidence human sacrifice. As religious traditions evolved, the sacrificial ritual became more metaphorical. In Christianity, the sacrifice of Christ is represented in the ritual of the eucharist. In the Roman Catholic tradition, the bread and wine offered to the faithful undergoes an act of transubstantiation and becomes the actual body and blood of Christ. Part of the scholarly fascination with the images of sacrifice in religious traditions is that they appear to hold keys to understanding the nature of religion itself. From a Durkheimian perspective, sacrifice is part of the reciprocity between humans and the divine being — life is given in order for life to be received.

Other scholars agree that the seemingly ubiquitous obsession with violence and death in religious traditions, both symbolic and physical, points to basic elements of the religious imagination. Ernest Becker famously described this as the religious “ denial of death .” Anthropologist Weston LeBarre, in analyzing the emergence of the Ghost Dance Religion among the Native American plains tribes who were under attack by the US cavalry, thought he had found the source of religion in the ritual response to impending doom. A more sophisticated version of this argument has been made by University of Chicago sociologist Martin Riesebrodt, in The Promise of Salvation .

The essays in this forum explore many of these themes in the relationship between religion and violence, however the terms may be defined. Because of the nuanced nature of the concepts, none of these analyses can be conclusive. But the essays that follow are ample indication of how enlightening the discussion of them can be.

[1] Author’s interview with the political head of Hamas, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on March 1, 1998.

Mark Juergensmeyer

Mark Juergensmeyer is distinguished professor emeritus of sociology and global studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is author of When God Stops Fighting: How Religious Violence Ends (University of California Press 2022), Global Rebellion: Religious Challenges to the Secular State (University of California Press 2008), Why God Needs War and War Needs God (forthcoming with Oxford University Press), and the widely-read Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence (University of California Press, revised edition 2003). Juergensmeyer is co-editor of Rethinking Secularism , a SSRC volume published by Oxford University Press.

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Sikhism
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Essays on Sikh Values
Fax: +44 020 85741912. Email: [email protected]. Reg Charity No: 262404. Essays on Sikh Values. Sikh Missionary Society: Publications:Essayson Sikh Values: The Sikh Gurus. The Sikh Gurus. Introduction. From the birth of Guru Nanak in 1469, to the death of Guru Gobind Singhin 1708, makes a period of 239 years.
History, Literature, and Identity: Four Centuries of Sikh Tradition
It brings out the cumulative implications of these processes on the evolution of Sikh identity. Fourteen essays cover Sikh literature from the early sixteenth century to the early twentieth century and reflect identity consciousness in Mughal, Sikh, and colonial rule in Punjab. The book looks at the compositions of five Gurus: Guru Nanak, Guru ...
Sikhism & History of Sikh Gurus [UPSC Notes]
The word Sikh is derived from the Sanskrit word Shishya, meaning disciple or learner.The Sikh religion originated with the advent of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh Religion.It was developed through the successive Gurus who appeared in the form of the same divine light and reached its climax with the creation of Khalsa by the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh.
Essay on the Sikhs in India
Sikhs originated In the Punjab, but they are found in all parts of India. They may be seen even in the far-off regions of the country, carrying with them the vital elements of the Punjabi culture. The contribution of the Sikhs to the Indian economy, particularly agriculture, transport and Industry, Is far more Impressive than their numerical ...
Sikh Interactions with Other Religions
Sikhs have been respectful to other faiths. Guru Nanak included verses by Hindu and Muslim holy men in his anthology. These are included in the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Tegh Bahadur gave his life for the right of Hindus to enjoy religious freedom. Times of tension cannot be overlooked: the British partitioning of India provoked Muslim-Sikh ...
Overview of Sikhism
A brief overview of Sikhism. Sikhism is a progressive religion well ahead of its time when it was founded over 500 years ago, The Sikh religion today has a following of over 20 million people worldwide and is ranked as the 5th largest religion in the world. Sikhism preaches a message of devotion and remembrance of God at all times, truthful ...
Research Guides: Religion: Sikh Texts in English Translation
Sikh Texts in Translation. The Ādi Granth; or, The holy scriptures of the Sikhs. Translated from the original Gurumukhī with introductory essays by Ernest Trumpp. Kabitt swayye Bhai Gurdas Ji / translation by Shamsher Singh Puri ; [revised by Devinder Singh]. Guradāsa, Bhai, approximately 1555-1629, author.
Essay on Sikhism In English
👉 Website & PDF: https://www.silentcourse.com/2023/07/essay-on-sikhism.html👇 Playlist: Religion Essay (English) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...
Sikh Philosophy
Based on the degree of their repetition in Sikh literature and praxis, as well as their potential applicability to universally human themes, the chapter outlines a selection of key concepts for any future Sikh philosophy. Keywords: Sikh philosophy, Gurmat, Sikhi, Temporality, guru, nam, shabad, hukam, haumai, karam, biraha. Subject.
Essay on Sikh Religion //English Essay//Short Essay on ...
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Thinking about religion and violence
The essays in this Immanent Frame forum display the diversity of topics related to the subject of religion and violence and the rich discussions they evoke. ... Hence the English word "religion" can refer to all kinds of things. Smith preferred to speak of religion as composed of tradition and its internalized form, which is faith ...

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