Hi all,
Since I know so little about Sikhism, I thought it would be nice to have a sticky on Sikhism compiled by Sikh members of this forum. I am going to get a beating on this; but I am going to go on a limb and state what I think I have understood from my personal limited exposure to Sikhism and from posts in this forum. This could be corrected/modified/extended as needed, to create a final version of the sticky. So, here we go.
1. The Tat Khalsa* sect recognizes Guru Granth Sahibji as their only spiritual text. It is 1430 pages long and has 5867 hymns in it. These verses were contributed by the Sikh Gurus and, various Hindu and Sufi saints. In addition, some sects also recognize the Dasam Granth, which is a 1428 pages long book composed by the 10th Guru, Guru Gobind Singhji as their sacred text. Hindu deities and scriptures also form part of the venerable traditions of yet other sects.
2. Sikhism has a lineage of 10 dedhari (Hindi, deh-dhari - embodied) Gurus, starting with Guru Nanak . All are believed to be One Jyot (God Consciousness). The tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh merged his Jyot into the Adi Granth to give Guru Granth Sahibji, the eternal Guru.
3. The Tat Khalsa Sikh service consists of singing of hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib by a Granthi. They are set to North Indian classical music ragas. After the recitation, a brief meaning of the hymns is provided, followed by closing prayers. The food for distribution placed by the side of the Guru Granth Sahib during the service becomes prasad by kirpan - a holy kirpan placed by the side is dipped into each food item. Other sects have singing of bhajans as part of their service.
4. In the North American Gurudwaras, the weekly Sunday service starts between 10:00 AM and 12 noon and lasts about one and a half hours. It is followed by prasad (halwa) distribution and a langar - communal meal. In India, depending on the size of the Gurudwara, the langar is served once a week, once a day, after the service, or all day long - need verification/correction on this.
5. Before entering a gurudwara, everyone is expected to cover his/her head, and keep it covered as long as one is in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib.
6. The Guru Granth Sahibji proclaims one God (better explanation needed). The Tat Khalsa sect forbids murti puja and the practice of caste system and there are no images of their gurus in the Gurudwara. (References from the Guru Granth Sahibji needed). Other sects have no prohibition on images or murtis for puja. Even the service is conducted differently with the singing of bhajans and use of other instruments besides the traditional harmonium and tabla; presence of Guru images, muratis and images of Hindu deities also form part of the sanctum.
7. Religious ceremonies for Happy events, like marriage, are conducted in the morning hours and for sad events in the afternoon/evening.
8. Link to Guru Granth Sahibji: http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gur...am=1&ab_line=t
9. Things I missed???
* For a brief history of the evolution of the Sikh shrines and other sects, please read the post on Sikh Sabhas Demystified
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