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Sikhism

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History

Founder – Nanak Dev

Our quest for an understanding of the historical development of the Sikh tradition and an insight into Sikh culture must begin with a biographical sketch of its founder, Nanak Dev, popularly known as Guru Nanak, together with his reaction to the religious, social and political circumstances obtaining in fifteenth-century Punjab.

First, however, it is essential to decode the meaning of the word 'guru'. This takes us to the second stage: how the movement originated by Guru Nanak began to be known as Sikhism. Sikh means a student, a learner or a disciple, while the term guru denotes a teacher, an enlightener, or a spiritual guide. The terms 'guru' and 'sikh' (Punjabi form of the Sanskrit word shishya) are derived from the Sanskrit language.

The Sikh tradition, like most Indic-religious traditions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, is a guru–sikh (teacher–disciple) oriented organization in which the relationship between a guru and his/her disciple is regarded as most sacred and distinct.

During his lifetime Guru Nanak attracted large numbers of followers who became his disciples or Sikhs and who in turn revered Nanak as their guru. Quite simply, this is how the Sikh movement began. Sikhs were originally the inhabitants of the state of Punjab who embraced the teachings of Nanak and his nine successors, and who under their creative leadership and teachings emerged as a distinct Sikh/ Punjabi community.

Punjabi Heritage

Scholars of the history of India generally agree that it is one of the oldest civilizations in the world and that its cradle was the soil of Punjab. Its main cities were Mohenjodaro and Harappa and scholars sometimes refer to it as the Indus Valley civilization. It dates back to about 3300 BCE and flowered between 2500 and 1700 BCE.

The arrival of the Aryan people from the west into the Punjab, around 1500 BCE, had a dramatic impact on Punjabi society. The social interaction between the Aryans and the indigenous people resulted in a new culture which resulted in a caste system evolving in India. It was also in the Punjab that the Aryans evolved their Vedic culture and recorded the Vedas and other great works of the Sanskrit language.

The Aryans were followed by numerous invaders, including Greeks, Turks and Mughals, all of whom entered India through the Punjab and left their cultural mark on Punjabi identity. It is interesting to note that the Urdu language evolved and developed under the impact of social interaction between Persian soldiers and Punjabi people.

For our purposes the invasion of the Mughal emperor Babar is particularly significant. It is believed that Guru Nanak witnessed the slaughter of ordinary Punjabi people at the hands of the Islamic Mughal army at Aimnabad in 1526. Commenting upon the social and political degeneration of the society at that time, Nanak said: 'Kings are butchers: cruelty is their weapon. The sense of duty has taken wings and vanished. Falsehood reigns over the land as a veil of darkness.'

Ironically, Mughal rule in India contributes significantly towards the development of the Sikh tradition and its principal institutions. As a matter of fact, the Punjab and India enjoyed a relatively peaceful life under the Mughal rulers. The interaction between Hinduism and Islam had a major impact on the development of the Sikh tradition.

Guru Nanak

Guru Nanak was born into a Khatri family (one of the high castes in Hindu society) in 1469 in a village called Talwandi located about forty miles from the city of Lahore (now in Pakistan). His father was a revenue officer. Being the son of a government official, Nanak was privileged to be educated both in the Sanskrit and Persian languages by Hindu and Muslim teachers. From a very young age, he is believed to have had a craving for answers to the meaning and purpose of human existence. Thus he began to enjoy the company of wandering Sadhus and Sants (religious mendicants/hermits) and Sufi leaders of Islam. He was also deeply distressed, we are told, by the social divisions in Punjabi/lndic society, which had been rationalized by the Hindu hierarchy as part of the divine order.

While working at Sultanpur as a manager of government stores, Nanak gained a personal insight into the way state structures functioned. Apparently, he was very disturbed by having to witness the moral degradation and degeneration of government officials who were engaged in the exploitation of ordinary people through a system of bribes and oppression.

Nanak, in fact, appeared at a critical period in the history of India when it was drifting fast into the hands of the Mughal invaders after the earlier invasions of Muslim rulers from Central Asia. Hindu society, dominated by the Brahmins (the highest caste), was bitterly divided within numerous caste groups and steeped in ritualistic practices, whereas the Muslim hierarchy, encouraged by the state, was engaged in the process of converting the Hindu population.

Nanak was a married man with two sons. He challenged the attitude of Yogis and Sannyasis (a sect of renouncers) who advocated the practice of celibacy and renunciation of society for spiritual liberation. He preached that one must live amongst people and share their joys and disappointments, and be an agent of change for the eradication of outmoded rituals and superstitious practices.

