Sikhism

1
Sikhism

• Homeland of Sikhism is the Punjab area of India
• Sihism is a young faith (only from the 15th
  century)
• An example of successful eclecticism
• Both Hindu and Muslim elements in its doctrines
• The word Sikh means disciple
• India was invaded by the Muslims in the early 8th
  century (Mohammad 510-632 AD)
• Islam was a threat to Hindu rule
• By the 15th century, Hindu reaction and
  resentment had grown to the point where several
  reform movements emerged
• These were Hindu in spirit, but paralleled the
  Islamic criticisms of Indian religion
• Two reformers
• Kabir (1440-1518)
• Nanak (1469-1539)

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• Kabir
• Son of Muslim parents
• Taught that Hindus and Muslims were brothers
• He followed neither the Vedas nor the Koran
• He opposed caste, idolatry and externalism
• He disliked the external forms of religion.
• Ritual
• Scripture
• Pilgrimage
• Asceticism
• Bathing in the Ganges
• if these are not accompanied by inward
  sincerity, or morality of life
• His credo simple love of God
• Anecdote fresh milk for ancestors
• One of his disciples was Nanak

3

• Guru Nanak (1469-1539)
• A disciple of Kabir
• The founder of Sikhism
• Nanak lived at about the same time as Luther and
  Calvin
• His personal history is a mixture of fact and
  legend
• Born in a Kshatriya family
• Was sickly, meditative, and dreamy
• Married at age 19 2 sons
• He was raised on Hindu sacred texts
• He never intended to found a new religion, just
  to reform Hinduism
• Hinduism had too many empty rituals and forgot
  the passion of faith
• Like Muhammed like Jesus in the temple (vs
  changers), vs idol worship (Johar 81)
• Familiar with the Vedas and Upanishads, but did
  not subscribe to them
• He also studied the Koran
• His father wished him to become an accountant,
  but he chose the contemplative life instead he
  rejected the sacred thread ceremony of
  Hinduism he was not satisfied with formal
  Hinduism or with Muslim intellectuals
• Faithful to the morning devotions he would rise
  before dawn to meditate
• He loved to sing

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• In 1497. at the age of 30, he had a mystical
  experience while doing devotions at the Bein
  Stream
• Cole, p 9f Johar p 5f
• An experience equal to that of Is 61, B. Gita,
  ch 11, or Matt 316
• His experience when worshipping in a Muslim
  mosque
• The concern of the Imam
• Anecdote concerning his death
• On his deathbed, Hindus and Muslims quarrelled
  over the disposition of his body
• Blooming flowers in the morning

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• Nanak was the first of a line of 10 human Gurus
• Guru means guide or teacher
• Nanak,
• Angad (1504-1552) he was appointed to carry on
  he stressed physical fitness and the langar
  (community kitchen) where all people can sit
  together and share a common meal in brotherhood
  and genuine fellowship,
• Amar Das, Ram Das,
• Arjun (1563-1606) was the first Guru to have born
  a Sikh developed the Sacred Scripture and the
  Sacred City was a martyr,
• Har Govind (1595-1644) developed the two
  swords,
• Har Rai, Har Kishan, Tegh Bahadur (was a
  martyr for Hinduism),
• Gobing Singh (1666-1708) developed the Khalsa
  (community of the pure) developed the 5 Ks
  held to the authority of the Adi Granth
  (scripture)

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• Guru Gobind Singh proclaimed that the line of
  Gurus was at an end and that thereafter, the
  Sikhs were to regard the Adi Granth as the Living
  symbol of the 10 Gurus.
• The origin of the Adi Granth lies in the hymns of
  Guru Nanak
• Adi Granth was an earlier title for the
  scripture
• Adi means first or original (in terms of
  importance)
• Granth means collection or anthology, a book
• Later, after 1708, the title came to be (Shri)
  Guru Granth Sahib as a more respectful title.
  This means the venerable book.
• It is the earthly Guru, considered to be a
  visible representation of the invisible God.
• The Adi Granth is more revered by the Sikhs than
  the Torah by the Jews, the Bible by the
  Christians, or the Koran by the Muslims
• It is the Deity of the shrine or Gurdwara and is
  treated as if it was real.
• Every copy is said to be identical with every
  other (1,430 pages)
• This, the Sikh Scripture is considered to be very
  sacred and is highly revered
• You never sit higher than the scripture you dust
  it off periodically you put it to bed every
  night
• Guru Arjuns compilation was intended to be
  definitive, and it was definitive

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• The Adi Granth consists of 1,430 pages
• Textual form is poetry (Johar 131)
• Kirtan Johar 131
• Its medium is music
• Songs and music are central in Sikhism
• Almost 6,000 hymns (uses Dictionary of Living
  Rels 4)
• Includes many hymns of Guru Nanak
• First section is the Japji or recitation
• 38 hymns or stanzas
• The Japji begins with the Mool Mantra or root
  belief WS 31
• An opening prayer or preamble Cole 69
• Nanak is said to have recited this upon his call
  to mission
• In the Japji is the quintessence of Guru Nanaks
  teaching (like the Gita or NT)
• Sikhs are expected to rise before dawn, bathe,
  and recite the Japji
• The sense of the central importance of the right
  inner spiritual attitudes to the One God pervades
  the Adi Granth

