MAJOR RELIGION // LESSON - 6 // SIKHISM //

 

SIKHISM

I. Introduction

 

Sikhism was founded about 500 years ago. It is one of the latest religions founded in the 15^th century AD by Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539). Guru Nanak founded the religion of the Sikhs in the beautiful and fertile land of rivers, the Punjab, in India. The people of Punjab are hard working and friendly. The word Sikh comes from the Sanskrit word Shisya, meaning a learner or a disciple. Nanak’s followers were called the “disciples” or “shishyas” of Guru Nanak. Anyone who sets out on the path of learning and meets the specific definition of a Sikh as it appears in the Reht Maryada (Official Code of Conduct) is a Sikh. The Punjabi word “sikh” means one who is willing to lay down his life for his Guru.

Since it has its origin in Hinduism it accepts a general view of life of the Hindus that includes the principles of karma, samsara, jnana and mukti. Sikhism was born at a time when there was political upheaval, social instability and religious tensions. It was a time of intolerance and religious hostilities Hindu-Muslim confrontation in North India. It was also a time when many persons and religious movements tried to bring about harmony, reconciliation and religious balance among the Hindus and Muslims.

Sikhism literally means discipleship. In this way, initially, Guru Nanak did not begin a new religion but movement of devotion and commitment to God. This thought and expression appealed to Hindus and Muslims who were at logger heads and facing hostilities. This new religion was the answer to the communal hatred and paved the way for reconciliation and peaceful coexistence.

 

II. The Founder: Guru Nanak

 

Guru Nanak (AD 1469-1539) was born of Hindu parents in Talwandi, near Lahore now in Pakistan. His parents belonged to Khatri sub caste in Hinduism known as Bedi which means, one who nows the Vedas. Nanak’s father was the village accountant and a farmer. His mother was a very pious lady. In his childhood and youth he was interested in religious matters but his father was not impressed by this. Nanak was not interested in learning and spent time meditating and seeking the company of religious persons. He was assigned to take care of buffaloes. At the age of fourteen he was married to Sulakhmi. Though he continued to take care of the cattle, he did not do anything for his livelihood. His parents were concerned about this state of affairs. His father tried to set up a shop for him to do business but that too did not work. It is said that he was interested in composing songs and devoted himself to praising God. Not much is known about his married life. He had two sons Shri Chand and Laxmidas. He was sent to Sultanpur to meet his brother-in-law Jairam who introduced him to Governor Daulat Khan who appointed him as a storekeeper. Here he did well and out of the provisions he was allowed, he kept a small portion for himself and gave the rest to the poor. He spent nights composing and singing songs of praise to God. Nanak, was a simple and good man. He had a Muslim friend called Mardana. The poems composed by Nanak were given tunes by Mardana.

At the age of 33 he received his divine call. One day he went with Mardana to a river to take bath before his meditation but did not come out of the river. Nanak reappeared after three days. After keeping silence for a day he pronounced, “There is no Hindu and no Muslim, so whose path shall I follow? I shall follow the path of God”. This was the beginning of his teaching that all religions are equal in the sight of God. He became a disciple of Kabir (1440-1518), a Muslim teacher and reformer. Kabir was a follower of a Hindu reformer Ramananda who criticized certain beliefs and practices of Hinduism such as caste system. Kabir opposed idolatry, believed in one God accompanied by inward sincerity and morality of life. Kabir combined the main religious beliefs of Hindus and Muslims. Nanak built on this foundation of ethical monotheism. He tried to reconcile Hindus and Muslims and tried to bring about brotherhood between them. Sikhism is syncretistic religion.

The reform movement he started developed into a new religion. His conception of religion was practical and ethical. He called God as the True Name. The true name of God was personal. He taught that those who worship the True Name would break the cycle of births and rebirths. He is believed to have had a divine revelation. The True Name appeared to Nanak. He taught that God is in the world as well as in the heart of people. According to tradition he traveled widely.

Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of the Sikh religion gave a message of values of righteousness, truth and love. The Sikhs hold him as the embodiment of the spirit of service and humility, a great spiritual ambassador who showed the path of salvation by spreading the message of devotion to God and fraternity of fellow human beings, peaceful co-existence and communal harmony. He exhorted people to dispense with hypocrisy, falsehood, pretensions and caste-prejudices to carve out a casteless society free of rituals in order to attain salvation.

