Asun Prem Umahra

Asun Prem Umahra

Sikh Turban

A matter of honour & Pride
by Roopinder Singh

The French government’s move to ban the turban has triggered protests from Sikhs across the world. This is not the first time the turban has run into trouble. It has seen some trying times on foreign shores during its long and chequered history. It has stirred opposition, curiosity, ridicule and was even spurned in cultures unfamiliar with what it stood for. The turban has existed in India since time immemorial as a symbol of pride and honour. After 9/11, turbaned persons have been targeted by bigots in the US and Europe. Much like the enterprising Sikh, who ventures unafraid to distant lands, the turban too has endured. The turban tells its tale of travails and triumph in the words of Roopinder Singh.
Sikh students of a school in France
Come to think of it, I am just yards of fine muslin cloth in a myriad of colours and, sometimes, designs. Yet when I adorn the head of those who wear me, I am the epitome of grace, culture and honour. Wars have been fought over me, people have become brothers when they exchange me with another of my kin — Maharaja Ranjit Singh gained the Kohinoor diamond in this fashion. I am a turban.
Now they want to ban me in schools in France. But how can they do it? So many men who wore me died fighting for France. I have been a crown on the heads of historical figures, and of those who are not even footnotes of history. I have made my presence felt in the continents of Asia and Africa for centuries. And if you look back at civilisations, you’ll find my mention in the Old Testament and in Egyptian, Turkish and Indian texts and art; in fact, almost everywhere where civilisation made an impact. Why, even relief medallions at Sanchi and Bharhut stupas, dating back to 2nd Century BC or earlier, feature me.
The Egyptians called me pjr, I am referred to as the turban in Biblical texts, in Persian I am called dastar and in Arabic one of the words for me is imamah. In Hindi I am called pagree and in Punjabi am referred to as both pagari or dastar. Other terms for me include murassa, khirki-dar, Faruq Shahi, atpati, kuladar, pechdar and Safawi, named after the dynasty of the same name in Iran.
I am a symbol of honour, which is why if someone talks of soiling a turban, it implies being dishonoured. In fact, a great honour being conferred upon someone by royalty is dastar a fazilat. Today, I will confine this narration to India and, in particular, to the Sikhs. In passing, let me mention that I was an item of formal wear in the southern states, where Iyers used silk cloth. In Maharashtra, there was the pheta and, of course, Rajasthan is well known for my colourful cousins called pagari, pencha, sela, or safa. Museums in Udaipur and Jodhpur have hundreds of styles on display.
What is my ideal length? Actually, it varies, based on the area, style and the person. Historians will bear me out when I tell you that Prince Salim, the 16th-century Sultan of Turkey, wore 11 yards of malmal, and other Muslim nobles followed suit. Nowadays, it varies from 5 to 8 yards. The Nihang Sikhs wear turbans, which are many times this size!
In Mughal India, when a reign changed, the new Emperor evolved a style uniquely his own, which was, of course, widely followed. Just look at how Emperors Babur, Hamayun, Akbar, Jahangir and Shahjahan, and their successors changed the style.
For the Sikhs, I am what Guru Gobind Singh ordered his Khalsa to wear at all times. However, because of my distinctiveness, the Sikhs have gone through various trials and tribulations in the last three centuries. They were easily identified and persecuted during the reign of the Mughals and from time to time thereafter, but have remained steadfast in their devotion to me and all that I stand for. The slogan: "Pagari sambhal oye Jatta," by Shaheed Bhagat Singh's uncle became a clarion call for independence from British colonialism.
They have refused to take me off, even if asked to do so as a safety measure. Memorably, in World War II, Sikh soldiers who were fighting for the British refused to wear steel helmets, despite knowing that the causalities among them would be higher if they did so. When told by their officers that the cost of pensions etc. accruing from their death was too much for the British Empire to bear, they unanimously agreed to forego any pension if they got a head injury. They still refused to dispense with me. Nowadays, the dispute is about crash helmets for motorcyclists, and the governments of Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and the UK have amended their laws to make special allowance for me.
Someone has documented that during World Wars I and II, 83,055 turbaned Sikh soldiers died and 1,09,045 were wounded when fighting under the command of the Allied forces
Many Sikhs, settled in the UK following World War II, faced discrimination because of me. In 1969, however, the Sikh bus company employees in Wolverhampton, led by Sohan Singh Jolly, won the right to wear turbans while on duty. This marked the successful culmination of a long-running campaign.
Other skirmishes followed, notably in Manchester, and it was only in 1982 that the House of Lords, Britain's highest court, ruled that Sikhs are a distinct ethnic group entitled to protection under the Race Relations Act. Nowadays, in the UK, turban-wearing Sikhs can be seen in all walks of life, including the police and the army.
In the US, I was called all kinds of names when Sikh immigrants first touched the shores of California at the end of the 19th century. They were derisively called "rag heads" because of me. Turbaned Bhagat Singh Thind served in the US army during World War I, but was denied American citizenship because he was "non-European White." Now many Sikhs wear me proudly, many hold top jobs, but the armed forces still discriminate against me. I have faced problems because of ignorance and bigotry after 9/11, but it has always been a continuing struggle to educate people about what I stand for.
In Canada, I faced problems during the early 1900s and, in fact, the Sikhs were disfranchised by British Columbia in 1907, and the Komagatu Maru tragedy, where 376 passengers of the ship were not allowed to disembark at Vancouver, followed in 1914. However, Canada gave voting rights to these people in 1947 and things changed.
In 1990, Baltej Singh Dhillon proudly wore me and joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Some bigoted Canadians protested, but finally the ruling was in my favour a few years later.
In Africa, turbaned Sikhs did not face much problem, except for dealing with curiosity, which always happens. The same was much the case in New Zealand and Australia, except for one time when some members of the Australian Returned Services League tried to have Sikhs debarred from one of their clubs because they refused to remove their turbans on the premises of the club. I understand that the RSL objectors had to back down.
Anyway, so much for my being discriminated against. Most of the time I strike a distinctive note, which attracts attention. And many people are curious about how I am tied. Well, there are various ways, and indeed many distinct styles have evolved, expressing the individuality of various persons as well as the togetherness of various groups.
The way I have been tied often reflected the society of the time and of course there was always the sartorial element. A matching turban, a contrasting one, a bandhni turban with a splash of colours, a lehariya turban in which pattern makes waves, the African turban with its flat folds. There have been so many turbans, so many ways in which the Sikhs have tied them....
The patterns that the Sikhs wear come primarily from the Rajputs of Rajasthan, where there are thousands of my cousins. Since societal life is stratified in that area, colours and patterns represent specific castes or sub-groups. The way they are tied is also strictly laid down.
For the Sikhs, however, there are no hard and fast rules, though various social groups and geographical areas such as Malwa, Majha, Peshawar, Pothohar and Afghanistan have distinct styles. The Jats tie me differently from the non-Jats. The former, for example, do not wear patterns, just plain ones.
As for the colour, the elderly wear white, which is also a political colour of the Congress Party. The Akalis support royal blue, electric blue and saffron. Most Sikhs have at least half a dozen colours, which they wear to suit the occasion or the attire. Princely states, however, had distinctive colours of their own.

Colours of the turban

Indian armed forces
Black -- Cavalry and Armoured Corps
Green -- Infantry
Maroon -- Special Forces and Para- commandos

Princely states
The following were the colours favoured for formal turbans by the royalty of the princely states of Punjab:
Patiala Pink (court) and lemon.
Faridkot Hara Ferozi (turquoise).
Nabha Maroon
Jind Orange

Black, however, became a colour of specific protest during the British Raj after the tragic killings of the Sikhs at Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak, now in Pakistan, where the local mahants, in connivance with the British authorities, had killed a large number of pilgrims.
In fact, Baba Kharak Singh, a prominent leader of the time, wore me in black. He was jailed by the British from 1922 to 1927. Hundreds of other Sikhs also wore black at that time and many were jailed, but remained steadfast in their demand till the British relented. In the troubled decade of the 1980s, saffron became a colour of discontent.
Though I am overwhelmingly worn by men, women too sport turbans, especially those belonging to the Akhand Kirtani Jatha of Bhai Randhir Singh and also American women converts to Sikhism. They follow the injunction made by Guru Gobind Singh who asked Mai Bhago to wear the kachera and tie a turban. Though small in number, these ladies do cut a dashing figure.
When you talk of me, you have to keep in mind the royal house of Patiala, which evolved the distinctive Patiala Shahi turban in which a thumb is used to create a depression near the forehead. The Patiala turban was standardised during the reign of Maharaja Bhupendra Singh.
Urdu poet Faiz wrote a beautiful couplet about me. Sari-khusrau se naazi-kaj kutahi chin bhi jata hai/ Kutha-i-Khusaravi se bue sultani nahai jati. While the turban may be taken from the head of a Sultan, the aroma of royalty will not leave the turban.
I am rooted in history that is inseparable from the spiritual journey of the believer. This reason alone is sufficient for me not to be taken lightly or easily dismissed, even though I have, like the symbols that stem out of other religions, become for many followers more an expression of religiosity and cultural values than of spirituality.
I have to be respected for what I stand for, and those who tie me have to reflect on that too, since it is their conduct that will give me the power to stand for honour. "You judge a man by his turban, gait and his speech," maintains an ancient Persian saying. How true.

