RS 390: SIKHISM – AN OVERVIEW
Doris R. Jakobsh
THE TEN GURUS OF SIKHISM
SIKHISM: HISTORICAL
SOURCES

Sikhism is the newest of the major world
religions

(Guru Nanak: 1469-1539)

Today, 16 – 20 million adherents
3
SOURCES?
1) Adi Granth (Sri
Guru Granth Sahib)


Devotional hymns
and poetry
Not historical
events
4
SOURCES?




Janamsakhi literature
Narratives focusing on Guru Nanak’s
life
Earliest sources written 100 years after
Guru Nanak’s death
Thus questionable historically
5
JANAMSAKHIS:


Say more about the needs of the
community after the Guru’s death than
about factual evidence
Also inconsistencies between the
various versions
6
LATER GURUS: SOURCES

These histories are not included in the
janamsakhis

BUT written in same style

Same genre
7
JANAMSAKHIS:
STATEMENTS OF FAITH, AS
OPPOSED TO BEING
HISTORICALLY FACTUAL
8
GURU NANAK
BACKGROUND TO SIKH
TRADITION: MILIEU



Nanak very much in line with Bhakti
tradition
Version of Bhakti known as the ‘Sant
tradition’
Sant = ‘one who knows the truth’
10
SANT TRADITION:

God = nirguna – without form

Vedas are not authoritative

Brahmin priesthood rejected

Opposed to ALL outer forms of religion
(pilgrimage, images, scripture)

Religion is strictly an interior affair

Salvation open to all, regardless of caste or
gender
11
THE EARLY FOLLOWERS OF THE
GURUS WERE NOT INITIALLY
CONSIDERED A DISTINCT
COMMUNITY
THEY WERE SIMPLY ONE OF THE
BHAKTI MOVEMENTS THAT WERE
SWEEPING ACROSS INDIA
12
NANAK THE BRIDGE BUILDER:

STORY OF THE
FLOWERS AT GURU
NANAK’S DEATH…
GURU NANAK AND HINDUS:

“Hindus praise the
praiseworthy one
whose vision and
beauty are
incomparable, but they
bathe at pilgrimage
places, make flower
offerings, and place
the perfume of
sandalwood before
idols” (AG 465).
14
GURU NANAK AND MUSLIMS:

“Let compassion be
your mosque, faith
your prayer carpet,
and righteousness
your Qur’an. Let
modesty be your
circumcision, and
uprightness your
fasting. Thus you
will become a true
Muslim” (AG 140).
GURU NANAK
BELIEVED THAT GOD
COULD BE FOUND IN
ALL TRADITIONS
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RITUALS, SCRIPTURE IN AND OF
THEMSELVES ARE NOT ENOUGH
THESE BECOME ENDS AS
OPPOSED TO MEANS WHEREBY
TRUTH CAN BE FOUND
COMMUNITY OF NANAK:

Householder is the ideal (not ascetic)

Nam simaran – meditation on Divine name
and nature of God

Satsang – community

Devotion to the Guru – receive darshan
18
GURU NANAK’S SUCCESSOR



Rejection of family lineage
Eldest son was an ascetic
Youngest son not interested
19
GURU ANGAD
GURU ANGAD:



Lehna – devotee of Durga
Contrast Angad’s devotion to Guru
Nanak with his sons’
Many stories of this devotion
21
GURU AMAR DAS
GURU AMAR DAS:

Construction of baoli (well)

Pilgrimage centre

Beginning of institutionalization of the
community (Panth)
23
GURU RAM DAS
GURU RAM DAS:



Son-in-law of Guru Amar Das
Succession moves a little closer to
family succession that Guru Nanak had
rejected
Eventually, guruship stays within the
family line of Gurus
25
CONTROVERSIES WITH REGARD TO SUCCESSION
– EACH SON TOOK ACTION AGAINST THEIR
FATHERS’ DECISIONS FOR LEADERSHIP
LEGALLY, THEY WERE THE HEIRS
ALSO CLAIMED THEY WERE THE TRUE GURUS
SCHISM AFTER SCHISM
GURU ARJAN
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GURU ARJAN:






Turning point in Sikh community
Son of last Guru (though not the
oldest)
Compiled Sikh hymns into scripture
Built Harimandir/Amritsar
Known as ‘king’ to his followers
Active in trade and business
28
HARIMANDIR SAHIB =
GOLDEN TEMPLE, AMRITSAR
OTHER CHANGES?



