Sikhism Explained

0:00 this video is made possible thanks to audible visit audible.com cogido or text cogido to 500 500 to start your 30 day free trial this is the harry mandir the world's largest free kitchen it serves free vegetarian food to about 100 000 people every day it's also the holiest site in sikhism the fifth largest and youngest of the world religions a religion that preaches about love peace and the equality of humankind but also asks its followers to carry swords so who are the six what do they believe and why does everyone confuse them for muslims well let's find out

0:48 [Music] sikhism originated in the punjab area of india and pakistan 500 years ago the punjab the land of five rivers is one of the most historically and culturally dense areas on earth this was the home of one of the world's earliest civilizations the indus valley civilization persians greeks central asians muggles the british and others have all invaded here i meant i meant mughals mughal mughals invaded here hinduism buddhism islam jainism and a handful of other fates have all left their mark on the region the diverse culture of the punjab has heavily influenced the six today there are about 25 million six they make up about two percent of india's population but about

1:35 sixty percent of the punjabs the sick diaspora is spread out across the world with concentrations in the uk canada the us east africa australia and malaysia six interestingly enough make up about 1.5 percent of canada's population which is second only to india the word sikh means learner six call their religion sikhi gorsicki and gormat you can't really understand the sixth without understanding their relationship with gurus the word guru means a teacher or spiritual guide the guru teaches and the sikh learns the six follow the teachings of 10 succeeding gurus that have shaped sikhism the first and most important guru is guru nanak the founder of sikhism born in 1469 ce

2:21 near wallace today lahore pakistan nanak was seen as special even as a child as a baby he was said to have had the laugh of an adult man here comes the bird as a teenager he preferred to listen to hindu saints and sufi muslim preachers rather than his own parents as an adult nanak would settle in sultan por where he worked for the government the actions of his fellow government officials and the rich and powerful disgusted them as they exploited ordinary working people and he hated the cast divisions that he saw all around him one day while bathing in a river near sultanpor nanak had a miraculous experience he was swept up into god's court where god spoke to him nanak reappeared three days later

3:07 declaring there is no hindu and there is no muslim there was only god this was a message inspired by his experience with god one that spoke in favor of the equality of humankind and against caste ethnic and religious divisions nanak would later say accept all humans as your equals and let them be your only sect nine human gurus followed nanak all preaching the same message of one god and the equality of humankind two fundamental events that shaped seek history was the martyrdom of two gurus the first was the fifth guru guru arjan who was roasted live by the mughal emperor jahangir the next murder will be the ninth guru guru tega bahadur he was beheaded by the

3:52 mughals while attempting to defend the religious rights of hindus his son guru gobind rai the tenth and final human guru started a new sikh community called the khalsa and ended the line of human gurus by making the guru grant sahib the sikh holy book the last living guru we'll take a closer look at both of these in a bit so with that brief history out of the way let's take a look at the core beliefs of sikhism 1. one god the sikh holy book the guru granth sahib's opening sentence is just two words ich anker there is only one god nanak made sure it was clear that the focus was on one ick doesn't just mean one it is literally the numeral one one god is by far the

4:40 most important belief in sikhism this may not be the kind of god you're used to though six believe in a formless genderless universal god beyond description this god is all of reality and is within everything they believe no idol or image could ever represent this being so they use the sacred symbol of ignker to represent it instead many six refer to this one god by the name wei guru wondrous lord guru nanak and his followers constantly emphasized that this one could be understood in many different ways no religion had a monopoly on the truth the next one could be known as vishnu allah the tao yahweh the algorithm or any other name or belief there was no need to fight

5:26 over whose god was the true god as they were all the same one recognize all mankind whether muslim or hindu as one the same god is the creator and nourisher of all recognize no distinctions among them the temple and the mosque are the same so are hindu worship and muslim prayer human beings are all one guru gobind singh the lack of agenda for this one god means that there is no difference between men and women in sikhism sikhism was among the first major world religions to make the radical suggestion that maybe just maybe women are people too women in sikhism have fought battles led religious services and even acted as some of the longest reigning leaders of the entire community

