SURVEY OF RELIGIONS & CULTS
LECTURE 7
SIKHISM & SHINTOISM
SIKHISM
There are over 25 million Sikhs in the world, making it the fifth largest world religion. Sikhism is the youngest of the great world faiths.
Most Sikhs live on the sub-continent of India, with the majority living in their homeland, the state of Punjab in northern India. The Punjab is the home of more than 80% ofIndia’s 20 million Sikhs.
Worldwide Sikh populations: United Kingdom 500,000; Canada 350,000; USA 150,000; Malaysia 60,000; Singapore 25,000.
The word Sikh is derived from the Pali word sikkha, meaning “disciple.” Sikhs are the disciples of the first ten Gurus(the Enlightened Masters), and Sikhism is based on their teachings.
These teachings are enshrined in the Sikh’s holy book Guru Granth Sahib.
Guru Nanak (1469 A.D. - 1539 A.D.), the founder of the Sikh religion, is revered by Sikhs as one of the greatest religious innovators. Although Nanak drew on both Hindu and Islamic thought, he was an original thinker. Many of his thoughts are now enshrined in Sikh scripture.
In 1699, after losing all four of his sons in military conflict, the tenth Guru, Gobind Rais, transferred all his authority to the Sikh community itself. Then in 1708 he declared that after his death, the holy book itself would be the perpetual Guru. There is therefore no place in Sikhism today for a living Guru.
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded in the Punjab, in north-west India, in the fifteenth century AD as a synthesis of Islam and Hinduism . Sikhism originated from the teachings of Guru Nanak. Sikhs believe that Guru Nanak obtained his message direct from the One Timeless Lord and sought to put people on to the righteous path towards the realization of God through meditation, sharing the fruits of honest work and loving everyone. He exposed the futility of the caste system, of idol worship and of the inequality of the genders. Sikhism is open to everyone. Sikhs are easy to identify because of their beards and turbans [in India].
Sikh religious life -
· Prayers: repeated multiple times each day.
· Worship: Sikhs are prohibited from worshiping idols, images, or icons.
· Temples: there are over 200 gurdwaras (temples, shrines or holy places) in India alone. The most sacred is at Amritsar.
· The Five Ks. These are five symbolic items worn by Sikhs: Kesh (long hair, which is never cut); Kangha (comb);
Kaccha (short pants); Kara (metal bracelet); Kirpan (a ceremonial dagger)
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion. Sikhs believe that there is only one God. He is the creator, and sustainer of all life.Sikhism teaches that the one God is without form, or gender. Everyone has direct access to God and everyone is equal before him. Sikhs believe that God is in everyone and so everyone can change for the better, no matter how evil they may appear to be.
In contrast to Christianity, Sikhism holds that there is no Trinity. God is the abstract principle of truth. God never became a man. Sikhs do not believe in the incarnation.
God himself is regarded as the true Guru, and the Sikh community is called a Guru. The message of Sikhism
includes: Remembering God at all times; Living in a truthful way; The equality of humankind; The elimination of superstitions and rituals.
In common with Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, Sikhs believe that all human beings are trapped in a cycle of birth, life, and rebirth. Everyone’s quality of life is dependant on the law of karma. So one’s present station in life is the result of how one lived one’s previous life. The way to break out of this cycle is through complete knowledge of God and union with him. Sikhs’ religious devotions all have this goal in mind. All Sikhs strive to become one with God. To achieve this state, known as mukti (liberation) one needs God’s help and grace.
The way of salvation is found by making God and not the self the center and focus of life: salvation is achieved as the soul is united in love with God. Until the soul is united with God in love, the individual keeps on being reincarnated.
Contemplation and meditation are important aspects of the Sikh religion.
“True life is life in God, contemplation on the Name and the society of the saints.” Guru Arjan Dev, Dhanasari
“The disciple of the True Guru (God) dwells upon the Lord through the teaching of the Guru and all his sins are washed away”. Guru Ram Das, Var Gauri
In the twentieth century, large numbers of Sikh men traveled to the US, Britain, Canada and parts of South and East Africa. Later, they were joined by their wives and families. Buildings were converted to gurdwaras, and serve as community centers. Sikhism is not a missionary religion. Their roots in the Punjab, their shared history, worship of God and obedience to the Gurus give Sikhs throughout the world their sense of identity.
Sikhs do not have the equivalent of ordained priests or full-time ministers. Sikh public worship can be led by any competent Sikh, male or female.
Traditional Sikh names normally end in the suffixes: “inder,” as in Rajinder, Jatinder and Sukhinder; “pal,” as in Kirnpal, Pritpal and Rajpal; “deep,” as in Kirndeep, Jasdeep and Mandeep; “preet,” as in Harpreet, Jaspreet and Sukhpreet.
“They go to holy places for a bath, Their minds are impure and bodies are like thieves; if by bath their dirt drops down, they got on themselves twice as much dirt and ego.” Guru Nanak, Var Suhi
“Only fools argue whether to eat meat or not. They don’t understand truth nor do they meditate on it. Who can define what is meat and what is plant? Who knows where the sin lies, being a vegetarian or a non vegetarian?”
Guru Nanak, Var Malar
Sikhism recognizes the equality of men and women in all spheres of life. The Gurus rejected female infanticide, sati (wife burning), and they permitted widows to remarry. They also rejected the purdah (women wearing veils).
Sikhs who have been through the Amrit Ceremony of initiation become Amrit-dhari, that is, initiated.
