Sikhism WHAP/Napp
“In a largely Hindu India, ruled by the Muslim Mughal Empire, several significant cultural departures took shape in the early modern era that brought Hindus and Muslims together in new forms of religious expression. One was the flourishing of a devotional form of Hinduism known as bhakti. Through songs, prayers, dances, poetry, and rituals, devotees sought to achieve union with one or another of India’s many deities. Appealing especially to women, the bhakti movement provided an avenue for social criticism. Its practitioners often set aside caste distinctions and disregarded the detailed rituals of the Brahmin priests in favor of direct contact with the divine. This emphasis had much in common with the mystical Sufi form of Islam and helped blur the distinction between these two traditions.
Yet another major cultural change that blended Islam and Hinduism emerged with the growth of Sikhism as a new and distinctive religious tradition in the Punjab region of northern India. Its founder, Guru Nanak (1469 – 1539), had been involved in the bhakti movement but came to believe that ‘there is no Hindu; there is no Muslim; only God.’ His teachings and those of subsequent gurus also set aside caste distinctions and untouchability and ended the seclusion of women, while proclaiming the ‘brotherhood of all mankind’ as well as the essential equality of men and women. Drawing converts from Punjabi peasants and merchants, Muslim and Hindu, the Sikhs gradually became a separate religious community. They developed their own sacred book, known as the Guru Granth (teacher book); created a central place of worship and pilgrimage in the Golden Temple of Amritsar; and prescribed certain dress requirements for men, including keeping hair and beards uncut, wearing a turban, and carrying a short sword. During the seventeenth century, Sikhs encountered hostility from both the Mughal Empire and some of their Hindu neighbors. In response, Sikhism evolved from a peaceful religious movement, blending Hindu and Muslim elements, into a militant community whose military skills were highly valued by the British when they took over India in the late eighteenth century.”
~ Ways of the World
1. Sikhism originated in the(A) Northeastern part of India close to where Buddhism began.
(B) Punjab of northwestern India and eastern Pakistan.
(C) Southern part of India.
(D) Lake region of India.
2. These two mystical and devotional forms of religious experience had much in common in a largely Hindu India ruled by the Muslim Mughal Empire
(A) Sufism and Daoism
(B) Sufism and Bhakti
(C) Bhakti and Mahayana Buddhism
(D) Bhakti and Jainism / 3. The founder of Sikhism was
(A) Mirabai
(B) Siddhartha Gautama
(C) Mahavira
(D) Guru Nanak
4. Sikhism
(A) Has its own sacred book, the Guru Granth
(B) the Golden Temple of Amritsar
(C) Certain dress requirements for men, including keeping hair and beards uncut, wearing a turban, and carrying a short sword
(D) Set aside caste distinction
(E) All of the above
Key Words/ Questions / I. Origins
A. Guru Nanak: a spiritual teacher in northern India in 15th century C.E.
B. Followers called Sikhs, meaning “disciples, students, seekers of truth”
C. Largely unknown outside India but fifth largest of all world religions
II. Before Guru Nanak
A. Hinduism and Islam had drawn closer in northern India
B. Sufis and practitioners of bhakti both emphasized devotion to the Divine
III. Guru Nanak
A. Born in 1469 in northern India (Punjab): Muslim/Hindu region
B. When Nanak was thirty, life was transformed after immersion in a river
1. Charged by the Almighty to go back into the tainted world to redeem it
2. Nanak: “I shall follow God’s path. God is neither Hindu nor Muslim.”
C. Emphasized three central teachings as the straight path to God
1. Working hard in society to earn one’s own honest living
2. Sharing from one’s earnings with those who are needy
3. Remembering God at all times as the only Doer, the Giver
D. After Nanak’s death, there was a total of ten Sikh Gurus
1. Fourth Guru founded the holy city of Amritsar
2. Fifth Guru built the Golden Temple and compiled sacred scriptures
E. Sixth Guru built an army, soldiers carried two swords (one fortemporal power and other for spiritual power), to defend all religions
F. Seventh Guru, a pacifist, taught Sikhs to feed anyone
G. Ninth Guru was approached by Hindu pandits (Brahmin scholars) who
were facing forced conversion to Islam by Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb
1. Told to tell emperor they would convert to Islam if Sikh Guru would
2. Guru maintained right of people to religious freedom, was beheaded
H. Tenth Guru taught that total surrender to the master was necessary
1. Men were baptized and named Singh (“lion”); women were named
Kaur (“princess”) and treated as equal
2. Five symbols of dedication: long unshorn hair bound under a turban
or a veil, a comb to keep it tidy, a steel bracelet as a reminder that one
is a servant of God, short underbreeches for modesty, and a sword for
dignity and willingness to fight for justice and protection of the weak
3. Tenth Guru’s sons martyred in battle against Mughals
a) As he was dying in 1708, he transferred his authority to the Adi
Granth (Sikh holy book); the book was now called Guru Granth
IV. Beliefs
A. Like Hinduism ( karma and reincarnation) – Like Islam (monotheism)
B. Sikh soldiers are pledged to protect the freedom of all religions
C. The Sikh purpose of life is to realize God within the world
D. All people are to be treated equal: refused to recognize caste system
E. The langar is a communal kitchen which is freely offered to all who come
F. Center of Sikhism remains the Punjab: Sikh separatists want
independent state called Khalistan; in 1984 Sikh bodyguards
assassinated Indira Gandhi after storming of Golden Temple
1. Guru Nanak’s life changed at the age of 30 after
(A) A meditative trance.
