Transcript Sikhism- important concepts

Sikhism
Panth
0 Guru Nanak attracted a large number of
followers due to his teachings
0 He formed the first Sikh community called the
Panth
Gurdwara
0 Guru Nanak built a special building
for worship called gurdwara
0 Represents the central structure
of any particular Sick community
0 Means doorway of the Guru
0 House of worship
0 Generally contain a kitchen to
prepare food for the needy
0 Contains the Adi Granth
Adi Granth
0 It means first book
0 Sacred scripture
0 The Adi Granth seats
on a special seat
within the gurdwara
0 It is referred to as
Guru
Sikh
0 Sikh
0 “learner” or “disciple”
0 One who learns from the teachings of the Guru
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A guru is a spiritual teacher.
The literal meaning of the term
guru is explained by referring to
its parts:
0 Gu means darkness
0 Ru means enlightenment
A guru is one who delivers
people from the darkness of
ignorance to a state of
enlightenment
The capitalized term Guru is
used in three different ways:
1. The title of Guru Nanak and
his successors and the ten
historical leaders of Sikhism
2. Adi Granth- sacred scripture
3. It is a name for God- True
Guru
Guru
The Khanda
0 A symbol that represents Sikhism
0 There are three different items used in a Khanda,
which have a symbolic meaning:
0 A double-edged sword called a Khanda in the
center
0 A Chakkar which is circular
0 Two single-edged swords, or kirpans, are crossed
at the bottom and sit on either side of the Khanda
and Chakkar.
0 The Khanda represents knowledge of God, the
Chakkar represents the eternal nature of God and
oneness of humanity, the two swords represent
Miri (political sovereignty) and Piri (spiritual
sovereignty)
Teachings/ doctrines
Teachings: God
0 God is One, eternal, beyond time, and
formless
0 God is immanent or indwelling (as opposed
to transcendent or beyond creation)
0 God dwells within all human beings, and is
actively concerned about their spiritual
welfare.
0 God is referred to as Guru
0 For by revealing himself God delivers humans
from darkness to enlightenment
0 The term most often used in the Adi Granth
to denote the nature of God is nim, the divine
name
0 Meditation on the nim or recitation of the nim is
prescribed as the path to spiritual perfection
Teachings: Humans
0 Sikhs are not opposed to eating meat but
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many prefer vegetarianism
Humans tend to neglect the need to center
their lives on God
Rather than being God-centered, humans
are inclined to be self-centered.
This human condition is expressed in the
Sikh term haumai
Haumai= self-reliance, pride, egoism
0 Haumai is human’s insistence on
making do on their own rather than
acknowledge dependence of God.
0 Haumai and its vices increase the
distance between a person and God
Salvation
0 The ultimate purpose of life
is to attain complete union
with God (Moksha) by
liberating from Samsara