Sikhism [1] is a monotheistic Monotheism is the belief in theology that only one deity exists. The concept of "monotheism" tends to be dominated by the concept of God in the Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Druze, the Platonic concept of God as put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, as well as the Advaita, Dvaita and religion founded in fifteenth century Punjab The Punjab (pronounced /ˈpʌndʒɑːb/ or /ˈpʌndʒæb/; Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, پنجاب, Urdu: پنجاب, Hindi: पंजाब), also spelled Panjab (Persian: پنجاب, panj-āb, "five waters"), is a cultural region straddling the border between Punjab (Pakistan) and Punjab (India). The so-called "five waters" are on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev Guru Nanak Dev (15 November 1469 – 22 September 1539) is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. Sikhs believe that all subsequent Gurus possessed Guru Nanak’s divinity and religious authority and ten successive Sikh Gurus Guru Nanak (15 November 1469 - Monday 22 September 1539), the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Gurus of the Sikhs, was born in the village of Talwandi. Also called Rai Bhoe-ki Talwandi, the village now known as Nankana Sahib, is near Lahore in present-day Pakistan. He was born, according to all ancient Sikh records, in the early morning (the last one being the sacred text Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Granth, is the holy scripture of Sikhism. The book itself is also officially regarded as the final Guru of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 angs, compiled and composed during the period of Sikh Gurus, from 1469 to 1708. It is a collection of hymns or shabad, which describe the qualities of God and why one). It is the fifth-largest The world's principal religions and spiritual traditions may be classified into a small number of major groups, although this is by no means a uniform practice. This theory began in the 18th century with the goal of recognizing the relative levels of civility in non-European societies. However, it quickly transformed into a subset of the organized religion Religion is the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or a set of beliefs concerning the origin and purpose of the universe. It is commonly regarded as consisting of a person’s relation to God or to gods or spirits. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories associated with their deity or deities, that are in the world.[2] This system of religious philosophy Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. It is distinguished from other ways of addressing fundamental questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument. The word "philosophy" comes from the and expression has been traditionally known as the Gurmat GURMAT is a term which may in its essential sense be taken to be synonymous with Sikhism itself. It literally means to "have your face towards the guru". It covers doctrinal, prescriptive and directional aspects of Sikh faith and praxis. Besides the basic theological structure, doctrine and tenets derived from the teachings of Guru Nanak (literally the counsel of the gurus) or the Sikh Dharma. Sikhism originated from the word Sikh, which in turn comes from the Sanskrit Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and Buddhism[note 1]. Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand root śiṣya meaning "disciple", or śikṣa meaning "instruction".[3][4]
The principal belief of Sikhism is faith in waheguru Waheguru is the distinctive representation of God's name in the Sikh dispensation. In Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, the term does not figure in the compositions of the Gurus, though it occurs therein, both as Vahiguru and Vahguru, in the hymns of Bhatt Gayand, the bard contemporary with Guru Arjan, Nanak V , and also in the Varan of Bhai—represented using the sacred symbol of ik ōaṅkār Ik Onkar is a central tenet of Sikh religious philosophy. It is a symbol of the unity of God in Sikhism, and is found on all religious scriptures and places such as Gurdwaras, the Universal In philosophy, universalism is a doctrine or school claiming universal facts can be discovered and is therefore understood as being in opposition to relativism. In certain religions, Universality is the quality ascribed to an entity whose existence is consistent throughout the universe. When used in the context of ethics, the meaning of universal God. Sikhism advocates the pursuit of salvation through disciplined, personal meditation on the name and message of God. A key distinctive feature of Sikhism is a non-anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human animal or non-living things, phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts. Examples include animals and plants and forces of nature such as winds, rain or the sun depicted as creatures with human motivations, and/or the abilities to reason and converse. The concept of God The fundamental belief of Sikhism is that God exists, not merely as an idea but as a Real Entity, indescribable yet knowable and perceivable to anyone who is prepared to dedicate the time and energy to become perceptive to His/Her persona. The Gurus never spoke about proofs of the existence of God: For them He/She is