Courtsey: The Tribune

Wonders of Sikh Spirituality Come Alive

Art Review 'I See No Stranger' Wonders of Sikh Spirituality Come Alive By HOLLAND COTTER Published: September 18, 2006 in New York Times.

Photo: Government Museum and Art Gallery, ChandigarhA king pays homage to Guru Nanek in an exhibition of early Sikh art at the Rubin Museum.

Sikhism, the world’s fifth-largest organized religion, has more than 20 million followers. Many thousands live in New York City. We can spot Sikh men on the street by their turbans and upswept whiskers. And many of us will recall that two decades ago Sikhs were at the center of the news when the Indian Army stormed the Golden Temple at Amritsar, killing hundreds of Sikh separatists, and, soon after, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards.
But what about Sikhism itself? Few Westerners have even basic information.

How many people are aware that it was conceived as a universalist, open-door religion?
Or that its view of society was radically egalitarian? Or that its holy book, the Adi Granth, far from being a catalog of sectarian dos and don’ts, is a bouquet of poetic songs, blending the fragrances of Hindu ragas, Muslim hymns and Punjabi folk tunes into a music of spiritual astonishment?

This is precisely the information delivered by the small and absolutely beautiful show titled “I See No Stranger: Early Sikh Art and Devotion” at the Rubin Museum of Art in Chelsea. Vivid but concentrated, it presents, mostly through paintings, a culture’s version of its own origins, the image of history shaped far more by hard work, pluralistic politics and mysticism than by militancy.

Sikhism was founded at the end of the 15th century in northern India, when a young, high-caste Punjabi Hindu named Nanak had a revelation. It led him to believe that God was a formless spiritual force shared by all religions, and that social ranks based on faith, class, caste, gender or race were illusory. Unity was reality. The Other was just another. “I see no stranger, I see no enemy, I look upon all with good will,” is how Sikh scripture phrases it.

Eager to share his vision, Nanak took to the road, accompanied by a Muslim musician named Mardana, who played the stringed instrument called a rabab. Together they traveled, according to official accounts of Nanak’s life, from Sri Lanka to Afghanistan, and west to Baghdad and Mecca, composing and singing devotional songs as they went.

Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh. A workshop drawing served as a model for the painting above.

They lived at a high devotional moment. The mystical brand of Islam called Sufism was in full flower, as was the corresponding Hindu movement call Bhakti. Saints of all sorts and sects wandered northern India, bumping into and bouncing off one another, turning a subcontinent into a kind of giant love-in. Orthodox thinking was turned inside out. Hierarchies were up-ended. Students taught and teachers learned. The name Sikh — pronounced sick with an enunciated H at the end — comes from a Sanskrit word for disciple.

The exhibition, organized by the art historian B. N. Goswamy of Panjab University, and Caron Smith, chief curator of the Rubin Museum, conveys something of the flavor of all this through dozens of miniature paintings in Hindu and Mughal court styles illustrating the life of Nanak, or Guru Nanak as he came to be called. In them he emerges as a figure of commonsensical wit, unassuming piety, superhuman power and increasing physical bulk.

He’s a trim, soft-faced schoolboy in one 18th-century painting, standing in class and holding out a writing board — it looks like a boxy camera — to a teacher. Already by this time Nanak has been lecturing his parents on the Bhagavad-Gita and writing metaphysical verse. Some of these poems, we are meant to assume, are on the writing board. And we know his confounded teacher will give him an A for Amazing.

Another picture shows the adult Nanak asleep on the floor of a mosque in Mecca, with his feet pointed, in a scandalous breach of religious etiquette, toward the Kaaba, God’s house, the holy of holies. When an outraged mullah tries to drag him around into reverse position, the Kaaba turns too. The lesson: no direction is unhallowed, because God is everywhere.
In a third painting, Nanak, now in stout middle age and wearing a sort of zany aviator’s cap, sits with his book of hymns under a tree. Mardana, tuning up nearby, stares blankly off into space. From the left a princely figure, stiff-backed and poker-faced, approaches on horseback to pay homage. Clearly the meeting is a significant one, but nobody seems very into it, or even aware that anyone else is there.

The painting is paired in the show with the workshop drawing, produced by a master artist, that served as its model. The contrast is striking. In the drawing the prince, far from being restrained, practically levitates from his saddle with ardor and leans toward Nanak as if drawn to a magnet. Mardana plays and sings with fervor of a contemporary bhangra star. It is in the drawing, rather than in the painting, that the Nanak Effect, so evident in poems and songs, comes through.

Guru Nanak had nine successors, and each built on what he had begun. The fourth guru, Ram Das, established Amritsar as the pre-eminent Sikh pilgrimage site. The next, Guru Arjan Dev, completed the Golden Temple there, built on a platform in the center of an excavated lake. He also assembled Nanak’s poems, along with others by Hindu and Muslim saints, to create the holy book.

Up to this point, at the very beginning of the 17th century, Sikh history had been peaceful enough despite internal frictions. The site of Amritsar was a gift outright from the Mughal emperor, Akbar, a spiritual seeker and social philosopher who ruled much of India and was admiring of Sikhism’s multicultural character. But after Akbar’s death, rapport with the Mughals disintegrated.

In 1606 his son, Jahangir, an observant Muslim, imprisoned and killed Arjan Dev. When the next guru was also jailed, the Sikhs adopted a stance of defensive militarism and a new social ideal: the soldier-saint. The 10th guru, Govind Singh, formalized this collective identity in 1699 when he established a ritual of Sikh initiation and codified a set of communal symbols that included, for men, leaving their hair uncut, wearing a turban and assuming the surname Singh (“lion”), and for women, using the surname Kaur (“princess”).

Govind Singh also took the crucial step of designating the Adi Granth, the holy book, as the next, last, and eternal guru, under the honorific title of Guru Granth Sahib. The book became and remains an object of incalculable charisma, almost a sentient being, enthroned on cushions, swathed in rich fabrics, and handled with tender, punctilious deference. Reciting or singing from it is the defining act of the Sikh worship. So intense is its sanctity that, while a throne has been prepared for it in the show, the Guru Granth itself is physically absent.

Absence can of course have a presence of its own, as modern Sikh history does in this exhibition. An earlier show, “The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms,” organized in London in 1999, focused on Sikhism from the British colonial period onward, tracing the entwined political and religious developments that led to, among other things, the calamities of 1984 in India.
The Rubin Museum has late material too, including a splendid set of British-influenced 19th-century drawings of craftsmen at work, and a series of formal portraits of Sikh warrior-chiefs. Unlike Nanak these leaders carry weapons rather than hymnals, which points to reconceived ideals of spiritual and temporal power, though these ideals and how they came about are only suggested here.

All-apparent, however, are the poetry and music that pervade and orchestrate the Sikh view of the world. Traditional hymns play softly in the gallery. A rabab is on display. Certain paintings have the gentle, doleful lilt of evening ragas; others jump and twitch with a bhangra beat. And running through everything, like the harmonium’s beginningless-endless voice, are the words of the holy book:

Wonderful is sound
Wonderful is wisdom
Wonderful is life
Wonderful its distinctions
Wonderful is praise
Wonderful is eulogy
Wonderful the Presence
One sees in the present
O wonder-struck am I to see wonder upon wonder.

“I See No Stranger: Early Sikh Art and Devotion” remains at the Rubin Museum of Art, 150 West 17th Street, Chelsea, (212) 620-5000, through Jan. 29.

Story of a True Gursikh

The Story of Sukhmani Kaur

Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru
It's a story of Love, of His Love, which He's showing to all of us - to all Singhs and Singhnees, to all His children and even to those who never in their life even heard such word as 'S-I-K-H-I'. And I will tell you this story, because it's my story as well.
I was born in Moscow in quite normal Russian family, with Mother and Father and few relatives. The whole thing started for me at the autumn of 1996, I was 16 at that time and just started my Uni. One day I was in the bus on my way to university and I saw someone in the window. That was a tall guy, bearded and TURBANED! And that was first time in my life as I ever even saw a Singh. And I just started to think that it would be fun to talk to that guy and ask him stuff of his Turban etc etc. At the meantime bus moved and Singh passed out of my sight.

