Notes

collect noc of indica 3857 frm bali ngr and cash paid 500.(2.2.13-sat)





INTRODUCTION TO SIKHISM

Sikhism, the youngest of the world religions, is barely five hundred years old. Its founder, Guru Nanak, was born in 1469. Guru Nanak spread a simple message of "Ek Ong Kar": we are all one, created by the One Creator of all Creation. This was at a time when India was being torn apart by castes, sectarianism, religious factions, and fanaticism. He aligned with no religion, and respected all religions. He expressed the reality that there is one God and many paths, and the Name of God is Truth, "Sat Nam". World Religions

Christianity 2 b
Islam 1.3 b
Hinduism 900 m
Buddhism 360 m
Chinese Trad. 225 m
Primal-indig. 190 m
Sikhism 23 m
Yoruba 20 m
Juche 19 m
Spiritism 14 m
Judaism 14 m
Bahi 6 m
source: adherents.com



Guru Nanak's Hindu and Muslim followers began to be called Sikhs (learners). He taught them to bow only before God, and to link themselves to the Guru, the Light of Truth, who lives always in direct consciousness of God, experiencing no separation. Through words and example, the Guru demonstrates to followers how to experience God within themselves, bringing them from darkness into light. Guru Nanak was a humble bearer of this Light of Truth. He opposed superstition, rituals, social inequality and injustice, renunciation and hypocrisy and inspired seekers by singing divine songs which touched the hearts of the most callous listeners. These songs were recorded, and formed the beginnings of the Sikhs' sacred writings, later to become the "Siri Guru Granth Sahib".

Guru Nanak taught his way of life:
Nam Japa - To get up each day before sunrise, to clean the body, meditate on God’s Name and recite the Guru’s hymns to clean the mind. Throughout the day, continuously remember God’s Name with every breath.
Dharam di Kirat Karni - To work and earn by the sweat of the brow, to live a family way of life, and practice truthfulness and honesty in all dealings.
Vand Ke Chakna - To share the fruits of one’s labor with others before considering oneself. Thus, to live as an inspiration and a support to the entire community.
Read about other basic Sikh Beliefs
Read interesting facts about Sikhism
Read brief Sikh History

The 10 Sikh Gurus
The foundation of Sikhism was laid down by Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak infused his own consciousness into a disciple, who then became Guru, subsequently passing the light on to the next, and so on. The word "Guru" is derived from the root words "Gu", which means darkness or ignorance, and "Ru", which means light or knowledge The Guru is the experience of Truth (God).

Each one of the ten Gurus represents a divine attribute:
Guru Nanak - Humility
Guru Angad - Obedience
Guru Amar Das — Equality
Guru Ram Das - Service
Guru Arjan - Self-Sacrifice
Guru Hargobind - Justice
Guru Har Rai - Mercy
Guru Harkrishan - Purity
Guru Tegh Bahadur - Tranquility
Guru Gobind Singh - Royal Courage
(see more on the 10 Sikh Gurus)
Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth Guru, exemplified the Sikh ideal of the Soldier-Saint. He was also an inspired and prolific writer, courageous warrior, and a source of Divine Wisdom to his Sikhs. "When all other means have failed," he said, "only then is it righteous to take up the sword." He was the defender of the poor, the meek, and the oppressed masses of India.

The Making of the Khalsa
Guru Gobind Singh was the last Guru of the Sikhs in human form. He created the Khalsa, a spiritual brotherhood and sisterhood devoted to purity of thought and action. He gave the Khalsa a distinctive external form to remind them of their commitment, and to help them maintain an elevated state of consciousness. Fore more information on Baisakhi click here. Every Sikh baptized as Khalsa vows to wear the Five "K's": more about 5 k's...

Kesh - uncut hair and beard, as given by God, to sustain him or her in higher consciousness; and a turban, the crown of spirituality.

Kangha - a wooden comb to properly groom the hair as a symbol of cleanliness.

Katchera - specially made cotton underwear as a reminder of the commitment to purity.

Kara - a steel circle, worn on the wrist, signifying bondage to Truth and freedom from every other entanglement.

Kirpan - the sword, with which the Khalsa is committed to righteously defend the fine line of the Truth.