6:11 sikhism isn't based on doing things to get into some heaven or hell hell is just life on earth which your soul is constantly reborn into after you die which is a pretty dark you see six believe in reincarnation and karma similar to buddhists hindus and jains but sikhs believe that karma is modified by god as in karma might decide what life you're born into but god makes sure that anyone can become a good person in their lifetime if they try the goal of sick life is to break free from the cycle of rebirth by merging your soul back into god's soul one does this by realizing that you are already a part of god you just need to let go of your ego when your soul re-merges back into gods

6:56 this is called mukti which is similar to hinduism's moksha and means liberation when you remerge your soul is released from the cycle of rebirth and death and becomes infinite timeless and blissful this is the closest thing six have to heaven two maya six believe that god is and created reality but we forget this because humans are distracted by illusion or maya which is anything that takes your mind off god maya keeps people trapped in the cycle of rebirth and death guru and the neck thought that maya built a wall between people and god the wall of maya is built with the five thieves lust anger greed attachment and pride it is the duty of all six to avoid these

7:43 thieves the five thieves are caused by how my literally i myself how am i makes people say i am this i am that and that separates you from others which blocks you from realizing your oneness with god this ego causes people to live only for themselves to spew negativity and the crave power and wealth such a person is called mun muk facing towards desires guru nanak saw the world's problems as the negative effects of ego hindu versus muslim israeli versus palestinian sitting down wipers versus standing up wipers all of these conflicts are caused by ego and maya the guru grant sahib said it is not religion or race but it is wealth that divides

8:28 brothers but guru nanak taught that there was an other direction people could face by being a spiritual person practicing compassion truth contentment humility and love and meditating on god you could instead become gurmukh facing towards the guru how does one become germoch and igolis well sikhism offers a path to follow that can help called the three pillars three three pillars the three pillars are one nam japo which is meditation on god and the reciting and chanting of god's name way guru this is normally done in the morning and before bed this isn't supposed to just be some mindless ritual either six are supposed to genuinely reflect on the qualities of god as they do this 2. kirat kearny working hard

9:13 and making an honest living gurudenak said only he who earns his living by the sweat of his brow and shares his earnings with others has discovered the path of righteousness three wand chakna this is sharing the fruits of your labor with others providing free food and donating to the community the sikh tradition of a communal meal or longer at the gurdwaras is a part of wand chakna the longer or communal free kitchen inside of a sikh gurdwara which is their equivalent of a mosque or church is open to all who visit regardless of caste faith or gender these serve vegetarian food to all not because six have to be vegetarian but simply because that means all people of all diets can partake so if you want to taste typical punjabi

9:58 food just go visit a gurdwara in guru the next time the idea of different castes sitting together on the floor and eating side by side was a revolutionary act famously the mughal emperor akbar visited guru arjan and the guru would not meet with him until he partook in a lunger which the emperor did sitting side by side with peasants guru nanak claim an enlightened person are those who view everyone equally like the air touching the king and beggar alike another vital part of sikhism that isn't one of the three pillars is seva which is selfless service true service to their community six can become more humble and overcome their ego seva can include cleaning of the courtois preparing food or cleaning dishes in the lunger or it can include volunteering

10:45 building things for your community or subscribing and ringing the notification bell on educational youtube channels through remembering god's name honest work and sharing along with selfless service and avoiding the five thieves a person can rid themselves of egoism and be released from the cycle of rebirth and death 4. the khalsa guru gobind rai was the son of the ninth guru tegh bahrdur who was beheaded by the mughals and his body was abandoned by his sikh entourage they fled easily because no one could recognize them so guru gobind decided to give six a distinct look from now on so that they would always be compelled uphold sikh values so in 1699 guru gobind brought his six together at anandapore

11:30 after their morning prayer he stood in front of a huge crowd and demanded a human sacrifice the shocked crowd was silent for a while before one sikh rose up and entered the guru's tent the guru followed him in and then the guru comes out with blood on his sword he demands another sacrifice another stick offers themselves and enters the tent again only the guru comes back out of the tent bloody sword in hand again another sacrifice and again and finally after the fifth sacrifice the guru re-emerges with the five six all wearing saffron coloured robes the guru declares that these are the pange pyring the five beloved ones they would form the center of a new sick community called the celta he offered them amrit a bowl of sweetened water and all

