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Interested In Sikhism


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Guest BusinessLady

Hi,

I recently saw a procession of sikhs go by (southampton) and I was quite amazed by proceedings. This made me interested in the Sikh religion. I currently do not have a religion.

Could you advise me on what the key principles and practices of your faith? What do you exactly believe in and what is your concept of life?

I noticed most people from the procession were South Asian, is your religion for people of all races or is it mainly within India?

Many Thanks.

BusinessLady

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Welcome to the forum

Well....

Sikhism originated from Punjab India so most Sikhs are of Indian decent, but they are also a lot of White American Sikhs and they seem to be growing in my opinion. As for Sikhism in a nutshell would be that Sikhs believe in 1 Universal God,

Naam Japna ( Meditating)

Kirat Karni (Earning a honest living)

Wand Chakana ( Sharing, Giving to Charity)

Seva ( Serving Humanity )

If you have any questions im sure people can help answer your queries.

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Business lady I suggest you get to a gurdwara or an event where there is a talk they should be able to answer your questions

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Guest BusinessLady

Welcome to the forum

Well....

Sikhism originated from Punjab India so most Sikhs are of Indian decent, but they are also a lot of White American Sikhs and they seem to be growing in my opinion. As for Sikhism in a nutshell would be that Sikhs believe in 1 Universal God,

Naam Japna ( Meditating)

Kirat Karni (Earning a honest living)

Wand Chakana ( Sharing, Giving to Charity)

Seva ( Serving Humanity )

If you have any questions im sure people can help answer your queries.

Hi Yoga Flame,

Thanks for the warm welcome.

The principles sound interesting and appear to have a good cause. I noticed some sikh men wear a turban around their heads.

Can you advise what is the wisdom behind the turban? I think it is related to the purity of hair. As a sikh, are you allowed to cut your hair (both females and males)?

Many thanks.

BusinessLady

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Sikhism is a very very difficult path to follow

at a basic lever there are two parts to every Sikh, saint and soilder

Saint- every Sikh worships one Lord. this is the one universal creator which is the lord of all, we dont believe in the establishment of religon because it is man made, the word Sikh means student and a student always questions everything, Sikhs are taught not to just believe there is a God because it would be silly to believe in something there is no evidence for, Sikhi teaches Banday Khoj Dil Har Roj, O mortal, each and everyday search within the heart, one can't simply belive in God but one must know God, one must meditate on God and find God within

Once the soul connects to God through one way and one way only LOVE , lovingly meditating on God and singing Gods praises will lead the human to God, than a person can move to the second

Soilder- A true soilder doesnt fight because he hates what is infront of him but because he loves what is behind him- Once a Sikh connects with the great Guru , than it is time to work on the physical aspect, a Sikh can't be a hermit. God gaves us bodies as well as souls, A Sikh must always defend the weak with their life regardless of the faith and religon that weak person might be, A Sikh must always stand for truth even if they have to stand against the universe , A Sikh must love and spread love, A Sikh must see people of all religons,all colors , all cultures,genders,sexual oriantations as One and serve all like the lord a Sikh must be NirWair or free of Hatred, A Sikh is never a bully or tyrant but they will never tolarate opression of others

A Sikhs day starts before sunrise with meditation on God, this is not forced, but a love and thirst for the sweet divine Lord wakes them up

they are to bathe and singh God's praises, every morning they must be lovingly absorbed in God

they are to then Go and serve humanity, be a light in this world and brighten everyones day bring the sweetness that God gives them to the whole universe

they are to engage in seva or selfless service and work hard as well as share the fruits of their labors

A Sikh must be God like

LOVE IS THE RELIGON OF A SIKH AND THE ONLY PATH TO GOD

Naam- Sikhs believe the way to reach God is through the Guru or the shabad or the Naam. Now God has no name Guru Gobind Ji says God is Nirnamme, but the Gurus gave us a great gift of the mool mantar (root mantr) and the WaheGuru Mantr

these help the soul break through the ego and merge with its origon

the mool mantar is (Akal Thakat Sahib = ekta , so using that rehit

Ik OangKar

SatiNaam(u)

Karta Purakh(u)

Nir Bhaao(u)

Nir Vair(u)

Akaal Moorat(i)

Ajooni

Saibhung

Gurparsadi

this talks about the Universal Creator Lord who is within all and ever steady

this Lord is all that exists, the Naam is hoon wala or eternal and always existing

This Lord is the creator of all (there is not a separate God for muslims, christians, hindus, it is all the same, God is God the father, God is Allah, God is Ahura Mazda, the creation can't limit the creator)

This Lord is fearless

This Lord is free of hate (for anyone or anything)

Akaal Moorat(i)- God is the timeless being

Ajooni- God is free from birth and death

Saibhung- God was always there , self sustained, doesn't need food or water or a mother or father , God just always existed as (him/her/it) self, God was always always there noone can make God

Gurparsadi- God is realized through the Shabad , through the Naam, through his Grace ,

this helps the soul realize the universal lord and break the barriers of doubt and of rituals

the WaHeGuRu mantar is also great because each letter stands for the ages and when put togather creation vanishes and the creator is left, which creater the one Lord, the WaHeGuRu or the wonderous hailed Guru, the light to dispell the darkness of this worlld

meditation on these mantars help us to realize the Formless Lord, they help break the barrier of falsehood

