To know Sikhs is to love Sikhs!
Even those of other religions speak of Sikhs in whispered tones of respect.
Maybe, it's because Sikhism values human life above anything else. Through the practice of "Wand kay Shako," sharing what one has with the community, if you're hungry, Sikhs will feed you, no matter your religion, race, sex, your color or your creed.
To be a staunch Sikh follower is to have tremendous faith in God, the omnipotent, omnipresence! It is also to have unshakable confidence in the unknown and the unseen. Without a doubt, these attributes hold true for the Sikhs I've come to know.
Most of my childhood was spent with Hindus and Muslims. There **must have been Sikhs around, but I did not get to know them.
I'm paying attention now, and I'm fully loving the Sikhs: their beliefs and practices.
The first Sikh I met one-on-one is a lovely woman named "Baby," a name given to her, I'm sure, to simplify her passage in the American world. I remember leaving our conversation the first day I met her, thinking how truly straightforward and loving a personality she exuded, and also how very "PRESENT" she had been with me.
I must have told her how disgusted I was at always having to work through some issue or problem. She turned to me and simply and quietly said, "Without problems, how would we ever KNOW God?"
She had my full attention. Sikhs always will continue to have my full attention!
The way I've easily learned to recognize them on the hiking trail in Fremont, where they tend to frequent, is by their turbaned heads. One of the five tenets* (See below) of the Sikh religion is for men to wear turbans, keeping their head covered, though some of the modern, yet practicing Sikhs, do not seem to follow this rule.
Sikhism is a fascinating religion. Even other "East Indian," religions are fascinated by it. As a matter of fact, it was a Hindu friend who shared something important with me about Sikhs.
He said that Sikhs will never, ever give you a meal of salt. They will feed you and entertain you, without putting any salt in the food they offer you. But...once Sikhs get to know and have accepted you, they will give you "salted" food and hold to you with a deep commitment and loyalty for the rest of your life!
History of Sikhism
"No Hindu, No Muslim", said Nanak
The name "Sikh" means disciple or student, and the religion was founded in the 15th century by Guru Nanak (1469-1539) in Punjab in India. Subsequent to Nanak, there were nine other gurus who built upon the faith that we know it to be today.
Sikhism draws its religious foundation from both Hinduism and Islam and, today, is the world's fifth largest religion with more than 26 million followers. Prior to the partition created in India from Pakistan, millions of Sikhs also lived in Pakistani Punjab.
The principal belief of Sikhism is faith in the Universal God (waheguru—represented using the sacred symbol of ik ōaṅkār). Sikhism advocates the pursuit of salvation through disciplined, personal meditation on the name and message of God.
Sikhism teaches that God cannot be seen by the human eye and is shapeless, timeless and sightless: niraṅkār, akāl, and alakh. To Sikhs, God is omnipresent and infinite and can be viewed as the Universe itself. In addition, based on the teachings of Guru Nanak, Sikhism teaches that there are many worlds where God has created life.
Guru Nanak taught his followers that God is beyond the understanding of human beings, but that God as not wholly unknowable and can be seen from "the inward eye," or the "heart." To that end, Nanak taught devotees to meditate so that they can progress to enlightenment and communicate with God.
The essence of Sikh teaching is summed up by Nanak in these words: "Realization of Truth is higher than all else. Higher still is truthful living."
Sikh Gurus
The religion of Sikhism was esblished by Nanak and nine other gurus who followed after him. The Sikhs believe that the spirit of Nanak was passed from one guru to the next, " just as the light of one lamp, which lights another and does not diminish ."
After Nanak, who served from April 15, 1469 - August 20, 1507, the nine other gurus were: Angad Dev, 2nd, served March 31, 1504-Sept. 17, 1539; Amar Das, 3rd, served May 5, 1479-March 26, 1552; Ram Das, 4th, served Sept. 24, 1524; Arjan Dev, 5th, servedApril 15, 1563- Sept. 1, 1581; Har Gobind, 6th, served June 19, 1595-May 25, 1606; Har Rai, 7th, served January 16, 1630-March 3, 1644; Har Krishan, served 8th, July 7, 1656 - October 6, 1661; Tegh Bahadur, 9th, served April 1, 1621; and Gobind Singh, 10th, Dec. 22, 1666 - Nov. 11, 1675. Before his passing he decreed that the "Guru Granth Sahib" or the Holy Book would be the last "guru."
Teachings of Sikhism
Sikhism teaches equality of all humans. The religion rejects discrimination of any type, and especially on the basis of caste, creed, and gender. Sikh principles do not attach any importance to asceticism as a means to attain salvation. Sikhs do not practice fasting or any pilgrimmages of any sort.
Women have full equality in Sikhism.
Sikhs believe that before creation, all that existed was God. It was through his will and/or order that the entire cosmos was created. From these beginnings, God nurtured "enticement and attachment" to māyā, or the human perception of reality.
Sikhism teaches that Māyā,defined as illusion, is one of the core deviations from the pursuit of God and salvation. People are distracted from devotion by worldly attractions that give them an illusory sense of satisfaction. Nanak emphasized māyā as the values of world.
In Sikhism, ego, anger, greed, attachment and lust, are known as the "Five Evils" (see below) and are believed to the root for all separation from God. Only through relentless and intensive devotion to God can these evils be overcome.
The principal source for Sikhism scripture is the Gurū Granth Sāhib, This term and the Ādi Granth, are used synonymously. However, the Ādi Granth refers to the version of the scripture created by Arjan Dev in 1604, whereas the Gurū Granth Sāhib refers to the final version of the scripture created by Gobind Singh.
