Sikhism

Sikhism

Part I: 1 paragraph on each

1) What is the human condition?
We are stuck in a cycle of rebirths. We were given human form for the chance to unite with God through free will and choosing to do so. There are two categories of people in this world: gurumukh and manmukh. The manmuks are haumai (“I-I”). They are selfish and focus only on their needs and wants. They succumb to the five vices. These selfish desires block them from being able to unite with God, because there is no room for God in their hearts. However, through life, a manmukh may become a gurumukh. A gurumuk worships God and is pious in his everyday life. A gurumuk follows Sikh teachings, helps fellow members of society through community service and sharing with others, Vand Chhana. The gurumuks have a much better chance of uniting with God, though ultimately it is God’s decision as to who unites with him. Humans are in a state of suffering because of always desiring material objects in life, maya, that distract us and hinder our path to uniting with God.
2) Where are we going/what is the goal?
The goal is to allow our soul, jot, to escape samsara and merge with God through mukti. This is the fifth stage in life known as the Ream of Truth. In this Realm, everything and everyone is equal and the soul is free of desire. This goal ends the cycle of death and rebirth and is the ultimate goal of all Sikhs. However, God is the ultimate judge of who unites with Him or not. One can work hard to become a gurumuk, and influence one’s chance to uniting with God, but ultimately the decision is God’s. This ultimate goal of uniting with God is similar to that of Hinduism, but in Hinduism, God does not decide who escapes the cycle of samsara.
3) How do we get there?
God is part of everything, always thinking about God will influence your actions.
We get there through following the teachings of Guru Nanak through the Guru Granth Sahib, meditation on uniting with God and acts of service/charity. Worship of God is essential, and though one must not worship physical representations of God, one must worship his many names, often through the use of mala beads. These beads aid the believer during meditation, so he does not need to count the number of repetitions, as by fingering the beads, the beads do this for him. Also, the ground for our actions is maya, the real world we live in, which in contrast to Hinduism is very real in Sikhism. Maya is essential for us to be able to practice correct thought, and where we are given a chance, through free will, to demonstrate right actions and distinguish ourselves between manmuks and gurumuks. However, maya can also hinder our efforts because of material distractions.
Do not perform rituals, they bring no spiritual benefit. Just live a holy life thinking and acting as God.

Part II: indepth outline, paragraphs and pictures

1) Describe the 10 most important concepts.
1) There is only one God, Ek Omkara (meaning one God), the creator, sustainer and destroyer. God may have many names and is emphasized to not have just one because there are many different ways of viewing God, and each religion around the world may have their own name. Names given such as Akal Purukh, the Creator, are just descriptions of God. There are no physical representations of him, and the creation of these is prohibited. Because there are no physical representations, the many names of God are worshipped in meditation, often through the use of mala beads, as explained above.
2) God cannot take human form. Therefore there are no human manifestations of God, such as Jesus is in Christianity. However, God has communicated to ten men, Guru Nanak and ten other Gurus. God is in everything.
3) If one can overcome the five cardinal vices, one can achieve salvation. Kam (lust), Krodh (anger), Lobh (greed), Moh (worldly attachment), Ahankar (pride) or haumai (selfish ego). As humans, the purpose of life is to unite with God, but we can’t do this if we are polluted with wrong actions such as the five vices. To unite with God we must purify our soul and act with devotion and love to become like the pure nature of God.
4) Rejection of “blind” rituals such as fasting, religious vegetarianism, pilgrimages, superstitions, yoga, and many types of idol worship.
By participating in these rituals, one does not focus on the God within. Meditation on the Lord is more important than debating whether to eat meat or not. Getting caught up in these rituals, one can forget one’s true purpose- to worship and connect with the Lord by escaping samsara.
5) Family life (Grasth) is encouraged. It is discouraged to renunciate family connections and a home, like the way of ascetics.
By avoiding family life, one is admitting one does not know how act in a family and solve conflicts or treat family members correctly, basically one avoids the problems associated with family life. Avoiding family life is like taking the easy path through life. One must take on the challenge of acting with pure actions in everyday life as a member of society. Sikhs view marriage as linking two families rather than just two individuals.
In family life, one can learn all one needs from God. In everyday chores and responsibilities is where one unites with God, and where revelations take place. There are no ashrams in Sikhism, as all these stages, khands, can be found while living a household life. The religious connections to household life developed because in India, it is difficult for people to make time for religious worship, as they are so busy taking care of their families, that Guru Nanak decided to build that factor into Sikhism.
6)
Guru Granth Sahib

