Sikhs

by Mark Diller

There are more than 23 million Sikhs in the world. You'll find far more Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists, but fewer Jews. So it's probably a religion you should seek to know at least a little about--especially since Sikhs are back in U.S. news.

The Arizona Supreme Court set aside the death sentence given to Frank Roque after he was found guilty of murdering a Sikh man, Balbir Singh Sodhi, four days after 9/11. The court reduced the sentence to life in prison without possibility of parole, citing Roque's mental illness and low IQ as reasons for the change. Roque says he thought Sodhi was Arab and wanted revenge for the 9/11 attack.

Of course, Sikhs aren't Arabs. Most Sikhs live in India. That's because Sikhism was founded in the 15th century in the Punjab, in the far northwest of the Indian subcontinent. Its founder, Nanak, was born into a Hindu family but sought a new religious message that transcended old boundaries. He found his inspiration in two sources: the Hindu Bhakti movement, which stressed deep personal devotion to God, and Muslim Sufi mysticism.

Nanak developed a new spirituality, open to both Hindus and Muslims, that focused on the oneness of God and devotion through hymns and meditation. Nanak accepted the Hindu doctrines of karma and reincarnation, but said that you could escape this cycle by meditating on the divine name and by living a life of balance and moderation. The salvation he promised was not heaven, but a mystical union with God.

Nanak was the first Sikh Guru. After him, there were nine more, each named by their predecessor. Sikhs believe that the same spirit passed from one Guru to the next "as one lamp lights another." The last of the ten, Guru Gobind Singh, pronounced near his death in 1708 that the last Guru would be the Granth Sahib--the Sikh sacred scripture, also known as the Adi Granth ("First Book").

The Adi Granth is composed of hymns written by the Gurus, plus devotional songs by Hindu and Muslim saints. Originally compiled in 1604 by the fifth Guru, Arjun, it was completed in 1704 by Gobind Singh. Today it's the central object of Sikh worship, and accorded all the reverence due a living Guru.

The dominant order of Sikhs is known as the Khalsa ("Pure"). Originally a military fraternity founded to protect the Sikh community from persecution, today the Khalsa is an order into which Sikh boys and girls are initiated upon reaching puberty. Members of the Khalsa vow not to commit adultery or use tobacco or liquor and to refrain from eating meat.

They also wear five symbolic items that begin with the letter K: kesh (uncut hair), kanga (a comb), kara (a steel bracelet), kirpan (a small sword), and kacha (shorts). Sikhs wear turbans to contain their uncut hair. Because of this, outsiders sometimes mistake them for Arabs.

Almost from the beginning, Sikhs have had an uneasy relationship with Hindus and Muslims in India and Pakistan. A Sikh empire was founded in the Punjab after 1760, but in 1849 the British annexed the region. The Sikhs then became favored subjects of the British Empire, but they lost that position when India achieved independence.

Simmering discontent exploded in 1984, when Sikh militants entrenched themselves in the Harimandir (Golden Temple), the chief Sikh house of worship. When Indian troops moved in, a firefight erupted. More than 450 Sikhs were killed, along with 83 Indian soldiers. Five months later, Sikh members of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's bodyguard assassinated her.

Conditions have since improved. In 2004, Dr. Manmohan Singh became India's first Sikh prime minister. Yet many Sikhs still dream of a separate Sikh state. At the end of every service, Sikhs chant the phrase "Raj Karega Khalsa," which means "the Khalsa shall rule."

Mark Diller
Updated August 17, 2006