A Sikh is against all other rituals, we dont believe in fasting , we dont believe in ritual bathing or Holy days, or anything of the such

JUST LOVE LOVE FOR ALL WILL LEAD TO GOD

Sikhs wear the turban to symbolize that they have put their feet on this path

men and women are completly equal in Sikhism and both are allowed to wear the turban when they feel ready for this commitment

once A Sikh is ready they take Amrit and become A Khalsa

they dedicate their lives to this life style and start wearing the five Ks

they are

Kesh- A Sikh believes that each hair God put on their body is for a purpose

even the hairs within (cilla) have a purpose so a Sikh respects their body, doesn't cut their hair, or deform it in any ways

Kanga- A comb to represent discipline

Kadda- A steal bracelet worn to remind us of the circle of life and reincarnation, to remind us to always do Good with out hands cause what comes around goes around, and to remind us about the oneness of the creation and not to get attached to duality

Kirpan-the word Kirpan means Kirpa (mercy,compassion,grace). The kirpan is a small religous sword we keep to remind us not to be hermits, and to always defend the weak and be fearless, to dpread compassion wherever we go , kirpa means compassion or grace and aan means bless , this is a symbol of compassion and mercy for all even the poor and meek , love and mercy for all faiths and people

Kacchera- undershorts, symbolize purity, men and women both wear them , surprisingly Guru Ji was very pro women and said that a mans fallicies are not a women's fault

in todays culture when a woman gets raped ppl still blame the woman but Guru ji said no Singhs, it is not the womans fault, control yourself so he gave men as well a kacherra instead to telling woman to wear a viel or be modest, in reality Guru Ji speaks against such practices as the veiling of women

the kachera reminds us that other then our spouse women are moms,siters,and daughters,men are fathers,sons,and brothers

so thats the very basic into for u

try sikhnet.com or srigranth.org to find out more

srec.gurmat.info is a great place to start with good translations of prayers

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Welcome to the forum

Well....

Sikhism originated from Punjab India so most Sikhs are of Indian decent, but they are also a lot of White American Sikhs and they seem to be growing in my opinion. As for Sikhism in a nutshell would be that Sikhs believe in 1 Universal God,

Naam Japna ( Meditating)

Kirat Karni (Earning a honest living)

Wand Chakana ( Sharing, Giving to Charity)

Seva ( Serving Humanity )

If you have any questions im sure people can help answer your queries.

Hi Yoga Flame,

Thanks for the warm welcome.

The principles sound interesting and appear to have a good cause. I noticed some sikh men wear a turban around their heads.

Can you advise what is the wisdom behind the turban? I think it is related to the purity of hair. As a sikh, are you allowed to cut your hair (both females and males)?

Many thanks.

BusinessLady

You are right also the turban represents respectability, and was a sign of nobility. The symbolisms of wearing a turban are many from it being regarded as a symbol of sovereignty, dedication, self-respect, courage and piety but the reason all practicing Sikhs wear the turban is just one - out of love and obedience of the wishes of the founders of their faith.

Sikhs men are women are not allowed to cut hair but you prob will see that most cut hair but this could be down to outside pressures. Society and/or family are affecting them. They have forgotten, or perhaps never understood in the first place, their identity as Sikhs.

www.sikhnet.com is a site made by white american Sikhs which you might find use full

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Welcome to the forum! :)

Its my humble suggestion that you start with our Guru, which is Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji. Yes, it available online and with English translation :)

Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji

Yes many are south asians. But ones race/caste/creed is of no have no importance in the path Sikhism. I personally know black,Chinese and white Sikhs.

NAAM is what Sikhism is all about. :)

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Guest BusinessLady

Welcome to the forum! :)

Its my humble suggestion that you start with our Guru, which is Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji. Yes, it available online and with English translation :)

Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji

Yes many are south asians. But ones race/caste/creed is of no have no importance in the path Sikhism. I personally know black,Chinese and white Sikhs.

NAAM is what Sikhism is all about. :)

Thanks for the welcome Guruvah.

Thanks all for your introduction to the religion.

Yogaflame, you mentioned that humans are not allowed to cut their religion in Sikhism. Can you advise what is the wisdom behind this? I personally like to stay hygienic and feel that having armpit/other hair is not a sign of hygiene.

Can a human still be a sikh whilst cutting hair (especially for females as we dont like extra hair).

Many Thanks.

BusinessLady.

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Hi Business woman,

Welcome to Sikhism.

Strictly, if you want to become a practising sikh and become baptised, you may not cut any hair from your body. The reason Sikhs do not cut thier hair is because we believe the way god has given us this body is perfect. There is a reason why we have hair in different places. There have been several studies about the qualities of hair etc, which scientists are proving now, but our guru's made us aware of such things hundreds of years ago.

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Guest BusinessLady

Hi Business woman,

Welcome to Sikhism.

Strictly, if you want to become a practising sikh and become baptised, you may not cut any hair from your body. The reason Sikhs do not cut thier hair is because we believe the way god has given us this body is perfect. There is a reason why we have hair in different places. There have been several studies about the qualities of hair etc, which scientists are proving now, but our guru's made us aware of such things hundreds of years ago.

Hi Humgareeb,

Thanks for letting me know. However, I would like to question this. Our nails also grow, are you saying we should not trim them? Are you allowed to trim your nails in Sikhism or you cant because they grow for a reason?

Manythanks.

BusinessLady

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