The holy book, Guru Granth Sahib is the lasting Guru. There are no living Gurus today though there were Gurus in the past, such as Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak grew up in a Hindu family, rejected the religion and later became Islamic. However, neither of these religions suited him well. He disappeared for three days while bathing in a stream, and after these three days, he returned and claimed God had taken him to His court and communicated a divine revelation. Guru Nanak said that neither Hinduism nor Islam was the true religion of God, and that he would follow God’s true path; Guru Nanak’s new religion called Sikhism. Guru Nanak began a community of Sikh worshippers, and ten total Gurus. After the tenth Guru declared that the Holy Scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, was the last Guru, there were no more Gurus.

7) There are no separations of caste, race or sex. Everyone is equally able to worship and connect with God. Everyone is a member of the Lord’s creations, and there are no distinctions. This world is the same as the next world where there are no separations between groups of people.
7b) Rejection of female infanticide, sati (wife burning), and purdah (women wearing veils) because Sikhs believe women are equal to men. Women provide everything in life. They give birth to rulers, continue family lineage, play an integral role in societal professions, are one half of the household, and much more. Women are highly valued in Sikhism for these reasons.

8) Maya and Mukti. We should not be attached to the tangible things in the world. We need to strive to disconnect ourselves form impermanent goods, and much like Buddhism, lose our desire for these things and therefore our suffering. When we lose our attachment to these things, we can free our jot and unite with God. By losing our attachment to these things, it becomes easier to overcome the five vices.

9) Honest labor is highly valued. One must earn one’s living through honest work and not beg or steal from others. One must reap what one sews. If one hurts others through cheating or stealing, one is hurting God because God is in everyone. This would be counterproductive to the goals of the religion.
10) All Sikhs must give back to the community through Vand Chhana, sharing with others. It is a social responsibility along with Seva, community service. At many gurdwaras there is a free community kitchen (langar). This kitchen is open to all people. By sharing with all people, one is sharing with God’s creations and therefore God.

Rituals: Choose 2.

1.
Nam Karan

Nam Karan: Naming of a Child
After a child is born, the parents take the child to a gudwara where a granthi chooses the name for the child. The ceremony involves drinking Amrit (sugar water) and eating Karah Prashad (sacred pudding). The name is chosen through Hukam; the granthi opens the Sri Guru Granth Sahib to a random page, and uses the first letter of the first hymn as the first letter of the child’s name. Sweet water, sacred pudding and Hukam are used in many festivals including the rite of passage into adulthood. Hukam is used because it represents God’s divine order, ordering the book to open to a certain page, communicating God’s message to the parents for the name of the newborn. It emphasizes how God is a part of everything and his role at all stages in life.
2.
Vaisakhi Festival

Vaisakhi- the New Year’s Eve anniversary of the Khalsa Panth, community of all Sikhs who follow Guru Nanak’s teachings, being formed on Earth. Celebrated with special services and procession of the Guru Granth Sahib (nagar kirtan, the entire town’s praise together). It is at the time of the New Year and harvest time, so it is merry and full of festive spiritual humor. It is the celebration of the first five Gurus willing to give their lives to the religion.