Few weeks passed, and it was the time when I was searching for anything what could bring me some calmness and happiness, because all the escapes which young people using normally are so destructive, and there's no way to life with that. And by advice of my friends I went to one group where they were practicing some kind of shamanic path. And will you believe what happened there? This Singh whom I saw at the street few weeks ago - he was there! He just walked in and I recognized him - and that was the very beginning.

Usually most westerner Sikhs coming into Sikhi through teachings of Harbajan Singh Yogi AKA Yogi Bhajan. In Moscow since 1990 there were people practicing Kundalini Yoga and following teachings of Yogi Je. And some of those Yoga students becoming Singhs, and that's just real Grace of Guru Je. So in Moscow in 1996 there were 2 Russian guys who were Singhs: Manjit Singh & Guru Das Singh. And what should be my luck and good fortune if in 14-million Moscow I met one of them - Manjit Singh.
I started to practice Kundalini Yoga as it taught by Yogi Bhajan. Few hours daily and also attending public classes. And do you know how it works? None is saying much about Sikhi there, but the whole philosophic system which this knowledge based on penetrated by Sikhi. And behind each and any meditation stands the very essence - Naam which awakening ones devotion and Love. So if you are in the aware process of spiritual search those techniques will bring you to Guru Je for sure. At Moscow KY classes there were from 70 to 100 people each week. And this is incredible feeling when all those people starting to chant: "Waheguru, Waheguru, Waheguru, Waheguru…" - there's no way for your mind and ego to reject this overflowing stream. Your heart and soul all vibrating from this feeling of unity of the whole creation. And that's the idea of how it all works. And I was so excited by that experience, so I just dived headlong into it.
After some time I came to know more about Singhs and Sikhi itself, and one day I heard about Gurdwara. So somehow I decided to go and see what's going on in there. Till nowadays there's no permanent Gurdwara in Moscow, like proper Darbar or Mandir. And Gurdwara committee just renting some big public hall somewhere and they are installing Gurdwara over there for Sundays. But all that I found out much later, because that very first time as I went to attend Gurdwara program I was so scared of look of Singhs whom I met on my way there, so I found no guts to enter Divan and just run away abashed. J It's really funny when I'm thinking of that day now, but still… Later on in august 1998 I went with group of Moscow Yoga students at European Yoga festival in France, Loches. At this festival there are about 8-8,5 hundred people all over Europe and world. There are loads of positive and negative sides of such kind of gatherings, but one thing is incontestable - it's Sangat! GURSANGAT!!! Maybe there are just 10% of Sikhs at that camp, but the very look of those Singhs and Singhnees is just so much inspiring! Maybe they are not too much precise in rituals or sometimes they read in English instead of Gurmukhi, still all the external things do not mean so much if Love and Devotion are there.
At Yoga Festival I heard Jap Je Sahib for the first time. Early morning hours at 3.30 - 4.00 am the whole Sangat is gathering at the big field for Sadhana. And it's such an experience when you are sitting surrounded by high trees and stars are shining in the dark skies. And beautiful voices reciting hymns of Guru Je sweet-sounding. That was unforgettable and even if I didn't know anything bout Jap Je Sahib I just couldn't miss it, was waking every morning at amritvela to hear it. After Jap Je Sahib there are Yoga exercises taking place and after it - chanting. Chanting lasts for more then one hour, including Mul Mantr for 7 minutes, last verse from Reharas Sahib 'Rakhe Rakhanhar' for 7 minutes as well, Guru Ram Das chant & the most maaad part is 21 minute of 'Waheguru, Waheguru, Waheguru, WaheJio…' you should sit in birasan. And while everyone is chanting this day is dawning. And the whole entire being of yours recognizing the Power of the Naam - it brings light in the world, guiding ones soul from Darkness of the Night to the Light of the Day. And as the first rays of sunlight touching your face the whole being of yours just exulting, overfilling with joy and delight. After such an experience one just couldn't stay the same, the whole life of mine get turned towards Sikhi.
In September 1999 I got really blessed by close acquaintance with real Maha Chardi Kala Gursikh, to be precise GurSinghnee. Her name is Hari Kaur Khalsa and she's from US basically and she's following Sikhi since more then 30 years already, and she has so much Love for Guru Je, that just every single person in her presence feels blessed and loved as a dear child. She tied Dastaar to me for the first time. And even my parents who are far from understanding Sikhi appreciated my pag. In Moscow none ever saw a Singhnee, and people were just so amazed by my look, I heard them speaking: 'Look, like a princess going there'. And I feel Dastaar being really a crown, crown of dignity and honor. In a year I had a chance to read during Akhand Paath at Gurdwara in Loches - European Yoga festival 2000. It was such an amazing night - the whole Sangat was doing all-night Kirtan program and the energy was so high that none could leave, everyone were sitting and chanting for the whole night. I was reading at amritvela. I remember how I seat near Baba Je and felt like I'm diving, diving in the whole stream where's no time, no space, no thoughts, - only One, only His Love and it takes all your being, all levels of your consciousness getting penetrated with that vibration. After that hour I couldn't move, was just sitting right by the side and just crying. And from that moment I recognized the only true asylum of mine - Him.
Among followers of teachings of Yogi Bhajan there are so many different kinds of people. Some are just doing Yoga, some people just hanging around 'esoteric' stuff, many kinds of. But some people they are most real Gursikhs, and I believe, that it was the main idea of coming of Yogi Je in the end of 60-s to the West, - to search for those whose souls are true devoted. And this Singhs & Singhnees they are just so amazing, they have so much Piaar, they are so close to Guru Je. We've done some meditations and payers with the team of teachers who came from Europe to teach at Moscow Yoga festival in September 2000. We were chanting to Guru Ram Das Je, and I just felt and saw loving palms of Guru Je covering everyone forehead and blessing each of us. There could be no doubts, this Love is surrounding like a sphere all the Chardi Kala Singhs. And it doesn't matter whether they are Indians or Westerners, Africans or Japanese - we all are beloved, and none is better or more deserving, there's no limits, no boundaries to His Love, so there's nothing to divide.
Since I met Sikhi I was dreaming to go to India and get Darshan of all the Gurdwaras and Guru's land - Punjab. It happened this way that in few weeks everything came in one and I was able to go. I was so spaced out of all that came to back to myself only when my forehead touched cold marbles of Prakarma of Darbar Sahib. I was crying - couldn't stand it's heavenly beauty and glorious space, presence of Guru Je and saturation with such a vibration that your heart forever recognizing them as most precious on that Earth. I was staying at Darbar Sahib over all day and sleeping right there at the Prakarma right by holy waters of Amrit Sarovar. This celestial golden shining forever stays at your heart. It's like your eyes just like bowls getting filled with that glowing and whatever you glance at you see it's glimmering. I was just bursting from elation - all the bearded and turbaned Singhs all over around. From that moment I definitely knew how does heaven looks like: ocean of Dastaars and beards and sounds of Gurbani, and nothing else. Ah! No, forgot one thing - and loads of Prashad! What else one needs?
Never felt I anything similar to what I've experienced watching Anandpur Sahib from the hill as I got there for the first time. Blend of pain, yearning and sweetness which belongs only to dear home of yours. In Keshghar Sahib I've done Ardas to Guru Je to get His Darshan. And sitting by the side of Sachkhand place and Guru Je's Shastr I felt this astonishing courage, fortitude, strength, braveness - spirit of the perfect Warrior - no hate or anger, only love, care and protection. He just took my soul, was holding me in just one hand, all of me in a fist. He just took and never left. Anandpur Sahib made an impression on me of abandoned town, but later on I found out where everyone are. As I was sitting and meditating in the Fort of Guru Je I saw with closed eyes His Singhs passing all over around, heard them talking and heard tinkling of their swords. They all are there, prepared for Guru Je to call them. What could I do now? After all what happened to me, did I have any choice? Could I reject Guru Je asking for a head? After all Love and Blessings countless number of which I got in my life. What would be my Love if I can't do this. I was thinking for months of taking Amrit, but you know, always doubts if you worth, etc etc. But in fact you are not deciding anything, it's just happening with you. There were only few days left from my almost 5 months trip in India. And it happened to me - I should just be straight with my own self and solid in my determination, and that's all. Bol: 'Waheguru Je Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Je Ke Fateh!', 'Waheguru Je Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Je Ke Fateh!', Bol: 'Waheguru Je Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Je Ke Fateh!'… Man! After I bowed to Guru Granth Sahib I burst out into such a mighty Fateh, just in Mega Maha FATEH!!! Yes!!! I was Khalsa from now on!! Khalsa RULES!!! How everything is changing! You feel totally different. It's like inside yourself there's the same substance which presents in all the Gurdwaras, Sachkhand places, the same thing got developed in you. You are Khalsa - you are like Mandir of Guru Je, one of Khalsa Panth of Guru Gobind Singh Je.
I came back home at Moscow. And one day I was on the way to Uni. I thought: 'Man, everything is so bad: this bloody Russian winter, all the people here knows anything bout Sikhi, where are beards & Dastaars of beloved Khalsa… I can't stay here, wanna back to Punjab, mera Punjab piare…" I was well sad and vexed of all this thoughts. And something happened. I felt that even in the place where are no Gurdwaras, no Sangat, no Sikhi one should be even stronger. You alone are as 1 Lakh Mighty Singhs. And in the twinkling of an eye cheerless Moscow winter blazed with colors of orange and blue, and I REALLY felt myself at the head of the whole army of Singhs. All the wicked SarbLoh Warriors: gorgeous Dastaars, perfect outlook - full beards, Shastr all over them, spears, shields, all in Bana. They all were going with me. They are always with you - prepared for you to call. And you are a Lion, you are a Princess, you are beloved by Guru Je. And all His invaluable treasures are there for you - His Fauja, His Sangat, His House & Temple, His Presence and HIS LOVE.
Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru je ka Khalsa Waheguru je ke Fateh!!! Manjit Kaur Khalsa AKA Sukhmani Kaur

