Sikhism: Difference between revisions

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion, founded in India under 500 years ago. Despite its relative youth it is the fifth largest religion in the world and has spread through diaspora to many countries across the world.

 

The religion has 10 Gurus which is actually the Hindi for teachers, who helped found and defend the faith. Guruship was something that could be passed down through succession but one could also be born and identified as a Guru. It existed in a relatively peaceful state throughout the lives of the first four gurus, from Guru Nanak to to Guru Ram Das, until the Mughal Empire began to take notice and actively persecute it. After the brutal death of the fifth Guru, the religion put emphasis on defending oneself but also on spiritual ascertation and thus established the duality between warrior and devotee. These were testing times when they were still such a small minority and they suffered many grievous losses, and as such many of the Gurus are remembered as martyrs. Many of the Sikh gurus died in horrific deaths under the over-zealous persecution from the Muslim Moghul shahs Jahangir and Aurengzeb. Guru Arjan Dev was starved, boiled and eventually died after having hot sand poured over him. Despite this, he did not waver as he was deep in meditation. Aurengzeb had the two youngest sons of Guru Gobind Singh bricked alive and demanded that they forcibly convert to Islam, which they refused and so were killed. After the passing of the tenth and final guru, also known as Guru Gobind Singh, the Guru thereon became the Guru Granth Sahib also known as the Sikh holy book. This holy text not only contains the hymns and verses of the Gurus but of subsequent companions and other holy men who were Hindu and Muslim.

 

Sikhs give worship in a building known as a Gurdwara which is always open to all, including non-Sikhs, provided they take off any foot wear and cover their heads. Within Gurdwara there is the langar halls where free food is served out which is always vegetarian. Such duties are carried out by volunteers providing Seva, which is charitable acts. Seva is encouraged amongst Sikhs in order to help them become better individuals and give to the community.

 

Following this and the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Sikhs began to establish their own empire, i.e. the Sikh Empire. The Empire was lead by the Maharaja Ranjit Singh who was credited with expanding the Empire which existed from the Khyber Pass in the west, to Kashmir in the north, to Sindh in the south, and Tibet in the east. Their rule was secular and they were tolerant of other religions and did not destroy or desecrate holy temples. Of course the Sikh Empire was tested by two wars with the British also known as the Anglo-Sikh wars. The Sikh Empire was hit hard by betrayals from high-ranking members of the rulership. With their defeat the British quickly seized their lands as well as the prized Koh-i-Noor diamond which was once known as the largest diamond in the world. This diamond was then placed within the Queen's crown but was also cut into smaller pieces for the possession of other royals. Following their subsequent defeat the British Empire realized that the Sikhs were a formidable fighting force which would greatly benefit their military and so they began recruiting Sikhs. This went in lieu with their philosophy of the Martial Races theory, which proposed that certain tribes within India were more apt warriors and had noble attributes which placed them higher than other tribes. The Gurkhas of Nepal were also recruited on this basis.

 

 

Sikhs fought on all the major fronts on both the East and West during [[World War I]], serving in many roles such as the RAF, tanks, artillery and infantry. They made up about a quarter of the combat units.

As their history moved forward many Sikhs began to move to other countries such as the UK, Canada and the US. Here they worked to build lives for themselves like many other immigrant groups. There were hurdles such as Bhagat Singh Thind who fought for the right to live as a US citizen despite the still racist nature of the country. Eventually he won the right on his third appeal to stay in America as Indians were characterized as Caucasian and thus "white". He later went on to earn a Ph.D. and became a spiritual writer.

 

 

The Sikhs still find themselves being overrepresented in various militaries as well as calls in the UK for a Sikh regiment. Many Sikhs have found themselves in occupations of all skill levels from engineers, doctors, scientists, lawyers etc. Others have lower skilled jobs such as corner-shop owners or taxi drivers, particularly for those who newly immigrated or are without the necessary or recognized education.

 

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* [[Awesome Yet Practical]]: Gatka has been used successfully for hundred of year but it's also good for show preformances.

* [[Church Militant]]

* [[Worthy Opponent]] : In one battle a Sikh warrior urged his prince to care for the enemy wounded calling them the "Children of God".