After his death at the age of seventy in 1539 AD, his teachings were elaborated and consolidated by a tradition of Gurus or teachers. He was greatly admired and revered by Hindus and Muslims and called him Baba Nanak or Nanak Shah or Guru Nanak Dev. Guru Nanak did not try to merge Hinduism and Islam but taught people to worship the True Name or “Sat Nam” God who can be found within everyone. He taught the sovereignty and absolute unity of God. Since he is the creator of all, everything depends on his will or “Hukam”. God makes his way and his will known through meditation or “nam Smaran” on sound or “sabda”.     

 

III. Gurus

 

The word “Guru” is a Sanskrit word meaning teacher, honored person, religious person or saint. In Sikhism the word Guru means the descent of divine guidance to mankind provided through ten Enlightened Masters. This honor of being called a Sikh Guru applies only to the ten Gurus who founded the religion starting with Guru Nanak in 1469 and ending with Guru Gobind Singh in 1708; thereafter it refers to the Sikh Holy Scriptures the Guru Granth Sahib. The divine spirit was passed from one Guru to the next as “The light of a lamp which lights another does not abate. Similarly a spiritual leader and his disciple become equal.

 

The Ten Gurus of Sikhism:

1. Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539)

2. Guru Angad Dev (1504-1552)

3. Guru Amar Das (1479-1574)

4. Guru Ram Das (1534-1581)

5. Guru Arjun Dev (1563-1606)

6. Guru Hargobind (1595-1644)

7. Guru Har Rai (1630-1661)

8. Guru Harkrishan (1656-1664)

9. Guru Tegh bahadur (1621-1675)

10. Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708)

 

Guru Gobind Singh formed the tradition that organized Sikhs and preached devotion, mutual love and humility to the followers. It was decreed that there would be no more gurus after Guru Gobind Singh. Sikhism rejects any form of idol worship including worship of pictures of the Gurus. Some of the Gurus did pose for paintings, but none of those historical paintings have survived. Artists’ renditions are for inspirational purposes only but they are not regarded as objects of worship.

 

IV. The Khalsa

 

The word “Khalsa” means “pure”, Khalsa’s are Sikhs who have undergone the sacred Amrit Ceremony initiated by the 10^th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh. Khalsa indicates total dedication to Sikhism. One who has shed his ego and personality and truly honors the memory of Guru Gobind Singh through his actions and deeds. The khalsa order was initially created on Baisakhi Day March 30, 1699, with Guru Gobind Singh baptizing 5 Sikhs and then in turn asking the five Khalsa’s to baptize him. Following this the Guru personally baptized thousands of men and women into the Khalsa order. All Sikhs are expected to be khalsa or be working towards that objective.

There is a fusion of bakti and sakti in the Khalsa ideology. The initiation into the Khalsa brotherhood was through a baptismal ceremony. The ceremony involves drinking of Amrit (sugar water stirred with a dagger) in the presence of 5 Khalsa Sikhs as well as the Guru Granth Sahib. After the Guru had recited verses from the japji and other hymns, the initiates drank out of it from one iron vessel irrespective of their caste origins. The initiate is instructed in the following: (a) You shall never remove any hair from any part of thy body, (b) You shall not use tobacco, alchohol or any other intoxicants, (c) You shall not eat the meat of an animal slaughtered the Muslim way, (d) You shall not commit adultery. The initiate is required to wear the physical symbols of a Khalsa at all times as well as follow the Khalsa Code of Conduct.

 

 

 

 

V. Scriptures: Sri Guru Granth Sahib

 

The Adi Granth is largely the work of Guru Arjun, the fifth of the ten Sikh Gurus. He brought together the writings of the first four gurus with the help of many poets and singers who knew the hymns of the saints revered by the Sikhs. “It contains the writings of Nanak and other Sikh Gurus. Of these the most popular is the Japji, collection of psalms of Guru Nanak, which every devout Sikh must know by heart and repeat each morning. Apart from the Gurus, compositions of poet saints like Ramanand, Jaideva, Namadeva, Trilochan, Veni, Dhanna, Pipa, Sain, Kabir, Rai Das, Shaikh Bhikhaji, Sadhna, Surdas, and of Muslim Sufis. There are more compositions by kabir than other non-Sikh composers. Unlike any other book of Scriptures, the Adi Granth is written in six major languages and many dialects. In general, the poetry of the Granth resembles that of the Psalms and the Proverbs of the Bible, with many passages that remind one of the Song of Songs.  Guru Nanak composed a number of songs found in the Granth Sahib. Other Gurus after Nanak also have added their compositions. It was written in Gurumukhi script so that the Sikhs may remain Guru centered.

