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3. The Sikhs have
ten Gurus. It is believed that they all had same soul though they had
different bodies, and that it was Guru Nanak Dev's spirit which passed
on into his nine successors.
4. The Sikhs call God as 'Waheguru', meaning that God is great.
Their common salutation is "Sat Sri Akal" (God is supreme and is
immortal). Some Sikhs say, "Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki
Fateh" (God belongs to the Khalsa and God is invincible).
5. Guru Granth Sahib is the holy book of the Sikhs. It is
believed that the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh bestowed upon the
Granth the title of the Guru.
6. The Sikhs worship only one Almighty God in his abstract
form. They are not allowed to worship any idols, images or
photographs.
7. According to the Sikh belief, God is the eternal truth; he
is beyond fear, enmity and death. He is unborn and is self
illuminated. He himself is the creator, preserver and destroyer.
8. The Sikhs believe that all existence is controlled by one
omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient Lord called by different names:
Ishwar, Jehovah, Allah and Waheguru.
Who is a Sikh:
A Sikh is any person whose faith consists of belief in One God, the
ten Sikh Gurus, the Guru Granth Sahib and other scriptures and
teachings of the Sikh Gurus. Additionally, he or she must believe in
the necessity and importance of `Amrit’, the Sikh baptism.
God and the Sikhs:
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According to the Sikh belief, God is all omnipotent, omnipresent and
omniscient. The sun, moon/s, wind, fire, water, vegetation and all
other things which exist are His witnesses. A Sikh must worship only
the abstract form of God. The worship of images or any other object is
strictly forbidden.God is both the creator and the destroyer. He is beyond birth and
death. He is both merciful and compassionate. He is beyond fear and
enmity. He is self illuminated. He is the Master of all the treasures.
All our possessions are a result of His grace.
The Sikhs call God as Waheguru, meaning the most wonderful Master.
The belief of the Sikhs in Waheguru is similar to that of Judaism,
Christianity and Islam |
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i.e., God is the
greatest power, He is supreme, He is the king of kings, He
pervades everywhere, He knows the inner thoughts of everyone, He
is the giver, He existed before the start of the time, He existed
when the time was started, He exists now and He will exist
forever. |
Relationship with God:
The Sikh Gurus called Waheguru as Master and themselves as his
servants. In some hymns they called Him as Father, Mother, Friend and
Brother as well1. Like Jesus Christ, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru
of the Sikhs, in one of his hymns, called himself as God’s son.
Universality:
Sikhism does not believe in asceticism, celibacy or living alone at
mountains or in caves or in forests in the search of Truth and God. It
also rejects the orders of monasteries. For a Sikh the true life is
the life of a householder. Living in a family environment and by
serving the community both Truth and God can be realised. Thus it
rejects the order of monks (Buddhism and Jainism) and nuns
(Christianity).
The Sikh teachings are based on the principles of Fatherhood of God
and brotherhood of humankind.
Sikhism rejects the concept of chosen people (as in Judaism) and caste
system (as in Hinduism); it also rejects the concept of entering
`Nirvana’ without the blessings of God (as in Buddhism and Jainism).
In a Sikh temple people of all the faiths are welcome. The Sikh holy
book, Guru Granth Sahib also has in it the hymns composed by both
Hindu and Muslim saints of various denominations.
The first five baptised Sikhs, called the beloved ones, were also from
both lower and upper Hindu castes. They were the first Khalsa, the
pure ones:
Bhai Daya Singh Ji, aged 30, a Khatri from Lahore (Punjab)
Bhai Dharam Singh Ji, aged 33, a Jat from Delhi
Bhai Mohkam Singh Ji, aged 36, a washerman from Dwarka (Gujrat)
Bhai Sahib Singh Ji, aged 37, a barber from Bidar (Karnatak)
Bhai Himmat Singh Ji, aged 39, a water carrier from Puri (Orissa)
Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth prophet of the Sikhs, urged his followers
to drop caste symbols after their names and instead write a common
surname: Singh, meaning lion, for men and Kaur, meaning princess for
women.
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