too real and obvious to need, to the extent that one can interpret God as the Universe The universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all physical matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space, although this usage may differ with the context . The term universe may be used in slightly different contextual senses, denoting such concepts as the cosmos, itself. The followers of Sikhism are ordained to follow the teachings of the ten Sikh gurus Sikhism was established by Guru Nanak and nine other Sikh Gurus over the period of 1469 to 1708. Most of the Gurus were born in Northern India, although they traveled extensively from as far west as Iraq to Assam in the east and Sri Lanka in the south. Guru Nanak, the first Guru was born in modern day Pakistan, and Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth, or enlightened leaders, as well as the holy scripture entitled the Gurū Granth Sāhib The Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Granth, is the holy scripture of Sikhism. The book itself is also officially regarded as the final Guru of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 angs, compiled and composed during the period of Sikh Gurus, from 1469 to 1708. It is a collection of hymns or shabad, which describe the qualities of God and why one, which, along with the writings of six of the ten Sikh Gurus, includes selected works of many devotees from diverse socio-economic and religious backgrounds. The text was decreed by Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (22 December 1666 – 19th October 1708) was the tenth Guru of Sikhism. He was born in Patna, Bihar in India and became a Guru on 11 November 1675, at the age of nine years, succeeding his father Guru Tegh Bahadur. He was the leader of the Sikh faith, a warrior, a poet, and a philosopher, the tenth guru, as the final guru of the Khalsa Panth. Sikhism's traditions and teachings are distinctively associated with the history, society and culture of the Punjab The Punjab (pronounced /ˈpʌndʒɑːb/ or /ˈpʌndʒæb/; Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, پنجاب, Urdu: پنجاب, Hindi: पंजाब), also spelled Panjab (Persian: پنجاب, panj-āb, "five waters"), is a cultural region straddling the border between Punjab (Pakistan) and Punjab (India). The so-called "five waters" are. Adherents of Sikhism are known as Sikhs Among the Sikh diaspora English, Hindi, Urdu, Swahili, Malay, Thai, Persian, Pashto and others (students or disciples) and number over 26 million across the world. Most Sikhs live in Punjab Punjab (pronounced /pənˈdʒɑːb/) is a state in northwest India. The Indian state borders the Pakistani province of Punjab to the west, Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the northeast, Chandigarh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest. The total area of the state is 50,362 square in India Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four major religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam and, until India's partition The Partition of India (Hindi: भारत का विभाजन , Urdu: ہندوستان کی تقسیم Hindustān kī Taqsīm) was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation, on 14 August 1947 and 15 August 1947, respectively, of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan (later, millions of Sikhs lived in what is now Pakistani Punjab The Punjab (Gurumukhi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, Shahmukhi: پنجاب: Punjab.ogg ) is a province of Pakistan. It is the country's most populous region with about 56% of Pakistan's total population. The Punjab is home to the Punjabis and various other groups. Neighbouring areas are Sindh to the south, Balochistan and the North-West Frontier Province to.[5]
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Philosophy and teachings
Main articles: Sikh religious philosophy The Sikh religious philosophy is covered in great detail in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy text. Detailed guidance is given to followers on how to conduct their lives so that peace and salvation can be obtained. The holy text outlines the positive actions that one must take to make progress in the evolution of the person. One must and Sikhism primary beliefs and principles The Harimandir Sahib, known popularly as the Golden Temple, is a sacred shrine for Sikhs.The origins of Sikhism lie in the teachings of Guru Nanak and his successors. The essence of Sikh teaching is summed up by Nanak Guru Nanak Dev (15 November 1469 – 22 September 1539) is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. Sikhs believe that all subsequent Gurus possessed Guru Nanak’s divinity and religious authority in these words: "Realisation of Truth is higher than all else. Higher still is truthful living".[6] Sikh teaching emphasizes the principle of equality of all humans and rejects discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, and gender. Sikh principles do not attach any importance to asceticism Asceticism describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals. Some forms of Christianity (see especially: Monastic life) and the Indian religions (including yoga) teach that salvation and liberation involve a process of mind-body transformation as a means to attain salvation, but stresses on the need of leading life as a householder.
