The Role of Women in Sikhism

As most of you know, women generally are not "allowed" to be part of the Panj Piaray in most Gurdwaras. Even inside the Harimandir Sahib (The Golden Temple) women are not allowed to play Kirtan or do certain sevas. In spite of the Guru’s message of gender equality and the Guru declaring that there is no gender in Khalsa…these practices continue. Watch the video below to hear Guruka Singh’s thoughts on this subject.

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The religion I was born into is Sikhism



The religion I was born into is Sikhism. Not many westerners would know about it. In the 3rd Century B.C. as a reaction to the ritualistic nature of Hinduism there was a kind of a rebellion and some new religions like Buddhism and Jainism were born. These religion were against dogmas and rituals like idol worship, caste system, supremacy of the Brahmin(priestly class) and Sanskrit language. Both these religions also advocated non-violence and preached in the local dialect of the people. With time as it happens with all religions they became a copy of all that they were against and Hinduism once again gained its stronghold.
In the 15th century once again there was a spiritual movement against the evils affecting Hinduism and Islam and it gave birth to the Bhakti and Sufi movement in India. One of the gurus of this time was Guru Nanak Dev Ji who was the founder of Sikhism. He was followed by a lineage of 9 more Gurus and the last Guru declared the holy scripture of the religion the Guru Granth Sahib as the Guru. The Guru Granth Sahib contains the teachings and preachings of saints belonging to different religions.
I am not a very religious person and don't have much knowledge about my own religion but I do find Gurudwaras (Sikh place of worship) very calming and relaxing and so whenever I am really stressed I pay a visit ot the Gurudwara. I did so today and am posting a few pictures of a Gurudwara.

Sikh Scriptures - Creation of The Universe - Sikhism

Introduction to Sikhism