(B) A pilgrimage to a holy site.
(C) Immersion in a river.
(D) All of the above.
2. Guru Nanak presented three central teachings as leading to God: working to earn one's own living, sharing from one's earnings, and
(A) Offering one’s time to do for others as a sacrifice to God.
(B) Remembering God as the only true doer and giver.
(C) Taking care of nature.
(D) All of the above.
3. Which of the following Gurus founded the holy city of Amritsar?
(A) The Fourth Guru.
(B) The Third Guru.
(C) The Second Guru.
(D) The Fifth Guru.
4. The most sacred shrine of the Sikh religion is the ______built by the Fifth Guru.
(A) Ka’ba
(B) Golden Temple
(C) Golden Tabernacle
(D) Holy of Holies
5. The ______Guru was martyred rather than convert to Islam.
(A) Sixth
(B) Eighth
(C) Ninth
(D) Seventh
6. A nationalist movement of recent times that has involved Sikhs is commonly called
(A) Sikh Nation
(B) Punjabi Panth United
(C) Khalistan
(D) Operation Blue Star / 7. The five symbols of the faith Khalsa or “Pure Ones” in the Sikh religion wear include
(A) A steel bracelet worn as a reminder that one is God’s servant.
(B) A sword for dignity and the willingness to fight for justice.
(C) Long unshorn hair bound under a turban or veil.
(D) All of the above.
8. Guru Gobind Singh, the last of the Sikh Gurus, passed his authority not to an individual human but to
(A) The Sikh congregation, the sangat.
(B) God.
(C) The Udasis, Sikh followers who practice strict discipline and meditation.
(D) The Sikh scripture, from then on called the Guru Granth Sahib.
9. The major focus of Sikhism is
(A) Devotion to worship.
(B) Devotion to Guru Granth Sahib, the scripture.
(C) Devotion to the community.
(D) Devotion to God.
10. Sikhs have these beliefs in common with Hindus.
(A) The caste system and reincarnation
(B) Meditation and the caste system
(C) Karma and reincarnation
(D) Reincarnation and polytheism
11. The founding of the Khalsa involved
(A) A display of loyalty by the original “Beloved Five,” who thought they were being put to death
(B) A military victory over Moghul forces
(C)The marriage of the Sikh ruler with the princess of a neighboring kingdom
(D) The building of the Golden Temple
Thesis Practice: Continuity and Change
Analyze changes and continuities in beliefs and practices in Sikhism from Guru Nanak to the present-day.
______
Central Sikh beliefs
- There is only One God who is purely spiritual and does not takehuman form.
- All creation is part of God and is an expression of God’s Divine Spirit(Naam) and His Will (Hukam).
- All human beings have an immortal soul (atma) which is part of Godand is on a journey to reunite with Him.
- All human beings are equal regardless of race, religion, gender, age orsocial class.
- Lasting happiness can only be found when the soul reunites with God
- Service to others (sewa), while remembering God at all times(simran), are essential if the soul is to reunite with God
Write a comparative body paragraph addressing one similarity or one difference regarding the beliefs of Sikhism and Buddhism.
______
“Sikhs believe that God is not only above, beyond and much greater thanthe universe we live in, but that He is also within it and within eachhuman being. Human beings have a dual nature. They have a physicalbody, which is good and is part of God’s creation. However this physicalbody does not last and eventually dies. Human beings also have a soul(atma) which, like God, is pure spirit. This atma, which Sikhs believe isimmortal and survives beyond the death of the physical body, is also partof God: it was part of God before the universe was created and sincethen has been on a journey through many life forms towards reunionwith the Creator. Once people fully realize this, they too will becometruthful and reunite with God, the Creator from whom they originated.”
~ Scottish Qualifications Authority
Compare the Sikh understanding of God and soul with Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. ______