Sikh Art and culture

Sikh art and culture is synonymous with that of the Punjab region. The Punjab itself has been called "India's melting pot", due to the confluence of invading cultures, such as Greek, Mughal and Persian, that mirrors the confluence of rivers from which the region gets its name. Thus Sikh culture is to a large extent informed by this synthesis of cultures.

Sikhism has forged a unique form of architecture which Bhatti describes as being "inspired by Guru Nanak's creative mysticism" such that Sikh architecture "is a mute harbinger of holistic humanism based on pragmatic spirituality". The 'key-note' of Sikh architecture is the Gurdwara which is the personification of the "melting pot" of Punjabi cultures, showing both Islamic, Sufi and Hindu influences. The reign of the Sikh Empire was the single biggest catalyst in creating a uniquely Sikh form of expression, with Maharajah Ranjit Singh patronising the building of forts, palaces, bungas (residential places), colleges, etc that can be said to be of the Sikh Style. Characteristics of Sikh architecture are gilded fluted domes, cupolas, kiosks and stone lanterns with an ornate balustrade on square roofs. The "jewel in the crown" of the Sikh Style is the Harmindar Sahib.

Sikh culture is heavily influenced by militaristic motifs, with Khanda being the most obvious; thus it is no surprise that the majority of Sikh artifacts, independent of the relics of the Gurus, have a military theme. This motif is again evident in the Sikh festivals of Hola Mohalla (Hola Mahalla) and Vaisakhi (Visakhi or Baisakhi) which feature marching and practicing displays of valor respectively.

Bhangra and the Gidha are two forms of indigenous Punjabi folk dancing that have been appropriated, adapted and pioneered by Punjabi Sikhs. The Punjabi Sikhs have championed these forms of expression all over the world, such that Sikh Culture has become inextricably linked to Bhangra, even though "Bhangra is not a Sikh institution but a Punjabi one."

The art and culture of the Sikh diaspora has been merged with that of other Indo-immigrant groups into categories such as 'British Asian', 'Indo-Canadanian' and 'Desi-Culture'; however there has emerged a niche cultural phenomenon that can be described as 'Political Sikh'. The art of prominent diaspora Sikhs such as Amarjeet Kaur Nandhra and Amrit and Rabindra Kaur Singh, is informed by their Sikhism and the current affairs of the Punjab.

Decorated Sikhs in the military

 

The prestigious Victoria Cross, awarded for exceptional valour "in the face of the enemy".

• Bana Singh - awarded the Param Vir Chakra.
• Captain Ishar Singh - The first Sikh to receive the Victoria Cross.
• Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria - awarded Param Vir Chakra.
• Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon - awarded Param Vir Chakra (the only officer of the Indian Air Force to be awarded Param Vir Chakra).
• Gian Singh - awarded the Victoria Cross.
• Lt. General Jagjit Singh Aurora - supervised the surrender of more than 90,000 Pakistani soldiers in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
• Joginder Singh (Subedar) - awarded Param Vir Chakra.
• Lieutenant Karamjit Singh Judge - awarded the Victoria Cross.
• Lance Karam Singh - awarded the Military Medal in World War II and awarded Param Vir Chakra (the second person to receive Param Vir Chakra).
• Major Havildar Parkash Singh - awarded the Victoria Cross.
• Nand Singh - awarded the Victoria Cross.

Baba Harbhajan Singh

Baba Harbhajan Singh - is a spiritually revered Sikh soldier by the Indian Army, like a saint, Indian army officers and soldiers believe he gives them protection in war.

The Battle of Saragarhi

The Battle of Saragarhi, and the Sikh officers and soldiers (British Empire Army) who fought in it, is considered one of the greatest stories of collective bravery in human history. UNESCO has described the Battle of Saragarhi, September 12 1897, as one of eight stories of collective bravery. The contingent of the twenty-one Sikhs from the 36th Sikhs was led by Havildar Ishar Singh, and held off an Afghan attack of 10,000 men. All 21 Sikh soldiers chose to fight to the death instead of surrendering.

In recognition of their supreme sacrifice, the British Parliament rose to pay them respect, and each one of them was awarded the Indian Order of Merit (equal to Victoria Cross). The battle has been ranked, in the West, as one of very few events in history of such bravery that it has been compared to the Battle of Thermopylae, where a small Greek force faced a large Persian army of Xerxes (480 BC). School children in France are taught about The Battle of Saragarhi, as part of the official education syllabus for heroic valour.

Saragarhi Day

Saragarhi Day, is a Sikh military commemoration day celebrated on the 12th of September every year annually to commemorate The Battle of Saragarhi. Sikh military personnel and Sikh non-military people commemorate the battle around the World every year on September 12th.

During the First World War, Sikh battalions fought in Egypt, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Gallipoli and France. Six battalions of the Sikh Regiment were raised in the World War II, and served at El Alamein and in Burma, Italy and Iraq, winning 27 battle honours.

Sikhs in World War I & II and other wars

French postcard depicting the arrival of 15th Sikh Regiment in France during World War I. The post card reads, "Gentlemen of India marching to chasten the German bandits"

By the advent of World War I, Sikhs in the British Indian Army totaled over 100,000; i.e. 20% of the British Indian Army. In the 100 years to 1945, 14 Victoria Crosses were awarded to the Sikhs, a per capita record given the size of the Sikh Regiments.

"In the last two world wars 83,005 turban wearing Sikh soldiers were killed and 109,045 were wounded. They all died or were wounded for the freedom of Britain and the world, and during shell fire, with no other protection but the turban, the symbol of their faith."

The Sikh Regiment in the Second World War

Across the world Sikhs are commemorated in Commonwealth cemeteries.

In 2002, the names of all Sikh VC and George Cross winners were commemorated by being inscribed on the pavilion monument of the Memorial Gates on Constitution Hill next to Buckingham palace, London. Lieutenant Colonel Chanan Singh Dhillon (retd), Punjabi Indian World War II hero & Veteran, and president of the ex-services league (Punjab & Chandigarh) was instrumental in campaigning for the memorials building.

Distinguished Sikhs in the modern era

• Arjan Singh- Marshal of the Indian Air Force, former Chief of the Air Force Staff
• Baldev Singh - Indian independence movement leader
• Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sandhu-Indian independence movement leader and martyr
• Fauja Singh - 90 year old Sikh marathon runner
• Kartar Singh Sarabha Grewal - Indian independence movement leader and martyr
• General Joginder Jaswant Singh - Indian army Chief of Army Staff
• Hardeep Singh Kohli - Sikh writer, broadcaster and presenter from Scotland
• Master Tara Singh - Sikh and Indian independence movement leader
• Dr. Manmohan Singh- Prime Minister of India and economist
• Milkha Singh (the flying Sikh) - winner of Padma Shri, former 400 m track record holder, Gold medal (440 yards) at '58 Commonwealth Games, Gold medal (200 & 400 m) at '58 Asian Games and Gold medal (200 m) in '62 Asian Games
• Dr. Narinder Singh Kapany - optics scientist and philanthropist
• Professor Piara Singh Gill - nuclear scientist
• Pratap Singh Kairon - Sikh and Indian independence movement leader
• Sardul Singh Caveeshar - Indian independence movement leader
• Shaheed General Shabeg Singh - Sikh martyr
• Shaheed Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale - Sikh martyr and leader
• Shaheed Udham Singh - Indian revolutionary and martyr

Source wiki pedia

Sikhism in the Western world

Due to the turbans Sikhs wear and the relative scarcity of Sikhs, there have been incidents of mistaking Sikhs in Western countries for Middle Eastern men and/or Muslims. This has negatively affected Sikhs living in the west especially with respect to the 9/11 terrorist attack and recent Iraq War conflict.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, some people associated Sikhs with terrorists or members of the Taliban. A few days after the attack Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh man, was gunned down by a person who thought that the victim had ties to Al-Qaeda. CNN suggests that there has been an increase in hate-crimes against Sikh men in the United States and the UK.

