Sikhism

[Blackbird_SR-71]

I was seeing the other day that not many people have ever heard of Sikhism even though it is the 5th largest religion. i want to see how many people ever heard about Sikhism?

 

[jonatas]

I was seeing the other day that not many people have ever heard of Sikhism even though it is the 5th largest religion. i want to see how many people ever heard about Sikhism?

5th largest religion? wow, didn't know it was that big.... yes i have heard of it, but know very little

 

[Riesstiu IV]

My mom was a Sikh growing up but she doesn't practice the religion anymore. I seriously doubt Sikhism is the 5th largest religion in the world. There are 25 million at most.

 

[Steve Thompson]

It's the 5th largest if you don't count the Chinese/Japanese relgions/philosophies...

BUT - who here's heard of Jainism? Huh? Yeah that's what I thought!

 

[Mongoloid Cow]

I've heard of Jainism That's the one with the forgot-the-names which are solitary and static, and the aforgot-the-names which are evil and changing, and cause misery and suffering right?

 

[Blackbird_SR-71]

My mom was a Sikh growing up but she doesn't practice the religion anymore. I seriously doubt Sikhism is the 5th largest religion in the world. There are 25 million at most.

Do a google on it. Its even bigger than Judaism

 

[North King]

Do a google on it. Its even bigger than Judaism

Judaism is a tiny religion...

 

[allhailIndia]

Sikhism originally started in the 15th century as a sect which sought to combine the best aspects of HInduism and Islam and at the same time compensate for some of the excesses of both. Its growth was linked to its antagonism with the Mughal rulers, who became more and more intolerant, especially Aurangzeb, towards its followers. The spiritual head of Sikhism used to be Guru, of whom Guru Gobind was the tenth and the last. After him, a collection of his teachings and hymns, the Granth Sahib, became the spiritual guide of al SIkhs and hence attained the status of a Holy Book as the Guru Granth Sahib.

 

[joycem10]

All I can tell you about the Sihks is that Sihk bodygaurds assasinated Indira Ghandi and that they carry or used to carry ceremonial daggers which led to problems in schools with "zero tolerance" weapons rules.

 

[jonatas]

Sikhism originally started in the 15th century as a sect which sought to combine the best aspects of HInduism and Islam and at the same time compensate for some of the excesses of both. Its growth was linked to its antagonism with the Mughal rulers, who became more and more intolerant, especially Aurangzeb, towards its followers. The spiritual head of Sikhism used to be Guru, of whom Guru Gobind was the tenth and the last. After him, a collection of his teachings and hymns, the Granth Sahib, became the spiritual guide of al SIkhs and hence attained the status of a Holy Book as the Guru Granth Sahib.

that's really interesting that it sought to combine Hinduism and Islam... i confess i don't know anything about it, but i find that interesting..

 

[silver 2039]

Sikhs are awesome soldiers.

 

[Verbose]

Sikhs are awesome soldiers.

It took the British all of two wars (1845, 1849) to annex the Sikh kingdom of Punjab.
The real benefit of that for Britain was the incorporation of the Sikh army into its forces. The best Indian army around. (Modern weapons and tactics, trained by French and Italian officers.)
The Sikh remained loyal during the Sepoy uprising in 1857. Had they joined it, the British might have been booted out.

 

[Squonk]

I know only what allhail and joycem told. And that they live in NW India I think.
And wear colourful turbans. And that the guy killed after the WTC thing was a Sikh.

 

[Kafka2]

I have a lot of Sikh friends. They're usually immense blokes with big beards, and as hard as nails. They also have a reputation as being the party animals of the sub-continent.

An Indian once told me the following moral tale-

If you let your house to a hindu from Southern India, the rent will be paid, the house will be spotless and you'll never hear a peep out of them.

If you let your house to a Gujarati, it'll be kept spotless but they'll constantly ***** about the rent.

If you let it to a Sikh you'll never get any rent, the house will be trashed, and when you visit you'll find an entire bottle of bacardi forced into your hand while a huge bearded man grabs you in a bear-hug and announces that you're now part of the family.