Caste constituency is changing
Moving from Khatri to Jat caste
grouping
Had a huge influence on direction
taken by later Gurus
30
GURU HARGOBIND
GURU HARGOBIND:

Miri-piri doctrine = temporal and
spiritual power

Had an army

Mughal threat OR Jat caste influx?
32
GURU GOBIND SINGH
GURU GOBIND SINGH
GURU GOBIND SINGH



Father put to death by Mughals
Known for his love of horses, hunting,
hawking
MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN SIKH
TRADITION ATTRIBUTED TO GURU GOBIND
SINGH
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BAISAKHI DAY, 1699

Called for a follower to give
his life to his Guru

Eventually 5 came forward

Panj Piare (beloved 5)
36
BAISAKHI, 1699:
KHALSA BROTHERHOOD
TODAY, WHEN ANY DECISION IS MADE,
OR, SOMEONE IS INITIATED, 5
‘BELOVEDS’ GATHER
5 Ks: SYMBOLS OF THE
KHALSA





Kachh – undergarment (breeches)
Kes – uncut hair
Kirpan – dagger
Kanga – comb
Kara – iron bangle
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5 Ks
PANJ PIARE: INITIATION
42
SIKH WOMAN: INITIATION
MEDITATION WAS STILL ON THE
DIVINE NAME
BUT THERE WAS NOW A NEW
ASPECT TO ‘BEING SIKH’
44
GURU GRANTH SAHIB
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GURU GRANTH SAHIB
GURU GRANTH ELEVATED
GURU GRANTH AND IMPLEMENTS
THE GURU GRANTH PUT TO BED
SIKHISM AND WORSHIP:


Sikhs insist that the
Guru Granth is not
worshipped
It is simply
honoured
GOD IN SIKHISM:
Mul Mantra:








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
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“Omkar
True name
One who creates
Beyond all opposition
A form beyond time
Unborn, self-born
The guru’s grace…
The ancient truth, ageless truth
Is also, now, truth
And Nanak says,
It will always be truth.”
51
GOD:

“There is One Supreme Being, the
Eternal Reality. He is the Creator,
without fear and devoid of enmity. He
is immortal, never incarnated, selfexistent, known by grace through the
Gurus. The Eternal One, from the
beginning, through all time, present
now, the Everlasting Reality.”
52
EK OAMKAR:
53
GOD HAS NO PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES,
ALTHOUGH THE IMAGERY OF GOD AS
LOVER IS OFTEN USED
EVEN NAMES OF GOD SUCH AS RAM,
ALLAH, AKAL PURAKH, SAT GURU
BUT GOD IS ALWAYS UNDERSTOOD AS
ONE
54
GOD AS CREATOR:
“For millions of years there was nothing
but darkness over the void. There
was neither earth nor sky, only the
Infinite Will. There was neither night
nor day, sun nor moon…The sources
of creation did not exist, there was no
speech, no air, no water, no birth, no
death, no coming or going…There was
no other only the One.”
55
HUMANITY IN SIKHISM:
“People are born and then die. Where did they come
from? Say where did they emerge and whither do
they go?
Those who have the Name in their hearts and on their
tongues become beyond desire, as God is.
They come and go in the natural way [according to
the law of karma], born because of the desires of
their mind. The God-minded are emancipated and
are not bound again for they dwell on the word and
attain deliverance through the Name” (AG 152).
56
IGNORANCE IS THE ROOT OF HUMANITY’S
PROBLEMS
NOT KNOWING THEIR TRUE NATURE
NOT KNOWING THEIR TRUE DESTINY
THUS, PEOPLE GO ‘ROUND AND ‘ROUND IN
THE KARMIC CIRCLE OF REBIRTH
57
IGNORANCE IS BASED ON HAUMAI = EGO
HAUMAI BLINDS US TO OUR DEPENDENCE ON
GOD
IT BINDS US TO THE NEED FOR LIBERATION
58
A PERSON CAUGHT UP IN EGO, IN HAUMAI
IS CALLED MANMUKH (ONE WHO IS IN
BONDAGE TO THE EGO PERSONALITY
A PERSON WHOSE FOCUS IS GOD, GOD’S
WILL IS CALLED A GURMUKH
59
SIKH STAGES OF LIBERATION:
PIETY, KNOWLEDGE, EFFORT, GRACE, TRUTH
60
FIRST THREE STAGES ARE AS FAR AS A HUMAN CAN
GO BY HUMAN EFFORT
– PIETY, KNOWLEDGE, EFFORT
4TH STAGE: GRACE – GOD’S GRACE
- HUMAN EFFORT HAS REACHED ITS LIMIT
- NOW GOD’S GRACE MUST TAKE THEM FURTHER
“IF ONE GOES ONE STEP TOWARDS GOD, THE LORD
COMES TOWARD ONE A THOUSAND TIMES.”
5TH STAGE: LIBERATION
= MUKTI



