History
Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak, the first of the ten gurus, in the early fifteenth century. He was born in what is now Nankana Sahib, Pakistan to Hindu parents. Religion interested him from a young age and he wanted to know more about the wonders of life. One day he went to meditate at the river and was gone for three days. When he returned he was quoted saying, “There is no Hindu and no Muslim.” From there Nanak began to establish his new religion, going on four great journeys to all of India and Arabia as well as Mecca and Baghdad in Persia. He spoke to all groups of people from different backgrounds and faiths against certain religious conventions including inequality between genders and the caste system. Since 1469 (Guru Nanak’s
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A Gurdwara is defined as a place that contains the holy scripture of the Sikhism religion, the Guru Granth Sahib. Gurdwaras most commonly are places where the spiritual wisdom about topics such as Sikh faith and customs are passed on as well as a commune to hold religious ceremonies. The Gurdwara, however, also has many other uses including a community centre for those in need, a library of Sikh literature, a school to teach Gurmukhi and a place to work on charitable causes for the wider community. Inside there are no depictions of God in any form because they believe that God has no physical appearance. To enter there are four doors, the Door of Peace, the Door of Livelihood, the Door of learning and the Door of Grace symbolising that everyone is welcome in the …show more content…
The Khanda is a double edged sword symbolising the belief in one god and the two Kirpans that cross represent spiritual authority and political power. The Chakkar (circle) signifies how God has no beginning or end and reminds the Sikhs to stay in the rule of God. The Khanda (the symbol not the sword) appears in many places including the Sikh’s flag, the Nishan Sahib, so it has great importance to the Sikh religion. The Nishan Sahib is also a significant symbol and it can be found outside of every Gurdwara. It is triangular and basanti (saffron orange) coloured, with the Khanda emblem in dark blue in the centre. Nishan means flag or symbol and Sahib is added for respect. The flag personifies freedom for the Khalsa. The final notable symbol is Ik Onkar which translates to “There is only one god”. These are the first two words of the Guru Granth Sahib and is one of the main beliefs that Sikhism is built on. These three visual representations symbolise well what the Sikh faith means as a
Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji in the Punjab area, now Pakistan, founded the Sikh faith. He began preaching the way to enlightenment and God after receiving a vision. After his death a series of nine Gurus (regarded as reincarnations of Guru Nanak) led the movement until 1708. At this time these functions passed to the Panth and the holy text. The tenth Guru, Gobind Singh, compiled this text, the Shri Guru Granth Sahib. It consists of hymns and writings of the first 10 Gurus, along with texts from different Muslim and Hindu saints. The holy text is considered the 11th and final Guru.
Sikhism and Christianity are two very popular religions in the world today that are practiced by millions. They each have their own origins, beliefs and practices that are custom to their own religions, and some that are shared by other religions. Each religion founded by different people, Guru Nanak for Sikhism, and Jesus for Christianity, had their own upbringings, beliefs, and legacies that they left behind. Though the lives and teachings of Jesus and Guru Nanak may seem different at first though when the early lives, teachings & late lives and religions today are looked at closer, they start to resemble each other.
Sikhism is a religion that was founded in India by Guru Nanak around 1500 B.C. Since then, it has grown in numbers and has become a widely known world religion. In fact, the main place of worship and the holiest shrine in the Sikhism faith, the Golden Temple was just visited by the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, in early November, 2009.
Sikhism and Hinduism are both fairly popular religions in today’s society. Both religions claim to have millions of followers worldwide. As with
Sikhism was founded in 1450 CE in the Punjab region of India. “Sikh” is actually means Disciple in their language (“Sikhism Religion of the Sikh People”, 1). This seems very fitting being that the religion is carried on by 10 gurus to whom follow the word of god. Unlike the origin of Hinduism where there is no one founder, there is a founder of Sikhism named Guru Nanek Deb Ji. He spread his word of peace and love and chastised rituals of Muslims and Hindus. Guru Nanek never forced his views on those of other religions (“History of Sikhism”, 1). Guru Granth Sahib is how people today can learn the teaching of Sikhism. Sikhism rejects the caste system and practice equality of life. There are no religious laws unlike Hinduism, just three rules to which a Sikh should live their lives. There are no priests in Sikhism, followers were to be househol...
The prophet was greatly compassionate and caring and spent long periods of time away from the world, in solitary retreat. Whereas Muhammad was the last prophet in Islam, Guru Nanak was the first of the ten enlightened Gurus in Sikhism. Despite his Hindu religion, young Nanak was more concerned with spirituality and helping the ones in need than respecting the conventionalism and rigidity of the caste system. At age 30, Nanak’s life was transformed after being immersed in a river.
