Sikhism
Synchronization of Hinduism and Islam
Basic Information
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Founded by Guru Nanak 15c
 Gu, darkness; ru, enlightenment; sikh, learner
 Guru: successors of Nanak (10),
 sacred text,
 God
23,000,000 Sikhs, Punjab, West India, 2,000,000 outside of
India, (Recognizable by distinct turban)
Attempts to reconcile Hinduism and Islam
Kaur and Singh
Monotheistic
Salvation achieved by union with God and liberation from
rebirth
Mythic
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Guru Nanak
◦ Hindu of the warrior caste
◦ Decided after mediation and a mystical experience to
follow God’s path
◦ Built a township called Kartarpur, abode of the Creator,
first Sikh community (Panth)
◦ Body disappeared at death
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10 Successor Gurus
Founding of Khalsa
◦ An order in Sikhism founded by Guru Gobind Singh
 Installed the Adi Granth as the next Guru
◦ Based on the principle of loyalty
Experiential
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Union with God
◦ God’s grace enables us to perceive God and
to respond in meditation on God’s nature
◦ Meditation on the divine name of God and
repetition of his name is the path to spiritual
perfection
◦ Blissful and forever, beyond the cycle of death
and rebirth
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Liberation from samsara
◦ Result of union with God
Doctrinal
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Mool Mantra
◦ Beginning of the Adi Granth, a description of God
 Creator, preserver and destroyer
 Immanent, indwelling in creation
◦ Haumai
 Humans insisting that they can do things on their own;
lust, anger, greed, attachment, and pride increase the
distance to God
◦ Hukam
 The divine order of the universe; God’s immanence is
perceivable; God imposes His will on humans through
Hukam
Ethical
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Four Prohibitions
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Prohibition against cutting of hair
Eating improperly slaughtered meat
Engaging in extramarital sexual relations
Using tobacco
Ritual
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Ceremony of Initiation into Khalsa
◦ 14 years old
◦ Possess the 5 K’s (Uncut hair, a comb, iron wrist guard, sword or
knife, pair of shorts)
◦ Acceptance of the basic principles of Sikhism
◦ Sprinkling of nectar and recitation of the Mool Mantra
◦ Instruction on ethical requirements
◦ Share special cake
Meditation on the divine Name
 Worship practices in the gurdwara
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◦ Minarets, white paint
◦ Congregate to worship
◦ Evening, no particular day
 Bathing, singing, reading from scripture, eating cake
◦ Kitchen for community
Social
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Panth
◦ Name given to the entire Sikh community
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Khalsa
◦ An order within Sikhism that requires a
particular purity.
◦ Initiation into the order is ceremonial ritual
Material
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Five K’s
◦ Uncut hair, knife or sword, comb, iron wrist guard, pair of shorts
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Food
◦ Special cake; wheat, ghee, sugar, water- symbolizes unity within the
community
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Gurdwara
◦ Central structure of a Sikh community
◦ Holds the Adi Granth
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Adi Granth
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Compiled by the 5th Guru as the sacred scripture
Installed as the next Guru by Guru Gobind Singh
Holds a special seat in the Gurdwara
Written in Punjabi