Overview

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Guru and God are considered the same. ^{[1] [ self-published source ]} The 'guru' here in gur-mat means the Ten Gurus of the Sikh faith as well as gur-bani, i.e. their inspired utterances recorded in the Guru Granth Sahib. The instruction (mat) of the Guru implies the teaching imparted, and the example set by the Ten Gurus in person. Direction derived from these sources is a Sikh's ultimate norm in shaping the course of his life, both in its sacred and secular aspects. The spiritual path he is called upon to pursue should be oriented towards obtaining release, i.e. freedom from the dread bondage of repeated births and deaths, and standards of religious and personal conduct he must conform to in order to relate to his community and to society as a whole are all collectively subsumed in the concept of gurmat.

Theologically, gurmat encompasses a strictly monotheistic belief. Faith in the Transcendent Being as the Supreme, indivisible reality without attributes is the first principle. The attributive-immanent nature of the Supreme Being is also accepted in Sikhism which posits power to create as one of the cardinal attributes of the Absolute or God of its conception. The Creator brought into being the universe by his hukam or Will, without any intermediaries. Man, as the pinnacle of creation, is born with a divine spark; his liberation lies in the recognition of his own spiritual essence and immanence of the Divine in the cosmic order. Fulfilment comes with the curbing of one's haumai or ego and cultivation of the discipline of nam, i.e. absorption in God's name, and of the humanitarian values of seva, selfless service to fellow men, love and tolerance.

The way of life prescribed by gurmat postulates faith in the teachings of gurbani, perception of the Divine Will as the supreme law and honest performance of one's duties as a householder, an essential obligation. The first act suggested is prayer—prayer in the form of recitation by the individual of gurbani, thus participation in corporate service, or silent contemplation on the holy Word in one's solitude. Naam Japna, Kirat Karni and Wand kay Shako is the formula which succinctly sums up what is required of a Sikh: he must work to earn his living, share with others the fruit of his exertion, and practise remembrance of God's Name. Gurmat has evolved a tradition of observances and ceremonies for the Sikhs, mostly centred on the Holy Book, Guru Granth Sahib.

Gurmat recognizes no priestly class as such. Any of the Sikhs admitted to the sangat may lead any of the services. He may lead prayers, perform the wedding ceremony known as Anand Karaj, and recite from the Guru Granth Sahib. The rites of passage, viz. ceremonies connected with the birth of a child, initiation, marriage and death, all take place in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib. They conclude with an ardas and the distribution of sacramental karahprasad. The recital of six stanzas from the Anand (lit. bliss) is well-nigh mandatory for all occasions, whether of joy or sorrow, wedding or death.

On the ethical plane, gurmat prescribes a code of duties and moral virtues, coupled with the distinctive appearance made obligatory for the Khalsa. A Sikh becomes a full member of the Khalsa brotherhood after he has received the rites of initiation and the vows that go with it. Violation of any part of the code (particularly the four prohibitions) of the Khalsa is treated as disregard of gurmat and renders the offender guilty of apostasy. The tribunal of Sri Akal Takht at Amritsar has traditionally been regarded as Supreme in religious, social and secular affairs of the Sikhs and has the authority to issue edicts for providing guidance to the Panth as a whole and to excommunicate any individual who has acted contrary to its interests or who has been found guilty of attempting to overturn any established Sikh religious convention.

Directional injunctions under gurmat can be issued to individuals or communities by Panj Piare, the five elect ones. They will provide solution to problems that arise or problems brought before them. Or, one 'consults' the Guru by presenting oneself before the Guru Granth Sahib to obtain in moments of perplexity his (the Guru's) guidance which comes in the form of the sabda, i.e. hymn or stanza, that first meets the eye at the top of left-hand page as the Holy Book is opened at random. There are instances also of the community leaders deciding on a course of action through recourse to such consultation. The institution of gurmata (sacred resolution), unanimous decision taken or consensus arrived at in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib, dates back to the early eighteenth century.

Some of the conventions and customs established to resolve lingering controversies have become part of gurmat. In regard to the wedding ceremony for instance, the custom of Anand Karaj has gained universal acceptance which was not the case until the beginning of the twentieth century: any other form of the ritual will not have the sanction of gurmat today. ^[2] The use of intoxicants and eating meat is prohibited. Casteism and untouchability are ruled out in principle; any vestiges of it such as use of caste-names as surnames are generally considered against gurmat. The 48-hour- long uninterrupted recitation of the Guru Granth Sahib, called Akhand Path, has over the decades come to be accepted as part of the Sikh way of life.

