Sikhism

India

• Used to be ruled by the British for a very, very long time until Ghandi

• Country with the second most Muslims in the world

• Many different religions—very big country

Pakistan

• Split from India to become its own (Muslim) country

• Kashmir wanted to join, but India did not want to give it up

Bangladesh

Place with a Muslim majority in India

Punjab

• Where Guru Nanak was from—between Hinduism and Islam

• many Sikhs live there; they wanted their own country separate from India (theocracy)

  • Singh is a common Sikh last name there

15th Century Punjab

Guru Nanak and the Adi Granth

• Shants; Bhakti yoga; Sufism

Adi Granth

Holy book all Sikh teachings come from; book of hymns—all religious teachings are given through song

Guru Nanak

Founder of Sikhism; yoga teacher; associated with the Shants

Guru 

Yoga teacher

Shants

Group of Hindus who believe that there is only one god (Atman-Brahma); specific group of Hindus that Guru Nanak was a part of

Sufis

Islamic group who spread their religious teachings through music and song; influenced Guru Nanak

Sikhism

Formed between Hinduism and Islam, combining specific traits of both

• Hinduism — Guru; Islam — One god

Question asked by Guru Nanak—Where does God not dwell?

• God can be encountered everywhere; Guru Nanak saw the divinity in all religions

  • Prayed with both Hindus and Muslims; also went to Christian churches, Jain temples, and Jewish synagogues (very welcoming)

  • Believe that they can learn more about God from talking to different kinds of people from every religion, and are notoriously open to everyone

Golden Temple of Amritsar (Golden Temple of the Sikhs) 

Most visited sight in all of India; where Guru Nanak found the elixir of eternal life; in […], Punjab

• Similar to the Vatican for Christians 

Gender Equality

Sikhs view women and men equally—women can be just as religious as men because God dwells in everyone

Gurdwara

Sikh place of worship

• All people from every religion are welcome there

• They have sacred meals every week opened up to everybody

• Will get a religious message through music there

Sikhs are a Misunderstood Group

• Hindus did not like the Sikhs because they only had one god

• Muslims did not like Sikhs because their leader was a guru

• Many Americans do not like Sikhs because they have prejudiced (often violent) views against Muslims and they believe they are the same

The Khalsa

Group of people in Sikhism that are protectors/soldiers

• Known to be the fiercest soldiers in all of India; had to create a group of soldiers to protect themselves from harm

  • Respected by the British for their strength and many want them in their army

  • Ghandi had them protect him

• Many confuse them for Muslims because they wear turbans (dissimilar)

• Carry ceremonial religious daggers

• Women are included

1984 Operation Blue Star Assassination of Prime Minister Indira Ghandi

• Killed by the Sikhs who were supposed to protect her

• Happened while Sikhs were trying to make Punjab a Sikh state

  • India wanted to keep Punjab to keep a close eye on Pakistan

• Sikhs let India keep the Golden Temple—ended up not getting their religious country in the end anyway

• Brought about the rise of religiousness and theocracies

Rise of Theocracies 

India started to become more religious

• Religious countries, religious political parties, etc. 

• Serve the interest of one religion and not another

Ayodhya

Location of the Babri Mosque

Destruction of the Babri Mosque

• Rise of Religious Nationalism (Hindu)

  • 600 years ago there was a Muslim emperor in India, Babur, who built the […] (named after himself)

• Rise in tension and fighting between political groups (very tied to different religions)

  • Hindu nationalists tried to tear down the […] as a result of this—a lot of tensions between religions still currently

  • Evolving religious war because of increasing conflict (huge issue)

  • Reason why India and Pakistan do not get along very well

• India is now considered a Hindu state run by Hindu nationalist parties

Goal of the Sikhs

Sought to even out tension between different religions, but they faced violence and it did not work well