Sikhism as a faith has never actively sought converts, thus the Sikhs have remained a relatively homogeneous racial group. However, mainly due to the activities of Harbhajan Singh Yogi via his Kundalini Yoga focused 3HO (Happy, Healthy, Holy) Organization, Sikhism has witnessed a moderate growth in non-Indian adherents. In 1998 it was estimated that these 3HO Sikhs, known colloquially as 'gora' or 'white' Sikhs, totaled 7,800 and were mainly centered around Española, New Mexico, and Los Angeles, California.

History of Sikhs (Contd.)

The months leading up to the partition India in 1947, saw heavy conflict in the Punjab between Sikh and Muslim, which saw the effective ethnic cleansing of Sikhs from West Punjab which mirrored a similar ethnic cleansing of Muslims in East Punjab.

The 1960s saw growing animosity and rioting, as the Sikhs agitated for the creation of a Sikh majority state, a undertaking which was promised to the Sikh leader Master Tara Singh by Nehru in return for Sikh political support during the negotiations for Indian Independence. Sikhs obtained the Sikh majority state of Punjab on November 1, 1966.

Communal tensions arose again in the late 1970s, fueled by Sikh claims of discrimination and marginalization by the Hindu dominated Indian National Congress ruling party and the "dictatorial" tactics adopted the then Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. Frank argues that Gandhi's assumption of emergency powers in 1975 resulted in the weakening of the "legitimate and impartial machinery of government" and her increasing "paranoia" of opposing political groups led her to instigate a "despotic policy of playing castes, religions and political groups against each other for political advantage". As a reaction against these actions came the emergence of the Sikh leader Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who vocalized Sikh sentiment for justice and advocated the creation of a Sikh homeland, Khalistan. This accelerated Punjab into a state of communal violence. Gandhi's 1984 action to defeat Sant Bhindranwale and desecration of the Golden Temple via Operation Bluestar enraged the Sikhs and ultimately led to Gandhi's assassination by her Sikh bodyguards.

This resulted in an explosion of state sponsored violence against the Sikh community in the anti Sikh Riots which resulted in the massacre of thousands of Sikhs throughout India; Khushwant Singh described the actions as being a Sikh pogrom in which he "felt like a refugee in my country. In fact, I felt like a Jew in Nazi Germany". Since 1984, relations between Sikhs and Hindus have reached a rapprochement helped by growing economic prosperity; however in 2002 the claims of the popular right-wing Hindu organization the RSS, that "Sikhs are Hindus" angered Sikh sensibilities. Many Sikhs still are campaigning for justice for victims of the violence and the political and economic needs of the Punjab espoused in the Khalistan movement.

In 1996 the Special Rapporteur for the Commission on Human Rights on freedom of religion or belief, Abdelfattah Amor (Tunisia, 1993–2004), visited India in order to compose a report on religious discrimination. In 1997, Amor concluded, "it appears that the situation of the Sikhs in the religious field is satisfactory, but that difficulties are arising in the political (foreign interference, terrorism, etc.), economic (in particular with regard to sharing of water supplies) and even occupational fields. Information received from nongovernment (sic) sources indicates that discrimination does exist in certain sectors of the public administration; examples include the decline in the number of Sikhs in the police force and the absence of Sikhs in personal bodyguard units since the murder of Indira Gandhi."

A Sikh Empire war medal

A Sikh Empire war medal

History of Sikhism

Essentially Sikh history, with respect to Sikhs as a distinct political body, can be said to have began with the martyrdom of the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji in 1606, Sikh distinction was further enhanced by the establishment of the Sikh 'Pure' brotherhood or Khalsa, by Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1699. This gave the Sikhs, an organized political grouping, a history of around 400 years.

Generally Sikhs have had amicable relations with other religious communities. However during the Islamic conquest of India (1556–1707), 2 Sikh Gurus were martyred by the ruling Mughals for opposing the Mughul's persecution of non-Islamic religious communities. Subsequently, the Sikhs militarized to oppose Islamic hegemony. Nevertheless the emergence of the Sikh Empire under reign of the Sikh Maharajah Ranjit Singh was characterized by religious tolerance and pluralism with Christians, Muslims and Hindus in positions of power. The establishment of the Sikh Empire is commonly considered the zenith of Sikh political sovereignty, during this time the Sikh Empire came to include Kashmir, Ladakh, and Peshawar. The Empire's secular administration integrated innovative military, economic and governmental reforms heavily influenced by the Napoleonic model. Culturally amongst the achievements of the Empire was the establishment of the Imam Bakhsh Lahori school of painting, the discovery of Gandhara art, and the exploration of the Himalayas.

Representation of Sikhs

Sikhs are represented in Indian politics, with the current Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, and the Deputy Chairman of the Indian Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia belong to Sikh community. The current Chief-minister of Punjab is a Sikh Parkash Singh Badal.

Gen Joginder Jaswant Singh, a Sikh, has just retired from the post of Chief of Indian Army. Deputy Speaker of Indian Lok Sabha is a Sikh name S. Charanjeet Singh Atwal.

Past Indian Sikh politicians have included Dr. Gurdial Singh Dhillon, Speaker of the Parliament of India. Pratap Singh Kairon, Union minister, famous Sikh Indian independence movement leader and former Chief-minister of Punjab (India).

Prominent politicians of the Sikh Diaspora include the first Asian American to be elected as a full voting Member of United States Congress Dalip Singh Saund, the former mayoress of Dunedin Sukhi Turner, the current UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Parmjit Dhanda MP and the Canadian Shadow Social Development Minister Ruby Dhalla MP. Vic Dhillon, is a famous Sikh Canadian politician and current member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Sikhs make up 10–15% of all ranks in the Indian Army and 20% of its officers, whilst Sikhs only forming 1.87% of the Indian population, which makes them over 10 times more likely to be a solider and officer in the Indian Army than the average Indian. Indeed, most Sikh men in India are commonly referred to with the title of Sardar, which means commander in Persian and is a sign of military authority.

The Sikh Regiment is the most highest decorated regiment of the Indian Army, with 73 Battle Honours, 14 Victoria Crosses, 21 first class Indian Order of Merit (equivalent to the Victoria Cross), 15 Theatre Honours and 5 COAS Unit Citations besides 2 Param Vir Chakras, 14 Maha Vir Chakras, 5 Kirti Chakras, 67 Vir Chakras and 1596 other gallantry awards.

The Sikh Regiment Battle Insignia

The highest-ranking General in the history of the Indian Air force is a Sikh Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh. (Note: this rank is a Five Star General's rank; equal to a Field Marshal; only given once in the history of the IAF). Advanced plans by the MOD to raise an Infantry UK Sikh Regiment were scrapped in June 2007 to the disappointment of the UK Sikh community and Prince Charles of Britain.

Historically, most Indians have been farmers and even today (two-thirds) 66% of Indians are farmers. Indian Sikhs are no different and have been predominately employed in the agro-business, India's 2001 census found that 39% of the working population of Punjab were employed in this sector (less than the Indian average). The success, in the 1960s, of the Green Revolution, in which India went from "famine to plenty, from humiliation to dignity", was based in the Sikh majority state of Punjab which became known as "the breadbasket of India". The Sikh majority state of Punjab is also statistically the wealthiest (per capita) with the average Punjabi through, his hard work, enjoying the highest income in India, 3 times the national Indian average. The Green Revolution centered upon Indian Punjabi Sikh farmers adapting their farming methods to more intensive and mechanized techniques; note this was aided by the electrification of Punjab, cooperative credit, consolidation of small holdings and the existing British Raj developed canal system. Swedish political scientist, Ishtiaq Ahmad, states that a factor in the success of the Indian green revolution transformation was the "Sikh peasant cultivator, often the Jat, whose courage, perseverance, spirit of enterprise and muscle prowess proved crucial". However not all aspects of the green revolution were beneficial, Shiva argues that the green revolution essentially rendered the "negative and destructive impacts of science [i.e. the green revolution] on nature and society" invisible; thus having being separated from their material and political roots in the science system, when new forms of scarcity and social conflict arose they were linked not to traditional causes but to other social systems e.g. religion. Hence Vandana Shiva argues that the green revolution was a catalyst for communal Sikh and Hindu tensions; despite the growth in material affluence.