The level of truth
Can only be attained if one has gone
through the first four stages
This is one who is ‘God-minded’ =
gurmukh
62
JIWAN MUKTI
LIBERATION CAN BE ATTAINED WHILE IN LIFE
THIS STATE IS THAT OF THE JIWAN MUKT
HERE, JOY AND SORROW ARE THE SAME
HAPPINESS IS ETERNAL
ONE IS IN A STATE OF BLISS
NO KARMA IS ACQUIRED
ONE MERGES WITH THE WILL OF THE DIVINE
63
“MY FRIENDS MET ME AND THEY ASKED
ME TO DESCRIBE MY HUSBAND. I WAS SO
FILLED WITH THE BLISS OF HIS LOVE
THAT I COULDN’T ANSWER THEM” (AG
459).
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“THE ONE WHO HAS THE LOVE OF GOD’S COMMANDS IN
THE HEART IS SAID TO BE JIVAN MUKT. RELEASE IS A
PRESENT REALITY; JOY AND SORROW ARE BOTH THE
SAME, HAPPINESS IS ETERNAL, THERE IS NO
SEPARATION FROM GOD.
AS IS GOLD SO IS DUST; AS IS NECTAR SO IS BITTER
POISON. HONOUR AND DISHONOUR ARE THE SAME.
THE PAUPER AND THE KING ARE ALIKE. WHOEVER
REGARDS SUCCESS IN THIS WORLD AS ANY ENTERPRISE
ORDAINTED BY GOD, IS SAID TO BE LIBERATED WHILST
IN THE BODY” (AG 275).
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RESULT?

SERVICE TO OTHERS:
“Those who meditate on God do good to
others” (Guru Arjan).

Nam Simaran (the practice of meditating on

‘the Name’)

Transforming of personality through practice
66
GOD CONSCIOUSNESS IS
BECOMING WHO ONE REALLY IS
67
THE GURU IN SIKHISM

BOTH:
Sat Guru (Eternal Guru = God)
Earthly Guru – the historical gurus who
were instruments through which the
voice of God is heard
68
THROUGH THE GURUS’ WORDS, PEOPLE CAN REACH LIBERATION
“THE ATTENDANT WHO PERFORMS THE GURU’S SERVICE,
REMAINS ATTACHED TO THE GURU’S HYMNS AND WHO
ACCEPTS BOTH GOOD AND BAD WITH EQUANIMITY, WILL
IN THIS WAY, BECOME ABSORBED IN GOD” (AG 432)
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NISHAN SAHIB: SAFRON FLAG SIGNIFYING GURDWARA WITH KHALSA INSIGNIA
KIRTAN: THE SINGING OF HYMNS
RAGIS: PROFESSIONAL SINGERS
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SIKHS: ANANDPUR: 1999 – 300TH ANNIVERSARY OF KHALSA
SIKH LANGAR: KITCHENER
SIKH WORSHIP SERVICE: PRASAD DISTRIBUTED