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Sikhism

Historical development (follow links below for details on the life of each guru)   A succession of 10 Living Gurus over 200 year period (till 1708) developed the faith; seen by Sikhs as embodying the same spirit of the Guru present in Nanak Here is a page with a "family tree" chart of the gurus, showing their relationship to each other and also outlining highlights of their lives

• 2nd guru (Angad Dev) created written form of the Punjabi language for use in writing Sikh scripture

• 3rd guru (Amar Das) instituted the community kitchen (Langar) to serve all regardless of caste, social status or religion. If a person desires to worship with Sikhs they were to demonstrate their true acceptance of social equality by sitting side by side to eat a meal with people of lower class status. Even Kings were to sit on the ground with the lowest of Indian social caste. 
  To this day the Langar meal remains an essential part of Sikh practice: to both worship as well as eat a meal together as one community. 

• 4th guru (Ram Das) built the Sikh holy city of Amritsar

5th guru (Arjun Dev): built the "Golden Temple" at Amritsar, surrounded by a pool of water. People of all castes and religions are welcome to enter both the temple and pool Take a virtual tour of the "Golden Temple" in India

• compiled the sacred scripture of the Sikhs - the Adi Granth comprised of hymns (set to traditional tunes - ragas) from Kabir, Nanak, the other Sikh gurus and even hymns and writings of Hindu and Muslim saints  There was no discrimination regarding who composed the hymns  or what religion they were from. The sole consideration was the content and meaning of the hymns: that they were in-line with Sikh beliefs.

 

Learn more about the Adi Granth

• the first Sikh martyr for the faith: by this time the Sikh faith was becoming popular and due to its growth was seen as a threat by the Muslim rulers of north India

• Under 6th - 10th gurus the religion became militarily aggressive in defense as Sikhs and their gurus were increasingly attacked and martyred. They also came to the defense of innocent non-Sikhs unfairly imprisoned for their faith.

6. Har Gobind began martial arts training amongst the sikhs, was imprisoned for his faith

7. Har Rai set up a hospital to care for the sick

8. Har Krishan the child-guru! He was just aged 5 when he became guru and died at age 8 of small pox, which he caught as he helped treat others who were sick

9. Tegh Bahadur was martyred, after much travel and preaching throughout India, attracting many to adopt Sikh teachings as their own

• 10th guru (Gobind Singh)

• declared the Sikh community (Khalsa) and the sacred scripture (Guru Granth Sahib) as guru thus ending the line of human gurus. A single leader can be easily killed but when the leader is a book and the entire community it is much harder to destroy

• in 1699 he instituted the Khalsa ("The Faithful" - community of the faithful, brotherhood) as a military defense unit. 

Members of the Khalsa...

• are initiated with the Amrit ceremony: simple initiation ceremony (baptism) drinking sweetened water out of same cup (indicating equality among all members)

• are renamed Singh ("lion") or Kaur ("Princess") (same name = one family)

• are to abstain from intoxicants (drugs, alcohol and tobacco)

• wear the "Five K’s" by which to stand out with pride from non-Sikhs rather than to hide. So called because the name of each symbol in Punjabi begins with a "k":

	Kesh: uncut hair (lion’s mane, symbol of strength)  The significance of hair in Sikhism (a PowerPoint presentation) Sikh men who are members of the Khalsa wrap their long hair under very distinctive turbans How can you tell a Sikh turban from similar head coverings? Check out this webpage. (click picture for larger, readable image)
	Kangha: comb (to maintain cleanliness)
	Kachha: special underbreetches (for chastity and readiness in case of sudden attack)
	Kara: steel bracelet (worn on the right wrist to remind one of God as it jangles when going about daily activities. Steel is affordable for all, rich or poor)
	Kirpan: small dagger (for defensive purposes only - today it is just symbolic and would hardly open a letter)

Throughout 18th cent. continued persecution and attacks on Sikhs who remained on defense

In 19th cent., under British rule, Sikhs gained a better standing; strong numbers in British army

While the majority of Sikhs remain in India, some have migrated to other areas of the world:

(Click picture for larger, more readable image)

Today political problems remain for Sikhs as they lobby for an independent Sikh state in the Punjab

Learn what happened with the Sikhs in India in 1984 (when Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh body guard) - from the Sikh perspective