Introduction

Sikhism was started by Guru Nanak in India in the state of Punjab in 1469 CE. Nine living Gurus followed him who taught and practiced the Sikh teachings in their daily lives. The Gurus wanted to show that though the high ideals taught by the Gurus are difficult to live by they are wholly practicable. Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru declared that Sikhs should follow the Sikh scripture as they would a living Guru.

The Sikh Symbol - Khanda

• the oneness of God,

• the oneness of humanity,

• equality of women,

• tolerance towards other religions,

Belief

Sikhs have a number of central tenets to their belief. These are:

Belief in one God:
Sikhs are taught that,
'There is but one God who is the truth, and is the creator of this universe.
God is without fear and without enmity, is not born and does not die to be born again.
God is beyond time and immortal. God is self illumined and is by grace revealed'.
Guru Granth Sahib 1

Sikhs believe in one God, who is neither a male nor a female but is imageless, formless,
does not take birth and never dies, is present everywhere, and is the creator of the universe.

Attitude to different religions:
Sikhs believe that God is not personal or exclusive to any one religion. Different religions are different paths leading to the same Reality, and no religion has a monopoly of truth. This does not mean that all religions are the same or that are equally relevant for all. They are different routes for people to choose from, and the Sikh Gurus emphasized the right of people to choose their own path through life.

Sikhs are taught to respect other people's views and show tolerance towards those who do not agree to our point of view. Guru Nanak and the following nine Gurus practiced these teachings to show their importance in life. The English meaning of the word tolerance is too weak to fully express Sikh belief in this area. For Sikhs, tolerance is a readiness to lay down one's own life for the sake of others as shown by Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru, who was martyred for defending the right of others. When the Hindus were being forcibly converted into Islam by the Mughal Rulers in India, Guru Tegh Bahadur gave his life defending their right to worship in the manner of their choice

Oneness of humanity - Equality:

As there is one God who has created the universe, it clearly follows that all human beings belong to one family of God. Guru Nanak in his first sermon said, 'Na koi Hindu na koi Musalman' - meaning there is neither a Hindu nor a Muslim, but only human beings. Similarly in God's eyes, there are neither Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sikhs nor any other religious grouping. God is not interested in the labels but the conduct of people. Guru writes:

'From the divine light the whole creation sprang.
Why then should we divide human beings into high or low.
God the maker has moulded one mass of clay
Into vessels of diverse shapes'.
Guru Granth Sahib 1349

Again Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru writes,

'Recognise there is only one race and that is of all humanity'.

Gurdwara, A Sikh place of Worship

The Sikh place of worship is called gurdwara. It is open to all; anyone and everyone who wants to pray to one God can come. Regardless of social status everyone sits on the floor. There are no assigned places or reserved areas. Men and women are given equal position. Sikh women take equal part in leading services and conducting ceremonies.

Congregation - (The Sangat)

Sikhs worship only God. Anyone who believes in the Oneness of God and wants to worship can join the Sikh congregation. No one can be barred on the basis of caste, religious belief or sex. There are no special holy days or specific time for Sikhs to pray. In this country, the congregation usually gets together at the weekends. There is no priesthood in Sikhism, so any male or female who can read the Sikh scripture - Guru Granth Sahib and is knowledgeable about Sikhism can take the service. However, as volunteers do not always have the time, the gurdwara management committees appoint staff to lead services, and conduct ceremonies and the celebration of festivals.

The Guru Granth Sahib - (The Sikh scriptures)

Sikhs believe that the highest authority is God, and that his truth is revealed through the Gurus and is contained in the Guru Granth Sahib. It contains the writings of the Sikh Gurus and of followers of Hindu and Islam whose views were similar to the Gurus. There are writings of a king and poor artisans who were considered of low caste according to Hindus. Since the scriptures take the place of the living Guru, it is treated with the utmost respect and is central to the Sikh way of life, its ceremonies, festivals and code of conduct.
A visitor to a gurdwara, would see that the Guru Granth Sahib occupies the most revered place, covered with a rumalla (a cloth), resting on cushions on a dais, with a canopy above it.

