Sikhism Section 1

Sikhism Section 1

1. Key Terms

2. Quotes

3. Chapter 1-6

   • Chapter 1-3
     • The Nature Of God
       • Origins Of Sikhism
         • The religion of Sikhism began more than 500 years ago in Punjab, a part of India in which Hindus and Muslims were living. The religion began with the teaching of the first Guru, Guru Nanak, and was developed through the lives and teaching of another nine Gurus. Today, Sikhs believe that their holy scriptures is the living Guru and contain the word of God.
       • Nature Of God
         • Sikhs Believe God is beyond human description. They believe that God has no gender and so is not male or female. Sikhs do use "he" or him" but only to be able to talk and write easily about God. They believe that any words used to describe God are inadequate because they are human words and so cannot fully describe the greatness of God.
         • Sikhs believe that God has no limits. God is immanent and so is in everything. At the same time he is transcendent, above and beyond creation. Sikhs have many names for God but none can describe properly the nature of God
       • Mool Mantra
         • The Guru Granth Sahib opens with words of the Mool Mantra, meaning 'main chant'. Sikhs believe that this was the first teaching of Guru Nanak, after he had become enlightened. It is the most important of the Guru Granth Sahib and summarises Sikh belief about the nature of God.
           • Ik Onkar - One Universal Creator God
           • Satnam - The Name is Truth
           • Karta Purakh - Creative Being Personified
           • Nirhau - No Fear
           • Nirvair - No Hatred
           • Akaal Moorat - Image Of The Undying
           • Ajooni - Beyond Birth
           • Saibhang - Self Existent
           • Gur Prasad - By Guru's Grace
         • The Mool Mantra is the most important statement for Sikhs and summarises Sikh beliefs. Sikhs say the Mool Mantra daily in their prayers. It is also recited in worship and in the ceremony of initiation at the gurdwara. The first words of the Mool Mantra, "Ik Onkar", as written in Punjabi, is used as a symbol of the Sikh religion. They can be found in the gurdwaras or in Sikh homes.
     • God as Creator
       • God the Creator
         • Sikhs believe that God created everything: the world, the universe and any other universes that may exist. There are no stories about Creation in Sikhism. God brought into existence creation, including all universes, and has sustained it since then. Sikhs accept scientific views about how life was created, such as the theory of evolution, but believe that all is done through God's will. God wills the universe to exist and gives order to everything. Sometimes the world is described as God's pastime or his play. This does not suggest that the world is a trivial thing that God does not take seriously but rather indicates the greatness of God compared with the world in which humans live, and the fact God created it.
       • God as separate from the universe
         • Sikhs understand that God is beyond complete human understanding and beyond names. God has never assumed any physical form. Nor does he have 'qualities, although many human qualities are used to try to describe him. Sikhs use the word 'nirgun' (without qualities or form) to describe him. God is uncreated. He has no limits and is free and therefore different from his creation. He is timeless and spaceless, that is, he does not occupy any space. He was present before the creation when there was nothing else. Human language cannot express what he is like because God is different from anything humans experience or could experience within space and time.
       • God shown in and through the universe.
         • Sikhs believe that every part of the universe reveals God. Having created the world, God is interested in it in a kindly way and directs it, which measn that his creative power is constant and in everything.
   • Chapter 4-6