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• The major theme in the Adi Granth
• Mans search for God
• His longings and yearning for God (cf St
  Augustine)
• Mans intense love for God (the Creator and
  Destroyer)
• To feel Gods presence and to live a healthy and
  clean life mentally, physically, and spiritually
• Its major concern is soteriology (enabling the
  hearer or reader to realized essential unity
  with God).
• There are no mythological narratives, though God
  is described in anthropomorphic terms and the
  Gurus are not afraid to use the imagery of family
  relationships to describe the union of God and
  man
• Close textual study of the Adi Granth is
  something which Sikh scholars have yet to
  undertake

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• A Sikh is one who believes in the Ten Gurus and
  the Adi Granth
• Guru (God) Bani (sacred words) Sangat
  (congregation)
• Wherever five Sikhs are gatheredthere am I
• 3 institutions in Sikhism
• Amrit (nectar) initiation into the community
• Sangat (congregation) worshipping community
• Langar (community kitchen) eating together

10

• The Golden Temple of God
• Guru Arjun also built for the Sikhs the Temple of
  God or Golden Temple
• Located at the Pool of Amritsar (the pool of
  immortality)
• The Golden Temple was built in 1577
• First called Harmander (Temple of God) later
  called Golden Temple
• The most sacred shrine in Sikhism
• It is open on all four sides, thus to each caste
• Guru Arjun appointed his son as the 6th Guru and
  gave him 2 swords
• One for spiritual power
• One for temporal power
• Let him sit armed upon the throne and maintain
  an army to the best of his ability
• Guru Arjun was a martyr
• His martyrdom created a gulf between the Sikhs
  and the Muslims and ended the pacifist phase of
  Sikhism

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• The Tenth Guru, Gobind Singh
• In 1699 created the Khalsa (military fraternity),
  the Community of the Pure
• Its creation, through baptism of the sword
• 3 men were offered
• Men took the title Singh (lion)
• Women took the title Kaur (Princess)
• The Punjab Sikhs were not reluctant to fight to
  preserve their existence
• The 5 Ks became a distinguishing characteristic
  of all Sikhs (sense of brotherhood)
• Kesh Hair and beard uncut (positive)
• Kangha Comb (negative)
• Kachcha short trousers
• Kara steel bracelet (negative)
• Kirpan sword (positive)
• More..

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• Hair is a symbol of manliness, virility, honor,
  energy, dynamism, power (Samson) also a symbol
  of spirituality aggressiveness, assertiveness
• Comb is necessary for keeping the hair clean and
  tidy. It grooms the hair, keeps the hairknot in
  place, and symbolizes the discipline of the mind.
  A Sikh is reminded to keep his mind under control
• Hair and comb form a complementary pair. Each
  evokes the meaning of the other. A combination of
  two different forces
• Steel bracelet is an unbreakable link to the
  faith, the Khalsa and brother Sikhs. It
  represents the unbroken continuity of existence.
  Symbolic of strength and of kharma. Strong, but
  resilient
• Sword the bracelet controls the sword as the
  comb controls the hair. It represents the cutting
  of ignorance, and separates the transient
  individual self from the universal, immortal
  self. A declaration of sovereignty over oneself.
  It is also a symbol of freedom from oppression
  and servility affirmation of self-respect. The
  sword in the mind cuts the root of ignorance,
  worldly attachment
• Kachcha Symbolizes the spiritual and mental
  breakaway from traditional dress and thought
• The primary meaning of the 5 symbols lies in the
  ritual combination of 2 different forces like a
  subject and an object
• Long hair and sword assertive of forceful human
  potential
• The comb, bracelet, and short trousers represent
  moral constraint and discrimination

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• View of God (Saguna Brahman)
• Especially from the personal experiences of the
  Gurus themselves, Sikhism derives its view of the
  uniqueness and personality of God
• Central the sovereignty of the one God, the
  Creator, sustainer, and destroyer of the world
• Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are there, but as
  aspects of the One God. They have no independent
  existence
• Nanak called his God Sat Nam (True Name) because
  he wanted to avoid delimiting terms for God, like
  Allah, Shiva, Rama, etc.
• He felt God could be called by many names (but
  was above all names)
• God is one, supreme, uncreated creator of all
  things, beyond birth, death, and rebirth,
  omnipresent and supreme truth WS 68, 76
• God is both immanent and transcendent WS 72, 73
• God has no incarnations and cannot be represented
  by idols
• The Hindu doctrine of avatars is rejected Cole,
  97
• The Guru, though perfect and sinless, is not
  divine
• God is omnipresent (Cole, 12 feet Kaaba in
  Mecca) a true Muslim WS 615
• Unity and fraternity (unity of God and the
  brotherhood of man)