A file photo of Marshal of the Air Force of India Arjan Singh

Sikhs feature in varied professions such as scientists, engineers and doctors; notable Sikhs include nuclear scientist Professor Piara Singh Gill who worked on the Manhattan project; optics scientist ("the father of fibre optics") Dr. Narinder Singh Kapany; physicist and science writer/broadcaster Simon Singh and agricultural scientist Professor Baldev Singh Dhillon.

In the sphere of business, the clothing retailers/brands of UK based New Look and Thai based JASPAL were started by Sikhs. India's largest pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy Laboratories is headed by Sikhs. UK Sikhs have the highest percentage of home ownership, at 82%, out of all UK religious/ethnic communities. In Singapore, Kartar Singh Thakral has built up his family's trading business, Thakral Holdings/Corp, into a commercial concern with total assets of close to $1.4 billion. Thakral is Singapore's 25th richest person. Bob Singh Dhillon is the first Indo-Canadian Billionaire and a Sikh. Perhaps no Sikh diaspora group has had as much success as that of those who migrated to North America. In particular the Sikhs who migrated to California's fertile Central Valley. Armed with only "their farming skills, their willingness to work, and their drive to get ahead" these Sikhs "ensured their rise in status from humble migrant laborers who picked fruit in the hot sun to significant landowners who today control much of the agriculture in California". Today American Sikh agriculturists such as Harbhajan Singh Samra and Didar Singh Bains dominate Californian agriculture and are known colloquially as the "Okra" and "Peach" kings respectively.

Prominent Sikh intellectuals, sportsmen and artists include the veteran writer Khushwant Singh, England cricketer Monty Panesar, former 400 m world record holder Milkha Singh, actress Parminder Nagra and Harbhajan Singh India's most successful off spin Cricket bowler.

The Sikhs have migrated to most parts of the world and their vocations are as varied as their appearances. The Sikh community of the Sub-Continent comprises many diverse sets of peoples as the Sikh Gurus preached for ethnic and social harmony. These include different ethnic people, tribal and socio-economic groups. Main groupings (i.e. over 1,000 members) include: Arain, Arora, Bairagi, Bania, Basith, Bawaria, Bazigar, Bhabra, Brahman, Chamar, Chhimba, Darzi, Dhobi, Gujar, Jatt, Jhinwar, Kahar, Kamboj, Khatri, Kumhar, Labana (Lubhana), Lohar, Mahtam, Mazhabi, Megh, Mirasi, Mochi, Nai, Rajput, Ramgharia, Saini, Sarera, Sikligar, Sonar, Sudh, Tarkhan and Zargar. In India, the Jatt ethnic grouping is by far the largest at a population of 11,855,000 followed by the Mazhabi at 2,701,000 with the Tarkhans totaling 1,091,000.

There has also emerged a specialized group of Sikhs calling themselves Akalis, which have existed since Maharaja Ranjit Singh's time. Under their leader General Akali Phula Singh, in the early 1800s, they won many battles for the Sikh Empire.

Geographical Distribution of Sikhs

Numbering approximately 23 million worldwide, Sikhs make up 0.39% of the world population of which approximately 83% live in India. Of the Indian Sikh community 14.6 million, i.e. 76% of all Indian Sikhs, live in the northern Indian State of Punjab (India), where they form a majority 59.9% of the population. Substantial communities of Sikhs, i.e. greater than 200,000, live in the Indian States of Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttaranchal and Jammu and Kashmir.

Sikh migration from the then British India began in earnest from the 2nd half of the 19th century when the British had completed their annexation of the Punjab. The British Raj preferentially recruited Sikhs in the Indian Civil Service and, in particular, the British Indian Army, which led to migration of Sikhs to different parts of British India and the British Empire. During the era of the British Raj, semiskilled Sikh artisans were also transported from the Punjab to British East Africa to help in the building of railways. After World War II, Sikhs emigrated from both India and Pakistan, most going to the United Kingdom but many also headed for North America. Some of the Sikhs who had settled in eastern Africa were expelled by Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in 1972. Subsequently the main 'push' factor for Sikh migration has been economic with significant Sikh communities now being found in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Malaysia, East Africa, Australia and Thailand.

Whilst the rate of Sikh migration from the Punjab has remained high, traditional patterns of Sikh migration, that favored English speaking countries, particularly the United Kingdom has changed in the past decade due to factors such as stricter immigration procedures. Moliner(2006) states that as a consequence of the 'fact' that Sikh migration to the UK had "become virtually impossible since the late 1970s", Sikh migration patterns altered to continental Europe. Italy has now emerged as a fast growing area for Sikh migration, with Reggio Emilia and the Vicenza province being areas of significant Sikh population clusters. The Italian Sikhs are generally involved in areas of agriculture, agro-processing, machine tools and horticulture.

Due primarily to socio-economic reasons, Indian Sikhs have the lowest adjusted decadal growth rate of any major religious group in India, at 16.9% per decade (est. 1991–2001). Johnson and Barrett(2004) estimate that the global Sikh population increases annually by 392,633 Sikhs, i.e. by 1.7% p.a. on 2004 figures, this growth rate takes into account factors such as births, deaths and conversions

Five Ks (Panj Kakke)

The Five Ks, or panj kakaar/kakke, are five items of faith that all baptized Sikhs (Khalsa) are required to wear at all times, at the command of the tenth Sikh Guru, who ordered this at Anandpur Sahib on Baisakhi Amrit Sanchar in 1699. They are:-

• Kes (uncut hair)
• Kanga (wooden comb)
• Kacchehra (specially-designed underwear)
• Kara (Iron bracelet)
• Kirpan (strapped sword).

They are for identification and representation of the ideals of Sikhism, such as honesty, equality, fidelity, meditating on God, and never bowing to tyranny.

 

Besides, Sikh males are also required to wear turban (head gear) to cover their head.

Sikh Scholars

Bhai Vir Singh

Bhai Kaan Singh Nabha

Prof Darshan Singh

Bhai Santokh Singh Ji ( Writer of Gur Partap Suraj Parkash Granth)

Saints and other people revered by Sikhs:

 

• Bhai Mardana : (One of the first followers and lifelong companion of Guru Nanak)
• Bhai Bala :(One of the first followers and lifelong companion of Guru Nanak)
• Bhagat Kabir: (Sikh saint & his masterwork in Guru Granth Sahib)
• Bhagat Farid: (Sikh saint & his masterwork in Guru Granth Sahib)
• Bhagat Namdev: (Sikh saint & his masterwork in Guru Granth Sahib)
• Baba Buddha: (Sikh saint, held the position of high Granthi in the Sikh religion)
• Baba Banda Singh Bahadur: (Fought and Defeated Mughal Governor of Punjab Wazir Khan and established Sikh force in Punjab)
• Baba Deep Singh: (Sikh saint, defended Golden Temple with his head in his hand)
• Bhagat Ravidas (Sikh saint & his masterwork in Guru Granth Sahib)
• Bhagat Tirlochan (Sikh saint & his masterwork in Guru Granth Sahib)
• Bhai Mani Singh (Sikh Scholar, compiled the Dasam Granth)
• Bhai Taru (Was a great patron of the poor)
• Bhai Gurdas (Known for his interpretation of bani)

Chaar Sahibzade

4 Sons of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji are known as Chaar Sahibzadas (Also known as 5 Princes of Sikhism)

 

1) Sahibzada Ajit Singh Ji
2) Sahibzada Jujhar Singh Ji

3) Sahibzada Zoravar Singh Ji

4) Sahibzada Fateh Singh Ji

 

Sahibzada Ajit Singh Ji and Sahibzada Jujhar Singh Ji martyred their lives fighting the mughals at the place of Chamkaur Sahib in Punjab.

 

Sahibzada Zoravar Singh Ji and Sahibzada Fateh Singh Ji were brickes alive at Sirhind (Fathegarh Sahib) by mughal governor Vajir Khan. Both of them were of age 7 and 9 years. They were asked to quit Sikhism and embrace Islam. But they denied to do so and martyred their lives for religious freedom.

Panj Pyare (Five beloved ones)

Panj Pyaras were the 5 beloved Sikhs of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, who offered their heads to Guru Sahib, when He demanded it on 13th April 1699. Guru Sahib prepared Amrit for them and attached the word "Singh" with their names.

