Kelly Alexander 11YA
Coursework One - Sikh's and Conflict
Part 1
In 1606 Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru was tortured to death. The Mughal ruler had ordered the Guru's arrest and said he would only be allowed to go if he agreed to stop preaching his religion and paid a large fine of 200 000 rupees. To this the Guru said that he could never stop preaching his religion and if he had such a large sum of money he would give it to the poor.
The Mughal leader responded by locking the Guru in a cell for three days in the hottest month of May without any food or water.
As the Guru had still yet to agree to the demands on the fourth day he was put on a barrel of hot water. This was still not enough to break his resolve so on the fifth day hot sand was poured onto his naked body. On the sixth day he was made to sit on a red-hot iron plate, he still would not give up his belief in religious tolerance.
Eventually he was pushed in a river where he drowned. The whole time he was being tortured he did not ask for mercy once, he only repeated God's name and said, "Your will is sweet to me"
This is one example of the persecution Sikhs suffered at the time of the Mughal emperors.
The Guru believed in tolerance of religions, that all people should have the right to worship as they chose and that no religion is the one and only path to God.
Sikh's today mark the anniversary of his death by setting up roadside stalls to serve drinks to passers by, whatever their race or creed. Sikh's remember the thirst and suffering of Guru Arjan Dev by looking to the thirst of others.
On Baisakhi day in 1699, over 20 000 Sikhs gathered in Anandpur to meet Guru Gobind Singh.
When the Guru arrived he was holding a naked sword, he appealed to the Sikhs and said, "I need a Sikh who is willing to give his life for God and the Guru"
A silence followed. After the Guru had repeated his request twice more a man finally came forward.
The Guru took the brave Sikh to a nearby tent. He reappeared with his sword dripping with blood and asked for another Sikh.
Again the Guru took the second Sikh to the same tent as the first. He returned again with blood dripping from his sword. This happened three more times so that, in the end the congregation had seen five men offer their lives for God and the Guru and be taken into the tent. After the fifth man, the Guru did not come back for a while, when he did return all five men were with him.
The Guru then explained to the Sikhs that he had been testing their courage and willingness to die for their faith, and the Guru. The Sikh community were pleased to hear they had passed the test.
He called the five men Panj Piare that means the five beloved ones. These men were called this because they had shown great courage and loyalty to God and the Guru.
The Guru then prepared amrit, a mixture of sugar and water. He stirred it with a khanda , a two edged sword. His wife Mata Sundri bought the sugar ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
The Guru then explained to the Sikhs that he had been testing their courage and willingness to die for their faith, and the Guru. The Sikh community were pleased to hear they had passed the test.
He called the five men Panj Piare that means the five beloved ones. These men were called this because they had shown great courage and loyalty to God and the Guru.
The Guru then prepared amrit, a mixture of sugar and water. He stirred it with a khanda , a two edged sword. His wife Mata Sundri bought the sugar crystals to sweeten the amrit, the Guru then told her, "Your contribution has made the ceremony complete." In doing this Guru Gobind Singh was demonstrating that his wife was equal. This was regarded as unusual at the time because of the caste system in India, women were thought of as inferior. When Sikhs practise this ceremony today it is a reminder of equality between sexes.
The Guru asked the Panj Piare to give him amrit, showing that all people, including the Guru, are equal before God. Then the amrit was given to thousands of the people present. This was another way of making Guru Gobind Singh's views against the caste system of that time clear. It was given to the Sikhs as a sign that they accept the basic Sikh principles of belief in God, equality of all people and respect and tolerance towards all. Sikhs today continue to share meals as a sign of equality.
This was the formation of the Khalsa. It was on this day that Guru Gobind Singh requested Sikhs to wear the five Ks.
These were kesh, kangha, kirpan, kachera and kara.
Kesh is uncut hair and was a sign that you were deeply religious and unconcerned about your looks. It is usually covered with a rumal or turban.
The kangha is a wooden comb that is used to keep hair tidy which would distinguish Sikhs from Hindus as they let their hair grow long and matted.
The kirpan is a small sword that was used for self-defence from the persecution of Muslims.
Kashera are white shorts. These were worn to allow greater movement in battle because traditional Indian male clothes made fighting difficult.
Finally the kara is a steel bangle and was worn to protect the wrists during battle.
Sikhs have continued to wear the five items as a reminder of the persecution Sikhs have been through in the past, and so they remember to stand against any injustices they may observe.
Part 2
Some Sikhs find it very hard to be in the Khalsa in the Western society today.