12:16 five who belonged to different cast groups drank the amrit from the same bowl which would have been a huge deal back then this signified they had joined a new castle family the khalsa each of these volunteers had to leave behind their old surnames or cast names and adopt the same surname singh which comes from the sanskrit word simba meaning lion i know right it has it has no relation to the bantu word simba which also means lion it's just a weird coincidence which is great the guru then begged the five beloved ones to let him join their khalsa they offered him the amrit and the guru became guru gobind singh women were admitted to the culture the same way as men after drinking the amrit they received the surname kor meaning princess the khalsa gave the sixth a new unified

13:04 identity tied together as one family with one name without caste with the goal of defending the weak and promoting justice today many sixth still undergo the amret ceremony and take the surnames singh and core the cows they were also given new rules to follow which included the wearing of the panj kakar or the 5ks the first was kes which is uncut hair to represent discipline the second was karga a small comb in the hair the third was a kerpan a sword to uphold justice and protect the weak which is nowadays usually a small sword it is importantly not an offensive weapon and the sick code of conduct claims it can only be used to destroy tyrants and oppressors it must not be used for anything else the fourth is kakahira kind of loose-fitting boxer shorts to represent

13:51 the sexual restraint and the fifth is kara a steel bracelet its circular shape represents the infinity of god interestingly the turban is not one of the five instead it's worn to cover the six long uncut hair because turbans have become essential to sick identity and hold very special significance to them chances are if you see someone wearing a turban the vast majority of the time that person will be a sikh not a muslim 5 the guru grant sahib the guru grant sahib is the holy book of the six it contains the teachings of the gurus and acts as a spiritual guide for sikhs around the world it is probably one of the only holy books that contains not only the writings of the religion's founders written by themselves

14:36 rather than after their death but also the writing of people from other religions writings of muslims and hindus can be found throughout along with references to judaism buddhism and christianity before his death in 1708 the 10th guru guru gobind singh ended the line of human gurus by bestowing guruship on the adi granth turning it into the guru grant sahib making it similar to both the bible and quran and the living prophet at the same time to break down the name the word guru means guru granth means book and sahib means lord since that moment the guru grant sahib has been revered as the current living guru it is treated with extreme respect and care oddly enough the grant

15:22 is not only red but sung it's made up of thousands of hymns six don't have mass or service but a curtain meaning communal singing normally these are set to classical indian music [Music] sixth the gurdwara six gather at gurdwaras a word meaning doorway to the guru a gurdwara is only a gurdwara because it has a copy of the guru grant sahib in it men and women of all castes and social standing gather there to join in prayer singing and eating this is where you'll find the lunger anyone can visit a cordoira and partake in the service and meal you only need to follow basic etiquette cover your head remove your shoes wash your hands as you enter and do your best not to bring any drugs or tobacco

16:08 inside the most important cruduary in the world is the harimander or golden temple in amritsar india in 1604 guru arjan completed work on the golden temple and had the guru granth sahib installed inside it as the gesture of religious tolerance guru arjan invited the muslim mian mir to lay the foundation stone of the golden temple the temple has four doors opening on all four sides to show the openness to all cultures and peoples but on the inside only one door leads the inner sanctum indicating that all paths and beliefs eventually lead to the one god the golan temple is the most visited place in the world with around 6 million visitors each year the longer

16:53 at the golden temple serves a free meal to about 100 000 people each day making it the world's largest free serving kitchen all run and staffed by volunteers and the waiting list to volunteer in the golden temple has hundreds of thousands of names on it the people on that list will be waiting for a long time a good way for them to pass the time productively would be to listen to audiobooks over on audible while researching this video i listen to sikhism a fairly short introduction by eleanor nesbit which is an excellent bite-sized introduction to sikhism stated in fairly clear language for people that are completely new to the topic and if you want to go right to the source audible even has the complete 90 plus hour guru grand saheb also available audible

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19:12 cogito or texting cogido to 500-500 to start your free 30-day audible trial while also helping to support the channel so those the basics of sikhism it isn't even close to covering everything my probably only covered about one percent one video simply can't cover everything religions are too diverse too deep and mean too many different things to different people but learning even the basics of anything that millions of people deeply care about gives you an insight into our fellow humans worldview and i hope you enjoyed it you can find all the sources used in the description if you like this content please subscribe and if you have any questions leave them below and i will answer them in a comment response video if you're interested in supporting the channel there are links to my patreon and my t-shirt store also in the description thank you so much for watching

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