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Sikhism Local Temple Gurdwara Sahib Location: 33/34 Clarence Street, Loughborough LE11 1DY. Contact: Warden Lal Singh Assi, 01509 558027  Student Group There is a SU Sikh Society on campus, for more information visit www.lufbra.net/society/sikh/ Contact:
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Links www.sikh.net www.sikh-history.co.uk/ www.sikh-uni.ac.uk - the World Sikh University Overview of Sikhism Sikhism is the youngest of the great world faiths. There are 20 million Sikhs in the world, most living in India.
Sikhism is Britain’s third most popular religion, with about half a million Sikhs living in the UK.
Sikh men are easily identified by their beards and turbans, which are an outward sign of their religious identity.
Belief and Life
The most important thing in Sikhism is the internal religious state of the individual.
Sikhs avoid superstitious behaviour, and pilgrimages, statues, buildings, and "blind" rituals.
Sikhs think religion should be practiced by living in the world and coping with life's everyday problems. They don't approve of retreating from the world to be a monk or a hermit. The Bare Essentials of Sikhism - Founded in the 15th century CE
- Founded in the Punjab district of what is now India and Pakistan
- Most of the world's 20 million Sikhs still live in the Punjab
- Founded by Guru Nanak
- Present day Sikhism is still based on Guru Nanak's teachings and those of the 9 Sikh gurus who followed him
- Key Beliefs
- Sikhism is a monotheistic religion
(which means a religion with only one God) - Sikhism emphasises social and sexual equality
- 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"
- Gurdwara is a punjabi word meaning "gateway to the Guru"
- The Sikh scripture is a book called the Guru Granth Sahib
- The tenth Sikh Guru decreed that after his death the spiritual guide of the Sikhs would be the teachings contained in that book, so it now has the status of a Guru, and Sikhs show it the respect they would give to a human Guru
- The community of men and women who have been initiated into the Sikh faith is the Khalsa. The Khalsa celebrated its 300th anniversary in 1999
- Guru Gobind Singh decreed that where Sikhs could not find answers in the Guru Granth Sahib, they should decide issues as a community, based on the principles of their scripture
Beliefs… Main Beliefs - 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—you reap what you sow.
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.
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