However, certain laws and discrimination acts have been enforced to ensure Khalsa Sikhs are treated the same as everyone else.
Being a Khalsa Sikh means that you are required to wear the five Ks, kachera, kara, kesh, kangha and kirpan (small sword) although most living in the West accept the law and wear something symbolic instead, like a small symbol on the kangha, wooden comb. For example, the kirpan would create problems when going through customs as it may be classed as an offensive weapon; schools and places of work may also have policies on weapons that could lead to dismissing.
Sikhs are now allowed to wear their turbans everywhere in the workplace and at school. Employers are not allowed to tell Sikhs to take them off or refuse jobs because of them. Although Sikhs are not allowed to fly fighter planes because the Pilate has to be clean-shaven for the gas mask to fit properly. Sikhs are allowed turbans if they like on construction sites, while riding bicycles and motorbikes, and whilst driving buses.
Most Sikhs living in the Western world are brought up as clean-shaven Sikhs they usually become Khalsa Sikhs when they have lived and want to eventually settle down and concentrate on their religion.
It is the duty of a Khalsa Sikh to wake up at 4 or 5 o'clock and bathe. He then has to say five prayers, the first being the "Jap ji" which was written by Guru Nanak. He will then have a vegetarian breakfast before going to work. The prayers take about one and a half hours to say and some Sikhs go to the Gurdwara at this time in the morning to pray.
When he comes home from work he will say the evening prayers that are called rahras.
Then at night before he goes to bed he says/sings Kirtan Sohilla, which is a selection of hymns. This can be hard to fit into an average working day, as it is very time consuming.
Being a Khalsa Sikh is very strict. Drinking alcohol and committing adultery are against the rules.
If a Khalsa Sikh commits adultery he has to confess to the Panj Piare and re-take the amrit ceremony. There is usually a punishment as well.
If a Sikh takes the amrit ceremony then decides to drop his religion he would be called a Patit or apostste, which means he has given up on his religion. This is not the same as a clean-shaven Sikh as they were born like that and they did not drop their religion.
After recent events in America a lot of Sikhs have been mistaken for Muslims and have been attacked. There is a lot of ignorance towards Sikhism especially in America because there are a very small number living there. This can create religious conflict between the groups.
There are a lot of anti-Muslim feelings amongst Sikhs. Muslim and Sikh marriages are very unusual. However, there are a lot of Muslim and Hindu elements in the Sikh religion. As Sikhism is a much younger religion a lot of its traditions were developed from existing religions such as Hindu and Muslim.
Therefore some Khalsa Sikhs are finding it increasingly difficult to live as religiously as they would like in the Western society in the twenty first century.
Part 3
"Peace cannot be kept by force, it can only be achieved by understanding."
In response to this statement I believe peace is when people live together happily without conflict and trouble, in individual communities and worldwide. Peace is when people accept the beliefs and different ways of living of others. This, however, is very hard to achieve in today's society because as human beings we naturally posses emotions and we may disagree with certain issues or practices of other groups. Thus causing conflict.
Lots of people in the world use force as an attempt to solve their problems.
Throughout history Sikhs have been forced to go to war as other religious groups have persecuted them. Sikh teachings on the subject of war state that Sikhs are allowed to use force if the cause is just. This means that all steps to avoid it have been taken and they can see no other alternative.
Sikhs are encouraged to defend their faith from a very young age. At the time of the formation of the Khalsa in 1699 Sikhs were forced to defend themselves and their religion against Muslim persecution, as a result Khalsa Sikhs, even today, carry a kirpan, a small sword. Sikhs today view the kirpan as a reminder to stand up for justice. They are taught to verbally (and using other non-violent means) stand against any injustices he/she may observe. They also wear kachera, these are white shorts that were originally worn to allow greater movement in battle because traditional Indian clothing made fighting difficult. Today they are a reminder for Sikhs that you should live a pure and disciplined life.
In 1675 the ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur was martyred for his belief by the Mughal emperor Aurengzeb. He was killing many Sikhs who refused to accept Islam. When the emperor tried to convert the Guru by threatening torture sand death, the Guru simply replied, "Never seek to intimidate others, nor be intimidated by another's might."
The Guru was later tortured and beheaded for his stand on religious freedom.
Force has been necessary for Sikhs to establish their right to have religious freedom and establish their standing as an individual religion.
For Sikhs peace was created using force and now to continue living peacefully Sikhs need to avoid conflict and do their best to accept other people's ways of life, just as the rest of us do if we want to live peacefully.
