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Michael Whitman
Sikhism

Beliefs
God
Monotheistic
God is one, with no partners or gender
God views all men as equals without regard for race or color
Anyone can communicate and converse with god through sincere
and honest devotion
To be a good Sikh requires honest devotion to god while
maintaining a good relationship with the community and fellow man
True belief requires actions that better society along with spiritual
devotion and introspection
Empty gestures are useless
Sikhs revere the holy book, the Adi Granth and follow its
scriptures and teachings
Life Cycle
Humans live in a life cycle that revolves around birth, life, and
rebirth
They keep on getting reborn until their karma (the quality of their
past life) is good
Once the karma is good, a Sikh can leave the cycle and become
transcendent
Understanding God
Entirety of Sikh spirituality revolves around the need for a person
to understand God and eventually transcend his human nature and join God
To do this, people must stop being secular and focus on God
This is called Mukti (liberation)
A regular person cannot achieve Mukti by themselves, they need
the grace of god to help them
Finding God

God helps people achieve Mukti by providing holy books and


sending down saints who show the right truthful way of living, which is the
highest virtue one can espouse
These books and Saints help Sikhs to find god in the world
Regular people cannot understand the true nature of god, but they
can see it by loving and praying and being introspective about the world
God can be found by looking at creation and the world, reading the
holy books, and studying the lives of Gurus who espoused the nature of god in
their actions
Actions
Sikhs believe that isolated devotion is not enough to achieve Mukti
They do not need to leave the material world to join God; in fact,
they should live regular lives to see Gods nature in it
Sikhs must serve all people for the betterment of all
This helps to get rid of all pride and selfishness in their hearts
Sikhs should serve the gurdwara, as well as the poor and the sick
Their commands can be summarized into three chief duties: Nam
japna (always remembering god/praying), Kirt Karna (living a truthful and honest
life, meaning no gambling, begging, alcohol, or tobacco), Vand Chhakna (giving
charity)
Sikhs must avoid certain actions, which are called the five vices
They need to get rid of all their pride and ego by rejecting Lust,
Greed, Materialism, Anger, and Pride
If a Sikh can reject all of these vices, it will help them reach Mukti
Living
General
Sikh service every Sunday at the Gurdwara
After the service, there is a shared meal known as the langar
Various everyday expectations to live by:
Pray to God before initiating anything out of the ordinary
Learn Gurmuhki
Continually educate children in Sikhism
No alcohol, tobacco, opium, cannabis
No piercings
No unlawful professions - work an honest job
Rather than donate to the gurus offering boxes, use money to feed
the poor
No gambling or theft
Whenever a Sikh comes across another Sikh, he or she must greet
the other with "Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh" (The Khalsa is
Waheguru's; victory tools His!)
Sikh women are not permitted to wear a veil or covering on the
face

Sikh men wear turbans as well


Five Ks
After being initiated into the Khalsa (the collective body of all practicing Sikhs),
people vow to follow what are known as the 5 Ks
Each is a physical symbol that serves as an identifier for Sikhs
The 5 Ks demonstrate devotion to the Gurus, and thus devotion to the tenets of
the religion
Kesh - uncut hair; hair has historically been a symbol of holiness
and purity, symbolizes the adoption of a simple life, Sikhs believe they should
only bow their heads to the Guru, not barbers
Kara - steel bracelet; acts as a reminder for Sikhs to behave in a
manner that the Guru would approve of, symbolizes restraint
Kanga - wooden comb; symbolizes cleanliness in body and mind,
also symbolizes the Sikh emphasis on maintaining the physical body, as it the
vehicle for enlightenment
Kaccha - special underwear worn by Sikhs that cannot come below
the knee and is very useful for riding horses; symbol for chastity, historically used
by Sikh warriors in the 18th and 19th century.
Kirpan - ceremonial sword carried in a sheath; worn over or under
clothing, represents many things like defense of the weak, defense of good, and
can be a metaphor for god, sometimes referred to as a dagger
Holidays
Like Hindus and Jains, Sikhs celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights
Celebrates the release from prison of Guru Hargobind, along with
52 princes in 1619
The return of Guru Hargobind is celebrated by lighting the Golden
Temple in Amritsar

Hola Mahalla
Sikhs celebrate with martial arts parades

Originally started by Guru Gobind Singh for Sikhs to practice


military techniques and hold fake battles

Sources
Sikh Beliefs & Practices, Sikh Living Tradition, Living in Sikhism, Gurmat Rehni, Sikh
Religious Living, India. (n.d.). Retrieved February 2, 2015, from
http://www.sgpc.net/sikhism/gurmat-rehni.html
Singh, M. (n.d.). Sikh Beliefs. Retrieved February 2, 2015.

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