Please read Fisher’s pages 434-458.
Sikhism is a religion of 18 -26 million adherents, around 80% living in Punjab, India. The Sikh men are easily identified by their “turban” and the “beard”. Sikhism though is a “world religion” and open to “all”, in reality, like Judaism, it is primarily and “Ethnic religion”!
According to 2001 census there are about 279,000 Sikhs living in Canada. To know more about the Canadian Sikhs you may visit the following website on Religions in Canada (2003): http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/pub/rc/doc/rc-eng.pdf or Encyclopaedia of Canada’s People http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/Encyclopedia/A-Z Sikhs built their first Canadian Gurdwara, meaning the gateway to the guru, in 1907 in Vancouver.
Sikhism is strictly a montheistic, non-anthropomorphic, advocating a belief in formless God.
In this religion the believers pursue a devotion to God through “disciplined, personal meditation on the name of God”. Sikh means a disciple, a student, a seeker of the truth”.
A. Origin:
1. Sikhism originates from the teachings of Guru Nanak (1469-1538) and his successors nine in number: Guru Angad; Guru Amar Das; Guru Ram Das; Guru Arjan; Guru Hargobind; Guru Har Rai; Guru Harkrishan; Guru Tegh Bahadur; and Guru Gobind Singh.
2. Nanak disapproved of many religious beliefs and practices of his time, including the “idol worship” prevalent among the Hindus. Hence Sikhism is a “reform movement”. The essence of Sikh teaching is: "Realisation of One God and a truthful living".
3. Nanak disapproved the caste distinctions of the Hindu community! Sikhism promotes equality of all humans and is opposed to discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, and gender. Sikhs promote “eating together”! The Langar, the community kitchen is unique to Sikhism!
4. Sikhism also does not encourage an ascetic life but stresses on household living. Does not encourage “fasting” for religious purpose.
5. Many see Sikhism as a combination of the Hindu Sant tradition and the Islamic Sufi tradition!
B. Basic Features of Sikhism
Below you will find thirteen aspects, which Professor K.N. Tiwari of Punjab University considers as the “Basic Features” of this relatively young religion. Refer to his Comparative Religion (1997), pages 175-177.
1. Sikhism is strictly a monotheistic religion. Its monotheism might have been strengthened by the Islamic influence upon it, but it is primarily an outcome of the personal experiences of the Sikh Gurus themselves. The oneness of God is emphasized by all of them with one voice.
2. The one and only supreme God is regarded as Creator, sustainer and destroyer of the world. Reference to Brahmā, Vishnu and Siva are there in Sikhism, but these all are regarded as creations of God himself and they have got no independent status of their own.
3. Creation is neither ex nihilo nor from materials lying outside God; it is the result of divine self-revelation. God has revealed or manifested himself in the form of the world. But his being is not exhausted in this world alone. He goes beyond it.
4. God is thus both immanent and transcendent. As the inner dweller of the world, he is immanent, but as eternally existing from before creation and as creator of the world, he is also transcendent to it. He also transcendent in the sense of being incomprehensible.
5. Creation is fully real. Because God is real and the world is the expression of God, so it is also fully real. Moreover, Sikhism does not take this world as a place from where one should always try to escape. On the other hand, according to it, it is a place where one should actively engage in righteous actions. Sikhism decries asceticism and takes a pure and disciplined worldly life as the life one should lead. The worldly life gives us an opportunity to perform righteous actions. Worldly existence, therefore, is not to be despised, rather it should be fully availed of and utilized in improving one’s lot.
6. Sikhism believes in the greatness of man in his true nature. He has a divine element in him in the form of his mana or ātman. But man, as he actually stands in the world, is a degenerated man involved in various evil passions. He has perverted his true nature by being engrossed in what is known as “haumai” (Self – centered or egoism).
7. The ātman or self is, therefore, to be purged of the evil passions, the “haumai”, so that it can be purified. Without it man cannot attain his real nature.
8. Like Hinduism, Sikhism has a firm belief in karma and transmigration. ‘As one sows, so he reaps’ – is the firm faith equally of Hinduism and Sikhism both. Those who perform bad actions under the spell of the evil passions have to undergo a fresh birth after the end of the present life, while those who perform good actions and are engaged in sincere devotion to God become free from the chain of birth and rebirth and attain salvation.
9. Thus Sikhism also believes in the possibility of salvation. Negatively, salvation means freedom from the cycle of birth and death and positively, it means reunion with God.
10. Among other things, performance of religious actions, Nāma Simaram (Repeating the name of God), Bhajan and Kirtan (Corporate singing of the praise of God), etc. are taken as means to liberation.
11. But again, in spite of all efforts, liberation in not possible without God’s grace and the helping of a Guru. The importance of Guru as a spiritual guide is much emphasized in Sikhism.
12. As a religious discipline, Sikhism much emphasizes the inner purity of mind and heart and denounces all sorts of externalism. It is totally opposed to pilgrimage, sacred baths, idolatry and such other external practices, which are mere mechanical in nature having no sanction of the inner heart. Hypocrisy of all sorts is descried by Sikhism and only those practices are treated as religious which have their root in heart. Nāma Simaram and Kirtan etc. are also of no consequences if they are mere mechanical repetitions. They have religious value only if the words come from the core of one’s heart.
13. Sikhism is also opposed to casteism. It strongly denounces the Hindu caste system.
Questions to Explore:
1. Discuss the basic features of Sikh religion.
2. What do you think of the problem seen by some Sikhs that a majority are Sikh by birth only and therefore the Sikhs lack the commitment of conversion by choice?
