Initiation for Sikhism

Sikh temple participates in 'Food for Homeless' drive

2007-11-29T23:52:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, at the Lawrence Gurudwara Sikh temple on Bakers Basin Road, nearly 100 volunteers turned out to put together 6,000 food packages assembly-line style as part of the British Columbia-based Sikhcess’ “Feed the Homeless Campaign.” Those food packages were then brought to New York, where an additional 4,000 were made and distributed throughout the city and in New Jersey. Similar efforts

United Sikhs Launched Learning Values Series for Children

2007-11-10T03:38:00.001-08:00

New Delhi - United Sikhs launched last weekend a monthly Learning Values workshop series at the Guru Nanak Public School, Rajouri Garden, New Delhi, for children between the ages of 6 to 8 years. The main aim of the workshop was to enrich the children with the knowledge of Sikhism in a creative way. The event started with the welcoming of the Chief Guest, Sardar Jaspal Singh, Director, United

Sikhs laud new airport rules for passengers with turbans

2007-10-21T05:03:00.000-07:00

By Vanessa Colón / The Fresno BeeMany Valley Sikhs who felt singled out by new federal rules that give screeners more discretion to inspect turbans are breathing a sigh of relief after learning they won't be forced to remove their turbans after all.The Transportation Security Administration has agreed to allow alternative methods of inspecting turbans for those who are uncomfortable about

Why Are Reservations Being Forced On Indian Muslims?

2007-10-09T23:24:00.000-07:00

By Ahmad Sohail Siddiqui, www.bismillahnews.in Reservations: Towards An Islamic Republic InshaAllah Indian Muslims consider India neither a Dar-ul-Harb, nor a Dar-ul-Islam but rather a Dar-ul-Aman [a land of peace] despite Vijay Kumar Malhotra's, Tagodia's, Narender Modi's and others on going labor to make entire India a Gujarat for Indian Muslims by converting India in to a Dar-ul-Harb. The day

American boy indicted for anti-Sikh hate crime

2007-09-28T05:07:00.000-07:00

New York: A grand jury has filed an indictment against Umair Ahmed, a 17-year old schoolboy, for forcibly cutting a 15-year-old Sikh boy's hair in a school in Queens borough of New York. Ahmed faces nine charges, including coercion. Michael Brovner, assistant district attorney of Queens on Monday said: "The indictment was filed today of all the original five charges and four additional charges

Sikh Perspective on Religion

2007-09-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

Arvind Sharma: The Philosophy of Religion—A Sikh Perspective, Rupa & Co., pp 300, Rs. 595 Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism are succeeded by Sikhism, which has it very own philosophy of religion. For the strictly orthodox Sikh, the faith, which by preference he calls gurmat, can be regarded as nothing less than the product of direct revelation from God. Gurmat means the ‘Guru’s doctrine’. God,

The Spiritual Strength of Woman

2007-09-12T23:05:00.000-07:00

In this article Shanti Kaur Khalsa assesses the spiritual position and strength of Sikh women. Drawing from both Sikh philosophy and personal experiences, she demonstrates the importance of being a Sikh woman in today’s world…“As we enter the change of the millennium, the role of the woman has changed and will continue to change dramatically. Striving to maintain ourselves in the age of

Guru Nanak’s 468th death anniversary on 22nd

2007-09-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

LAHORE: The 468th death anniversary of the Sikh religion’s founder, Baba Guru Nanak Dev, will be observed from September 20 to 22 at Gurdawara Kartarpur Sahib, Narowal.According to Sikh religion, Guru Nanak was the divine light that came into the world when humanity was sunk in falsehood, superstition, ignorance and self-indulgence. Nanak emerged as the knowledge in the age of vice (Kali Yuga) to

The Role of Women in Sikhism

2007-08-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

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

The religion I was born into is Sikhism

2007-08-22T05:50:00.000-07:00

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

Sikh Scriptures - Creation of The Universe - Sikhism

2007-08-16T01:06:00.001-07:00

Introduction to Sikhism

2007-08-02T07:42:00.001-07:00

What is the Sikh attitude to mercy-killing?

