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A gurdwara is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as Gurdwara Sahib. People from all faiths are welcomed in gurdwaras. Each gurdwara has a Darbar Sahib where the current and everlasting guru of the Sikhs, the scripture Guru Granth Sahib, is placed on a takhat in a prominent central position. Any congregant may recite, sing, and explain the verses from the Guru Granth Sahib, in the presence of the rest of the congregation.
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.
The following outline is provides an overview of Sikhism, or Sikhi.
Vaisakhi, also pronounced Baisakhi, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April and sometimes 14 April as a celebration of spring harvest primarily in Northern India. Further, other Indian cultures and diaspora celebrate this festival too. Whilst it is culturally significant as a festival of harvest, some also consider Vaisakhi to be the legitimate date for the Indian Solar New Year. However, this is not a universally accepted belief as Hindus do not have a common New Year's Day, with some individuals considering the previous month of Chet as the New Year.
Pratap Singh Giani was a Sikh academician, scholar and calligraphist.
The Nishan Sahib is a Sikh triangular flag made of cotton or silk cloth, with a tassel at its end. The word, Nishan Sahib means exalted ensign, and the flag is hoisted on a tall flagpole, outside most Gurdwaras. The flagpole itself, covered with fabric, ends with a Khanda on top. The emblem on the flag is known as Khanda, which depicts a double-edged sword called a khanda (☬) in the centre, a chakkar which is circular, and flanked by two single-edged swords, or kirpans. Almost all Sikh warriors used to wear it in the eighteenth century, and Nihangs of today still do. The Khanda Sahib is not to be confused with the Nihang's Aad Chand which was the first symbol of the Khalsa. The Khanda was not introduced by Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji but it was a plain yellow banner.
Dal Khalsa is a Sikh organisation, based in the city of Amritsar. The organisation was formed in 1978 and came to prominence under the inspiration and time of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in 1981. The primary aim of Dal Khalsa is to achieve the independence of the Punjabi-speaking Sikh majority region of North West India through peaceful and democratic means in order to establish a sovereign Sikh state, Khalistan.
The Akhand Keertanee Jathaa (AKJ) is a jatha of Sikhism dedicated to the Sikh lifestyle. The Jathaa 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 Sree Guru Granth Sahib Jee. This style of Keertan is relatively simple, and the entire congregation devotionally participates in singing along.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji Gurpurab, also known as Guru Nanak's Prakash Utsav, celebrates the birth of the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak. One of the most celebrated Sikh gurus and the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev is highly revered by the Sikh community. This is one of the most sacred festivals in Sikhism, or Sikhi. The festivities in the Sikh religion revolve around the anniversaries of the 10 Sikh Gurus. These Gurus were responsible for shaping the beliefs of the Sikhs. Their birthdays, known as Gurpurab, are occasions for celebration and prayer among the Sikhs.
The Nanakshahi calendar is a tropical solar calendar used in Sikhism. It is based on the "Barah Maha", a composition composed by the Sikh gurus reflecting the changes in nature conveyed in the twelve-month cycle of the year. The year begins with the month of Chet, with 1 Chet corresponding to 14 March. The reference epoch of the Nanakshahi calendar is the birth of Guru Nanak Dev, corresponding to the year 1469 CE.
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.
The principles of Sikhism state that women have the same souls as men and thus possess an equal right to cultivate their spirituality with equal chances of achieving salvation. Women in Sikhism participate in all religious, cultural, social, and secular activities including lead religious congregations, take part in the Akhand Path, perform Kirtan, and work as a Granthis.
Ravidassia or the Ravidas Panth is an Indian religion based on the teachings of Ravidass, who is revered as a satguru.
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.
Guru Arjan was the first of the two Gurus martyred in the Sikh faith and the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of the Sikh scripture called the Adi Granth, which later expanded into the Guru Granth Sahib.
Jathedar Singh Sahib Giani Gurbachan Singh Ji (born on 6 April 1948 at Chakk Baja in Muktsar, Punjab, was the 30th Jathedar of Akal Takht. Before being appointed as Jathedar, he also served as Head Granthi of Sachkhand Sri Harmandir Sahib.
Balwant Singh Nandgarh is a Sikh politician and Jathedar of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib, one of five seats of temporal authority of Sikhism.
Sikhism in Bangladesh has an extensive heritage and history, although Sikhs had always been a minority community in Bengal. Their founder, Guru Nanak visited a number of places in Bengal in the early sixteenth century where he introduced Sikhism to locals and founded numerous establishments. In its early history, the Sikh gurus despatched their followers to propagate Sikh teachings in Bengal and issued hukamnamas to that region. Guru Tegh Bahadur lived in Bengal for two years, and his successor Guru Gobind Singh also visited the region. Sikhism in Bengal continued to exist during the colonial period as Sikhs found employment in the region, but it declined after the partition in 1947. Among the eighteen historical gurdwaras in Bangladesh, only five are extant. The Gurdwara Nanak Shahi of Dhaka is the principal and largest gurdwara in the country. The Sikh population in the country almost entirely consists of businessmen and government officials from the neighbouring Republic of India.
Mool Nanakshahi Calendar is the Sikh Calendar. At first glance, one may not know the difference between the current Nanakshahi Calendar and the Mool Nanakshahi Calendar. A deeper understanding of the history and efforts made by Sikh scholars, to create a distinct Sikh calendar is vital. In 2003, Pal Singh Purewal, who had been working towards the Sikh calendar since the 1960s, introduced the Nanakshahi Calendar. The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee had implemented and launched the copies of the Mool Nanakshahi Callender on 14 April 2003 from the land of Takhat Sri Damdama Sahib under the presidency of prominent Sikh scholar Prof Kirpal Singh Badungar and Akal Takhat Jathedar Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti on the occasion of Baisakhi in the presence of large community gathering. As per the SGPC records 21 meetings were held having deep deliberations before the implementation of this Callender. Sikhs throughout the world have embraced the Mool Nanakshahi Callender with full reverence as the Sikh scholars with empirical research have held that the Callender had its roots to the First Khalsa Raj established by Baba Banda Singh Bahadur who first released and implemented it.
Pal Singh Purewal is a Canadian retired engineer, author, scholar and a teacher. He is commonly known as the architect of the Nanakshahi Calendar and the Mool Nanakshahi Calendar. He is also known as a role model in the Sikh community. He emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1965 and worked as a senior engineer at Texas Instruments. He moved to Canada in 1974. He has authored various research papers establishing the authenticity of the Sikh calendar since 1960s. His published texts include:
References
- ↑ Tribune, Jeff Borgardt, Special to the. "Neighbors balk at Sikhs' plans for 40-foot dome". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ↑ "Sikhs scale down temple dome plans". UPI. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
- ↑ Bodiwala, Suresh (2017-11-18). "Sikh Religious Society Organizes Two -day Conference in Chicago to Implement Mool Nanakshahi Calendar". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
- ↑ "Mool Nanakshai Calendar (MNC) Implementation Conference". SikhNet. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
- ↑ Writer, Staff. "Sikh Religious Society holds two-day conference | News India Times | Page 31723" . Retrieved 2020-05-02.
- ↑ "Sikh Religious Society Honored with Lifetime Service Award". Palatine, IL Patch. 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
- ↑ "Against removal of bhai mohinder singh ji as head granthi of palatine guru ghar". Online Petition. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
- ↑ ":: INDIA EMPIRE - COVER STORY ::". www.indiaempire.com. Retrieved 2020-05-02.