Gurmat does not approve of renunciation. It insists, on the other hand, on active participation in life. Human existence, according to Sikh belief, affords one a rare opportunity for self-transcendence through cognizing and contemplating on the Name and through deeds of selfless service. One rehearses the qualities of humility, compassion and fraternal love best while living in the world. A householder who works to earn his living and is yet willing to share with others the fruit of his exertion and who cherishes ever God in his heart is, according to gurmat, the ideal man. Even as reverence for the pious and the saintly is regarded desirable, parasitism is forbidden in gurmat. The cultivation of the values of character and of finer tastes in life is commended.

The writings of the Gurus preserved in the Guru Granth Sahib and the Dasam Granth best interpret and elucidate what gurmat is. Some anecdotes recorded in the Janam Sakhis also help explain gurmat principles. A systematic exposition of gurmat principles was for the first time undertaken by Bhai Gurdas (d. 1636), who in his Varan expatiated upon terms such as gurmukh, one attuned to the Gurus' teaching, sangat, fellowship of the holy, and seva, humble acts of service in the cause of the community and of fellow men in general, besides evolving a framework for the exegetics of gurbani. The process of exposition, continued by men of learning such as Baba Miharban (1581–1640), Bhai Mani Singh (d.1737) and Bhai Santokh Singh (1787–1843) and by the writers of Rahitnama literature reached its culmination in the Singh Sabha movement which produced interpreters of the calibre of Bhai Kahn Singh (1861–1938), Bhai Vir Singh (1872–1957) and Bhai Jodh Singh (1882 1981).

Gurmat is about liberation - liberation from the cycles of birth and death in which we chase our tail, liberation from the five urges that we worship rather than God, liberation from mythologies, which contradict the scientific knowledge we have painstakingly accumulated, liberation from male exploitation of women, religious persecution and hatred, racial injustice and oppression of human rights. The chains that bind any one of these categories slip into all of them. We love these chains. We are like prisoners that cannot cope outside of jail. To be chained is not to be Free, to despise any is to be far from (yet one is always near to) Love. “The mouth of the hungry is the golak of the Guru.” Sikhism without social activism is sick. Let us all drink the medicine of the Word and Name.

The next pious word is Gurmat. The founder and the head of this Trust, Sant Waryam Singh Ji, preaches Gurmat philosophy and inspires us to become 'Gurmukh' by following the teachings of the Great Gurus. His preaching’s emphasize the abstinence from the worldly egos and from false notions because these pollute the human soul. The entire spiritual path is a process of spiritual transformation of human soul from 'Manmukh' to 'Gurmukh'. The teachings of the Great Gurus are for the human beings irrespective of their caste and creed. Our great Gurus blessed the downtrodden by their personal care. The Gurus imbibed a new spirit in their lives and consoled them and explained to them the spiritual realities and brought them out from their worldly illusions. The Gurus prayed to God to bless the people for their welfare and goodness, so that the people may not suffer from worldly temptations. The Gurus even paved a way towards the salvation of those human beings who were oppressed and not allowed to pray in the places of worship or religious institutions. The Gurus inspired the people to worship the omni present existence within the human body irrespective of caste and creed.

Above extract from www.atammargonline.org

See also

• Gurmukh
• Manmukh
• Patit

Related Research Articles

The Guru Granth Sahib is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth, its first rendition, was compiled by the fifth guru, Guru Arjan (1564–1606). Its compilation was completed on 29 August 1604 and first installed inside Golden Temple in Amritsar on 1 September 1604. Baba Buddha was appointed the first Granthi of the Golden Temple. Shortly afterwards Guru Hargobind added Ramkali Ki Vaar. Later, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru, added hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur to the Adi Granth and affirmed the text as his successor. This second rendition became known as the Guru Granth Sahib and is also sometimes referred to as the Adi Granth.

Waheguru is a word used in Sikhism to refer to God as described in Guru Granth Sahib.

The following outline is provides an overview of Sikhism, or Sikhi.

Gurbani is a Sikh term, very commonly used by Sikhs to refer to various compositions by the Sikh Gurus and other writers of Guru Granth Sahib. In general, hymns in the central text of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib, are called Gurbani. Among Amritdhari Sikhs, a few texts from Dasam Granth which are read as Nitnem, like Tav-Prasad Savaiye and Chaupai, are also considered Gurbani. In Adi Granth, Gurbani is a sound which comes directly from the Supreme and the text is a written form of the same in worldly language and scripts. It is also called Guru´s Bani. Gurbani are explanations of qualities of the Primal Lord and Soul which a Sikh should comprehend and with which they can attain the supreme state.