The Amrit ceremony takes place in a gurdwara, in front of the Guru Granth Sahib. Five initiated Sikhs need to be present as they represent the Panj Piyaras, the first five Sikhs who were initiated.The Khalsa baptism ceremony involves drinking amrit (sugar water stirred with a dagger). The initiate is instructed in the following Khalsa Code of Conduct:
You shall never remove any hair from any part of your body; You shall not use tobacco, alcohol or any other intoxicants; You shall not eat the meat of an animal slaughtered the Muslim way; You shall not commit adultery.The initiated then assume new names, and begin to wear the five Ks.
(from Encyclopedia of World Religions, Cults and the Occult)
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SHINTOISM
Shinto means, “The Way of the Spirits,” and dates back to prehistoric times. It is based on the worship of ancestors and nature-spirits. The name Shinto is derived from two Chinese characters: Shen, meaning “divine being,” andTao, meaning “way.”So Shinto is “The Way of the Gods,” or “The Way of the Spirits,” or “The Way of the Kami.” (Kami are
similar to nature deities.)
Shintoism is a very simple religion. It focuses on being loyal to one’s ancestors.
Shinto worship and practice is rooted in nature. For Shinto, every part of the physical world is thought to have a sacred aspect.
There is no exact date for the foundation of Shintoism as it embraces rituals and customs that began in Japan during ancient times. But when Buddhism and Confucianism were introduced into Japan in 552 AD, the term “Shinto” was used to identify the religious history of Japan. Shintoism does not have a founder.It is rooted in ancient Japanese mythology and history. Holy books: Kojiki and Nohongi.
The number of adherents of Shinto are often reported as being around 100 million. Over 80% of Japanese people follow Shinto. There are said to be between 3 to 4 million uniquely devoted adherents in the world (i.e., it is their sole religion).
Outside of Japan Shintoism is not common: Latin America 7,000; North America 5,000; Africa, Europe, Oceania - none reported.
Shinto is so strongly identified with the country of Japan and Japanese people that it does not engage in missionary work. It is an ethnic religion and has relatively few followers outside Japan.
Unlike most other religions, Shinto has no real founder, no single book regarded as its written scriptures, no set of religious laws. It has only a very loosely-organized priesthood.
Shinto has been called, “the religion of Japan.” However, ritual, not belief, is the basis of Shinto. So most Japanese people think of Shinto as the way of life for a Japanese person rather than as a religion. Ritual purity and offerings of food and rice wine assist one to acquire salvation (deliverance from the troubles and evils of the world). There is no need of forgiveness, as Shintos believe in the essential goodness of humanity.
Fundamental beliefs in Shinto are called affirmations. There are four affirmations to be observed by Shinto
followers. Shinto morality is summarized in these four affirmations:
· Affirmation of the tradition and the family: the family is the main way through which traditions are preserved.
· Affirmation of the love of nature: nature is sacred. Objects in nature are worshiped as sacred spirits.
· Affirmation of physical cleanliness: baths, hand-washing and mouth-rinsing are to be observed frequently.
· Affirmation of matsuri. Matsuri is the festival that honors individual or group kami.
The only deity actually recognized in higher Shintoism is the spiritualized human mind. For the masses, however, Shintoism has about 800,000 gods, mostly the deified heroes of the Japanese.
Although Shintoism does not believe in one supreme being, great emphasis is placed on the Sun Goddess (also called the Mother Goddess), Amaterasu, from whom the imperial family of Japan traces its roots.Shinto is unique among the world religions in representing the supreme being as feminine.
Shinto followers believe that the Japanese emperor is a direct descendant of Amaterasu. Apart from reverence for the emperor, Shintoism has no creed or definite set of theological beliefs which must be believed.
It is permissible to practice another religion/philosophy alongside Shinto as it is a non-exclusive religion. Three out of four Japanese are comfortable about following Shinto as well as Buddhism .Many Japanese homes have both a kamidana (a Shinto god-shelf) and a butsudan (a Buddha altar).
Kami is a concept that is central to Shinto belief. Kami are spirits. They are not God or gods, even though they are often referred to as Shinto “gods.” These sacred spirits take the form of important things in life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and fertility. A kami may be present in anything: people, animals, spirits or inanimate objects.
There are many millions (according to tradition, eight million million) of these spirits who are interested in the lives of individual believers and will intervene in a positive way to bring health and success. The kami possess a power that the individual believer does not and all one has to do is to ask the kami for their help in a sincere way. Human beings become kami after they have died and may be revered by their families as ancestral kami. The Sun Goddess Amaterasu is considered Shinto’s most important kami.
Shinto shrines are places of worship where the kami live. Japan has more than 100,000 Shinto shrines, each dedicated to a particular kami. Nearly every town and village in Japan has a Shinto shrine dedicated to the local kami. In addition, most Japanese have their own personal small shrine-altar in their own home. Most Japanese devote themselves to a shrine and a kami, rather than thinking that they belong to a national religion.
The most recognizable symbol of Shinto is the torii gate: consisting of two uprights and two crossbars, indicate the approach and entrance to a shrine. Most torii are wooden and are usually painted orange and black. Komainu are a pair of guardian dogs or lions. They are usually on each side of a shrine’s entrance
Shrine visitors write their wishes (onegai koto) on the back of wooden plates or paper votive boards and then leave them at the shrine in the hope that their wishes may come true. Omikuji are fortune-telling paper slips are found at many shrines and temples. Randomly drawn, they contain predictions ranging from daikichi (“great good luck”) to daikyo (“great bad luck”). By tying the piece of paper around a tree’s branch, good fortune will come true or bad fortune can be averted.
Famous Shinto sayings:
“The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form.”
“Even the wishes of an ant reach to heaven.”
“Retribution for good or ill is as sure as the shadow after substance.”
“The first and surest means to enter into communion with the Divine is sincerity. If you pray to a deity with sincerity, you will surely feel the divine presence.”
(from Encyclopedia of World Religions, Cults and the Occult)
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