Divine Call

According to Sikh tradition, Nanak received the divine call at Sultanpur. One morning, when he went to bathe in the nearby river, it is believed that he was taken to God's court. He reappeared after three days declaring: 'There is no Hindu and there is no Muslim.' His declaration was focused on the unity and equality of humankind transcending the sectarian boundaries of caste and religious bigotry.

He took practical steps to translate his ideas and set out on a long journey through India and abroad to visit various centres of learning. For his companion, he chose Mardana, a Muslim minstrel, in order to express his understanding of the oneness of God.

During his travels Nanak composed bani (writings) in poetic form in Punjabi, the language of ordinary people, rather than Sanskrit or Persian. He thereby removed the barrier between God and people and released them from the clutches of religious zealots like the Brahmins. While Nanak composed poetry, Mardana set it to music and sang. Since then the tradition of shabad-kirtan (religious singing) has become an integral part of a Sikh service.

Accompanied by Mardana, the two of them are believed to have travelled to Mecca where Nanak imparted the message of the oneness of God to the custodians of Islam. He also visited the religious centres of the Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims in India. While in Mecca he was asked who was superior, a Hindu or a Muslim, to which he replied that without good deeds both were living in darkness. He proclaimed that 'Truth is high but higher still is truthful living'.

On one occasion, he visited Hardwar, one of the ancient Hindu centres of pilgrimage, situated on the banks of the River Ganges. He stood with the pilgrims in the river for an early morning bathe; they were praying while throwing water towards the rising sun. Nanak, however, began to throw water to the west. The people around him were surprised to see someone acting against the centuries-old Hindu tradition of offering water to their ancestors.

As a result, Nanak was brought before the custodians of Hardwar. They questioned his behaviour and asked what he had been doing in the river Ganges that morning. He replied that he was watering his fields in his village near Lahore. The Brahmins laughed at his explanation and replied: 'Your water could not reach the fields in the Punjab which are nearly two hundred miles away from Hardwar.' 'Then, how far is the sun and your ancestors from Hardwar?' asked Nanak. They replied that the sun was millions and millions of miles from earth. 'If my water cannot reach my fields a few hundred miles from Hardwar', responded Nanak, 'how can your water possibly reach your ancestors and the god Sun which is so far away from earth?' The Brahmins were speechless in the face of Nanak's question, which had exposed the futility of one of their superstitious rituals.

After more than twenty years of extensive travel, Nanak returned to the Punjab and settled at Kartarpur (literally 'God's village/town'), a town he founded on the banks of the River Ravi. It was at Kartarpur that he began to give practical shape to his revolutionary ideas. He launched a crusade against the caste divisions. He despised the exclusion of low caste people from entering and worshipping at Hindu temples. Being a visionary leader, he innovated the traditions of sangat (communal worship) and langar (communal meal) for transmitting the message of God's oneness. He also preached the significance of kirat-karna (earning one's living through honest means) and wand-chhakna (sharing the fruits of one's labours with others).

At Kartarpur, Nanak's house was turned into a dharamsala (a place of worship) where people of different castes and faiths would gather for shabad-kirtan (religious singing) and a common meal while sitting in rows, without any distinction of gender or status. Kartarpur became a very popular centre and it began to be visited by large numbers of people who became Nanak's followers or 'Sikhs'.

During his travels, Nanak had collected the writings of Muslim and Hindu saints alike, some of whom were born in the lowest caste groups, for example, Kabir, Farid, and Ravidas. Before his death in 1539, Nanak appointed Angad, one of his disciples, as his successor for continuing his mission, and gave him the collection of writings of other saints as well as his own compositions for the spiritual nurturing of future generations. His decision to choose his successor was one of the cardinal steps that laid the foundation of the institution of guruship in the Sikh tradition.

Fundamental Institutions of Sikhism

Nanak was followed by nine guru successors who further evolved and developed some of the fundamental institutions of Sikhism, for example, the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib), the Sikh scriptures (Adi Granth), the place of worship (gurdwara) and the Sikh brotherhood (Khalsa) which played a crucial role in bestowing a distinctive identity to the movement.

Teachings

Oneness of God

The central teaching in Sikhism is the belief in the concept of the oneness of God. All people, irrespective of caste, creed, colour and sex, are regarded as the creation of the one God. The notion of diversity in God's kingdom is perceived as a dynamic and positive force. It is believed that all religious traditions are equally valid and capable of enlightening their followers. By belonging to different traditions and standing in different places, all human beings can share and broaden one another's vision.

Sikhism rejects the view that any particular religion has the monopoly concerning the absolute truth about God. According to Sikh teachings, all human groups evolved and developed their modes of worship and religious institutions within the context of their social environment. Whilst a Muslim prayer is called namaz, a Hindu prayer is puja, and a Sikh prayer is called ardas.