 

5 Pyaras:

 

1) Bhai Daya Singh Ji
2) Bhai Dharam Singh Ji

3) Bhai Himmat Singh Ji

4) Bhai Mohkam Singh Ji

5) Bhai Sahib Singh Ji

Sikh Gurus

1. Guru Nanak Dev Ji
2. Guru Angad Dev Ji
3. Guru Amar Das Ji
4. Guru Ram Das Ji
5. Guru Arjan Dev Ji 
6. Guru Har Gobind Ji 
7. Guru Har Rai Ji
8. Guru Har Krishan Ji
9. Guru Teg Bahadur Ji
10. Guru Gobind Singh Ji
11. Guru Granth Sahib Ji

Dasvandh (Donation)

Every Sikh is required to spend 10 percent of his/her earnings for the welfare of mankind, poor and religion. This money is called dasvandh. Sikhs are required to think for the best place to spend this money.

Sikh philosophy

The core philosophy and message of the Sikh religion can be understood in the beginning hymn of the holy Guru Granth Sahib.

There is one supreme eternal reality; the truth; immanent in all things; creator of all things; immanent in creation. Without fear and without hatred; not subject to time; beyond birth and death; self-revealing. Known by the Guru's grace.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of the faith, summed up the basis of Sikh lifestyle in three requirements: Naam Japo, Kirat Karno and Wand kay chhako, which means meditate on the holy name, Waheguru, work diligently and honestly and share one's fruits with others.

The Guru Granth Sahib is revered as a teacher in its own right, because it is a literal transcript of the teachings of the nine gurus who preceded it. The Sikh follows the Guru Granth Sahib strictly as his prime guide. It was compiled by the Sikh Gurus, and is maintained in its original form. In addition to their own works the gurus also included the revelations of many saints of that period, regardless of their caste, race or origin. Their followers, with their turban and uncut hair, are proud and definitely distinct; yet show respect to the followers of other religions. Non-Sikhs can partake fully in Sikh prayer meetings and social functions. Their daily prayers include the well being of whole mankind.

The concept of saint-soldier is another unique feature which sometimes confuses observers. Every Sikh is required to aspire to sainthood by his devotion to God and service to mankind, but also, according to the situation, to adopt the role of the soldier. A Sikh is also commanded, if necessary and circumstances allow, to lay his or her life down to protect the poor and weak, regardless of race, religion, sex or creed. A prime example of this was the martyrdom of the 9th Guru of Sikhism- Guru Teg Bahadur Ji in the protection of the Hindus against religious genocide by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, in Delhi, on the 11th of November 1675 AD.

Sikhs are not required to renounce the world, and aspire to be the best but not be obsessed by the act, wanting the best but not craving to accumulate. Seva (service) is an integral part of Sikh worship. This is very easily observed in the Gurdwara (temple). Visitors of any religious or socio-economic background are welcomed. Langar (free food for all) is always served to everyone.

Sikh Languages

Spoken & written script of holy Guru Granth Sahib:
Written language of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib is: Gurmukhi, Sahiskriti and Sant Bhasha
Spoken words: Punjabi, Bengali, Brij Bhasha and Persian

Predominant spoken languages:
 

The vernacular language of the home nation in the Sikh diaspora, significantly including Punjabi, English, Hindi, Urdu, Swahili, Malaysian, and Thai

World Sikh Polulation

Total population
Estimated 20.6 million
Regions with significant populations
India      19,215,730 Other significant population centers:
United Kingdom 336,179  Canada 278,415  United States 100,000 East African Community 100,000  Malaysia 100,000 Middle East 85,000  Italy 70,000  Thailand 70,000  Australia 50,000  Hong Kong 7,500  Bangladesh 23,300  Pakistan 20,000  Kuwait 20,000  Indonesia 10,000  France 10,000  Singapore 9,733  New Zealand 9,507  Belgium 5,000–6,000  Nepal 5,890  Germany 5,000  Greece 5,000  Fiji 4,674  Austria 2,794  Afghanistan 2,000  Japan 2,000  Ireland 1,200

Source: Wiki pedia

Nishan Sahib

Nishan Sahib is the orange color flag of Sikhs placed inside Gurdwaras. Nishan Sahib is visible from long diastance from Gurdwaras.

Sikh (meaning: disciple or learner)

SIKH is the name given to an adherent of Sikhism. The term has its origin in the Sanskrit "shishya", which means disciple or learner. Many male Sikhs can easily be recognized by their turbans, beards, or steel bracelets on their right wrists.

The greater Punjab region is the historic homeland of Sikhism. Most Sikhs are from the Punjabi people and come from the Punjab region of India, although significant communities exist around the world.

VI Sikhs in India and Abroad

In India Sikhs constitute less than 2 per cent of the total population. In Punjab there are 12 million Sikhs with a further 3 million in the adjoining states and territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi. Small settlements are also to be found in West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. Most Sikhs are traditionally associated with farming, though urban Sikhs are also renowned for their sharp business acumen. The Sikh community is generally seen by outsiders as industrious, entrepreneurial, and adventurous. The success of the Green Revolution in turning Punjab into the granary of India and the richest state in the Union is mostly associated with the ethic of hard work rooted in the religious and cultural tradition of the Sikh peasantry. These qualities have historically led to heavy Sikh recruitment into the armed forces. Today, Sikhs still constitute a disproportionate share of India's soldiers and officer corps.

There is a sizeable Sikh diaspora (over 1 million) settled in the United Kingdom (400,000), Canada (300,000), and the United States (100,000). Whereas most of the migrants to the United States (apart from the early settlers at the beginning of this century) were of professional background, settlers in the United Kingdom (with the exception of East Africans) and Canada are mainly of rural background from the central districts of Punjab. In the United Kingdom since the 1970s the Sikh community has provided the mainstay to "Asian success". There are also small settlements in most European countries, the Middle East, East Asia, Africa, and Australasia, some of which date from the late 19th century. Overall the Sikh diaspora has been very active in promoting the interests of the community to a global audience. Within the Sikh diaspora there is strong reproduction of Sikh institutions, creative adaptation to local conditions and influences, and a growing self-confidence and awareness as a world-historic community.

V History

The development of the Sikh community has been strongly influenced by the course of historical events. Guru Nanak, who was a Hindu by birth, was born at the time of religious reform movements in northern India. While his thought shared many of the features of his contemporaries, his religious doctrine nonetheless marked a radical departure and soon attracted many followers. Guru Nanak was succeeded by nine other gurus. Guru Angad (Guru between 1539 and 1552) established the Gurmukhi ("from the mouth of the guru") script in which Punjabi is written. Guru Amar Das (Guru between 1552 and 1574) founded Goindwal where Sikhs were encouraged to gather twice a year. Guru Ram Das (Guru between 1574 and 1581) is remembered for founding the current site in Amritsar of the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) on land granted by the emperor Akbar. When Guru Arjan Dev assumed the leadership of the community (1581-1606), Sikhism had developed a considerable following in Punjab's central districts. During his Guruship the Darbar Sahib (1604) was completed and the Guru Granth Sahib (also known as the Adi Granth) was compiled. Sikhism's increasing influence, however, led the Mughal emperor Jahangir to check the growth of the new faith. This move resulted in the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev in 1606.

Guru Hargobind (Guru between 1606 and 1644) reacted to these developments by establishing a fortress at Amritsar and the Akal Takhat (seat of temporal authority) opposite the Harimandar Sahib (temple of God) within the Darbar Sahib complex. The linking of these two forms of authority was further symbolized in his decision to wear two swords that signified the temporal and the spiritual. The leadership of the seventh and eighth Gurus (Guru Har Rai, Guru between 1644 and 1661; Guru Har Krishan, Guru between 1661 and 1664) was largely uneventful as they sought to avoid a direct confrontation with the Mughal rulers, but their successor, Guru Tegh Bahadur (Guru between 1664 and 1675), was martyred after making representations to the emperor Aurangzeb against the religious persecution of Kashmiri "pundits" (from Sanskrit pandit, "teachers"). Guru Gobind Singh's guruship (1675 to 1708) was marked by a growing conflict between the Sikh community and the Mughal and Hindu princely rulers in Punjab. In 1699, at Baisakhi, Guru Gobind Singh decided to further consolidate the development of the community by baptizing the Khalsa. Upon his death Guru Gobind Singh vested the guruship in the Guru Granth Sahib. Thereafter the spiritual and the temporal were embodied in the Guru Panth (the temporal Sikh community) and the Guru Granth Sahib (which would spiritually guide it).

With the collapse of the Mughal Empire and the decline of Afghan influence in Punjab, the 18th century saw the rise of Sikhs to political power in the province. During the "heroic century", against considerable odds, the Sikhs, who were the minority religious community in the province, achieved political dominance in Punjab. This rise culminated in 1801 with the establishment by Ranjit Singh of the Kingdom of Lahore, which included Afghan territories to the west, and Kashmir to the east, and extended to the borders of Tibet. Although Ranjit Singh's state was the embodiment of Punjabi identity, its fortunes were largely guided by a powerful military meritocracy that was dominated by the Khalsa.

