Some beginner questions...

[stillwood]

Hello. I am new to studying Sikhism. Over the past few months I've been studying eastern religions (Hindu, Jainism, Buddhism, etc) and only very recently came upon Sikhism.

I have a very basic idea of what it is, but I'm confused about some things.

Does Sikhism have a dogma of sorts?

I recently watched a video on Sikhism where the presenter said that Sikhs don't believe in religion. What exactly did he mean by that?

Are there any good beginner books to start learning more about Sikhism?

Lastly, does one have to not cut their hair, carry the sword, etc to consider themselves a Sikh?

Sorry for such amateur questions, I'm very interested in Sikhism and am trying to learn more.

Thank you!

 

[Treks]

Dear Stillwood ji

Yes, Sikhi does have a dogma of sorts. It can be found in the Sikh Rehat Maryada (Sikh Code of Conduct) available here: Sikh Rehat Maryada in English | Welcome to Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Sri Amritsar

Are you watching the Basics of Sikhi videos? If so, they are quite good, but laced with woo. If you ignore the woo, you'll be right.

Sikhs buck the term "religion" and prefer "way of life". Sikhi (like any religion, really) should be contemplated and it's teachings integrated into your life and psyche. Living it sincerely is more important than talking about it, wearing the clothes or "believing" in it.

There aren't really too many good books about Sikhi. Your best bet is to read the Granth Sahib, the Rehat Maryada, and books about Sikh and Punjabi history. I started out with a copy of Hew McLeod's Sikhism which I found to be really quite good - his translations in the back are excellent. However, he was quite biased, and you need to take what he writes as a starting point only and continue reading, learning and coming to your own conclusions.

Broadly there are three types of Sikhs; Sehajdhari, Keshdhari and Amritdhari. Sehajdharis do not keep their hair and you might not even know they are Sikh except for the kara (most Sikhs wear a kara - the steel bracelet). Keshdhari keep their hair and are on the path to becoming Amritdhari. Amritdhari are initiated Sikhs who must not cut their hair, must carry the kirpan (sword), etc.

You certainly don't need to be outwardly Sikh to consider yourself a Sikh. In fact, the outward bits are trappings. I've met turbaned, keshdhari Sikhs who drink alcohol, and heard about amritdharis who have committed crimes. Gurbani itself stresses that it is too easy to look the part on the outside and not on the inside.

Don't worry about the external aspects of Sikhi. Focus only on the core of it.

Also, never apologise for asking questions. "Sikh" means student, and as long as we are always learning, we are Sikhs.

Gurfateh

 

[stillwood]

Thank you for your informative reply! Besides the McLeod book, are there one or two more you can recommend (perferably ones on Sikh or Punjab history)? I have an Amazon gift card and want to buy a few to get me started.

I dont know if this exists, but is there a book that talks about the life of Guru Nanak Dev Ji?

Also, do Sikhs believe in reincarnation like Buddhists and Hindus do?

I noticed that a lot of the eastern religions focus a lot on meditation. Why is that? I sort of understand why they do it in buddhism, but what is the over all goal of it? Id like to try and start meditating, but Ive never really done it before.

Lastly, what are the Sikhs concept of God? In the basics of Sikhi videos (yes Ive been watching them) he says that God is within you and seems to reject the idea that God is this deity living in the sky. Would this be correct?

Thanks again for your help! I look forward to speaking with you more.

 

[Treks]

You are most welcome!

The ones I have read I've borrowed from the library (public or Gurdwara) and forgot the titles (*shame*). Have a look around Amazon and see what you can find. Go for scholarly-type, not religious-type, because you'll get more facts and less bias.

For the life of Guru Nanak Sahib Ji, I recommend The Sikh Religion, Volume 1 by Max Arthur MacAuliffe. Max was a British public servant who went to Punjab to research, and published a collection of books about Sikh Gurus. By the time he was done, he had converted, and is possibly the first "white" convert to Sikhi. You can read it for free here The Sikh Religion Vol. 1 Index or I'm sure you can buy one or all volumes. If you read it and want more volumes, they are all available to download, and I can dig up the link for you.