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• Reality/Cosmos
• Because God is real, the world as created by God,
  is also real
• The world is real because made real to the
  senses, but ultimately unreal because only God is
  ultimately real. Two levels of truth
• From Hinduism, Sikhism derives its belief in the
  periodic creation and dissolution of the world
• Creation is a continuing process (vs deism) God
  continually works in the world
• Creation has a purpose, but it is not revealed to
  man. It can be seen in creation by one who cuts
  attachments to the world and its values.
• When man destroys his selfishness and attains his
  true nature, it will be revealed to him

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• Human being and the human problem
• Man is the highest being in creation the most
  privileged creature of God
• Highest concentration of reason and consciousness
• Women are highly revered Johar 138
• The humans inner essence is the atman, the
  divine element within him
• Our present state is a degenerate condition
• Evil comes from being immersed in the illusions
  of the world, instead of being filled with Gods
  goodness WS 136
• The Hindu doctrine of maya is accepted, but it
  does not have the connotation of pure illusion
  maya is changeableness Cole 82-83
• Maya images of handcuffs, a net, a snare
• Material objects may build a wall of falsehood
  around those who live in the mundane world of the
  senses WS 290
• Five sins lust (WS 336) anger greed (WS 296)
  attachment (WS 676) and pride (WS 289)
• These are the usual forms ascribed to maya
• The pure atman becomes impure by the attachment
  of these passions

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• Four misdeeds shaving/trimming the hair eating
  meat of animals killed in the Muslim style
  smoking tobacco or drinking intoxicants
  committing adultery or immoral living
• Haumai (pride) selfishness or self-centeredness
  full of evil passions WS 322
• We should not try to escape from the world, but
  try to live to our fullest potential of
  righteousness in the world
• The world is like Gods garden WS 90
• The world exists for man to use and enjoy it is
  not to be regarded as evil
• The Hindu notions of karma and rebirth are
  accepted WS 122-23
• Following Hindu belief, man is reborn because of
  the influence of past karma
• Although his essential nature contains a part of
  God, evil thoughts and evil deeds keep him
  separated from God
• We prolong the round of rebirth by living apart
  from God, by choosing through egoism and sensuous
  desire life in the world (maya) in preference to
  ego-abandoning absorption in God. This
  accumulates karma
• He who conquers himself, conquers the world.
• Suffering is all due to ignorance (and haumai)

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• Salvation (WS 104)
• We must cleanse the atman of evil passions and
  become God-centered
• Destroy haumai (WS 292)
• Attachment to maya is to be replaced by
  attachment to God
• This is done through Nam Simran (Submission to
  the will and purpose of God)

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• A transitional process from being self-centered
  (haumai) to being God-centered (liberated from
  the wheel of birth)
• The enlightened person grasps intuitively that
  he/she is one with God
• The perceived unity can only become daily
  experience in mortal existence through discipline
• This Sikh spiritual discipline is called Nam
  Simran
• A meditation on Gods name
• Meditate on Gods name let it percolate into the
  heart to produce a nectar
• Nam Simran is not a mere saying of words, but is
  a transforming of personality through practice
• Very similar to the Unification concept of
  resurrection
• Nam Simran results in a life of service to others
• One becomes God filled (gurmukh) WS 280

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• Salvation is not going to Paradise after a last
  judgement, but is absorption in God, the True
  Name, the Infinite Soul
• Nevertheless, this is not a complete loss of
  personality
• This process requires a guru

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• Five stages of human development
• 1. Stage of piety
• All human beings are born into this realm if
  they practice devotion, they may reach the realm
  of
• 2. Stage of knowledge
• A person becomes aware of the vastness of the
  universe and the mystery of existence. A seeker
  may pass to
• 3. Stage of effort
• Here the mind and intellect become perfected or
  attuned to God. A person has now gone as far as
  they can in developing their natural gifts. With
  Gods help.
• 4. Stage of grace
• This is only possible with the help of spiritual
  strength which comes from God.
• If man goes one step towards him, the Lord comes
  a thousand steps towards man.
• 5. Stage of Sah Khand
• The is the region of truth where God exists in
  his formless state. It cannot be described, but
  only experienced by the liberated soul
• All of these require a Guru, as a guide

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• Conduct/ethics (work, worship, charity)
• The principal vice is self-centeredness (haumai)
• Manifested as lust, anger, greed, materialism,
  pride
• Since God is truth, sincerity and authenticity
  are at the heart of Sikh ethics
• One should seek the truth from a Guru and repeat
  the name of God
• Do everything with a loving and pure heart
• The Sikh is to lead a healthy, normal life,
  serving his fellow human beings
• Husband and wife WS 174 Cole 116, 142
• Singh, The Sikhs p 12
• A Sikh is to be a Brahman in piety
• a Kshatriya in defense of the weak
• a Vaishya in industriousness
• a Sudra in serving his/her fellow human beings
• All the Hindu castes (or their qualities) are
  to be embodied in one person