The Guru Granth Sahib and a Sikh ceremony

A member of the congregation remains in constant attendance and waves a chaur (a traditional fan or whisk). All these items are symbolic of the importance of Guru Granth Sahib.
The worshippers enter the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib without shoes and with heads covered. They bow before the Guru Granth Sahib and touch the floor with their heads before sitting down. These are the marks of respect shown to the teachings contained in the Guru Granth Sahib.

Langar

Each Gurdwara contains a langar (common kitchen). After every service the members of the congregation eat together. This is to show that people of diverse backgrounds eat together as they all belong to the one family of God.

A langar

Belonging

A Sikh is any person who believes in one God, the Ten Gurus, and the Guru Granth Sahib. S/he must believe in the necessity and importance of 'amrit' started by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru and have no other religion. Sikhism is concerned with a person's life as an individual and with the corporate life as a member of the Sikh Community.

a. Individual life

Sikhs are to remember the three golden rules. They are:

· Nam Japna - to remember God;
· Kirat karni - to earn one's living by honest means and hard work;
· Vand Chhakna - to share with others who are less fortunate.

The first, Nam Japna, is meditation on the qualities of God as described in the Guru Granth Sahib. Sikhs are to read appropriate scriptures in the morning, evening and late evening before going to bed. Reading of these is not a mechanical repetition of saying the hymns (shabads), it is also necessary to understand the meaning, and then to act upon what they teach. Sikhism teaches that prayer should go side by side with working life. Sikhs to live a good life must also constantly work to improve society. As Guru Nanak taught, 'There can be no worship without performing good deeds'.

Kirat karni

Kirat Karni is to work hard to earn one's own living. A Sikh is to lead the life of a family person, with all the responsibilities it entails, and while earning the daily living should meditate on God's name for personal uplift. It is in relations with others that God is found. Sikhs should work hard to earn a living by honest means to pay for basic needs such as food, clothing and housing. Sikhs must not beg or be parasites or exploit others to become rich. The following story of Guru Nanak's illustrates the point well.

On one of his travels, Guru Nanak reached a place called Emnabad and accepted Lalo's invitation to stay with him. Lalo was a humble carpenter. Bhago, a wealthy man decided to give a feast and invited all the rich and famous people including Guru Nanak. But the Guru did not attend the feast. Bhago asked the Guru, 'Why have you refused to attend my feast'?

The Guru replied, 'Lalo's simple bread is earned by honest labour. But you have grown rich by exploiting and taking advantage of the poor. Your food is stained with the blood of the poor'. 'Nonsense!', shouted Bhago in an angry voice. The Guru smiled, and then, as the legend says he took in one hand a piece of bread from Lalo's house, and in the other a piece of bread from Bhago's house, and he squeezed them both. Milk dripped from Lalo's bread and blood from Bhago's bread! The rich man realised his mistake and promised the Guru to devote his life in helping the poor and needy.

Vand Chhakna - Sewa

The third golden rule is Vand Chhakna is to share one's earnings and serve others. The other aspect of this is 'sewa' meaning serving others. Sewa is to help everyone whatever their colour, creed or gender. Sewa may mean giving money, time, or using one's expertise. Sikhs are reminded of Bhai Kanya's story as an example of service.

During a battle between the Mughal Emperor's forces and Sikhs, Kanhaya was providing drinking water to the wounded. Some Sikh soldiers complained that he was giving water to the enemy's soldiers. He was charged for helping the enemy and brought before the Guru. But he explained to the Guru, 'I do not see a friend or a foe, but only human beings'. The Guru was pleased with the answer and blessed him for his true Sikh spirit of service.

b. Corporate Life

Service to society is perhaps the most important aspect of Sikhism and Sikhism recognizes that effective service is best done by collective or organized effort. Every Sikh is required to be an active member of Panth (Sikh Community). S/he should take amrit (Sikh initiation) and retain the five K's.

