Sikhism

a monotheistic religion which combines beliefs from islam and monotheistic vaishnavite bhakti hinduism, founded in northern india in the 16th century by the guru nanak. nanak spent his off hours singing, praying, and thinking with others from the same monotheistic vaishnavite or islamic background as himself. seeking truth, nanak reached a crisis at the age of 30. after bathing in a forest stream, nanak received a vision. he emerged from the forest and annouced what he learned to those who would listen. his message stressed there was one true g-d, but it was not vishnu and not allah, but the sati nam, the true name. from that point on, nanak spent the rest of his life gathering disciples (sikhs). when nanak was on his death bed, an arguement broke out over whether he should be buried or cremated (islamic ritual or hindu ritual). nanak said that when he died, hindu disciples should place flowers on his right and muslims disciples should place flowers on his left. the flowers that were fresh the next morning could have the body. the morning following his death, the body had disappeared, and all the flowers were fresh. thus whether originally hindu or muslim, to be sikh places one in a new community of faithful devoted to the one true name. sikhism rejects caste distinctions, idolatry, and asceticism and is characterized by belief in a cycle of reincarnation from which humans can free themselves by living righteous lives as active members of society.
sikhism also teaches that the true name created maya, the created world, by his word. this means the world is real, but only g-d has ultimate reality. maya covers g-d like a veil. only spiritual pure minds free of selfishness and desire can pierce the veil and perceive g-d. nanak accepted karma and samsara. he also taught that selfish egoism and desire cause humans to make negative choices, acc-mulating negative karma. the lord of death, yama, uses this to ensnare those separated from g-d and lost in the world, locking them into the cycle of rebirths. ethical behavior, the prayerful repet-tion of the true name, and focus on g-d brings control of egoism and desire. when the disciple dies free of karmic guilt, the soul is absorbed into the sati nam. the final goal, then, is to attain nirvana, defined as being absorbed into total blissful unity with g-d like water into water. in total union with g-d, one is free of samsara, and enjoys bliss forever. the final human guru, gobind singh, founded the military order of the khalsa (the pure). initiates in the khalsa signify it with the five ks – 1) the kesh: uncut hair on head and chin. the hair is covered by a turban. 2) the kangha: the comb. 3) the kacht or kaccha: short drawers. 4) the kara: the steel bracelet. and 5) the kirpan: the short sword or knife.
guru nanak (1469-1539 c.e.) was the first of sikhism’s 10 gurus, a lineage of holy teachers that continued until the end of the 17th century. the gurus are understood to be the mediators of divine grace
the term sikh is derived from the sanskrit word for “disciple” or “learner.” sikhs are those who are disciples to the guru. sikhism originated in the punjab region of northwest india, where it drew on elements from bhakti hinduism and islamic sufism to develop into a distinctive religious tradition in its own right. sikhs believe that liberation from the karmic cycle of rebirths occurs in the merging of the human spirit with the all-embracing spirit of g-d. their religious worship involves contemplation of the divine name. the ultimate deity is known by several names: sat (truth), sat guru (true guru), akal purakh (timeless being), kartar (creator), and wahi-guru (“praise to the guru”). by concentrating on g-d’s name (or many t-tles), one conquers the ego and unites with g-d.

known as the “religion of the householder,” sikhism emphasizes the family and advocates living in the world without being worldly. moral purity is considered the chief basis of religion. there is no priesthood per se, but there are official readers of scripture.

the 10th guru, guru gobind singh, inst-tuted the khalsa brotherhood, in which initiates are required to wear five distinctive symbols: uncut hair, a comb, a steel wrist bangle, a sword, and short underpants. not all sikhs belong to this disciplined fellowship, but many do obey the principle rules of khalsa. guru gobind singh also required all male sikhs to take the name singh (meaning “lion”) and all female sikhs to take the name kaur (“princess”). these measures give sikhs a strong sense of communal ident-ty, symbolized by the characteristic turbans and beards worn by sikh men.
hey look those ppl at that temple who are they why joey u stupid cracker they are sikh
a religion that has the highest bad-ssery content in the world. it is a combination of the better parts of christianity, buddhism and batman. sikhs care about faith, enlightenment and justice. also, you get to carry a sweet -ss dagger. most sikhs live in pakistan, where they wear some pretty impressive mustaches and turbans and project high levels of awesome.

more seriously, it is the fifth largest religion in the world and currently the fastest growing. so it could very shortly be coming to a town near you!
joe: “what’s sikhism?”
jerry: “only the most bad-ss religion on the planet.”