Ranjit Singh's kingdom lasted until 1849 when it was annexed by the British. During the next century Sikh fortunes waxed and waned as they were first treated with suspicion by the ruling colonial rulers and then recruited in large numbers into the Indian Army. In response to the competitive religious revivalism that took place in Punjab in the late 19th century among the three main traditions (Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh) following the proselytizing activities of Christian missionaries, the Singh Sabhas attempted to reassert Sikh identity by seeking the removal of Hindu influence and ritual that had accreted into the Sikh tradition during the dislocation of the Panth in the 17th and 18th centuries. The work of the Singh Sabhas was completed by the Akali Movement (1920-1925), which successfully removed Hindu mehants (hereditary custodians) of leading gurdwaras , including the Darbar Sahib. This movement established the two premier institutions that have controlled Sikh affairs ever since: the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandak Committee, which manages the affairs of the leading gurdwaras ; and the Akai Dal (its political wing).

The Akali Dal opposed the partition of Punjab, but when it became a reality in 1947 Sikh political leadership opted for the Indian Union. Partition divided the Sikh community into two and precipitated the mass transfer of Sikhs (and Hindus) from West Punjab and Muslims from East Punjab. Almost 250,000 people were killed in the riots that followed.

After 1947 the Akali Dal leadership attempted to preserve the distinctive identity of the community by campaigning for a Punjabi Suba (Punjabi-speaking state). This demand was opposed by the central leadership as communal but was eventually conceded after the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965. Although the linguistic reorganization of Punjab in 1966 created a majority Sikh state (60 per cent) it left many Punjabi-speaking territories outside the new state. Centre-inspired dismissal of the Akali Dal governments (1967-1971) and lingering resentment about linguistic reorganization led the Akali Dal to adopt the Anandpur Sahib Resolution (ASR) in 1973 that called for greater autonomy for Punjab.

Following the dismissal of the Akali Dal government in 1980 the ASR became the focus of an autonomy movement led by moderate Akalis. However, as this campaign failed to achieve a political settlement with the centre, the militant faction led by Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale called for direct action that resulted in the gradual breakdown of law and order in Punjab. On June 5, 1984, the Indian Army, in an operation code-named Blue Star, entered the Darbar Sahib complex in order to evict Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers who had taken refuge in the precinct. The clash resulted in deaths of 1,000 security personnel and Sikh militants.

In the aftermath of Operation Blue Star, the prime minister Indira Gandhi was killed by her Sikh bodyguards. Her death was followed immediately by pogroms against Sikhs in Delhi in which approximately 3,000 people were killed. In 1985 Rajiv Gandhi attempted to restore the political process through the Rajiv-Longowal Accord but his reluctance to make concessions on the main Sikh demands undermined the moderate Akalis and led to the rise of militant groups campaigning for a separate Sikh state of Khalistan. Between 1984 and 1993, almost 25,000 people were killed in Punjab as a result of militant violence and counter-insurgency operations conducted by the security forces. By the end of 1993 the use of overwhelming force by the police, the paramilitaries, and the army succeeded in eliminating most militant groups.

In February 1997, in the first free and fair elections held in the province since 1985, the Akali Dal won a landslide victory in the Punjab Legislative Assembly elections. Although the party is still officially committed to ASR, the campaign for more autonomy has been superseded by efforts to establish a regional power base.

IV Sacred Text

The Guru Granth Sahib is the sacred text of the Sikhs. It was compiled by Guru Arjan Dev in 1604 and is 1,430 pages long. The text includes the hymns and poems of Guru Nanak, his successors, and Muslim and Hindu poets. Upon his death in 1708 Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru, ordained that personal guruship was at an end; thereafter it was to be vested in the Guru Granth Sahib.

Source Encyclopedia: uk.encarta. msn.com

III Worship, Practice, and Festivals

The Sikh code of discipline (Rehat Maryada) prescribes the daily routine for adherents. They should rise early (3 a.m. to 6 a.m.) and, having bathed, observe nam japana by meditating on the divine name and read or recite the order known as nit nem (the daily rule). This is followed by the reciting of the following scriptures: early morning (3 a.m. to 6 a.m.), Japji Sahib, Jap Sahib, and the ten Swayyas; in the evening and sunset, Sodar Rahiras; and at night before retiring, Kirtan Sohila. At the conclusion of each selection the Ardas (prayer) must be recited.

As the influence of the Guru's word is best experienced in the gurdwara, the Sikh place of worship, Sikhs are required to join a daily sangat (congregation) where, as well as listening to scriptures, they must undertake and perform seva. A gurdwara is entered by removing one's shoes and covering one's hair. Sikhs and non-Sikhs bow before the Guru Granth Sahib by touching their foreheads to the ground. The sangat are served with Karah Prashad (sacramental food) at the close of the session. Each gurdwara has a langar (common kitchen) where the sangat are enjoined to share a meal.

The Rehat Maryada also imposes further injunctions: Sikhs are not allowed to eat meat killed in accordance with Muslim custom; the use of all intoxicants is forbidden; they must not cut their hair; and they must be loyal to their marriage partners. For most Sikhs and their families, Sikhism plays a central role in their life cycle. There is a distinctive ceremony for naming the newborn and for baptism into the Khalsa (see below); the learning of Punjabi is seen as essential to understanding the scriptures; the marriage ceremony is specifically defined; and, at death, there are prescribed scriptures to be read and procedures to be followed.

Most Sikh children are considered to be born Sikhs. All Sikhs who follow elements of the code of discipline and are mature enough to appreciate the commitment can undergo baptism into the sacred order of the Khalsa ("the pure") established by Guru Gobind Singh at Baisakhi in 1699. Initiation into the Khalsa follows the ceremony known as khande di pahul ("tempered with steel") performed by the Panj Piare (the symbolic representation of the five beloved ones who were first baptized, and who subsequently, in turn, baptized Guru Gobind Singh). The Khalsa are required to keep the five ks: kesh (unshorn hair), kacha (short drawers), kirpan (steel dagger), kara (iron bangle), and kanga (comb). In addition they must strictly adhere to all aspects of the Rehat Maryada. Baptized Khalsa males are renamed as Singh and females as Kaur. While the majority of Sikhs follow aspects of the Rehat Maryada and keep the five ks, those who follow the strict discipline of the Khalsa are in a minority.

Sikhs celebrate many festivals which mark the life and times of the gurus, particular events in Sikh history, and reflect the popular traditions of Punjab. The birth and death of a guru is referred to as a gurpurb. The martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev and Guru Tegh Bahadur are generally observed while the births of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh are universally celebrated. Baisakhi is the first month of the Sikh new year and also coincides with the harvest season in Punjab. Baisakhi is also important for Sikhs because it marks the time of the year when they normally assembled in the presence of the Guru, and as the historic occasion in 1699 when Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa. Sikhs also celebrate Diwali (which marks the release many kings of India with grace of Guru Hargobind and Himself from confinement in Gwalior Fort) and Holla Mohalla, a festival started by Guru Gobind Singh for his followers in opposition to Holi.

II Theology

The essence of Sikh theology is to be found in the opening hymn of the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikhs' sacred text:

"There is one supreme eternal reality; the truth; immanent in all things; creator of all things; immanent in creation. Without fear and without hatred; not subject to time; beyond birth and death; self-revealing. Known by the Guru's grace."

Sikhs believe that God (Waheguru), who created the universe and everything in it, is omnipresent, immanent as well as transcendent, and omnipotent. Because God is formless, inscrutable, and beyond the reach of human intellect, a relationship with the Creator can be established only by recognizing divine self-expression and truth. This relationship is possible through meditation on God's Name ( nam) and Word (shabad) which are the revelation of the divine instructor (the Guru). Without the Guru's grace an individual is doomed to the perpetual cycle of death and rebirth.

Guru Nanak's message went beyond personal reflection and mediation to incorporate a new social vision. This was evident in his strong emphasis on social equality, the rejection of all forms of caste distinctions, the collective welfare of all, and the centrality of the concept of seva (service) to the community. The present and the divine in Nanak's social vision are linked together in three simple injunctions to his followers: to adore the divine name; to work hard; and to share the rewards of one's labour with others.

1 Introduction

Sikhism, major religion of India founded by Guru Nanak in the 15th century. Sikhism has almost 16 million followers, most of whom live in the Indian province of Punjab. Punjab is the historic homeland of Sikhism but it has also spread to other parts of northern India, and a significant diaspora exists in Europe and North America. Sikhism is not an ethnic religion and welcomes converts.