Sikhism 12/2/14 Carson Barry, Alex Jonson, Austin Ogata

Origin of Sikhism ●Sikhism was born in the Punjab area of South Asia ○Present day countries of India and Pakistan ●The main religions of the area at the time were Hinduism and Islam ● The Sikh faith began around the year 1496 ○Guru Nanak (founder) began teaching a faith that was quite distinct from Hinduism and Islam

Sikhs Believe In ●There is one God (monotheistic) o He is the creator and the destroyer o He does not take human form ●5 major sins o Kam (sexual desire) o Krodh (anger) o Lobh (greed) o Moh (attachment to a personal possession) o Ahankar (pride)  These make you impure as a person. ●Reincarnation - heaven and hell are real o You will be born again and again until you attain salvation by becoming one with God ●Meditation - Time spent thinking about God and the holy scriptures and how you are using them in your life ●Rejection of all forms of rituals such as ○fasting ○religious vegetarianism ○pilgrimages ○superstitions ○any form of idol worship ○all distinctions of caste*, faith, race or sex ■Therefore, anybody is welcome ■To Sikhs, all are equal before God -*Caste Noun -each of the title classes of Hindu society. This is important because most sikhs are in India and Pakistan, where the caste system is prominent.

Sikhism Is A Universal Religion ●Sikhism is practiced worldwide o Mainly practiced in the Punjab region of Northern India and Eastern Pakistan ●This religion is accepting of everyone of all races, sex, faith, and caste (in India’s case) ●Their holy places, called Gurdwaras, are open to everyone ○ All religions and people are welcome in the Gurdwaras

Sikhism: Autonomous Structure ●Everyone is equal before God ●In the beginning years of Sikhism there were leaders called Gurus o There have been 10 Gurus in Sikhism from 1496 to 1708 ●In todays world, Sikhs believe that there is no place for a Guru o the “leader” for now is their holy book.  the Sri Guru Granth Sahib

Diffusion of Sikhism Over Time ●Sikhism’s hearth was in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan (Northern India, North Eastern Pakistan) ●The First Guru, Guru Nanak, went on 4 major journeys to spread the religion (Relocation Diffusion) o These journeys took him throughout India and south western Asia o Many Gurus followed in his steps to spread their word ( AD)

Map of Distribution in Todays World.

Sacred Places - Culture landscape ●The most important temple- Darbar Sahib: the golden temple o Amritsar, India -The central gathering place for Sikhs -First edition of the holy book (Guru Granth Sahib) was inducted here, 1604 There are 5 other major Gurdwaras -Sri Akal Takht -Takht Sri Damdama Sahib -Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib -Takht Sri Hazur Sahib -Takht Sri Patna Sahib -All of these places are important to the Sikhs for they were either places where the Gurus lived or places where parts of the Guru Granth Sahib were written and installed

S ources page. "Origins of Sikhism." BBC News. BBC, 30 Nov Web. 02 Dec "Sikhism: Beliefs and Principles of Sikhism - Sikh Religion." Sikhism: Beliefs and Principles of Sikhism - Sikh Religion. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec "Sikhism Religion of the Sikh People." Sikhism Religion of the Sikh People. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec That last source is where we got most of our information. It is the main site for Sikhs and it contained many different documents and pictures. It would be way too much to cite all of them so we just cited the website and the opening page.

Questions 1.Where is Sikhisms hearth and how did it diffuse over time? 2.How do Sikhs view people of other Religions? 3.What are the Holy meeting places of Sikhs and what is the most important one?