Strangely enough, their faith doesn't actually allow drinking. If you challenge a Sikh on that point, in my experience they'll knock back their drink in one gulp, say "Well, nobody's perfect", then hit the dancefloor.

 

[Kafka2]

that's really interesting that it sought to combine Hinduism and Islam... i confess i don't know anything about it, but i find that interesting..

Though, funnily enough, Sikhs really don't tend to get on with Moslems....

 

[airrahul]

I've heard of Sikhism and my uncle's a Sikh though I'm a hindu. BTW, Kafka, i can vouch for you're moral tale with regards to the part about S. Indian Hindus (my family are s. indian hindus for the most part). Oh, and I've heard of Jainism and I've got some relatives who are Jains. Siksh are cool. Bhangra music, chicken tikka masalla, carrying kirpans, etc.

 

[blindside]

Though, funnily enough, Sikhs really don't tend to get on with Moslems....

Sikhs have decided to wage an eternal war against Muslims because the Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, killed the Sikh guru some hundred years ago. The Sikhs (and Muslims) were responsible for most of the killings and deaths that occurred when India and Pakistan split. Both sides did awful things although I've heard more of the atrocities by the Sikhs (perhaps because they actually admitted to it).

Indian Muslims probably tend to look down at Sikhs because the Sikhs pretty much epitomize the stereotypical Indian (atleast the turban does).

I've heard of Sikhism and my uncle's a Sikh though I'm a hindu. BTW, Kafka, i can vouch for you're moral tale with regards to the part about S. Indian Hindus (my family are s. indian hindus for the most part). Oh, and I've heard of Jainism and I've got some relatives who are Jains. Siksh are cool. Bhangra music, chicken tikka masalla, carrying kirpans, etc.

I think thats more of a Punjabi thing than simply limited to the Sikhs. They tend to be a pretty happy bunch regardless of religion. In my experience most people in the sub continent tend to be very friendly as compared to the rest of the world.

 

[airrahul]

True Blindside, it's more Punjabi, my bad. Still, in general, I think the Sikhs are a good enough group from the subcontinent. They're all over the world, like Gujuratis. As for violence during Partition, I agree, that was a mess of nastiness from all three major religious groups of Punjab, Sikhs, Muslims, and Hindus IMO.

Also, I agree the Sikhs epitomize the stereotypical Indian with their turban. Sadly, after 9/11, a lot of culturally-illiterate morons killed or attacked Sikhs in the US thinking they were Muslim terrorists (or so they said, and even then, attacking anyone for that reason is just plain stupid).

 

[Verbose]

Strangely enough, their faith doesn't actually allow drinking. If you challenge a Sikh on that point, in my experience they'll knock back their drink in one gulp, say "Well, nobody's perfect", then hit the dancefloor.

Which confirms my impression given by the Sikh guy who used to frequent one of my favourite hangouts years ago.

When asked about how his religion didn't allow him to drink, cool as cucumber, he simply stated:

"Yes, but I am a bad Sikh."

 

[allhailIndia]

Not only people outside, but several people in India, confuse Punjabis as Sikhs, when in reality the former denotes people of all religions living in the Punjab area in INdia and Pakistan, whereas the latter are found mostly in the Indian half of the Punjab area.

Regarding the Sikh-Muslim antagonism, it can be traced to the hardline stance taken by Mughal rulers, especially Aurangzeb to the new sect, and the constant persecution he subjected them to. Ironically enough, some of the generals he used to persecute the Sikhs were Hindus! However, during Partition, most anecdotal evidence shows that the Sikhs and Hindus seemed to join forces against the Muslims, or were jointly the target of the Muslim mobs. Sikhs, who by religion are supposed to carry a sword on their person, the kirpan, came to epitomize the sword wielding, tragic period in Indian history. All said and done, the Sikhs were also at the recieving end as nearly a million of them were displaced from what is now Punjab in Pakistan. Unfortunately, this wouldn't be the last time the Sikhs would be subjected to such communal violence and hatred.