Khalsa vowed to have a daily spiritual practice of reading 5 banis (scriptures) more... Khalsa vowed to follow the basic tenants of Bana (uniform), Bani (scripture), Simran (meditative recitation), Seva(service). more... Khalsa also vows to refrain from any sexual relationships outside of marriage, and to refrain from taking meat, tobacco, alcohol, and all other intoxicants. For more information see Rehit Mariyada (Code of Conduct).

Then Guru Gobind Singh infused his own being into the Khalsa, declaring that the Khalsa was now the Guru in all temporal matters. For spiritual matters, the Guruship was given to the "Siri Guru Granth Sahib", a compilation of sacred writings by those who have experienced Truth. For Sikhs, "Siri Guru Granth Sahib" is the living embodiment of the Guru, and is regarded with the utmost reverence and respect wherever it is found. Sikhs all over the world took to the "Siri Guru Granth Sahib" as their living Guru, as the source of spiritual instruction and guidance. More info about Siri Guru Granth Sahib. Read the Siri Guru Granth Sahib

For additional information on the Sikh way of life you can browse through Sikhnet or do a search through the all of the SikhNet content. You can also view the following recommended resources:
Understanding Sikhism
InfoAboutSikhs.com - The best website for basic information/introduction about Sikhism
SikhiWiki.org - The Encyclomedia of the Sikhs - a universally editable wiki site.
Understanding the Turban
Who Are The Sikhs? (pdf)- Great flyer that can be printed out
Who are the Sikhs? - A Slide Show Presentation
BBC Guide to World Religions - Web guide to Sikhism and other religions
Glossary of Sikh Terms
The Heritage of the Turban - To Sikhs, their turban is sacred. Their Gurus instructed them to wear it, and they have sacrificed their lives to protect its honor. The following collection of how the turban has been regarded throughout history has been put together for your information.
BBC Video on Sikhism - A great video documentary done about the Sikh religion to celebrate the 300th anniversary of "Khalsa".
A Saint and a Soldier - The Story of the Sikhs. A video documentary for people who are wanting to learn more about the basics of the Sikh faith. It will give you a better understanding of who the Sikhs are and what they are about.
Sharing Our Faith - The Legacy of Guru Nanak Dev Ji - A video documentary about Sikhs.
Welcome to our Gurdwara (pdf)
True Face of The Sikhs (pdf)- Sikhs in WW I and II
Photo Gallery of Sikhs - See what Sikhs look like. Here is a photo gallery of the Sikh People.
Sikhism Home Page - A great resource for learning about the various aspects of the Sikh faith.
Sikh-Seek Website Directory - This is the most comprehensive directory of Sikh websites on the internet.

Email Lists SikhNet.com Updates Daily Sikh News Daily Hukamnama Unsubscribe

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Religions
Origins of Sikhism

Last updated 2009-09-30

This article provides a brief history of Sikhism.

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Sikh world history
Origins of Sikhism

Sikhism was born in the Punjab area of South Asia, which now falls into the present day states of India and Pakistan. The main religions of the area at the time were Hinduism and Islam.

The Sikh faith began around 1500 CE, when Guru Nanak began teaching a faith that was quite distinct from Hinduism and Islam.

Nine Gurus followed Nanak and developed the Sikh faith and community over the next centuries.
Militarisation of the Sikhs

Sikhism was well established by the time of Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru.

Guru Arjan completed the establishment of Amritsar as the capital of the Sikh world, and compiled the first authorised book of Sikh scripture, the Adi Granth.

However, during Arjan's time Sikhism was seen as a threat by the state and Guru Arjan was eventually executed for his faith in 1606.

The sixth Guru, Hargobind, started to militarise the community so that they would be able to resist any oppression. The Sikhs fought a number of battles to preserve their faith.

The Sikhs then lived in relative peace with the political rulers until the time of the Moghal Emperor, Aurangzeb, who used force to make his subjects accept Islam.

Aurangzeb had the ninth Guru, Tegh Bahadur, arrested and executed in 1675.
The Khalsa

The tenth Guru, Gobind Singh, recreated the Sikhs as a military group of men and women called the Khalsa in 1699, with the intention that the Sikhs should for ever be able to defend their faith.