Sacred Texts

The main Sikh texts are the Guru Granth Sahib and the Janam Sakhis. Knowledge is passed on mainly through shabad, written knowledge. The Guru Granth is the only authority on Sikhism, and the Janam Sakhis recount the life of Guru Nanak like the early Christian texts of Jesus. Any Sikh can interpret the texts, and this is encouraged since there are no more Gurus, as this would alter the true meaning of the Guru Granth Sahib.

Guru Ganth Sahib is also called the Adi Granth. It contains text from other religions and is the only authority in Sikhism, though it is not a person.
The Ganth Sahib contains devotional hymns, poetry praising God, meditation on the True Guru (God), moral and ethical rules to aid one on the spiritual journey of the soul, salvation and direction on achieving unity with God. The content of the text is worshipped, but since idol worship is not allowed, the physical book is not worshipped. The Guru Granth Sahib contains divine words uttered by the first ten Gurus.

Japji Hymn

The opening to the hymn summarizes the Sikh view of God. It is called the Mool Mantra:

There is Only One God
Truth is Your Name
the Creator, Perfect Keeper, Fearless, Without Enmity, The primary Entity, Without Incarnations, Self-perpetuating; With the Gurus grace: Recite!
True in the beginning, True Through the Ages, True even now and says Nanak will be True in the future |1|

Key to the Guru Granth Sahib and key to the Sikh religion. It describes the brotherhood of man and that God is the key to salvation. This specific passage describes the qualities of God: there is only one who is the constant truth, he is the creator, sustainer, without hostility and lasting forever without reincarnation. God has always been the one truth. This Japji hymn is used during many Sikh rituals. It is recited during morning prayer and during the naming ceremony.

Ardas
Recounts the history of the Sikhs. It contains blessings to God and the Gurus. It contains the large events in the Sikh religion and is read during many festivals.

God is One. All victory is of the Wondrous Guru (God).

May the respected sword (God in the form of the Destroyer of evil doers) help us!

Ode of the respected sword recited by the Tenth Guru.

First remember the sword (God in the form of Destroyer of evil doers); then remember and meditate upon Guru Nanak.

Then remember and meditate upon Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das and Guru Ram Das: May they help us!

Remember and meditate upon Guru Arjan, Guru Hargobind and Respected Guru Har Rai.
Remember and meditate upon respected Guru Har Krishan, by having the sight of whom, all pains vanish.

Remember and meditate upon Guru Tegh Bahadur; and then nine sources of wealth will come hastening to your home.

This section references the 10 gurus who began Sikhism along with Guru Nanak. It reminds Sikhs to remember, thank and pray for these Gurus and the direction they have provided.

Tav-Prasad Savaiye by Guru Gobind Singh
This poem is read after Japji in the morning and details how rituals like fasting and blind following of god are useless because they are not sincere forms of worship.

Scrupulous Jains and hosts of Siddhs, ascetic yogis - I have seen them all.

Warriors and demons, gods who drink amrit, devout believers in a multitude of doctrines.

All these have I witnessed as I traveled the world, yet never a true follower of the Lord.

Without the love and grace of God their devotion is trivial, worthless, lost. (1)

Mighty elephants in gorgeous array, magnificently decked with gold;

Thousands of horses nimbler than deer, their speed even swifter than the wind;

Though their masters be powerful emperors, potentates before whom countless bow.

In the end such greatness crumbles to nothing as barefoot they go on their way. (2)

The line:
All these have I witnessed as I traveled the world, yet never a true follower of the Lord. References the fact that though jains and sidds and ascetic yogis are devout because they alter their lifestyle to rituals praising God, they are not truly praising God because these rituals distract them.


Janam Sakhis
-“life evidences”
-Four books include stories of the life of Guru Nanak. These four books embellish the occurrences in Guru Nanak’s life and possibly add supernatural events and miraculous acts, which may or may not be true. It is compared to early Christian texts recounting the life of Jesus.

Dasam Granth
-a collection of writings of the tenth Guru Guru Gobind Singh. However, these texts do not completely fit the view of the Sikh religion and are therefore not fully accepted. The Dasam Granth inspired oppressed people and encouraged them to rise up against tyranny.

