Sikhism is a religion that started at about the same time as the Protestant movement did in Catholicism. It takes influences both from Islam and Hinduism, and it’s original lineage was preserved by a short lineage of Gurus before it was encoded in their religious text.
Please forgive my lack of mastery of the language, but it is roughly called the Gath, and is believed to hold the spirit of the Gurus who founded, and preserved, and shared the teaching. Though they respect their Gurus, they do not view them as deities or Gods, but unlike Hinduism they are basically a monotheist faith. Also unlike either faith of their original region, they do not believe in an anthropomorphic God. So to the Sikhs, God does not have the attribute of gender, and in their creed both sexes are entirely equal. They take an interesting stance on God. To them God is basically the font of reality, all reality, and although they are not agnostic they do believe that humanity cannot know everything about God.
Essentially, they do not have a heaven or hell, not in the western sense. Heaven is knowledge of God, if only partially, and hell is being in the grips of the values of the world. They have had a militant history, but they have no doctrine that would make them crusade. They have just needed to protect themselves in their past.
Are these people considered as Muslims? Actually no, and there is some tension between Sikhs and Muslims, and has been in the past.
Where are Sikhs exactly? They are largely focused in the Punjab state in India. Officially, Sikhism differs from Judaism in that they never had an ethnic connection. They do not proselytize. It’s forbidden by their faith, but neither is their faith exclusive to an ethnicity or nationality. They do not and will not convert anyone in any way, and they have a firm doctrine of religious tolerance. They do preach it, but to their own members.
You have to be born in the faith to be part of it? Not at all, and although they have existed alongside Islam and Hinduism, they do point out that they are neither, and part of their historical conflict with Islam was that they offered protection to Hindus who would refuse to convert.
You mean if you want to be part you can, but they won’t influence the choice? Yes, and they have no formal ceremony for welcoming you. You attend, and learn, and observe their practices, and you are Sikh. Interesting perhaps, Sikh is a compound word both for learning/study and for the student themselves. They do observe morality, but they do not believe it’s the special insight or privilege of their faith alone. They share some concepts with Hinduism, but are strict iconoclasts. They do not believe there is any inherent virtue in asceticism, or pilgrimages, or anything.
Do they meditate? Yes, they do meditate. Their practices focus on that. They also engage in prayer and chanting, but basically for the same purposes of meditation, and you are not considered any more pious if you are praying out loud or during meditation.
I have yet to see a Sikh person act out in unreasonable anger. If they did act out like that, it would be against their faith, but it isn’t an irreparable sin. They have no belief in irreparable sin. They do believe in karma though, and reincarnation.
Your thoughts are welcome. Be well friends.
Travis Saunders
Dragon Intuitive
~science,mysticism,spirituality~