The Granth Sahib is regarded as the greatest work of Punjabi literature. It is considered the supreme spiritual authority and head of the Sikh religion, rather than any living person. Sikhism rejects idol worship, so the Guru Granth Sahib is not worshipped as an idol but rather emphasis is placed on respect for the book and for the writings it contains. The Granth Sahib is regarded as the living voice of all the prophets, guruvani. It contains a wide range of mystical emotion, intimate expression of the personal realization of God and rapturous hymns of divine love. The most important hymn composed by Guru Nanak is the japji. In this hymn he describes the nature of God.

 

VI. Teachings and Beliefs

 

Sikhism is a Guru centered religion more than any other Indian religion. Though importance is given to the Guru in Indian systems like Nyaya, Advaitism, Nathism and Kabira Panth, the Sikhs render highest esteem to their Gurus.

 

1. God

Sikhism advocates strict monotheism. God is known as the True One, compassionate and free from fear and hate. The True One was in the beginning, in the distant past, in the present and will be in future. The highest entity is both non-personal and attribute less and also personal. In the non attributed form God is called One Omkara (Ik Omkara) of nirakshara, and in the attributed form He is the creator, sustainer and destroyer of the world. He is kind (dayalu) and compassionate (kripalu) to his devotees. God cannot take human form. They do not have the concept of avatara as the Hindus. He is neither father nor mother, nor sons nor brothers.

The Sikhs address God as Wahe Guru, Kartar (creator), Akal (eternal), Satt-nama (the True Name) and Sahib (Lord). God is both immanent and transcendent. As the inner dweller of the world, he is immanent. He is eternally existing form before creation as creator of the world. He is also transcendent in the sense of being incomprehensible.

 

 

 

2. Human Being

Human being is embodied soul. It is not the body but the soul that is immortal. As an illustration, we can say that a man is like a glass of water taken out of an ocean. Just like the glass, our body is only a container but the water in (soul inside it is of the same nature as the water in the ocean. In order that the water can be put back into the ocean, the container (glass) that is our body needs to be destroyed. However, human beings try to do everything for the continuance of the body and keep on transmigrating in endless rebirths of numerous sufferings. Human soul is in the bondage of five evils of lust (kama), greed (lobha), attachment to worldly pleasures, (moha), anger or violence (krodha) and pride or selfishness (ahamkara).

Man has twofold nature. As a pure spirit of God is within him, he endeavors to move towards God (Gurumukh) but there is a tendency to continue to enjoy worldly pleasures. This desire for worldly pleasure is known as manmukh in Sikhism. It means turning towards worldly desires and pleasure. The solution for this problem is surrendering our will to the will of God.

 

3. Evil and Suffering

Sikhism deals with the problem of evil and suffering in ways that are very similar to Hinduism. Suffering is due to ignorance. It is due to wrong way of looking at the world. Though the world is changing, man is led to believe that is permanent and tries to cling to it. Attachment to this world under the illusion is the cause of all suffering. Karmas and rebirth are the real reasons for suffering. All human suffering is due to self-centeredness or egoism. As soon as one rejects it and gives it up, suffering will cease. If a person looks at the world as a revelation of God he will not suffer. But if a person takes the opposite view, he gets involved in egoism shall bring suffering upon him. It has been said that this world can be viewed as a beautiful garden or a place of suffering. It all depends upon out one looks towards it.

4. Salvation

The soul goes through cycles of births and deaths before it reaches the human form. The goal of our life is to lead an exemplary existence so that one may merge with God. Manmukh is a person who is self-centered and only thinks about himself and the material world around him and is totally oblivious to God. The manmukh gives way to the five evil passions or sins or vices and gets lost in maya. In Sikhism, maya is understood to be error which attributes higher or preferable value to the material world instead of the spiritual. The answer to this does not lie in ascetic renunciation of this world on finding and following the will of God (hukam) in everyday life. Gunmukh is the one who has achieved mukhti (salvation) and is totally God-centered.

The true path to achieving salvation and merging with God does not require renunciation of the world or celibacy, but living the life of a householder, earning a honest living and avoiding worldly temptations and sins.

 

5. Life after Death

Sikhism accepts the theory of karma and transmigration of soul. If person performs good work in this life but without devotion (bhakti) he will be born again in the next life. As long as a person does not have God realization he will have to go through several rebirths. If a man performs evil deeds, he will be punished severely. Only after going through countless transmigration he will reborn as a man. It is a very precious thing to be born in this world as a human being. Therefore he should try his best to attain salvation with help of prayers, meditation and self-surrender to God. Man is responsible for his transmigration and also for his release from the cycle of births.

 

6. Equality

Sikhism teaches that all people are equal-irrespective of their religions or sex are all equal before God. It teaches equality of men and women. Sikhism is against caste, idolatry, ritualism and external rituals or observances. Sikhs fight against all injustice, discrimination and I defense of their faith. Women can participate in all religious functions, perform any Sikh ceremony and lead the congregation in prayer.

