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Sikhism

Sources: Chapter 13 of [POLL] and Bibliography below.

Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak (1469-1539) in Punjab, India. Outsider consider it as a blend of Hinduism and Islam, but this is rejected by the Sikhs themselves. Nanak was a high caste Hindu and his father was working for the local Muslim ruler. At that time most of India was ruled by the Mughal emperors. (The Mughal emperors were Central Asian Turko-Mongols from modern-day Uzbekistan, who claimed direct descent from both Genghis Khan and Timur. They thrived from the early 16th to the early 18th centuries. [wiki]) Because the Sikhs faced persecution by the Mughals they developed a warrior attitude. Today the Sikhs are well represented in the Indian military.

They have a sacred book, Granth, that is referred to as Guru Granth. Starting with Guruk Nanak they were nine other Gurus, but the tenth Guru Gobind Singh (1675-1708) declared that there will no more human Gurus and instead the Guru will be the Granth [KS, p. 27]. In 1699 he established an elite fighting force, the Khalsa (Pure Ones) and announced the five K's.

Theses are the outward symbols used to profess the Sikh faith. The hair is kept uncut and the beard unshaved [kesh] as a symbol of respect for the perfection of God's creation. The underlying reason is that Sikhs could not hope to disguise themselves to avoid persecution. The other four K's are the comb (kangha), the steel bracelet (kara), the sword (kirpan), and the short pants for battle (kachch).

Sikhism is monotheistic and its fundamental principle is "There is only One being and Truth is its Name. " They believe in Supreme Ultimate Reality [KS, p. 8]. Sikh means "follower" in Sanskrit. There are about 20 million Sikhs in the world today (2% of India's population) and most of them live in Punjab. Every Sikh man's surname is Singh (Lion) and every Sikh woman's surname is Kaur (Princess).

They believe in the equality of all men and women (they reject the Hindu caste system) and reject rituals and external forms of religion. They do not use tobacco or intoxicants but they eat meat. They emphasize [KS, p. 10]

  • Worship of the One Ultimate Reality.
  • Dignity of Labor.
  • Equality of All People.
  • Service (to community and charity).
  • Community.

They believe in re-incarnation [POLL, p. 147].

Sikhs have agitated for having their own independent state in Punjab to be called Khalistan. In 1984, Indian troops attacked the Golden Temple where the militants had their headquarters. This led to the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards [POLL, p. 150].

Bibliography

[KS] Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh Sikhism, Facts on File, 1993.