Sikhs are divided on the topic of reincarnation. The majority believe we are reincarnated until we are liberated and merge with Waheguru after death. A minority do not believe in reincarnation and believe we have one shot at liberation, which is merging with Waheguru in this life, and death is death. As you delve you'll come to your own conclusion. Sikhs do not generally believe in a strict system of samsara like Buddhists, and for the majority who believe in reincarnation and karma, karma has far less of an impact on reincarnation, unlike for Hindus.

I can't speak for many Eastern religions on meditation because I've only researched Sikhi. Sikhs place value on training the mind, and meditation helps with this. Conquer your mind, conquer the world. As I'm sure you've already learned, Sikhs meditate with words like 'Waheguru', 'Satnam Sri Waheguru Ji', or meditate on the Mul Mantar. Personally, I put any talk about meditation with regard to the 'tenth door/gate', 'dasam daur', 'third eye' stuff in the 'woo' category. But that's just me. Meditation is a psychological process.

With regard to the God concept in Sikhi, yes, I feel that what you've gleaned from the videos is correct. Sikhs have various ideas about God, but most would agree that Sikhi is panentheistic. This means the Creative Force existed before creation, creation is within It (and hence It is within everything), and It will continue to exist once creation ceases to exist. Imagine the Creative Force is an ocean, and creation is a wave. The wave is formed of the ocean yet is a distinct thing itself, until it falls back into the ocean. The Creative Force is not very personalised within Gurbani, and when it is the Gurbani is usually employing a poetic technique of personalizing a concept so it is easier for us to relate to.

I hope I'm not bombarding you with too much information, or confusing you in any way.

Gurfateh

 

[stillwood]

Thanks again for your help. I found some good reading material on Sikhism, so that should keep me busy for a while

I like the Pantheistic idea of God, thats always made a lot more sense to me than thinking of God as a "supreme being". Ive always felt that if God exists, than we live within it.

I really like the idea of how open and accepting Sikhi is of other religions and recognizing everyone as equal. This makes a lot of sense to me.

So, I know you sort of already answered this, but does one have to follow some of the set "rules" (I cant think of a better word) of Sikhism to consider themselves a Sikh? Things like staying away from alcohol, and not eating meat, are these "musts"?

Can I still have a drink once in a while and eat meat and consider myself a Sikh?

 

[Treks]

Sikhi is PanENtheistic, not pantheistic.

I'm glad you're liking it so far.

There is nothing at all against eating meat in mainstream Sikhi, except that initiated Sikhs must not eat meat from an animal slaughtered in the Muslim way.

Here's the SRM's definition of a Sikh (you really should put the SRM at the top of your reading list, hand-in-hand with Guru Granth Sahib Ji):

Article I – Definition of Sikh
Any human being who faithfully believes in:
• One Immortal Being
• Ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak Dev to Guru Gobind Singh
• The Guru Granth Sahib
• The utterances and teachings of the ten Gurus
• The baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru, and who does not owe allegiance to any
other religion, is a Sikh.

The rules are not as important as living and behaving as a Sikh. With Sikhi, instead of looking for "do not's", it's more important to look for "do's".

DO read and contemplate Gurbani and see how you can integrate it into your life, like:

• The three "pillars" of Sikhi: Awareness of the Creative Force (Naam Japna), Honest Living (Kirat Karni) and Sharing With Others (Wand Chakna)

DO be kind, be genuine, develop yourself to be the best person you can be, apply your skills to helping others, and maintain a sense of interconnectedness with everything.

If you are desperate for do not's, go to page 11 of the SRM. This will tell you that you should not drink alcohol. But honestly, I can count on one hand the number of Sikhs I've met who don't drink. The uncle ji who run the Gurbani class at my Gurdwara is an upstanding gentleman with a thorough understanding of scripture, wears a turban and keeps his beard, and he still drinks alcohol.

