Sikhism and It’s Teaching
Sikhism is one of the world’s newest religions, founded in the 15th century by the first Guru Nanak Dev ji. Currently, there are approximately 25 million Sikhs worldwide, accounting for 0.32 percent of the world’s population. However, 95 percent of Sikhs continue to live in India. Another small but powerful religion is Judaism, which has a population of only 15 million people.
According to Census India 2011, there were 20.1 million Sikhs in India, 10.9 million of whom were males and 9.9 million of whom were females. Sikhs are found in 45 countries around the world, according to data. However, some data indicates that Sikhs are present in more than 100 countries worldwide.
The foundation of Sikhism is on non-violence and harmony. However, it also teaches to be ready to use power with bravery, if required. In short, every Sikh should be a saint and a solider.
Some key facts about Sikhism:
- Sikhism was founded by the first guru — Guru Nanak Dev ji and had 9 successors who carried on the message of the first guru. Guru Granth Sahib ji is the current eternal guru. Guru Arjan, the 5th Sikh Guru, compiled the first volume of the Guru Granth Sahib, known as the “Adi Granth.” According to Sikhism, knowledge is wisdom, and wisdom is knowledge, the knowledge contain the all power (Bani Guru Guru hai Bani, wich banni amrit saare|| ਬਾਣੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗੁਰੂ ਹੈ ਬਾਣੀ, ਵਿਚਿ ਬਾਣੀ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਸਾਰੇ||).
- The Guru Granth Sahib consists of 31 main ragas, 1,430 pages, and 5,894-line compositions from 36 contributors, including Sikh guru sahiban (6 gurus), Bhagats (15 bhagats), Bhatts (11 bhatts) and gursikhs (4 gursikhs). The baani has been poetically rendered and set to a rhythmic North Indian classical music.
- The Guru Granth Sahib starts with Ek Onkar (One God ੴ). However, it used different forms of the god like Hari (8344 times), Rama (2533 times), and Allah (30 times) to depict the one god. The Guru Granth Sahib also contains hymns and verses of 2 Muslim saints (Shiekh Farid and Sadhna) and 13 Hindu saints (Kabir, Ravidas, Ramanand, Beni, Namdev, Bhikhan, Parmanand, Sain, Dhanna, Pipa, Surdas, Jaidev and Trilochan). The Guru Granth Sahib is not only for Sikh but a source of knowledge for the whole humanity.
- Gurumukhi is the official languages of Sikhism, contains 35 alphabets originally. The second guru — Guru Angad dev ji standardized the language. The current version of the languages contains 35 alphabets plus six additional consonants (ਸ਼, ਜ਼, ਖ਼, ਫ਼, ਗ਼, ਲ਼), nine vowel diacritics (ਾ, ਿ, ੀ, ੁ, ੂ, ੇ, ੈ, ੋ, ੌ), two diacritics for nasal sounds (ੰ, ਂ), one diacritic that geminates consonants (ੱ) and three subscript characters (੍ਰ, ੍ਵ, ੍ਹ). The Guru Granth Sahib is written in the Gurmukhi script, in various languages, including Lahnda (Western Punjabi), Braj Bhasha, Kauravi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, and Persian.
- Women were always revered as supreme in Sikhism. The first guru advocated for women’s equal rights, including education, labour rights, and participation in all activities. In the Sikh religion, girls’ rights are protected and supported. Sikhism also teaches that all young girls should be treated as sisters, and all older women should be treated as mothers.
- In India, the caste system was a major issue, and people’s caste was generally identified by their last name. The last name used to (sadly today also) decide your respect in the society. In order to eliminate the this practice the tenth guru changed the last name of men and women to Singh (Lion/Warrior) and Kaur (Princess), respectively. This is the reasons you see so many Mr. Singh and Ms. Kaur.
- In Sikhism, it is forbidden to cut the hair for both men and women. The central tenet is that the body is a gift from the supreme god to us. We should keep this gift because it was blessed by God. Further, the physical appearance is temporary as it will change over the period of time. What should one care about the inner beauty.
- In Sikhism, nature and the entire universe are forms of God. It argues that God is everywhere — on earth, in water, in space, in the air, in animals, in others, and in us. As a result, every human being has a responsibility to use all resources responsibly.
- Sikh literally means “student or learner.” Sikhism strongly believes in the power of knowledge and the dispelling of superstitions. The religion was founded on the tenets of education and science. The idea is that reading and travelling can give you knowledge. The one should be open to learn from others, irrespective of their origin, faith, belief or degree.
- You can always find free kitchen is most of the gurudwara. Guru Nanak Dev ji started the practice of free kitchen, providing free foods to anyone who is in need. It is one of the strong tenet of Sikhism. Everyone, irrespective of their financial wealth, designation, faith or physical condition sit at the same place to eat the food. Everyone is treated equal in Sikhism.
The goal of this article is not to share religious ideas or to praise the Sikh religion. Sikhism’s core tenet is that everyone, regardless of religion, caste, or belief, should aspire to be better human beings.
People in today’s world face a variety of life challenges. I am not an exception; everyone has highs and lows in their lives. However, I make it a point to read at least 5 pages of the Guru Granth Sahib every day. This is how I start my day. I derive a great deal of strength from Guru Granth Sahib’s message, which can serve as life lessons for everyone in both their professional and personal life.
Every week, I’ll try to share some of what I’ve learned. I hope that some of these messages bring some peace, happiness, and luck into the lives of others.
