Sikhism Key Words Cartes | Quizlet

Adi Granth

("Original book") Scrip ture first compiled by Guru Arjan in 1604 and invested with supreme au thority as the Guru Granth Sahib after the death of Guru Gobind Singh.

Akal Purakh

("The One Beyond Time") God.

Amrit

("Divine nectar") The Khalsa initiation nectar.

Amrit-dhari

("Nectar-bearer") An ini tiated member of the Khalsa.

Amrit sanskar

The formal ceremony initiating Sikhs into the Khalsa.

Baisakhi

An Indian New Year's hol iday in mid-April, when Sikhs cele brate the birthday of the Khalsa.

Bana

The Khalsa dress.

Bani

("Divine utterance") The works of the Gurus and the Bhagats re corded in the Adi Granth.

Bhagat

("Devotee") One of the poets of traditions other than Sikhism whose work is included in the Adi Granth (e.g., Kabir, Ravidas, Namdev).

Chauri

A ceremonial whisk (made of yak hair or manmade fiber attached to a wooden handle) that is waved over the Guru Granth Sahib as a mark of respect.

Dasam Granth

("The Book of the Tenth Guru") Secondary Sikh scrip ture attributed to Guru Gobind Singh.

Dhur ki Bani

("Divine Utterances from the Beginning") The expression used to refer to the Sikh notion of revelation.

Five Ks (panj kakke)

The five marks of Khalsa identity: kes (uncut hair), kangha (wooden comb), kirpan (sword), kara (wrist-ring), and kachh (short breeches).

Granthi

("Reader") The reader and custodian of the Guru Granth Sahib who performs traditional rituals in the gurdwara.

Gur-bilas

("Splendor of the Guru") Sikh literature of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries praising the mar tial traits of two warrior gurus, Hargo bind and Gobind Singh.

Gurdwara

("Guru's door") The Sikh place of worship.

Gurmukh

One who faces the guru, a follower of the divine and of the guru.

Gurmukhi

("From the Guru's mouth") The vernacular script in which the compositions of the gurus were first written down. It has since become the script of the Punjabi language.

Gurpurb

A celebration of an anniver sary related to the gurus.

Gursikhs

("Disciples of the Guru") The loyal followers who accept the teachings of the Guru faithfully.

guru

("Teacher") Either a spiritual person or the divine inner voice

haumai

("I-ness," "my-ness") Self- centered pride.

hukam

("Divine order, will, or com mand") An all-embracing principle, the sum total of all divinely instituted laws; a revelation of the nature of God.

Istari Satsang

("Spiritual Fellowship of Women") A group of Sikh women who congregate for devotional purposes.

janam-sakhis

("Birth testimonies") Traditional accounts of the life of Guru Nanak.

karah prashad

A sweet pudding or paste of flour, sugar, and butter that is prepared in an iron (karah) bowl with prayers, placed in the presence of the Sikh scripture during worship, and then distributed among the congregation.

karam

("Actions") Karma; the destiny or fate of an individual, generated in accordance with deeds performed in one's present and past existences

Kes-dhari

("Hair-bearer") A Sikh who affirms his identity by wearing un shorn hair.

Khalsa

("Pure" or "crown estate") An order of Sikhs bound by common identity and discipline.

Kirtan

The singing of hymns from the scriptures in worship.

Langar

The term for both the commu nity kitchen and the meal that is pre pared there and served to all present in the congregation.

Mahant

"Custodians" of Sikh shrines under British rule.

Man

The complex of heart, mind, and spirit.

manji

("Cot") An administrative sub division of the early Sikh Panth.

miri-piri

The doctrine that the guru possesses both temporal (miri) and spiritual (piri) authority.

Mul Mantar

("Basic Formula") The opening creedal statement of the Adi Granth declaring the eternity and transcendence of God, the creator.

nam

("The divine Name") The sum total of all divine attributes

nam-simaran

("Remembrance of the divine Name") Devotional practice such as meditating centered on the divine Name.

panj kakke

See Five Ks

Panj Piare

("Cherished Five") The first five Sikhs to be initiated as mem bers of the Khalsa in 1699; five Sikhs in good standing chosen to represent a sangat

Panth

("Path") The Sikh community.

pothi

Volume or book

raga

A series of five or six notes on which a melody is based.

rahit

The code of conduct for the Khalsa.

Rahit-namas

"Manuals of the Code of Conduct."

sahaj

The condition of ultimate bliss resulting from the practice of nam-simaran.

sangat

A congregation or group of devotees in Sikhism.

sansar

("Cycle of birth and death") Transmigration in Sikh terminology

Sants

Ascetic poets who believed divinity to exist beyond all forms or description.

sati

The immolation of a widow on her husband's funeral pyre.

Sehaj-dhari

("Gradualist") A Sikh who follows the teachings of the gurus but has not accepted the Khalsa discipline.

shabad

("Divine Word") A hymn of the Adi Granth.

Sikhi

("Sikh-ness") A term referring to living Sikh practice.

Sikh Rahit Maryada

The standard manual of the "Sikh Code of Conduct" published by the SGPC in 1950.

Singh Sabha

("Society of Singhs") A revival movement established in 1873 that redefined the norms of Sikh doc trine and practice.

Vak

("Saying") A passage from the Guru Granth Sahib that is chosen at random and read aloud to the congre gation as the lesson of the day.