2007-07-03T11:38:00.001-07:00

Today there is a lot of pressure on politicians to legalize mercy-killing. In certain countries, mercy killing of patients suffering from incurable diseases or terminal illness has been regulated by law. It is left either to the discretion of the physician or the patient. Recently a new Society named "EXIT" has been started in Great Britain, which supports

What is the Sikh attitude to dancing?

2007-06-09T02:37:00.000-07:00

Dancing is a mode of entertainment in western countries. Sikhism applies the general test mentioned in the Scripture to any entertainment, namely, "Avoid that which causes pain or harm to the body or produces evil thoughts in the mind." (A.G.p 16) Dancing with partners of the opposite sex is likely to cause sensuous thoughts, for intimate bodily movement

Is Sikhism suited to the conditions of modern society?

2007-05-24T01:33:00.001-07:00

The principle of "the survival of the fittest", is applicable as much to religions as to communities or people. Those faiths which cannot meet the challenge of their time or the new conditions in society are likely to suffer eclipse.Sikhism however is suited to the needs of modern life. It believes in the individual and his right to develop his personality to the maximum extent possible.

What are the distinctive features of Sikhism?

2007-05-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

Sikhism is a monotheistic faith. It recognizes God as the only One. He who is not subject to time or space. He who is the Creator, Sustainer and Destroyer of the Universe.Moreover in Sikhism, ethics and religion go together. The inculcation of moral qualities and the practice of virtue in everyday life is a vital step towards spiritual development. Qualities like honesty, compassion, generosity,

Great Sikh Women

2007-05-04T22:30:00.000-07:00

"From woman, man is born;within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married.Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come.When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound.So why call her bad? From her, kings are born.From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all."These are words that were uttered by the founder of

What is the Sikh attitude to divorce?

2007-04-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

Sikhism favor family life and monogamy. The ideal family is one where there is mutual love and respect between the husband and the wife and their children and grand children if any. The Anand Marriage Act, 1909, gave a wife status equal to that of her husband. The marriage establishes a permanent relationship between the partners and there is no provision for a divorce under this Act, for the

Sikh Saints

2007-04-13T03:35:00.000-07:00

Bhai Mardana (1459 to 1520)Bhai Mardana was the lifelong companion and first disciple of Guru Nanak. Bhai Mardana was born in 1459 at Nankana Sahib to Muslim parents Bhai Badre and Mai Lakho. He belonged to a caste of musicians which sang and danced at festivals and weddings. Bhai Mardana became friends with Guru Nanak when they were both children, Mardana being 10 years older than Guru Nanak.

Sikh Beliefs

2007-04-03T05:52:00.000-07:00

Goal: The goal of Sikhs is to build a close, loving relationship with God. Deity: Sikhs believe in a single, Formless God, with many names, who can be known through meditation. his concept is similar to Islam whose followers believe in a single God who has 99 names. The Mool Mantar, the first hymn composed by Guru Nanak, is recited daily by many Sikhs. It contains a description of many of the

Holy Texts & Number of Followers

2007-03-29T14:24:00.000-07:00

Sikh Holy Texts:The holy granth, the Shri Guru Granth, was initially compiled by the fifth guru, Shri Arjan Dev Ji. Subsequently, it was updated to include the writings of the sixth to ninth gurus. The tenth guru, Gobind Singh Ji assembled his writings separately into a number of books, including "Dasam Granth" The holy granth consists of hymns and writings by the first nine Gurus, along with

Sikh History

2007-03-26T04:18:00.000-07:00

The founder of Sikhism was Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, (1469-1538) who was born in the Punjab area of what is now Pakistan. At Sultanpur, he received a vision to preach the way to enlightenment and God. He is responsible for the saying "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim" which has since become one of the pillars of Sikhism. He taught a strict monotheism, the brotherhood of humanity. He rejected

Sikh origins

2007-03-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

No consensus exists on the origins of this religion. Historians and specialists in Eastern religions generally believe that Sikhism is a syncretistic religion, originally related to the Bhakti movement within Hinduism and the Sufi branch of Islam, to which many independent beliefs and practices were added. "I have studied the scriptures of the great religions, but I did not find anywhere else the same power or appeal to the heart and mind, as I find in these volumes. There is something strangely modern about these scriptures and this puzzled me until I learned that they are in fact