All you need to know about Sikhism from India

 Exploration
of this article will help you to know the nature of Sikhism. You will be exposed
to monotheistic concept of God and the circle of life in Sikhism. The article examines the duties of a Sikh and vices in this religion.

Sikhism
was founded
in the 16th century in the Punjab district of what is now India and Pakistan.
It was founded by Guru Nanak and is based on his teachings and those of the
nine Sikh gurus who followed him.

The
most important thing in Sikhism is the internal religious state of the
individual.

• Sikhism is a monotheistic
  religion
• Sikhism stresses the importance
  of doing good actions rather than merely carrying out rituals
• Sikhs believe that the way to
  lead a good life is to:
• keep
  God in heart and mind at all times
• live
  honestly and work hard
• treat
  everyone equally
• be
  generous to the less fortunate
• serve
  others
• The Sikh place of worship is
  called a Gurdwara
• The Sikh scripture is the Guru
  Granth Sahib, a book that Sikhs consider a living Guru

 

Sikh Beliefs

God

• There is only one God
• God is without form, or gender
• Everyone has direct access to
  God
• Everyone is equal before God
• A good life is lived as part of
  a community, by living honestly and caring for others
• Empty religious rituals and
  superstitions have no value

Living in God and community

Sikhs
focus their lives around their relationship with God, and being a part of the
Sikh community. The Sikh ideal combines action and belief. To live a good life
a person should do good deeds as well as meditating on God.

 God and the cycle of life

Sikhs
believe that human beings spend their time in a cycle of birth, life, and
rebirth. They share this belief with followers of other Indian religious
traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

The
quality of each particular life depends on the law of Karma. Karma sets the
quality of a life according to how well or badly a person behaved in their
previous life. The only way out of this cycle, which all faiths regard as
painful, is to achieve a total knowledge of and union with God.

 The God of grace

Sikh
spirituality is centred round this need to understand and experience God, and
eventually become one with God. To do this a person must switch the focus of
their attention from themselves to God. They get this state, which is called mukti
(liberation), through the grace of God. That means it’s something God does to
human beings, and not something that human beings can earn. However, God shows
people through holy books, and by the examples of saints, the best ways to get
close to him.

Truth
is the highest of all virtues, but higher still is truthful living. Sikhs
believe that God can’t be understood properly by human beings, but he can be
experienced through love, worship, and contemplation. Sikhs look for God both
inside themselves and in the world around them. They do this to help themselves
achieve liberation and union with God.

 Getting close to God

When
a Sikh wants to see God, they look both at the created world and into their own
heart and soul. Their aim is to see the divine order that God has given to
everything, and through it to understand the nature of God. Most human beings
can’t see the true reality of God because they are blinded by their own
self-centred pride (Sikhs call it haumain) and concern for physical
things.

 God inside us

Sikhs
believe that God is inside every person, no matter how wicked they appear, and
so everyone is capable of change.

Just
as fragrance is in the flower, and reflection is in the mirror, in just the
same way, God is within you.

 God beyond ourselves

Sikhs
believe that God’s message can be found in several ways outside ourselves.

• The message is written in the
  whole of creation; look at it with open eyes and see the truth of God, for
  creation is the visible message of God
• Sikhs believe that most of us
  misunderstand the universe. We think that it exists on its own, when it
  really exists because God wills it to exist, and is a portrait of God’s
  own nature
• The message has been shown to
  us by the Gurus in their lives and in their words
• The message is set down in the
  teachings of scripture

 Living a good life in this world

Sikhs
don’t think it pleases God if people pay no attention to others and simply
devote themselves slavishly to religion.

Sikhism
doesn’t ask people to turn away from ordinary life to get closer to God. In
fact it demands that they use ordinary life as a way to get closer to God.

A
Sikh serves God by serving (seva) other people every day. By devoting
their lives to service they get rid of their own ego and pride.

Many
Sikhs carry out chores in the Gurdwara as their service to the community. These
range from working in the kitchen to cleaning the floor. The Langar, or free
food kitchen, is a community act of service. Sikhs also regard caring for the
poor or sick as an important duty of service.

The three duties

The
three duties that a Sikh must carry out can be summed up in three words; Pray,
Work, Give.

• Keeping God in mind at all
  times.
• Earning an honest living. Since
  God is truth, a Sikh seeks to live honestly. This doesn’t just mean
  avoiding crime; Sikhs avoid gambling, begging, or working in the alcohol
  or tobacco industries.
• Giving to charity and caring
  for others.

 The five vices

Sikhs
try to avoid the five vices that make people self-centered, and build barriers
against God in their lives.

• Lust
• Covetousness and greed
• Attachment to things of this
  world
• Anger
• Pride

If
a person can overcome these vices they are on the road to liberation.

 Conclusion

The most important thing in Sikhism is the
internal religious state of the individual. Sikhism is a monotheistic
religion. Sikhism stresses the importance of doing good actions
rather than merely carrying out rituals. Sikhs believe that the way to lead a
good life is to:  keep God in heart and
mind at all times, live honestly and work hard, treat everyone equally, be
generous to the less fortunate and serve others. The Sikh place of worship is
called a Gurdwara.
The Sikh scripture is the Guru Granth Sahib, a book that Sikhs consider a
living Guru