Despite being one of the world's largest world religions, Sikhism remains one of the most unknowledgeable and misunderstood traditions in America now. It is overseen and viewed in a lens based off assumptions of events that have occurred over the years. The lack of understanding has brought up too many serious consequences for their community including discriminatory policies, prejudiced stereotypes, shocking school bullying and violent hate crimes. To begin, Sikhism is a religion originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent about the end of the 15th century. It is known as one of the youngest of the major world religions! The vital beliefs of
The child at the center of John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner’s study of conditioned emotional reactions was an infant named Albert B. Albert was the first child who was actually involved in Watson and Rayner’s experimental work.
Sikhism is a monotheistic organized religion founded in the 15th century in the Punjab region of India by Guru Nanak the first of 10 Gurus. Sikhism’s philosophy has evolved through the added teachings of each Guru over time. Each Guru would appoint a successor and this process continued until the 10th Guru, Goband Singh, declared he would be the last Guru of Sikh ism and the teachings of each Guru was recorded by the sixth Guru in scripture titled the Guru Granth Sahib. This is the central religious text of Sikhism and is considered by many Sikhs to be the final sovereign guru of the religion. The main teaching of Sikhism is the idea of the oneness of God. Sikhs believe that the spiritual and secular worlds are intertwined rather than separate. Sikhism teaches its followers that all religious traditions can help to enli...
Throughout the past several years and as a member of a very small religious group, I have made a point to study world religions and their corresponding cultural groups. As such, I feel that I have a decent grasp on the basics of the major world religions -- at least from an outsider’s viewpoint. However, one group I feel I have the least amount of knowledge on is the Sikhs. The tidbits of information I have picked up over the years regarding this group has always been interesting to me, but I felt that this would be an ideal opportunity to increase my knowledge and understanding of this small religious group.
Few places combine amazing surroundings with a calm and peaceful atmosphere better than the Harmandir Sahib (or Hari Mandir). ‘‘More commonly known as the Golden Temple, it was officially renamed Harmandir Sahib in March 2005’’ (Hayes, Holly. Golden Temple of Amritsar). The name "Golden Temple" comes from the gold-plated crown sitting on top of the main temple building, which features copper cupolas and white marble walls encrusted with precious stones arranged in decorative floral patterns that show strong Islamic influence ("The Golden Temple. frommers). The Golden Temple is the holiest shrine in Sikhism becoming a major pilgrimage destination for Sikhs from all over the world, even today the fervour and dedication of the pilgrims keeps the city bustling with life and activity. ‘‘The Golden Temple is the most outstanding architectural monument of the Sikh Faith, which ushered a new style that deserves to be treated as Sikh Architecture’’ (S. S. Bhatti, Golden Temple: Marvel of Sikh Architecture). Although the building itself has a strong impact architecturally because of its astounding beauty and character, it is the temple's great spiritual meaning for its believers that is most memorable to visitors. In a country that is exceptionally rich with vibrant devotion, Frommer's rates the Golden Temple "the most tangibly spiritual place in the country."
I was born and raised in Punjab, a state in India, which has a huge population of Sikhs. Growing up, my school teachers and parents always taught us about the most tragic time in the Sikh community, the Amritsar Massacre. I am a Sikh and I practice my religion as much as my parents, so I have always been exposed to stories of the Sikh Massacre. It is very interesting to me because it shows how brave the Sikh community is and what they would do to protect their land and rights. Since I have moved to the U.S.A at the age of only 6 years old, I have lost touch with my heritage and seek more information about the Massacre. My parents and grandparents have always been eager to teach me more about the Sikh Massacre, but I was too distracted to pay attention or give interest. Growing up in a different world where everyone spoke a different language, I was more interested in learning about this new country rather than my own culture. Slowly, this new country had erased most of my knowledge about the Sikh culture, which was my parents’ biggest fear. After visiting India after 12 years I realized how much history I did not know about my own culture. I wanted to learn as much as I could but the time I had in India was very limited.
The time when Sikhism was created was a time when India was being torn apart by different religious factions. The founder of Sikhism was Guru Nanak Dev Ji and he was born in 1469. According to Singh (2004) Guru Nanak spread the message of “Ek Omkar” which basically means that we are all one, created by the One Creator of all Creation. Guru Nanak did not align himself with a religion; he actually respected all religions but he did express the reality that there is only one God and that the Name of God is Truth.
INTRODUCTION Hinduism, a modern concept, it is the main, broad, comprehensive and oldest religion of the Indian subcontinent, Nepal and Bangladesh. However, we can say that Hinduism is quite widespread in Caribbean, Northern America, United Kingdom, South Africa and Thailand. (Knott, 2017, p.7) There are about 900 million believers today. In this respect, after Islam and Christianity, the 3rd greatest religion in the world.
McLeod, W. H. (2004). Sikhs and Sikhism. Oxford India paperbacks. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.