Sikhism
Sikhism is a religion tier based in northern India in the fifteenth century by Guru Nanak.
The word "Sikh" is derived from the Sanskrit (ISIS) means or or (siks), meaning or History Teaching Sikh born in the context of encounters between Islam and Sufi mystic , and part of Hindu spirituality , which can trace in the character rendering of devotional literature and many of its doctrines, close the Hindu concept of bhakti. Sikhism is more than a simple mixture of two older religions, but as a spiritual teaching really new. Guru Nanak ( 1,469 - 1539 ), founder of Sikhism, was born in the village of Talwandi, now called Nankana Sahib, near Lahore , in what is now Pakistan. His parents are Hindu and belong to a merchant caste : Khatri of the Punjab. Since his childhood, Nanak was fascinated by spirituality and shows unusual arrangements for learning. It is probably during this period that he discovered the teachings of Kabir , a saint revered by both Hindus and Muslims. After a spiritual experience of "merger" with the essence of all things, Guru Nanak made the Jap Ji, mystical poem that sums up a teaching he decided to share. He travels all over India and in many surrounding countries - Nepal, Tibet, Sri Lanka, before starting a long journey to the heart of the Muslim world. Indeed, the first disciple and childhood friend of Guru Nanak, Mardana, bard attached to the Guru's family is Muslim. Nanak decided to follow Mardana making his pilgrimage to Mecca. This journey lead them in the peninsula of Arabia , Persia and Afghanistan. After several years of travel, Guru Nanak met a community and founded a village Kartarpur - City of the Creator. He teaches hard and many people come to his teaching. The religion , he thinks, is a link to unite men, but in practice he finds it mounts the men against each other and is the cause of many forms of discrimination: men and women, castes, between religions, between ethnicities, etc.. He particularly regretted the antagonism between Hindus and Muslims, when he sees the common wealth of the two religions. An award of Nanak is well known: "There is neither Hindu nor Muslim. "To those who ask who they are then they are neither Hindus nor Muslims, he replied:" You are the disciples. " Thus the word Sikh (disciple), is spreading. Guru Nanak was opposed to the caste system. His followers refer to him as a guru (teacher, master). Before his death, he says a new Guru to be his successor and to lead the community. The tenth and last guru, Guru Gobind Singh ( one thousand six hundred and sixty-six - 1708 ) introduced the Sikh baptism ceremony in 1699 thereby giving a distinctive identity to the Sikhs. The five newly baptized Sikhs are called Panj Pyare, the Five Beloved Ones, who in turn baptized Guru at his request. Before his death, Guru completes the Adi Granth works of his predecessor, the renowned Siri Guru Granth Sahib , and it now controls the final spiritual authority and temporal authority passes to the Khalsa Panth - the Commonwealth of Sikhs. The Sikh holy book is compiled and edited by the fifth guru, Guru Arjun in 1604. These are the first scriptures in the world to have been compiled by the founders of a faith during their life (the holy writings of the Baha'i religion in the nineteenth century is also all written by the founder himself or in his presence). They are mostly written in Punjabi but also Hindi, Persian, etc.. Guru Arjan built the world-famous Gurdwara - Sahir Darbar at Amritsar , which is the center of Sikhism. During the eighteenth century , the Sikhs were subjected to repression and persecution by various authorities, driven by fanaticism generally. They had to make extreme sacrifices to protect and preserve their faith and identity. Empire Mughal was disintegrating, Afghans, led by Ahmed Shah Abdali, had begun to invade the country. Sikhs took advantage of these circumstances to establish their own kingdom which they finished off to form under Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839). The Sikh Empire lasted half a century and was annexed by the English in 1849. During the War of Independence of India, many Sikhs were hanged, were faced with all sorts of brutality, fighting against the occupation, suffering long periods of imprisonment in order to liberate the country. Although the Sikhs constitute only 1.8% of India's population, they nevertheless built a solid reputation in virtually all areas, such as the military, agriculture, sports, industry, education, medicine, engineering etc.. through perseverance and working in a spirit of missionary dedication. Their sense of adventure and enterprise has led in almost every country in the world. The Sikh religion is strictly monotheistic. Its followers believe in one Supreme God, the Absolute, Infinite, the Eternal, the Creator, the Cause of Causes, without enmity, without hate, both immanent and transcendent. It is called: Wahaguru, that is to say, the Supreme Guru. The basic postulate of Sikhism is that there is no original sin, but life has emanated from a Pure Source, the Lord of Truth dwells in her. Thus says Nanak: Not only the entire Sikh philosophy, but also the history and temperament of the Sikhs follow from this view. Sikhs do not recognize the caste system , and similarly, they do not believe in idol worship, in rituals or superstitions. Gods and goddesses are not considered human beings. This religion is a way of being, to render service to humanity and to engender tolerance and brotherhood vis--vis all. The Sikh Gurus did not require withdrawal from the world to reach the Hi. He can be reached by each person who earns an honest living and leads a normal life. Wealth and personal possessions are not obstacles to the attainment of spiritual ideals: Sikhism does not accept the pessimism. He advocated the optimism and hope: Nanak's doctrinal position is quite simple, despite its origin. The consistency of Sikhism is to the benefit of its central concept simple - the sovereignty of God only, the Creator. Nanak called "The True Name" (Sat Nam) to avoid using a term that is more restrictive. It teaches that "The True Name," which manifests itself in different ways in different localities and by various names, is eternally "A" sovereign and omnipotent God, both transcendent and immanent, creative and destructive. According to Nanak, discuss what components of his belief comes from Hinduism, which is Muslim, is talk like a fool who seeks