We are all people first, trying our best. If you have the occasional drink in moderation whilst being a honest, sharing and caring person, you are ahead of those who do not drink but do gossip, lie and cheat.

 

[stillwood]

Ah ok, panentheism, not pantheism. Ill be honest, I had never heard of panentheism until you have just mentioned it. Im getting the basic idea of what it is from the wiki page, but do you think you could expand on it a little more? (If you dont mind)

It sounds similar to pantheism, but not exactly.

Just curious, do you know where I can find a PDF version of the SRM?

Thanks again, youre helping me a lot!

 

[Treks]

Stillwood ji

There's not really much more to say about panentheism - if you're really curious you can check out the threads in the subforum here at RF. The main difference between pantheism and panentheism is that pantheism says that the universe is god, whereas panentheism says that the universe is within god but god is greater than the universe. I'll dig up some Sikh scripture to illustrate this within Sikhi.

I've been linking you to the PDF version of the SRM this whole time. When you're viewing the web page, right-click anywhere in the document and choose 'save-as'.

Gurfateh

 

[stillwood]

Ok, I understand what you mean about panentheism now. Thanks for clearing that up.

And yes, I realized that you linked the PDF after I posted that. Sorry for the confusion. Thanks again for your help!
Looks like I have a lot of reading to do!

 

[Treks]

These two lines of Gurbani illustrate panentheism in Sikhi:

ਸਭ ਤੇ ਨੇਰੈ ਸਭਹੂ ਤੇ ਦੂਰਿ ॥
Sabẖ ṯe nerai sabẖhū ṯe ḏūr.
Near to all, and yet far from all;

ਨਾਨਕ ਆਪਿ ਅਲਿਪਤੁ ਰਹਿਆ ਭਰਪੂਰਿ ॥੪॥
Nānak āp alipaṯ rahi▫ā bẖarpūr. ||4||
O Nanak, Itself remains distinct, while yet pervading all. ||4||

and more from the same shabad on panna 276 of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji:

ਕਈ ਕੋਟਿ ਖਾਣੀ ਅਰੁ ਖੰਡ ॥
Ka▫ī kot kẖāṇī ar kẖand.
Many millions are the fields of creation and the galaxies.

ਕਈ ਕੋਟਿ ਅਕਾਸ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੰਡ ॥
Ka▫ī kot akās barahmand.
Many millions are the etheric skies and the solar systems.

ਕਈ ਕੋਟਿ ਹੋਏ ਅਵਤਾਰ ॥
Ka▫ī kot ho▫e avṯār.
Many millions are the divine incarnations.

ਕਈ ਜੁਗਤਿ ਕੀਨੋ ਬਿਸਥਾਰ ॥
Ka▫ī jugaṯ kīno bisthār.
In so many ways, He has unfolded Himself.

ਕਈ ਬਾਰ ਪਸਰਿਓ ਪਾਸਾਰ ॥
Ka▫ī bār pasri▫o pāsār.
So many times, He has expanded His expansion.

ਸਦਾ ਸਦਾ ਇਕੁ ਏਕੰਕਾਰ ॥
Saḏā saḏā ik ekankār.
Forever and ever, He is the One, the One Universal Creator.

ਕਈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕੀਨੇ ਬਹੁ ਭਾਤਿ ॥
Ka▫ī kot kīne baho bẖāṯ.
Many millions are created in various forms.

ਪ੍ਰਭ ਤੇ ਹੋਏ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਮਾਹਿ ਸਮਾਤਿ ॥
Parabẖ ṯe ho▫e parabẖ māhi samāṯ.
From God they emanate, and into God they merge once again.

ਤਾ ਕਾ ਅੰਤੁ ਨ ਜਾਨੈ ਕੋਇ ॥
Ŧā kā anṯ na jānai ko▫e.
His limits are not known to anyone.

ਆਪੇ ਆਪਿ ਨਾਨਕ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਸੋਇ ॥੭॥
Āpe āp Nānak parabẖ so▫e. ||7||
Of Himself, and by Himself, O Nanak, God exists. ||7||