Sikhism is a religion that originated in Punjab, India at the end of the 15th century. This religion is based on the sacred scriptures contained in the holy book named “Guru Granth Sahib”; Granth is an hindi word which means book. Sikhism is based on the spiritual teachings of ten Guru and teaches that God last forever. God can’t be seen, has no body, he has created the universe and also can destroy it or keep it running, and spreads his thought by ten Gurus.
A Sikh temple is called Gurudwara that means house of Guru. Mainly the Gurudwara has 4 doors, which are called the door of peace, the door of livelihood, the door of learning and the door of grace; when a person enters in a Gurudwara his head must be covered, he must remove his shoes and sit on the floor as all the other people. The Guru Granth Sahib is positioned in an upper level to demonstrate his higher spirituality.
In the Sikh temple there is also an open mess to everyone and at the end anyone can eat for free.The most important festival is “Vaisakhi” held on the 13th or 14th April. In 1699 the nine Guru, Guru Gobind Singh laid down the foundation of the “Panth Khalsa” (or Sikh community) by baptizing Sikh warriors, to defend religious freedoms. The baptism consists in the administration of a mix of water and sugar, stirred with a double-edged sword in an iron bowl; this is called “Amrit” and this ceremony is accompanied with recitation. Guru Gobind Singh also introduced a new surname that is Singh (lion) for men and Kaur for women. This was done to fight the cast system and also because in the Sikhism all people are equal.
A baptized Sikh must carry 5 symbols the so called 5 K: Kesh (uncut hair) symbolises the membership of the group, uncut hair symbolises adoption of simple life and denial of pride in one’s appearance and also because hair are a part of God creation so you shouldn’t cut it; Kara (steel bracelet) is a symbol of restraint and gently; Kachera (special underwear) is a symbol of chastity; Kanga (wooden comb) symbolises a clean mind and body and also a duty is to keep the hair clean and combed at least twice a day; Kirpan (sword) is for self defence.
Baldev Singh, 4 B Tecnico
