Sikh Kingdom under Maharaja Ranjit Singh

During the eighteenth century, the Sikhs were subjected to various suppressions and persecutions by the rulers of the time. They had to make supreme sacrifices to protect and preserve their faith. The Mughal empire was on the verge of disintegration. The Afghans had started invading the country under Ahmed Shah Abdali. The Sikhs availed of this opportunity to establish their kingdom which they ultimately achieved under Ranjit Singh (1780-1839). The Sikh empire lasted for half a century and was annexed by the British in 1849.

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Sikhs have not forgotten the fact that they once ruled over Punjab. During the partition of India in 1947, they also laid claim to an area where they could be in a majority and preserve their language, religion and culture. Sikhs opted to join secular India when they were promised an area “ where they could feel glow of freedom”. In India, they kept demanding and struggling for a region where they could be in majority. Finally after prolonged struggles, protests and agitations and getting sops in form of Sachar Fomula, Regional Committees, they succeeded in 1966 in getting Punjabi Suba, a state in Federal India, where they are in majority- 60% of the population.

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Beliefs, Practices, Institutions.

Sikh concept of God

Sikhs believe that there is one supreme Lord who is omnipresent and all pervasive.

• He is the eternal reality ; He is permanent.

• He created the universe.

• He is without fear and enmity.

• He has no shape

• He has no gender

• He is not born, nor does He die to be born again.

God reaches out to humanity through the word, which is conveyed by the Gurus, and which is laid down in the form of shabads, or hymns in Guru Granth Sahib. This forms the backbone of Sikh worship.

 

Three fundamental rules of Sikh’s life are

Sikhs believe that there is one supreme Lord who is omnipresent and all pervasive.
1. Nam Japo – Remember the Lord
2. Kirt Karo – Earn your living through honest work
3. Vand Chhako –Share your earnings with the needy

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Cycle of Life

Sikhs believe that human beings spend their time in a cycle of birth, life, and rebirth. They share this belief with followers of other Indian religious traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The quality of each particular life depends on the law of Karma. Karma sets the quality of a life according to how well or badly a person behaved in their previous life–you reap what you sow. The only way out of this painful cycle is to achieve union with God by worshipping on divine name.

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The Gurdwara

The Sikh place of worship, called Gurdwara, is more than a place of worship. Visitors, irrespective of their religion are offered shelter, comfort and food free of charge. The only conditions being that they remove the shoes, cover the heads and do not carry cigarettes and liquor in their possession. Guru Granth Sahib is placed on a high palanquin under a canopy in the middle of one end of the hall. The worship consists of singing hymns as well as exposition of Sikh history, tradition and religion. Non-Sikhs are always welcome. Any knowledgeable person, man or woman, may perform any Sikh rites. In fact a Sikhs’ life revolves around the Gurdwara. Whenever they move to a new place, they try to establish a Gurdwara even if their number is small. All the ceremonies relating to birth, initiation, marriage, death and celebration of festivals center around the Gurdwara.

Sikhs have built Gurdwaras in memory of their Gurus and heroes especially at places of their births and deaths. Golden Temple in Amritsar is the Mecca of Sikhs. Other historic Gurdwaras are at Anandpur, Damdama, Delhi, Patna and Nander. Historic gurdwaras of Punjab are managed by an elected body of Sikhs, called Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). It has an annual budget of about Rs. 3300 million (in 2007).

About 130 important historical gurdwaras were left in Pakistan after partition of Punjab in 1947. They are managed by Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee. Sikhs visit these gurdwaras on historic days with the permission of Pakistan and Indian Governments.

 

Sikh Flag

Gurdwaras usually display and fly the “Nishan Sahib,” a yellow (saffron) triangular flag bearing the Sikh symbol of “Khanda”.

 

Langar – Free Food

From the time of Guru Nanak about five hundred years ago until today, Sikh places of worship (gurdwaras) all over the world usually run free community kitchens which provide meals to all devotees, pilgrims and visitors, Sikhs or non-Sikhs. These kitchens are manned and funded by volunteers. It is here all – the high and the low , the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant, the kings and the paupers – share same food sitting together in one row. In the Golden Temple, Amritsar, about 50,000 to 70,000 people eat free food every day in the Gurdwara Langar. https://www.uppercrustindia.com/8crust/eight/amritsar12.htm

 

Sikh Calendar

The dates of Sikh festivals have traditionally been defined by using a lunar calendar, with the result that the festivals were not on the same Western date each year. Now a new calendar has been introduced to fix this problem by lining up with the Western calendar so that Sikh festival dates are the same each year. It is called Nanak Shahi Calendar in the name of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh Religion.

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Gurpurabs – Anniversaries of Historic Days

Gurpurabs are festivals that are associated with the lives of the Gurus. They are Important historic occasions which are celebrated most enthusiastically by Sikhs.

The most important Gurpurbs are:

• The birthday of Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism (November)

• The birthday of Guru Gobind Singh, founder of the Khalsa (January)

• The martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev( June

• The martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur (November/December)

• Baisakhi, the birth of the Khalsa (April)

 

Akhand path

Sikhs hold akhand paths on Gurpurbs and other important occasions . This is a complete and continuous reading of Sikh scripture (Adi Granth) that takes 48 hours. The reading is done by a team of readers, each reading for about 2 hours. Gurdwaras are decorated for Gurpurbs, and Sikhs dress up in new or smart clothes and join together for special services.

On Important historic days, the Sikh scripture is paraded around the locality in a procession led by the Sikh flag, and accompanied by 5 Sikhs representing the first five members of the Khalsa (the Panj Piaras or Five Beloved Ones).

Place of Women

Sikhism promises women an equal place. It could do no less when it defines God as gender neutral, and is perhaps one of the few major world religions to do so. Female infanticide was strongly condemned by Guru Nanak and his successors. There is no activity in a gurdwara or within the community that is permitted to a man but not to a woman. There is no religious function from which women are barred at any time of their lives.

 

Sikh Greeting

Sat Sri Akal: “ True is the immortal One” .

When a Sikh meets another Sikh, he greets him with the words “ Sat Sri Akal”.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Sri Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh :

When one Sikh meets a group of Sikhs or starts addressing a congregation in a Gurdwara, he greets them with

"Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Sri Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh which means Khalsa belong to God and Khalsa’s victory is in His name”.

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Every major city in the United States and Canada has a Sikh gurdwara and they are open to all.