 

7. Women

The Guru’s stressed the full quality of women, rejecting female infanticide, sati (wife burning), permitting widow remarriage and rejects purdah (women wearing veils). “We are born of woman, we are conceived in the womb of woman, we are engaged and married to woman. We make friendship with woman and the lineage continued because of woman. When one woman dies, we take another one, we are bound with the world through woman. Why should we talk ill of her, who gives birth to kings? The woman is born from woman: there is none without her. Only the One True Lord without woman”.

 

VII. The Golden Temple at Amritsar

 

The most important historical religious center for the Sikhs is Harimandir Sahib or The Golden Temple situated at Amritsar in the state of Punjab, India. It is the sanctum of the Sikhs. It is the inspirational and historical center of Sikhism. Guru Granth Sahib is placed on a golden with reverence here. There is a beautiful garden around the Golden Temple. It is also the socio-political center for the Sikhs. The Sikhs visit it as a place of pilgrimage and worship. It is a symbol of unity and devotion to all the Sikhs.

 

VIII. The Gurudwaras

 

Every place where Sri Guru Granth Sahib is installed is considered holy for Sikhs. The worship in the Golden Temple as well as Gurdwaras is simple and kirtan is prominent. All people of all religions are welcome to the Gurdwara. A free community kitchen known as (langar) operates in every Gurdwara which serves meals to all people of all faiths. Guru Nanak started this institution to uphold the basic Sikh principles of service, humility and equality. Guru Nanak introduced this system of charitable distribution of food called langar and every Sikh is expected to contribute towards it. Sikhism does not have priests, which were abolished by Guru Gobind Singh. He felt that they had become corrupt and proud. Sikhs only have custodians of the Guru Granth Sahib (granth), and any Sikh is free to read the Guru Granth Sahib in the Gurdwara or in their home.

 

IX. Festivals and Ceremonies

 

Sikhs celebrate their festivals with sweets, music, flowers, flags, processions, and readings from the scriptures. Many festivals honor the ten Gurus, special celebrations are held on the birthdays of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh, the founder of the Sikh brotherhood, or Khalsa. The deaths of Guru Arjun and Guru Tegh Bahadur are also honored.

 

1. Nam Karan (Naming of a Child)

After the birth of a child when the mother and child are able to travel, the family visits the Gurdwara. There they recite joyful hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib to celebrate the birth of the new child. Karah Prashad (sacred pudding) is prepared by the family. The name is chosen by taking the Hukam, the granthi randomly opens Sri Guru Granth Sahib to any page and reads the hymn on that page. The first letter of the first word of the hymn is chosen. The child’s name is then chosen beginning with that letter and is announced to the congregation.

 

2. Baisakhi

Guru Amar Das first institutionalized this as one of the special days. At this time all the Sikhs gathered to receive the Guru’s blessings at Goindwal in 1567. In 1699 Guru Gobind Singh gathered thousands at Anandpur Sahib and founded the Khalsa order by baptizing 5 brave Sikhs who were willing to give their life for the Gurus. The five beloved ones in turn baptized by Guru Gobind Singh into the Khalsa brotherhood. This is celebrated around April 13 is considered the birthday of the Khalsa order. Sikhs visit Gurdwaras and fairs and parades are held. Man Sikhs choose to be baptized into the Khalsa brotherhood on this day.

 

3. Diwali

This Hindu festival of lights is celebrated around 25^th October. Guru Amar das institutionalized this as one of the special days when all Sikhs would gather to receive the Guru’s blessings at Goindwal. In 1577 the foundation stone of The Golden temple was laid on Diwali. On Diwali 1619 the Golden temple was illuminated with many lights to welcome home and celebrate the release of Guru Hargobind from imprisonment in Gwalior fort. Sikhs have continued this annual celebration. On this day they light lamps outside Gurdwaras and distribute sweets to all. The largest numbers of Sikhs gather at The Golden Temple on this day, when it is light up with thousands of lights.

 

4. Hola Mohalla

An annual festival when thousands of Siks gather at Anandpur Sahib. It was started by Guru Gobind Singh as a gathering of Sikhs for military exercises and mock battles on the day following the Hindu festival of Holi. The mock battles were followed by music and poetry competitions. The Nihang Singh who carry on the marital tradition with mock battles, display swordsmanship and horse riding. Also a number of durbars are held where Sri Guru Granth Sahib is present and kirtan are sung and religious discourses are delivered. It is celebrated around March 17.