Sikhism is a religion of 18 -26 million adherents, around 80% living in Punjab, India. The Sikh men are easily identified by their “turban” and the “beard”. Sikhism though is a “world religion” and open to “all”, in reality, like Judaism, it is primarily and “Ethnic religion”!
According to 2001 census there are about 279,000 Sikhs living in Canada. To know more about the Canadian Sikhs you may visit the following website on Religions in Canada (2003): http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/pub/rc/doc/rc-eng.pdf or Encyclopaedia of Canada’s People http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/Encyclopedia/A-Z Sikhs built their first Canadian Gurdwara, meaning the gateway to the guru, in 1907 in Vancouver.
Sikhism is strictly a montheistic, non-anthropomorphic, advocating a belief in formless God.
In this religion the believers pursue a devotion to God through “disciplined, personal meditation on the name of God”. Sikh means a disciple, a student, a seeker of the truth”.
A. Origin:
1. Sikhism originates from the teachings of Guru Nanak (1469-1538) and his successors nine in number: Guru Angad; Guru Amar Das; Guru Ram Das; Guru Arjan; Guru Hargobind; Guru Har Rai; Guru Harkrishan; Guru Tegh Bahadur; and Guru Gobind Singh.
2. Nanak disapproved of many religious beliefs and practices of his time, including the “idol worship” prevalent among the Hindus. Hence Sikhism is a “reform movement”. The essence of Sikh teaching is: "Realisation of One God and a truthful living".
3. Nanak disapproved the caste distinctions of the Hindu community! Sikhism promotes equality of all humans and is opposed to discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, and gender. Sikhs promote “eating together”! The Langar, the community kitchen is unique to Sikhism!
4. Sikhism also does not encourage an ascetic life but stresses on household living. Does not encourage “fasting” for religious purpose.
5. Many see Sikhism as a combination of the Hindu Sant tradition and the Islamic Sufi tradition!
B. Basic Features of Sikhism
Below you will find thirteen aspects, which Professor K.N. Tiwari of Punjab University considers as the “Basic Features” of this relatively young religion. Refer to his Comparative Religion (1997), pages 175-177.
1. Sikhism is strictly a monotheistic religion. Its monotheism might have been strengthened by the Islamic influence upon it, but it is primarily an outcome of the personal experiences of the Sikh Gurus themselves. The oneness of God is emphasized by all of them with one voice.
2. The one and only supreme God is regarded as Creator, sustainer and destroyer of the world. Reference to Brahmā, Vishnu and Siva are there in Sikhism, but these all are regarded as creations of God himself and they have got no independent status of their own.
3. Creation is neither ex nihilo nor from materials lying outside God; it is the result of divine self-revelation. God has revealed or manifested himself in the form of the world. But his being is not exhausted in this world alone. He goes beyond it.
4. God is thus both immanent and transcendent. As the inner dweller of the world, he is immanent, but as eternally existing from before creation and as creator of the world, he is also transcendent to it. He also transcendent in the sense of being incomprehensible.
5. Creation is fully real. Because God is real and the world is the expression of God, so it is also fully real. Moreover, Sikhism does not take this world as a place from where one should always try to escape. On the other hand, according to it, it is a place where one should actively engage in righteous actions. Sikhism decries asceticism and takes a pure and disciplined worldly life as the life one should lead. The worldly life gives us an opportunity to perform righteous actions. Worldly existence, therefore, is not to be despised, rather it should be fully availed of and utilized in improving one’s lot.
6. Sikhism believes in the greatness of man in his true nature. He has a divine element in him in the form of his mana or ātman. But man, as he actually stands in the world, is a degenerated man involved in various evil passions. He has perverted his true nature by being engrossed in what is known as “haumai” (Self – centered or egoism).
7. The ātman or self is, therefore, to be purged of the evil passions, the “haumai”, so that it can be purified. Without it man cannot attain his real nature.
8. Like Hinduism, Sikhism has a firm belief in karma and transmigration. ‘As one sows, so he reaps’ – is the firm faith equally of Hinduism and Sikhism both. Those who perform bad actions under the spell of the evil passions have to undergo a fresh birth after the end of the present life, while those who perform good actions and are engaged in sincere devotion to God become free from the chain of birth and rebirth and attain salvation.
9. Thus Sikhism also believes in the possibility of salvation. Negatively, salvation means freedom from the cycle of birth and death and positively, it means reunion with God.
10. Among other things, performance of religious actions, Nāma Simaram (Repeating the name of God), Bhajan and Kirtan (Corporate singing of the praise of God), etc. are taken as means to liberation.
11. But again, in spite of all efforts, liberation in not possible without God’s grace and the helping of a Guru. The importance of Guru as a spiritual guide is much emphasized in Sikhism.
12. As a religious discipline, Sikhism much emphasizes the inner purity of mind and heart and denounces all sorts of externalism. It is totally opposed to pilgrimage, sacred baths, idolatry and such other external practices, which are mere mechanical in nature having no sanction of the inner heart. Hypocrisy of all sorts is descried by Sikhism and only those practices are treated as religious which have their root in heart. Nāma Simaram and Kirtan etc. are also of no consequences if they are mere mechanical repetitions. They have religious value only if the words come from the core of one’s heart.
13. Sikhism is also opposed to casteism. It strongly denounces the Hindu caste system.
Questions to Explore:
1. Discuss the basic features of Sikh religion.
2. What do you think of the problem seen by some Sikhs that a majority are Sikh by birth only and therefore the Sikhs lack the commitment of conversion by choice?
