Unfamiliar Religion Traditions: The Sikhs - Essay Example

Unfamiliar Religion Traditions- The Sikhs Unfamiliar Religion Traditions- The Sikhs There are a large number of religions and traditions in the world and each of them has unique features. There are some which stand apart from the rest for their practices and beliefs which are totally different from others. One such religion is Sikhism. Sikhism is one of the youngest religions in the world with a history of mere 500 years. Sikhism began in the 15th century from the northern state of India, called Punjab. The founder of Sikhism is Guru Nanak Dev who had his birth in 1469 at a place called Talwandi which is a part of the present day Pakistan. Guru Nanak, who was born in a Hindu family, developed deep interest in religion, spirituality, and meditation. As described in a religious website, Guru Nanak questioned various existing practices like idolatry and caste system (Sikhism, n.d.). As it is described in a web document (Origins of Sikhism, n.d.), Guru Nanak Dev, along with a Muslim minstrel named Mardana’ spread the message of one God and selfless service. There were three fundamental principles of their teaching. They are ‘Naam Japna’ which means remembering God through meditation; ‘Kirat Karo’ which means earning an honest living; and ‘Vand Chakko’ which means offering selfless service to others and sharing ones income. Guru Nanak Dev was followed by Guru Angad Dev, Guru Amardas, Guru Ramdas, Guru Arjun Dev, Guru Hargobind, Guru Har Rai, Guru Harkrishan, Guru Tegh Bahadur, and Guru Gobind Singh (Origins of Sikhism, n.d.). Guru Arjun Dev (1563-1606) is called the 5th Guru of Sikhism he compiled the first version of Guru Granth Sahib, the Bible of Sikhism. This holy book is also called ‘Aadi Granth’. The most important religious place of Sikhs is called ‘Harmandir Sahib’. It is located at Amritsar in Punjab. This religious place is popularly known as the Golden Temple. This was constructed by Guru Arjun Dev in the year 1604 (Origins of Sikhism, n,d,). Admittedly, Sikh people look different because of their unique physical appearance. This difference arises because of the five essential things they were. The are Kesh (hair), Kangha (hair brush, Kada (iron bangle), Kripan (sword), Katch (cotton loincloth. In fact, this dress code and a special code of conduct were prepared by Guru Gobind Singh. Thus, a pure Sikh is supposed to have all these ‘Ks’. Thus, both men and women who belong to Sikh religion are supposed to never cut their ‘kesh’ (hair). In addition, men in this religion usually wear a turban which is made of a long cloth to cover their hair. Similarly, women cover their head with a long scarf called ‘chuni’. Traditionally, Sikhs wear a pair of long loose trousers and a long sleeved jacket. Women of this religion wear long trousers and ‘salwar’-an overdress. As Singh (2005) states, Sikhs are very concerned about protecting their dress code and the five Ks. They never remove the five Ks from their body. So, there are occasions when security forces without cultural awareness force them to remove these identities. Presently, police forces allow their Sikh officers to continue wearing turban and protect their long hair (p. 122). Because of their long unshorn hair and turban, Sikh people are often misunderstood as a Muslim from the Middle East. Thus, often, these people are targeted as terrorists and subject to racial aggression. This all happens because their special dress code makes them appear very similar to the Muslim terrorists of the Middle East. Admittedly, I too loved to cherish this belief about this relatively unfamiliar religion. However, as I studied further about it, I came to know that this religion is based on a large number of high moral principles. First of all, Sikhism is against the violence in the name of religion. According to Sikh concepts, the most important elements of faith are remembering God, offering selfless service, and earning an honest living. Thus, as Singh I. J. (n.d.) points out, the religion does not insist that one should share rewards only within the religion. Instead, Sikhism teaches that God is love and that this love is not limited to only to Sikhs. God equally loves all people from all religions. Thus, Sikhism never promotes aggression in the name of religious differences because it believes in equality of all. In other words, unlike many other religions, Sikhism is noted for it tolerance to other cultures, beliefs and practices. Thus, it is highly irrational to believe that Sikhs are terrorists. This point can be further elaborated by some verses from Shri Guru Granth Sahib, the guiding principles of Sikhism. Guru Nanak never insisted people from other religions to convert to Sikhism. Instead, he taught them to be good human beings. For example, Guru taught Muslims “Make compassion your mosque, faith your prayer mat; make honest living your Koran, let modesty rule your conduct; let piety be your fasts, in such a way become a true Muslim” (Shri Guru Granth Sahib). Similarly, to Hindus, he suggested “From the cotton of passion, spin the thread of contentment; tying the knot of continence, give it the twist of virtue” (Shri Guru Granth Sahib). Thus, it becomes more than evident that Sikh Gurus never wanted to establish itself as a religion but wanted to make all people good human beings. Instead of tying people to certain rigid rules and practices and hatred based on religion, Sikhism wanted to liberate people from the boundaries of religion and allow them to find freedom to find their own destiny. Thus, Guru Granth Sahib proudly says “There is one God the Father of all, and we are all his children” (Guru Granth Sahib). While most other religions claim special privileges in front of God, Sikhism teaches that all people, all religions, and all cultures are equal before God. From these studies, I made the realization that Sikhism has one of the most powerful ideologies in the world and that it is highly irrational to consider Sikh people as terrorists. My admiration for this religion increased as I learnt more about the various practices of that religion. For example, there is the concept of ‘langar’ or community meal. For all the Sikh Gurus, especially Guru Angad Dv and Guru Nanak, the service of distribution was very important. So, it was usual to offer ‘langar’ to the people who gathered to listen to their divine discourse. This ‘langar’ concept was further concreted into the religion by Guru Amardas through the concept of ‘Pangat’. It means that the whole humanity is one big family where differences of caste, creed or color. Guru suggested all people to sit together in rows forgetting their rank, class or position and eat together. Thus, every Gurudwara has a langar institution associated with it and the works there are done by volunteers. All the people, irrespective of their religion or culture, are welcomed to dine in the free kitchen. All the expenses for this free service are met through voluntary contributions. One can see that the concept of community meal was a great leap in the Indian society where people were divided into various sections based on caste and creed. As I came to know about this great practice, all my misconceptions about this religion disappeared and I developed a respect for this religion. Instead of promoting sectarianism, this great religion professes unity, equality, and sharing. So, it is baseless to claim that Sikh people can become terrorists. Admittedly, most people posses distorted views about other peoples and other religions and their attitude towards them is prejudiced. This happens because of the lack of cultural awareness. A religion or a culture takes birth based on the existing social situations, geographical conditions and various other factors. So, in order to understand the reasons behind a particular practice or belief, it becomes necessary to learn the history of that religion and the circumstances from which the religion took birth. This will help avoid misconceptions about other people, their religions, and their practices. References Origins of Sikhism. BBC Religions. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/history/history_1.shtml Singh, K. (2005). A History of the Sikhs: 1839-2004. Oxford University Press. Singh, I.J. (n.d.). Tolerance in religion: How Sikhism views other religions. Retrieved from http://www.sikhreview.org/pdf/december2003/pdf-files/pers1.pdf Shri Guru Granth Sahib. Retrieved from http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?S=y Sikhism. Sikhs.org. retrieved from http://www.sikhs.org/ Read More