Sikhism is a monotheistic Monotheism is the belief in theology that only one deity exists. The concept of "monotheism" tends to be dominated by the concept of God in the Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Druze, the Platonic concept of God as put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, as well as the Advaita, Dvaita and religion Religion is the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or a set of beliefs concerning the origin and purpose of the universe. It is commonly regarded as consisting of a person’s relation to God or to gods or spirits. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories associated with their deity or deities, that are.[7][8] Sikhism is a revealed religion In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, or making something obvious and clearly understood through active or passive communication with supernatural entities . It is believed that revelation can originate directly from a deity, or through an agent, such as an angel. One who has experienced such contact with or.[9] In Sikhism, God—termed Vāhigurū Waheguru is the distinctive representation of God's name in the Sikh dispensation. In Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, the term does not figure in the compositions of the Gurus, though it occurs therein, both as Vahiguru and Vahguru, in the hymns of Bhatt Gayand, the bard contemporary with Guru Arjan, Nanak V , and also in the Varan of Bhai—is shapeless, timeless Akal literally timeless, immortal, non-temporal, is a term integral to Sikh tradition and philosophy. It is extensively used in the Dasam Granth hymns by Guru Gobind Singh, who titled one of his poetic compositions Akal Ustat; i.e., In Praise of the Timeless One (akal). However, the concept of Akal is not peculiar to the Dasam Granth. It goes back, and sightless: niraṅkār, akāl, and alakh. The beginning of the first composition of Sikh scripture is the figure "1 1 is a number, numeral, and the name of the glyph representing that number. It represents a single entity, the unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of "unit length" is a line segment of length 1"—signifying the universality of God. It states that God is omnipresent Omnipresence is the property of being present everywhere. According to eastern theism, God is present everywhere. Divine omnipresence is thus one of the divine attributes, although in western theism it has attracted less philosophical attention than such attributes as omnipotence, omniscience, or being eternal and infinite, and is signified by the term ēk ōaṅkār Ik Onkar is a central tenet of Sikh religious philosophy. It is a symbol of the unity of God in Sikhism, and is found on all religious scriptures and places such as Gurdwaras.[10] Sikhs believe that before creation, all that existed was God and Its hukam Hukam is a Punjabi word derived from the Arabic hukm, meaning "command" or "order." In God whose is referred to as Waheguru. It is by the command of Him that we are born and we die. In the Sikh Scripture, the founder of the religion, Guru Nanak says: (will or order).[11] When God willed, the entire cosmos was created. From these beginnings, God nurtured "enticement and attachment" to māyā Maya , has multiple meanings, within a Hindu or Sikh context, the word refers to concepts of "illusion". Maya, is the principal concept which manifests, perpetuates and governs the illusion and dream of duality in the phenomenal Universe. For some mystics this manifestation is real. Each person, each physical object, from the perspective, or the human perception of reality.[12]
While a full understanding of God is beyond human beings,[10] Nanak Guru Nanak Dev (15 November 1469 – 22 September 1539) is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. Sikhs believe that all subsequent Gurus possessed Guru Nanak’s divinity and religious authority described God as not wholly unknowable. God is omnipresent (sarav viāpak Sarav Viapak is a term used to describe omnipresence of God in Sikhism. It translates as an "all prevading god". In Sikhism, God is held to be without form, shape colour etc. It is present in every living being in Universe) in all creation and visible everywhere to the spiritually awakened. Nanak stressed that God must be seen from "the inward eye", or the "heart", of a human being: devotees must meditate to progress towards enlightenment. Guru Nanak Dev emphasized the revelation through meditation, as its rigorous application permits the existence of communication between God and human beings.[10] God has no gender in Sikhism, (though translations may incorrectly present a male God); indeed Sikhism teaches that God is "Nirankar" [Niran meaning "without" and kar meaning "form", hence "without form"]. In addition, Nanak wrote that there are many worlds on which God has created life.[13]
Pursuing salvation and khalsa
A Sikh man at the Harimandir SahibNanak Guru Nanak Dev (15 November 1469 – 22 September 1539) is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. Sikhs believe that all subsequent Gurus possessed Guru Nanak’s divinity and religious authority's teachings are founded not on a final destination of heaven In religion, Heaven is the English name for a transcendental realm in which it is believed that people who have died continue to exist in an afterlife. The term "heaven" may refer to the physical heavens, the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the universe beyond, the traditional literal meaning of the term in English or hell In many religious traditions, Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict Hell as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict Hell as an intermediary period between incarnations. Typically these traditions located Hell under the external core of the Earth's surface and, but on a spiritual union with God which results in salvation The theological study of salvation is called soteriology. It covers the means by which salvation is effected or achieved, and its results. Salvation may also be called "deliverance" or "redemption" from sin and its effects.[14] The chief obstacles to the attainment of salvation are social conflicts and an attachment to worldly pursuits(MAYA), which commit men and women to an endless cycle of birth—a concept known as reincarnation Reincarnation is believed to occur when the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, comes back to Earth in a newborn body. This phenomenon is also known as transmigration of the soul.