The amrit ceremony may take place at any time of the year, but Vaisakhi is the day when most Sikhs like to take amrit, as that was the day when Guru Gobind Singh introduced the amrit ceremony in 1699 CE. Any man or woman of any nationality, race or social standing, who is prepared to accept the rules governing the Sikh community, has the right to receive amrit. No minimum age is stipulated, but those receiving amrit should have attained maturity, so that they can make their own independent decision and are able to take on their responsibilities.

Those taking amrit should have the five Ks:

· Kesh - uncut hair
· Kangha - comb
· Kach - shorts
· Kara - steel bracelet
· Kirpan - sword.

At the start of the ceremony, one of the five piaras explains the main rules and obligations of the individual within the Khalsa Panth: 'From now on your existence as an ordinary individual has ceased, and you are a member of the Khalsa. You are to pray to God and God alone, through the scriptures and teachings of the ten Gurus. You must keep the five Ks and are forbidden to:

· smoke tobacco or take drugs
· eat meat killed by ritual slaughter (i.e. according to Muslim or Jewish rites)
· commit adultery
· cut your hair.'

Anyone who contravenes any of these rules has broken their amrit vows and must take amrit again, after a suitable penance if the contravention has been deliberate. Members of the Khalsa must be always ready to work for the community and should donate one tenth of their income for the furtherance of religious or social work. The newly initiated Sikhs are told not to associate with the followers of those breakaway groups from Sikhism,

· who actively oppose Sikhism
· who practice infanticide
· who take alcohol, tobacco or drugs
· who perform any rite or ceremony contrary to Sikhism.

Only a centrally elected body of Sikhs can take decisions on religious questions concerning the teachings and writings of the ten Gurus and the amrit ceremony. Other questions relating to the social and political aspects of the Sikh religion may be decided locally.

Being

Diet

There are no restrictions on what Sikhs eat, except they are forbidden to eat ritually killed meat by which the animal dies slowly. Food in the langar is always vegetarian so that all vegetarians and non-vegetarians can join.

Dress

There are no restrictions on what Sikhs wear, except that men must cover their un-cut hair with turbans and boys wear 'patka' the smaller version of a turban. Because of the wearing of a patka or a turban, Sikhs, particularly young boys meet a lot of prejudice and are sometimes mistaken for girls. Adults need to be sensitive to this issue, as young boys do not like being called girls and take offence and feel hurt.

Marriage, sex, contraception, abortion, divorce, euthanasia

Marriage is regarded very highly in the Sikh faith.

A Sikh wedding

All Sikh Gurus were married (except one who died at a very young age). Sikhs are taught that sex should be enjoyed within marriage and any acts before marriage or outside marriage is disapproved. It is up to the couple to decide to use contraception or the method of it, there is no religious reason for or against it.

A Sikh naming ceremony

Abortion is not encouraged, but is allowed in certain circumstances such as in the case of a rape or the ill health of the mother. Marriage is a life long commitment and divorce is discouraged. Couples are encouraged to look to the needs of their partner. However, divorce is allowed if there is an irrevocable break down of marriage.

Euthanasia (mercy killing) is not allowed. Sikhism teaches that life and death are in God's hand, and human beings should not take it upon themselves to end life. However, in the case of prolonging life by artificial means and putting a person through unnecessary suffering, the close relatives have the right to decide.

Pacifism

Sikhism teaches a non-violent approach to life but, justifies the taking up of arms if all means fail to protect the weak. Gurus themselves had to take up arms to protect the right of all human beings to choose the religion they preferred and not to bow down to the cruelty of Islam professing Mughal Rulers. They not only defended Sikhs but all others who were being persecuted for their faith. Kirpan, a sword is one of the 5 Ks, but it is not an offensive weapon but a symbol for protecting the weak and standing up for justice. Sikhism teaches that it is the love of God's humanity that produces actions of defending them.