what religion has the right to profess universal concepts such as kindness, charity, honesty, veneration of the name of God, respect for others. Guru Nanak also subscribes to the belief in the maya , the illusion of the physical world. Although he sees material objects as realities and as expressions of the creator's eternal truth, they tend to erect "a wall of errors" around those who live in a world of material desires. This prevents them from seeing the true God who created matter as a veil around him, so that only spiritual minds, freed of desire, can penetrate it. The world is immediately real in the sense that it is made manifest to the senses by the Maya, but it is ultimately unreal because only God is ultimately true. Retaining the Hindu doctrine of transmigration of souls , and its corollary, the law of karma , Nanak advises the faithful not to extend their cycle of reincarnation through a life apart from God by choosing to selfishness and carnal pleasures materialistic life. To do this we must accumulate karma. We must think only of God, endlessly repeating God's name (Nam Japa) and thus unite with God. The hello, he says, does not enter Heaven after the Last Judgement, but united with God and merge in Him. A Sikh can not have faith in any other prophet alive or not alive. In keeping with Sikhism, God never appears in human form. Heaven and hell exist only in this world. Sikhism is based on the theory of karma and reincarnation ; reincarnations are avoided by refraining from vices (alcohol, tobacco, gambling), overcoming his own selfishness (haumou), leading a life with integrity and honesty, because the supreme goal of existence is liberation (mukti) . In Sikhism, the concept of liberation is not in "another world" is to be a Sachiar, "directed by himself" . The pilgrimage to holy sites can not find its place in Sikhism. For a Sikh, Shabad (the Word) is the only holy place and holy water from rivers, meditation, and a life of truth are the only pilgrimage. Sikhism is not a fatalistic religion. A Sikh shall submit to the will of God but is always willing to fight for a better tomorrow. The Khalsa (word of Persian origin meaning "pure"), is the name originally given by Guru Gobind Singh , the order of chivalry of the Sikhs that he created in 1699. By extension, the word means each member of that order, every Sikh (man or woman) who has been baptized or initiated by receiving the Amrit. Initiated Sikhs (Sikhs amritdaris) must wear long hair and beard, and he also wear a curved dagger, a turban, a bracelet and a specific underpants. However, Sikhs uninitiated do not have all these attributes. Almost all Sikhs are vegetarians. Gurdwara Sikh temple is called (literally: the door of the Guru). To enter, you must remove their shoes and cover your head and is open to all. At the front of the temple stands the Guru Granth Sahib under a canopy. Sikhs bow before the holy book and deposit a donation of money, before sitting down. On leaving, we will ask you to go eat something Langar (free canteen originally created inter alia to fight against the separation of castes). It is a must for a Sikh to participate in community service. Sikh communities are found in many countries. In India , the Sikh community is estimated at some 20 million people, or about 2% of the Indian population. Sikhs are settled mainly in Punjab, but also in the Delhi region. Elsewhere, there are also large communities in Sikh Pakistan , United Kingdom and former British colonies - Canada , Australia , Singapore , Kenya , etc.. - And the United States and in Indonesia. Note also that there is a community of more and more of western Sikhs - or non-Indian origin - many practitioners Kundalini Yoga. This is explained by membership in the spiritual Sikh Yogi Bhajan , Master of Kundalini Yoga, and the many bridges between the spiritual teaching Sikhs and that of Kundalini Yoga as it was popularized by Yogi Bhajan. Note for example that most of the mantras of Kundalini Yoga are excerpts from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. After the attacks of September 11, 2001 , few Americans In Europe There are several Sikh community in France. There is a Gurdwara in Bobigny (Farm Street), one by Bondy and at Le Bourget. In a decision dated July 12, 1978, the European Court of Human Rights held that the requirement for Sikhs motorcyclists to wear helmets (abandoning their turban) is not contrary to Article 9 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights . In France, legislation to ban the wearing "conspicuous" religious symbols in public schools now regularly leads to the exclusion of the public school students and college students Sikhs refused to remove their turbans. In a decision dated December 15, 2006, the Council of State considered that the requirement for Sikhs, bareheaded to ask for the photograph of the driver's license was not contrary to Articles 9 and 14 of the Convention European human rights . Sikhs and marginal nomadic Nihan Singh eat meat while other Sikhs are vegetarians. During ritual ceremonies, goats are beheaded with a sword and their flesh is consumed by the assistants. It's a way to show they are different from other Sikhs. And for them, a reason to stay away. Many Sikhs have the name " Singh. " This word, meaning "lion" is rarely a surname per se, but rather a title or nickname ("middle name") worn by Sikh men, the name is added for women "Kaur". However, all the "Singh" are not Sikhs, this name is also widely worn by Hindus. Vijay Singh , Indian writer and filmmaker and the Fijian golfer of the same name are not Sikhs. see also http://en.orgSingh / http://en.orgKaur (pages) In the series of "Blake and Mortimer," Nasir, met with their faithful friend in "The Secret of the Swordfish" and successively elite soldier, butler and Secret Service agent, is a Sikh despite some clumsiness of the author knows little about it. Religion and Philosophy
The Khalsa
Place of Worship
The Sikhs in the world
In North America
Sikh marginal
Explanation of the name Singh
Some Sikhs celebrated in modern times
Some Sikhs in the media
Comics
Cinema
References
Internal Links
External Links
Religions Vedism Brahmanism Hinduism jvika Jainism Buddhism Tantrism Sikhism Ayyavazhi 
Related Articles Religions of India Holy Cities of India Deities of the Indian world See also: Islam in India Christianity in India History of Jews in India Parsiism Bahaism Atheism in India
Loading ...