Māyā Maya , has multiple meanings, within a Hindu or Sikh context, the word refers to concepts of "illusion". Maya, is the principal concept which manifests, perpetuates and governs the illusion and dream of duality in the phenomenal Universe. For some mystics this manifestation is real. Each person, each physical object, from the perspective—defined as illusion or "unreality"—is one of the core deviations from the pursuit of God and salvation: people are distracted from devotion by worldly attractions which give only illusive satisfaction. However, Nanak emphasised māyā as not a reference to the unreality of the world, but of its values. In Sikhism, the influences of ego Ahankar is the Gurmukhi word which translates to means ego or excessive pride due to one's possessions, material wealth, intelligence or powers. It gives an individual the feeling that he is superior to others and therefore they are at a lower level than him. It leads to envy, feelings of enmity, and restlessness amongst people, anger Krodh is derived from the Sanskrit word krodha, which means wrath or Rage. This is an emotion recognized in the Sikh system as a spring of conation and is as such counted as one of the Five Evils, greed, attachment, and lust—known as the Five Evils—are believed to be particularly pernicious. The fate of people vulnerable to the Five Evils is separation from God, and the situation may be remedied only after intensive and relentless devotion.[15]
Nśabad (the divine Word) to emphasise the totality of the revelation. Nanak designated the word guru (meaning teacher) as the voice of God and the source and guide for knowledge and salvation.[16] Salvation can be reached only through rigorous and disciplined devotion to God. Nanak distinctly emphasised the irrelevance of outward observations such as rites, pilgrimages, or asceticism Asceticism describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals. Some forms of Christianity (see especially: Monastic life) and the Indian religions (including yoga) teach that salvation and liberation involve a process of mind-body transformation. He stressed that devotion must take place through the heart, with the spirit and the soul.
A key practice to be pursued is nām Nām Japō , refers to the meditation, vocal singing of Hymns from the Sri Guru Granth Sahib or of the various Names of God, specially the chanting of the word Waheguru, which means Wonderful Lord. Singing of hymns generally is also referred to a ‘Nām Jap’, sometimes also called ‘Nām Simran’: remembrance of the divine Name. The verbal repetition of the name of God or a sacred syllable is an established practice in religious traditions in India, but Nanak's interpretation emphasized inward, personal observance. Nanak's ideal is the total exposure of one's being to the divine Name and a total conforming to Dharma or the "Divine Order". Nanak described the result of the disciplined application of nām simraṇ as a "growing towards and into God" through a gradual process of five stages. The last of these is sac khaṇḍ (The Realm of Truth)—the final union of the spirit with God.[16]
Nanak stressed now kirat karō: that a Sikh should balance work, worship, and charity, and should defend the rights of all creatures, and in particular, fellow human beings. They are encouraged to have a chaṛdī kalā, or optimistic, view of life. Sikh teachings also stress the concept of sharing—vaṇḍ chakkō—through the distribution of free food at Sikh gurdwaras (laṅgar), giving charitable donations, and working for the good of the community and others (sēvā).
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SikhSangat News Search of the internet did not yield much result about the connection between the two but did lead to an interesting discovery about Sikhs . ...
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The Sikh Times Feb 25 2006 Photo Historical Dictionary of Sikhism According to the most recent figures at the beginning of this century there are almost twenty five million Sikhs making Sikhism the sixth