The Dasam Granth is a collection of various manuscripts in Sikhism containing compositions attributed to Guru Gobind Singh. Guru Gobind Singh ordained the sacred text Guru Granth Sahib as his successor, eternally ending the line of human Gurus. It is the primary holy scripture of the Sikhs and regarded by Sikhs as the living embodiment of Ten Gurus. Bachittar Natak is a part of composition

The Akhand Keertanee Jathaa (AKJ) is a jatha of Sikhism dedicated to the Sikh lifestyle. The Jatha follows a strict discipline in keeping the Rehat of Guru Gobind Singh Jee. They also enjoy an active style of Keertan recited by Sikhs in a collective manner in front of Guru Granth Sahib. This style of Keertan is relatively simple, and the entire congregation devotionally participates in singing along.

Sikh music, also known as Gurbani Sangeet , and as Gurmat Sangeet, or even as Shabad Kirtan, is the classical music style that is practised within Sikhism. It exists in institutional, popular, and folk traditions, forms, and varieties. Three types of Sikh musicians are rababis, ragis, and dhadhis.

Bhai Kanhaiya (1648–1718) was a Sikh, verbatim disciple, of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and was requested to establish the Sevapanthi or Addanshahi order of the Sikhs by Guru Gobind Singh Ji. He was known for pouring water for all the wounded members of the battlefield no matter whether they were Sikhs or fighting against the Sikhs.

Within Sikhism, Manmukh literally means "to follow one's mind or desires". It appears as a noun to describe a self-serving individual who follows their own desires.

The principal Sikh scripture is the Adi Granth, more commonly called the Guru Granth Sahib. The second most important scripture of the Sikhs is the Dasam Granth. Both of these consist of text which was written or authorised by the Sikh Gurus.

In Sikhism, God is conceived as the Oneness that permeates the entirety of creation and beyond. It abides within all of creation as symbolized by the symbol Ik Onkar. The One is indescribable yet knowable and perceivable to anyone who surrenders their egoism and meditates upon that Oneness. The Sikh gurus have described God in numerous ways in their hymns included in the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhism, but the oneness of formless God is consistently emphasized throughout.

Rehat refers to the rules and traditions which govern the unique Sikh lifestyle and determines correct Sikh orthodoxy and orthopraxy. The Sikh Rehit Maryada is a code of conduct and conventions for Sikhism. The final version of the Rehat Maryada was approved by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar in 1945. The Rehat Maryada was created to provide guidance to Sikhs on practical and functional aspects of daily life, including the operations of Sikh Gurdwaras, and religious practices to foster cohesion throughout the community. Rehitnāma is a Punjabi term that refers to a genre of Sikh religious literature which expounds upon specifiying an approved way of life for a Sikh.

The following list consists of concepts that are derived from both Sikh and Indian tradition. The main purpose of this list is to disambiguate multiple spellings, to make note of spellings no longer in use for these concepts, to define the concept in one or two lines, to make it easy for one to find and pin down specific concepts, and to provide a guide to unique concepts of Sikhism all in one place.

Kahn Singh Nabha was a Punjabi Sikh scholar, writer, anthologist, lexicographer, and encyclopedist. His most influential work, Mahan Kosh, inspired generations of scholars after him. He also played a role in the Singh Sabha movement.

Gurū Nānak, also referred to as Bābā Nānak, was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated worldwide as Guru Nanak Gurpurab on Katak Pooranmashi, i.e. October–November.

This is a list of works by Punjabi writer Bhai Vir Singh (1872–1957). This list includes his poetry, novels, translations, plays, and non-fiction.

Padarath is used in Sikhism for a "step of spiritual Enlightenment." In the Guru Granth Sahib, the term padarath is used for temporal, as well as spiritual, attainments. There are four "Spiritual Treasures" in Sikhism, known as the Char Padarath :

1. Gyaan Padarath — Treasure of Wisdom
2. Mukti Padarath — Treasure of Liberation
3. Naam Padarath — Treasure of Supreme Command
4. Janam Padarath — Treasure of Living

Dharam Singh is a Nihang theologian, writer, preacher known for exegesis and expositions of Adi Granth and Dasam Granth. Enrolled as Nihang in Budha Dal, he worked as a secretary and participated in various religious conventions. He contributed the view of Sikh Religion on Human Rights in German Book, Menschenrechte im Weltkontext. In February 2015, he was the very first speaker of the dialogue series entitled Religion Matters established by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). On letter call from SGPC, he had written various articles in response to Gurbaksh Singh Kala Afghana, who spoke against Amrit and Dasam Granth.

References

1. Kahn Singh, Bhai, Gurmat Martand. Amritsar, 1962
2. Jodh Singh, Bhai, Gurmat Nirnaya. Ludhiana, 1932
3. Sardul Singh Caveeshar, Sikh Dharam Darshan. Patiala, 1969
4. Nripinder Singh, The Sikh Moral Tradition. Delhi, 1990
5. Adapted from Article by Dr. Wazir Singh

External links

• Concepts In Sikhism - Edited by Dr. Surinder Singh Sodhi