Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
Language: English
Pages: 176
ISBN: 0198745575
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
The Sikh religion has a following of over 20 million people worldwide, and is ranked as the world's fifth largest religion. However, events such as the verbal and physical attacks on Sikhs just after September 11, where Sikhs were being mistaken for Muslims, suggest that the Sikh faith still remains mysterious to many.
This Very Short Introduction introduces newcomers to the meaning of the Sikh religious tradition, its teachings, practices, rituals and festivals. Eleanor Nesbitt highlights and contextualizes the key threads in the history of Sikhism, from the first Gurus to martyrdom, militarization, and the increasingly significant diaspora. Examining gender, caste, and the changes that are currently underway in the faith, Nesbitt considers contemporary Sikh identities and their role in our world.
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
dharamsala s, which were the forerunners of today’s gurdwaras. But it was Guru Amar Das who particularly emphasized the requirement for everyone to dine side by side, regardless of caste and rank. 29 According to tradition, when the Mughal emperor Akbar paid him a visit, he insisted that he too sit in line before joining the congregation. So today, to sample characteristically Punjabi food, you have only to visit a gurdwara. In the langar you will be served with wheaten chapattis, thick brown
and Nihang emphases within the Panth, rather than the Tat Khalsa pattern, show signs of developing. (The Nirmala tradition is one of erudition and asceticism, and Sevapanthis stand for dedicated service to others.) In economic terms, diaspora Sikhs’ remittances to Punjab have resulted in not only desirable residences and mechanized farming, but the rebuilding of gurdwaras on an increasingly impressive scale, and the preservation of Sikhs’ religious and historical heritage, in, for example, the
Nanak passed over his son Siri Chand as successor because of his Udasi (and so celibate) lifestyle. Moreover, according 110 to Guru Nanak’s shabad s (and the bhagat s’ songs) salvation is open to all, regardless of gender. Yet marriage occupied apparently only a marginal place in much of Guru Nanak’s life as the itinerant preacher and singer of shabad s. Attitudes t o caste, gen der , an d oth er faiths 19. During the amrit sanskar (initiation into the Khalsa), one of the officiating
Similarly, the Akhand Kirtani Jatha’s avoidance of eating with other Sikhs parallels the taboos on dining together that Hindu castes have observed. Indic norms frame ‘mainstream’ Sikh practice too. The bathing of the nishan sahib flagstaff outside gurdwaras in dilute yoghurt on Vaisakhi day, and the use of milk for the daily washing of the marble platform around Harmandir Sahib, are consistent with Hindu regard for the cow, whose milk is seen to be both pure and purificatory. If we shift from
Ks: outward marks of a Khalsa Sikh giani: literally ‘learned’, an officiant in a gurdwara Golden Temple: see Darbar Sahib khismSi granth: (pron. ‘grunt’) volume of scripture granthi: attendant on Guru Granth Sahib gurbani: Guru Granth Sahib gurdwara: Sikh place of worship Gurmat: Guru’s doctrine, Sikhism gurmata: literally ‘will of the Guru’; decision of the gathered Khalsa gurmukh: devout Sikh Gurmukhi: script of the Sikh scriptures gurpurab: religious anniversary, for example the