RSS FeedsThe origin of Sikhism
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01 Nov
2006 |
I wonder when the word “Sikh” came into origin. Did it come when Guru Gobind Singhji established the Khalsa Panth back in 1699 on the day of Baisakhi or was the word known prior to that? The question came to my mind after reading this page on Guru Amar Das — the fourth (among the 10) guru of the Sikhs. If you go down a bit on this page, you’ll find a heading:
How did Guru ji become a Sikh?
As far as I know, Sikh as a term didn’t exist at that time. Or may be the term was there, as the meaning of a Sikh is a student, a disciple, and in terms of the religion, it is a person who lives according to the Gurmat, which means the teaching of the Gurus.
I should get hold of a good book on Sikh history. Khushwant Singh wrote two volumes. I’ll get them first.
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November 1st, 2006 at 7:19 pm
As far as I know, the term originated during Guru Nanak’s time itself. But this is based on memory and I dont remember the source.
Rather than Khushwant Singh’s 2 volume book, I would rather suggest JS Grewal’s book ‘The Sikhs of the Punjab’, less racy but more reliable. (and McLeod’s writings specially the one on Guru Nanak)
November 2nd, 2006 at 2:29 am
Hi Bhupinder.
Thanks for the tip on the books. I’ll look for them on Fabmall.
November 5th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
I think you should approach Sikhism as you approach Hinduism, and vice versa.
The Khuswant book is actually one of his best works, really it is and not much of his stuff i like cuz he is on the nutty side of the world.
I really hope that you, as a descendant of a Sikh, and I really think Sikhism is the best thing to happen to India..maybe globably due to its unorthodox appraoch to life, will try to truly see the spirit of Sikhism as you have with Hinduism, cuz after studying religions deeply, i can tell you Hinduism is almost forced to be seen as a decent religion, whereas Sikhism, people choose not to see its Greatness because its not the majority religion or culture in India, and as we know its always easy to side with the majority and their values and beliefs than it is to be unorthodox.
and this Mccleod, guy is most anti eastern religion than anyone i can think of, he dedicated his whole life (remember he was christian missionary) debunk eastern religons, and his favorite to do this with was Sikhism. to make it more clear for you, hes one fo those white guys who writes against hidnusims all the time cuz they dont want to admit that someone may be surperior than them (the whites) in some way and thats why they support the aray theroy constantly to take credit for all the ancient greatness of the indians.
December 26th, 2006 at 4:05 pm
Waheguru ji ka khalsa, waheguru ji ki fateh,
To my knowledge, we weren’t called “Sikhs” right away, it just meant learner - for humility, learner of the path the Guru shows. Learner about the self too. But slowly slowly ppl became known as Sikh for short - those who follow the guru.
There is a Line in Jap Ji Sahib Ji, ang 3 of SGGS Ji:
“Mannai Tarai Taaray Gur Sikh.”
The Faithful are saved, and carried accross with the Sikhs of the Guru.
This line makes reference to the word Sikh, and it was written by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, so yes that word was used already in His time.
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As for History, The site http://www.allaboutsikhs.com has tons of history online, you can print them too. I recommend to start with that - the biographies of the Gurus.
If you are sincerely interested in knowing alot about Sikhism and it’s history… there is the Encyclopedia of Sikhism in 4 volumes that is very useful.
I hope this helps…
Waheguru ji ka khalsa, waheguru ji ki fateh