Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India

encyclopedia

SIKHISM

RELIGIONS

Harmonised Hinduism and Islam

Uncompromising belief in monotheism

Ek Oankar

- Unity of God.

Flag

- Embedded in saffron

colour with emblems of

chakra

and

Khanda.

Singh means "Lion hearted"

Sikh derived from Sanskrit

“Shishya"

and Pali

"Sikkim”.

Both mean disciple.

Khanda

- (Double edged spear), used to stir

AMRIT

(nectar -

solution of water and

patasha

the sugar crystals).

Chakra

- instru-

ment used in warfare. Two swords placed

Origin : 15th Century, Place : India

Founder: GURU NANAK

Global Following : 19,853,000(0.4%)

Global Spread : All Continents (21 countries)

Predominant : Asia nos.

in (‘000)

Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin

America

North

Americ

Oceania Eurasia

19,318 232

257

LINEAGE

GuruNanak (1469-1539); Guru Angad (1504-1552); Guru Amar Das (1479-

1574); Guru Ram Das (1534-1581); Guru Arjun (1563-1606); Guru Hargob-

ind (1595-1644); Guru Har Rai (1630-1661); Guru Har Kishan (1656-1664);

Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621-1675); Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708).

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS

The advent of a dynamic force called Guru Nanak on the Indian

horizon heralded a new era of happy fusion of faiths and doc-

trines. The Guru gave practical shape to the dream of Sultan

Hussain Shah, the last of the enlightened Sharqi Rulers of Jaun-

pur (1452-78) to evolve a simplified religion out of beliefs of the

Hindus and Muslims.

Guru Nanak (1469-1539) the founder of Sikhism was born to a

small Hindu farmer-trader and village revenue official named

Kalyan Rai in Rai Bho-Ki-Talwandi (later called Nankana Sahib

after him) not far from Lahore (Pakistan).

Nanak married early and had two sons. His father sent him to

Sultanpur Lodhi, a town in Kapurthala District of Indian Punjab.

For some time he served as a keeper of the grain store of the Khan

of Sultanpur Lodhi. One morning while bathing in the rivulet

Bein flowing by Siritanpur, he was absorbed in thoughts of God

and in that state was ushered into the Divine Presence. Thereaf-

ter, emerging from the rivulet he went into the town and the first

words he uttered were:" There is no Hindu, there is no Musal-

man". At this point, Nanak became a Guru.

Guru Nanak, accompanied by Mardana (a rebec player) a Mus-

lim follower, travelled arduously for 24 years spreading his

message of love, faith, truth and equality. He travelled to the four

corners of India, Assam in the east, Rameshwaram and Kanya

Kumari in the south, the Himalayan region in the north and Sind

in the west. He visited the Hindu centres of pilgrimage. He

visited Muslim centres also, both in India and abroad, going as far

as Mecca and Baghdad.

Through dialogues he convinced people that good action alone

can ensure slavation. While in Mecca he was asked who was

superior, a Hindu or a Muslim, to which the Guru replied that

without actions both were of no consequence.

"Truth is high but

higher still is truthful living"

, said he.

Contrary to medieval Indian practice of renouncing the world for

spiritual elevation, Guru Nanak believed that the world is worth

living.

"This world is the abode of God and the True One lives

therein”.

Guru Nanak believed that it was possible to live pure

among the impurities of life.

"As the lotus liveth detached in

waters, as the duck floateth care-free in the stream, so doth one

cross the sea of existence, his mind attuned to the word. One

liveth detached, enshrining the one Lord in the mind, shorn of

hope, living in the midst of hope."

To practise his teaching of equality Guru Nanak started twin

institutions of

Sangat

and

Pangat,

emphasising that all sit in a

congregation and while partaking food from the community

kitchen (

langar

) should sit in one line without distinction of high

and low or rich and poor.

Guru Nanak preached strict monotheism and described the Crea-

tor as

Ikk

(one), without a second. Guru Nanak's philosophy of

God is

Japji,

the primal creed.

There is one God He is the supreme truth,

He, the creator Is without fear and without hatred,

He, the omnipresent, Pervades the universe,

He is not born, Nor does he die to be born again.

Guru Nanak was succeeded by nine other Gurus.

The second Guru Angad evolved a distinct script called

Gur-

mukhi

(coming from the mouth of the Guru) which became the

sole medium for the sacred writings of the Sikhs. It is in this script

that the Guru Granth, the holy book of the Sikhs is written.

The third Guru Amar Das, to abolish caste distinctions, continued

the tradition of

Langar

(community kitchen). Emperor Akbar

who went to see the Guru at Goindwal had to eat in the Langar,

sitting on the floor with his nobles and servants. The Emperor was

so much impressed by the Guru's strict practice of equality that he

donated a village on which the modern city of Amritsar came up

later.

The fourth Guru Ram Das, son-in-law of Guru Amar Das, laid the

foundation for the holy city of Amritsar which became the

spiritual capital of the Sikhs.

The fifth Guru Arjun, youngest son of Guru Ram Das, compiled

the

Adi Granth,

(the first book, the nucleus of the Granth Sahib)

from the writings of the previous four Gurus. He consolidated

them in order of ragas and set them to music and himself contrib-

uted 2,218 hymns. He incorporated a number of hymns by

Muslim and Hindu saints — Kabir, a weaver, Namdev, a tailor,

Ravi Das, a cobbler, Jaidev, a Brahmin and many others. He

designed the Harmandir Sahib (the Golden Temple) as a symbol

of the faith, simple and pure in belief which opens its doors to one

and all and demonstrated its universality and asked Hazrat Mian

Mir, a Muslim saint, to lay the foundation stone. Guru Arjun

installed

the Adi Granth

in the

"Harmandir"

(Golden Temple).

Guru Arjun was tortured to death on the orders of the Mughal

Emperor Jahangir.

The sixth Guru Hargobind laid the foundation of the

Akal Takht

in 1606 A.D. in front of

Harmandir Sahib

(Golden Temple) Guru

Hargobind called the

Akal Takht

, 'the Throne of the Immortal and

declared it as the centre of Sikh temporal authority. He converted

Sikhs into saint-soldiers. He wore two swords, one of

piri'

indicating spiritual power and second of

miri

representing tempo-

ral power.

The seventh Guru Har Rai and eighth Guru Har Kishan continued

the mission of their predecesors.

The ninth Guru, Tegh Bahadur, incurred the wrath of Aurangzeb

for espousing the cause of Kashmiri Brahmins and was executed.