Sikhs' Beliefs and Practices
_in_Amritsar,_India.jpg)
There are more than 200 Gurdwaras,temples, shrines or holy places, in India alone. The most sacred is Harmandir Sahib, the Golden Temple, at Amritsar. But all places where the Sri Guru Granth Sahib is installed are considered equally holy. Gurdwaras are open to all, regardless of religion, background, caste, or race.
Five Thieves: The Sikh gurus taught that the human mind and spirit are constantly being attacked by the Five Evils – Kam (Lust), Krodh (Rage), Lobh (Greed), Moh (Attachment)*** and Ahankar (Ego). A Sikh needs to stay constantly viligant attack and overcome these,
Sikhism also teaches deveopment of positive human qualities. Through development of these five, the Soul gets closer to God and away from evil: Sat (Truth); Daya (Compassion); Santokh (Contentment); Nimrata (Humility), and Pyare (Love).
The Sikh Code of Conduct: "A Sikh must not take hemp, opium, liquor, tobacco, or any intoxicant."
Drinking of alcoholic beverages or smoking is forbidden.
Sikh's Customs
The first morning prayer is a recitation.
The second morning prayer is Jaap Sahib. This honors the formless God, where the universal element of "seed of seeds, sun of suns, and the song of songs."
The Jaap Sahib asserts that God is the cause of conflict as well as peace, and of destruction and creation,"nothing outside of God's presence, nothing outside of God's control."
Sikhs are joined in wedlock through the anand kāraj ceremony. Sikhs are required to marry when they are of a sufficient age, with child marriage being taboo. No regard is given to the future spouse's caste or descent.
The marriage ceremony is performed in the company of the Guru Granth Sahib; around which the couple circles four times. After the ceremony is complete, the husband and wife are considered "a single soul in two bodies."
According to Sikh religious rites, neither husband nor wife is permitted to divorce. A Sikh couple that wishes to divorce may be able to do so in a civil court but this is not condoned.
Upon death, the body of a Sikh is usually cremated. If this is not possible, then the body can be disposed in any means.
The Sikh faith also participates in the custom of "Langar" or the community meal. In the afternoon, all temples are open to anyone of any faith for a free meal. People can enter and eat together and are served by faithful members of the community.
The Khanda -- the Sikh symbol
The Khanda is the main Sikh symbol.
It sports a vertical double-edged sword with a broad blade,this is also called a Khanda.
Two curved swords, known as kirpans: also called of miri and piri, names given to his personal kirpans by Guru Hargobind.
A ring called a chakker (aka chakram). It is a very effective weapon, with a range of up to 50 meters (165 feet). This has been popularized in North America by the television series Xena,the Warrior Princess.
The Khanda has been interpreted symbolically:
"The Sikh emblem, Khanda, contains a ring of steel representing the Unity of God, a two edged sword symbolizing God's concern for truth and justice, and two crossed swords curved around the outside to signify God's spiritual power."
The name "Singh!"
An unusual feature of Sikhism is that all Sikh males share the name: "Singh", which means "lion." Women carry the name of "Kaur" which means "princess." This practice apparently was a reflection of the Sikh's absolute rejection of the Hindu practice of caste. In Hinduism, at the time, people's last names often identified their caste in society. So, Singh was a universal name used in the beginning of Sikhism's formation as a repudiation of the caste system, as this is totally incompatible with Sikh's beliefs of equality. Many Sikh males now use "Singh" as a middle name.
Today, upon a child's birth, the Guru Granth Sahib is opened at a random point, the child is named using the first letter on the top left hand corner of the left page. All boys are given the middle name "Singh," and all girls are given the middle name Kaur.
**[In discovering this piece of information through research, I realized that a childhood friend, Gina Singh, obviously was of Sikh heritage. Never knew this all the while we attended school in Guyana, South America. Recently making her re-acquaintance through Facebook,{now Gina Singh-Trotz}, I must inquire as to this piece of her history. Maybe, that's why her Spirit has always been so all-embracing!]
Sikhism Today!
Sikh migration beginning from the 19th century led to the creation of significant communities in Canada (predominantly in Brampton. Other large Canadian presence: Malton in Ontario and Abbotsford, Mission, Lower Mainland, Surrey in British Columbia. Sikhs are also very visible in East Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the United Kingdom as well as Australia and New Zealand. These communities developed as Sikhs migrated out of Punjab to fill in gaps in imperial labour markets. In the early 20th century a significant community began to take shape on the west coast of the United States. Smaller populations of Sikhs are found in Western Europe, Mauritius, Malaysia, Fiji, Nepal, China, Pakistan, Afganistan, Iraq, Singapore, Mexico and many other countries throughout the world.
Within Sikhism, there are a number of traditions. Both in India and worldwide, thousands of Sikhs follow living gurus who have lineages traceable back to Guru Gobind Singh. In Canada and elsewhere, major strains are becoming evident between liberal and conservative wings of the religion, as some Sikhs accommodate to the surrounding culture.
Whatever the strife among the Sikhs, I'm confident their LOVE of humanity, so strong their heritage, ultimately will TRIUMPH over any conflicts.
Namaste',
Che'
Editor's Note: This blog is dedicated to my Sikh friends, Baby,
Yuvi, his dad, Dr. Singh, and to all the other Sikhs I've come to know in recent times.
***On "Attachment," Baby said her 90-year-old dad, living in India, is still working on this one. He waits for her phone call every single day. He prays, he cries, to be able to let go of this "thief," but so far he has not succeeded!
