World Religions Class; Sikhism
Sikhs. Not many people know who these people really are. We discussed them thoroughly today in class. Here is what I learned about them today: (please excuse my spelling) The Sikhs are from the Punjab (sp?) region of India, which borders, to the northwest, Pakistan along with the Himalayas. Sikhism is a combination of Hinduism and Muslimism and was founded some 500 years ago by Guru Nanuk (sp?), who was the first of ten Gurus who developed Sikhism. The tenth Guru told the people that there would be no more Gurus and now they would look to their sacred book (which I didn’t write down the name to, so I can’t remember.) (I would like to take this time to say that Guru is a Hindi word for ‘Spiritual Teacher’).
There are some 13 million Sikhs in the world who try to visit the Golden Temple, which is in the Punjab region, but of which I forgot to write down its name. They give no ritualistic sacrifices or offerings, but are only told to meditate in their God’s name either in their places of worship or homes. They are born into their religion, but the men go through an initiation. They are hard working and give to charity. They share food, and at their Golden Temples, food is made once a day and whether you are a Sikh or not, you can come and share in the meal. They believe in equality in all human beings. They don’t believe in hypocrisy or spiritual pilgrimages. They believe that everything should come straight from the heart with no malice. That’s what they believe is a real Sikh.
The men have certain things that they have to wear as Sikhs. First, they are forbidden to cut their hair, as cutting their hair is disgraceful. They wrap their long hair in a strips of cloth, which they tie above their head in a turban. They wear shorts, (boxers) symbolizing their moral restraint, a steel bracelet, and a dagger, symbolizing self-sacrifice and courage. Above all, they believe in doing good deeds, as the karma yoga of Hinduism suggests.
That’s what I learned today. We are discussing Hinduism, but today instead of watching a film on Ganesh, Burnett decided to branch off onto this subject. Then, we got sidetracked while talking about vegetarianism versus veganism.
I love my world religions class. For myself, I am learning so much insight as well as wisdom, and though I considered myself generally open minded about things, some of the stuff that I am reading is really stretching my mind. Overwhelming is a good word for what I am feeling, but the fact that I only have one class gives me time to contemplate over what I have been learning.
There are some 13 million Sikhs in the world who try to visit the Golden Temple, which is in the Punjab region, but of which I forgot to write down its name. They give no ritualistic sacrifices or offerings, but are only told to meditate in their God’s name either in their places of worship or homes. They are born into their religion, but the men go through an initiation. They are hard working and give to charity. They share food, and at their Golden Temples, food is made once a day and whether you are a Sikh or not, you can come and share in the meal. They believe in equality in all human beings. They don’t believe in hypocrisy or spiritual pilgrimages. They believe that everything should come straight from the heart with no malice. That’s what they believe is a real Sikh.
The men have certain things that they have to wear as Sikhs. First, they are forbidden to cut their hair, as cutting their hair is disgraceful. They wrap their long hair in a strips of cloth, which they tie above their head in a turban. They wear shorts, (boxers) symbolizing their moral restraint, a steel bracelet, and a dagger, symbolizing self-sacrifice and courage. Above all, they believe in doing good deeds, as the karma yoga of Hinduism suggests.
That’s what I learned today. We are discussing Hinduism, but today instead of watching a film on Ganesh, Burnett decided to branch off onto this subject. Then, we got sidetracked while talking about vegetarianism versus veganism.
I love my world religions class. For myself, I am learning so much insight as well as wisdom, and though I considered myself generally open minded about things, some of the stuff that I am reading is really stretching my mind. Overwhelming is a good word for what I am feeling, but the fact that I only have one class gives me time to contemplate over what I have been learning.