Doctrine/Belief

Key Doctrine
There is only one God (Akal Purukh) who’s advice is given through the Guru Granth Sahib, and through following the beliefs in the text, it is possible for our “jot” to be freed and from the cycle of births and deaths and achieve mukti to be united with God. This key doctrine is what unites Sikh followers. It is the common element that keeps Sikh sects together, and allows them to be associated with the Sikh religion. In many religions, some of the main doctrines can only be interpreted by priests through text, or passed on orally. However, in Sikhism the main doctrine and beliefs are all contained within the Guru Granth Sahib, allowing individuals to interpret the doctrines for themselves.

Cosmology: Humans can influence God’s decision in accepting them to be united with Him, however Humans don’t have full control on the decision. The universe is completely up to God’s will, hukam. God is the creator, sustainer and destroyer and all things come from him. Sikhism agrees with scientific belief because God’s creations are constantly evolving and improving because he is involved with everything. This fits the theory of evolution and survival of the fittest well.



Eschatology
There are five Khands, or stages one must pass through before being united in the Realm of Truth with God. This may occur during life or death. The fourth stage may only be entered through God’s grace (gurprasad), and his permission. These five stages are:

1. Dharam Khand: the realm of righteous action
2. Gian Khand: the realm of knowledge
3. Saram Khand: the realm of spiritual endeavour
4. Karam Khand: the realm of grace
5. Sach Khand: the realm of Truth






Religious Experience

Group/individual experience


Gudwara Bangla Sahib

In Sikhism, centers of worship are called gudwaras. At gudwaras, during festivals, the sangat, or local Sikh community, will gather in praise of God (Kirtan). During the rest of the year, individuals practice throughout the day with prayers: nam japna, kirat karo and vand kakko. Gudwara means “guru’s home”, and each Gudwara is built on a holy site or site of religious significance. The daily practice of nam japna means repeating the Lord’s name breath by breath with full concentration. This will bring happiness and focus to the individual. The individual will feel love for all living things as they are all a part of the Lord, and hurting any living being would be hurting the Lord. Kirat Karo refers to the Sikh emphasis on working justly for one’s living because everyone must work equally for their living, as when one enters the Realm of Truth everything and everyone is equal. Kirat Karo is to prepare us for that. Vand kakko is the belief in giving back to humanity through (seva-volunteer work) because all of humanity is part of God. Every Sikh can read the scripture as it is written in Punjabi, a language originally chosen by Guru Nanak because it was widely spoken by all people. Guru Nanak used many anecdotes to make the teachings easier to understand.

Gender Role

Sikhism believes that all humans are equal in everything, social standing, men vs women etc. Sikhs emphasize their high view of women because they realize that women gave birth to kings, rulers and holy men, provide and raise all people. All people can pray in any temple and participate in religious events. All people are equal because in the Realm of Truth all people are equal as well. However, in Sikh society today, gender equality issues still exist. Men hold the more powerful roles of politicians, doctors and lawyers with women still primarily in the background. So, through action the Sikh community has not followed the teachings of Guru Nanak. However, some of these issues do have to do with the society of the country, and not completely on the ideals of the Sikh religion.

Ethical Issues

-In Sikhism there is no common collection or set of specific ethical guidelines
-However, in Sikh texts equality is emphasized, and with the rejection of ritual Sikhism avoids many ethical conflicts having to do with the killing of animals and so forth.
Legal issues come from the interpretation of the Sikh texts.
Sikhism also emphasizes kirat karro, acting truthfully in life and the workplace. In Sikhism, the world was created through divine force. Also, kirpan is encouraged and means to protect the weak and vulnerable members of society. Guru Gobind Singh created dharma yudh, a righteous set of rules for war, to limit and control the extent and conduct of wars. Other than these beliefs, some ethical guidelines can be found in the Rahit Maryada.