Mul-Mantra

Guru Nanak's understanding of the nature of God is clearly depicted in his first composition popularly known as the Mul-Mantra (basic creed). The text and translation of the Mul-Mantra is given as follows:

Ek Onkar (There is One God.)

Sat Nam (Eternal Truth is His name.)

Karta Purkh (Creator of all things and the all pervading spirit.)

Nirbhau (He is without fear.)

Nirvair (He is without enmity.)

Akal Murat (He is timeless and formless.)

Ajuni (He is beyond birth and death.)

Saibham (He is self-existent.)

Gur parsad (He is known by the grace of the Guru.)

Adi Granth I

The opening phrase, 'Ek Onkar' summarizes the fundamental belief in Sikhism. The word Ek means one and Onkar denotes God; thus the emphasis is on the notion of the oneness of God. The Sikh scriptures begin with the Mul-Mantra which occurs more than a hundred times throughout the texts. It signifies the centrality of the belief in the concept of the oneness of God in Sikhism. Although the pronoun 'He' has been applied when referring to Onkar (God in English), in fact, in Sikhism God has no particular gender, which further emphasizes the unity and equality of mankind.

Monotheism

Guru Nanak preached strict monotheism. He disapproved of the worship of idols and the belief in the reincarnation of God. Since God is without any form, colour, mark or lineage, he cannot be established or installed as an idol. However, since God is infinite, He cannot die to be reincarnated, nor could He assume human form as Hindus believe to be the case, who worship Lord Rama and Krishna as God in human form on earth.

The social and spiritual dimensions of the nature of God are intertwined in Sikh teaching. For example, if God is Truth, to speak an untruth is to be ungodly; thus untruthful conduct not only hurts one's fellow men but is also irreligious. Sikh gurus taught that a Sikh must not only believe in One, Omnipresent God, but also behave in such a way that he does not harm others by his hurtful conduct.

Hukam – Divine Order

The term hukam came to the Punjabi vocabulary from the Arabic tradition; it means Divine Order. Hukam literally means order and hakam denotes the one who gives orders. The Sikh gurus applied the concept of hukam extensively in their compositions to explain the nature of creation, the universe and human life. According to the Sikh tradition, everything in this world functions according to the Divine Order or scheme. Guru Nanak, in his celebrated hymn called Japji, refers to the notion of hukam in order to demonstrate the hand of God behind the functioning of the universe as well as the daily life of human beings. Human life is understood to be part of the Divine Order, therefore it is man's duty to submit to God's Will. Expanding on the true meaning of the concept of hukam, Sikh gurus refer to the most important aspects of human existence, such as birth and death, which are beyond man's control.

Guru Nanak elaborates the notion of hukam by posing a question:

How may man purify himself?

How does man demolish the wall of ignorance?

This is brought about by living in accordance with God's Command or Will.

Adi Granth I

Sikh teachings emphasize faith in the concept of hukam. It is stated that there is a Divine purpose in everything. Human beings cannot know the Divine mysteries; they are only a drop in the ocean or like a fish in the sea. It is therefore their duty to submit before God's Will. In their teachings, Sikh gurus have constantly reiterated that in the long run falsehood or evil will be destroyed and Truth will prevail. The martyrdom of the fifth guru, Arjun Dev as well as the ninth guru, Teg Bahadur, is perceived as hukam to which they submitted without complaining.

The doctrine of hukam raises a fundamental question: Are human beings helpless creatures in this world? No, said the gurus. They taught that all human beings have been endowed with qualities to create their own destiny. If a human being commits evil deeds he/she will suffer accordingly. It has been made absolutely clear that one reaps what one sows. It implies that for the attainment of Truth one needs to engage oneself in righteous deeds.

Dharmsal – Practice Of Righteousness

The term dharmsal is composed of two words: dharm which means religious, moral and social obligations, while sal means a place of abode. Guru Nanak describes the earth as dharmsal (a place to practise righteousness) established by God within the universe, and human life as the highest form of God's kingdom; moreover, the earth and everything that stands on it carries the divine stamp. According to Sikh teachings, a Sikh is not a passive spectator in this world; he/she is expected to be an active participant in the drama of human affairs. The concept of dharmsal implies faith in the oneness of God and the equality of humankind. Thus, for a Sikh, there is no place for the renunciation of society and the pursuit of God in the forest, abdicating all social responsibilities.

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Excerpted from Sikhism by Sewa Singh Kalsi. Copyright © 2007 Bravo Ltd. Excerpted by permission of Bravo Ltd.
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