FrançaisYou could see in India or abroad that men wearing a turban and with a beard more or less long. In our small chain of articles about Indian religions, it’s high time to speak about sikhism.
The word “Sikh” means “disciple”. A Sikh believes in only one God and in teachings of the Ten Gurus collected in the holy Sikh book, Guru Granth Sahib. The Sikh God is a god of forgiveness. He created a man not to punish him of his sins, but to make him achieve his true destiny. In the basic Sikh postulate, you can read that there is no original sin, but the lige coming from the Pure Source.
You can easily recognize a Sikh among the others. They have long hair, which they hide under their turban, and a large beard growth. They also wear a bangle on their wrist.
The religion was founded by Guru Nanak (15-16th century) who was rejecting baseless rituals, superstitions and dogmas which passe for religion in those days.
The Guru Arjan, one of the Ten Masters, built the worldly known Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. Mostly known as Golden Temple in Amritsar, this is now the center of Sikhism. In every gurdwara (temple sikh) all people, rich and poor, share the same food sitting altogether on the same level.
Sikh people don’t recognize the cast system, don’t believe in idols worship, in rituals or superstitions.
Woman is considered as an important part of the Sikh community. Everyone owes her the greatest respect for her role in family and society. The birth of a daughter is not regarded as a bad luck. Moreover widow has a full right to get married again if she wants to. Women don’t wear the veil. Regarding marriage, this is a sacred union, but not a contract. The payment of the dowry and divorce are not allowed.
Even if Sikh people represent only 1.8% of Indian population, nevertheless they have forged a strong reputation in almost all areas (army, agriculture, sport, industry, education, medicine, engeneering, etc) thanks to perseverence and work in the spirit of missionary dedication. The adventure and enterprise spirit have led them in almost all countries arounf the whole world.