Gobind Singh established the Sikh rite of initiation (called khandey di pahul) and the 5 Ks which give Sikhs their unique appearance.

Gobind Singh was the last human Guru. Sikhs now treat their scriptures as their Guru.
After the Gurus

The first military leader of the Sikhs to follow the Gurus was Banda Singh Bahadur.

He led a successful campaign against the Moghals until he was captured and executed in 1716.

In the middle of the century the Sikhs rose up again, and over the next 50 years took over more and more territory.

In 1799 Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, and in 1801 established the Punjab as an independent state, with himself as Maharaja.

He proved an adept ruler of a state in which Sikhs were still in a minority.

Although a devout Sikh, he took part in religious acts with Muslims and Hindus as well.
Defeated by the British

After Ranjit Singh died in 1839 the Sikh state crumbled, damaged by vicious internal battles for the leadership.

In 1845-6 troops of the British Empire defeated the Sikh armies, and took over much Sikh territory.

The Sikhs rebelled again in 1849, and were defeated by the British, this time conclusively.
The Sikhs and the British Raj

After this final battle, the Sikhs and the British discovered they had much in common and built a good relationship. The tradition began of Sikhs serving with great distinction in the British Army.

The Sikhs got on well with the British partly because they came to think of themselves less as subjects of the Raj than as partners of the British.

The British helped themselves get a favourable religious spin when they took control of the Sikh religious establishment by putting their own choices in control of the Gurdwaras.

Good relations between Sikhs and British came to an end in 1919 with the Amritsar massacre.
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Recent history
1919 - the Amritsar massacre

This was a shameful event in the history of British India.

In April 1919 British troops commanded by General E H Dyer opened fire without warning on 10,000 people who were holding a protest meeting. The troops killed about 400 people and wounded 1,000.

Dyer felt that he had been obliged to teach a moral lesson to the Punjab.

Realising the damage that had been done, the British rapidly retired Dyer, but not without promoting him first.

Some historians regard the Amritsar Massacre as the event that began the decline of the British Raj, by adding enormous strength to the movement for Indian independence.

In October 1997, Queen Elizabeth II made the gesture of laying a wreath at the site of the massacre.
Background to Amritsar - the partition of India

When British India gained its independence in 1947; it was divided between India and the Islamic state of Pakistan. The Sikhs felt badly treated and reluctantly chose to join India.

The Sikhs were unable to demand their own state, because there were too few of them to resist Pakistan’s claim to the Punjab.

Only by siding with India were they able to keep part of the Punjab, although not before appalling loss of life in communal massacres.

Sikhs lost many of their privileges, much of their land, and were deeply discontented.
A state of their own

The Sikh ambition for a state of their own was something that India would not concede. To do so would have allowed communalism (i.e. religious groupings) an unbreakable foothold in the politics of what was supposed to be a secular state.

However, in 1966, after years of Sikh demands, India divided the Punjab into three, recreating Punjab as a state with a Sikh majority.

This was not enough to stop Sikh anger at what they saw as continuing oppression and the unfair way in which they thought India had set the boundaries of the new state. They continued to demand various concessions from the Indian government.
The invasion of the Golden Temple

As Sikh discontent grew, the conflict gradually changed from a purely political conflict into a confrontation between Hindus and Sikhs; and then to real violence.

A Sikh preacher called Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale became the leader of the most disaffected of the Sikhs. He was often portrayed as representing all Sikhs, although, actually, he did not. In 1983 Bhindranwale and his closest followers took refuge in the Golden Temple Complex at Amritsar, the most revered place in the Sikh world.

In June 1984 Indian troops launched 'Operation Blue Star'. They attacked the Golden Temple Complex, killing many of those inside, and seriously damaging the buildings.
The assassination of Indira Gandhi

This invasion of the holiest place of the Sikhs infuriated many Sikhs, even the non-militant. They saw the Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, who had ordered the invasion, as a deliberate persecutor of the Sikh faith and community.

In October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards.

Four days of anti-Sikh rioting followed in India. The government said more than 2,700 people, mostly Sikhs, were killed, while newspapers and human-rights groups put the death toll between 10,000 and 17,000.
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