Sikhism continues to thrive in the Punjab and is growing throughout India and much of the world as a truly universally applicable faith.
According to Pramjit from the fifties to the seventies many Sikhs left their traditional ways and adopted western methods of dress and behavior. During this time the religion was faithfully observed primarily by the older generations. Due in large part to the political conflicts between Sikhs and Hindus however, especially around the Darbar Sahib ("Court of the Lord") or Golden Temple note 29., many younger Sikhs have returned to a fundamentalist observance of their religion. The political turmoil as well as what Pramjit views as the Hindu-designed poverty of the region has led many Sikhs to leave the Punjab and take refuge in the West.
The early Sikh immigrants were mainly male. They typically remained socially isolated or sought to blend in with mainstream society. With the immigration of entire families in the 60's, 70's and 80's however, social anonymity became more difficult to maintain, if not impossible. Sikh children were enrolled in the public schools and Sikh women were seen shopping and running errands. The Sikh presence in the West could no longer be concealed and so many of these Sikhs began publicly living their cultural identity in whatever society they found themselves in.
In 1969 the Sikh Missionary Society was formed in Britain with branches in Canada and the US to serve these Sikhs. This institution sought to educate and encourage Sikhs in the practice of their religion. To preserve the cultural identity and integrity of the Sikh community, the society began teaching the Punjabi language and customs to its Western born children. The Society's intention is not to convert Westerners to Sikhism, although they are welcome to join and many have, but rather to promote religious tolerance and encourage everyone, from within their own religion, to seek and serve God in their own way. Despite the name of this society, Sikhism is not missionary religion.
The Sikh community in Canada is the second largest by proportion to the country's population after only India. It is about 2.5 times the size of the American Sikh community. Following is an approximation of the number of Sikhs in various countries:
- In India: 21,500,000
- In Pakistan: 26,000
- In Malaysia: 100,000
- In the UK: 750,000
- In the US: 500,000
- In Canada: 415,000
- In Germany: 40,000
- In Australia: 26,429
For more See here
Even if the traditional Sikh difficulties with the Indian and Pakistani governments are resolved, the influx of Sikhs to the US, Canada and England, along with their influence, is all but certain to increase in the years to come. The Sikhs and the Khalsa are in the West to stay.
Part 7: The Nature Of God
The Guru Granth Sahib begins with the Sikh definition of God: There is but one God
He is the Eternal Truth
The Creator, All-Pervading Divine Spirit
Unfearful, Without hate and enmity
Immortal Entity, Unborn, Self-Existent, and
He is realized by His Own Grace. Meditate upon:
Who was True before the Creation
Who was True in the beginning of the Creation
Who is True now, and
O Nanak, Who shall be True for Ever.
(SR 255).
The entire Guru Granth Sahib is viewed as the explanation of the above definition. Within these lines resides the heart of Sikhism. God, for the Sikhs, is the Unseen, the Infinite and Eternal One Who is not subject to death or change. At first glance this definition seems to suggest that the Sikhs view God in the same light as most other theistic religions. Such is not the case however. Sikhism's Indian origins are clearly seen in the Sikh view of God note 30.. Theirs is an utterly transcendent and as well as fully imminent conception of the One Divinity.
Harmonious with Judaism, Islam, Christianity and other monotheistic religions, Sikhism depicts an utterly transcendent personally existing Deity Who is concerned with the world and its inhabitants. But God is simultaneously more. Those conceivable aspects of the One God that are knowable or describable -- "My gracious Lord, keep me under Your protection" -- are only one element of the utterly transcendent Divine Nature (GGS 53). Sikh teacher Pramjit Singh explained this to me as Saguna ("with qualities") and Nirguna ("without qualities") Brahman or "vast expanse" or "state of being" (P; EDY 64). As in some post 8th or 9th century B.C.E. Hindu philosophies, Sikhs acknowledge the existence of these two levels of reality note 31.. Brahman, according to such Hindu thinkers as Srila Shankaracharya, is ultimately nirguna, devoid of all material qualities. God is therefore utterly one, indefinable and indivisible. According to Shankara's interpretations of the Upanishads, all particulars that exist, from the basest to the most exalted, are "real" or "existing" only in that they arise from Nirguna Brahman. It is only due to avidya or "all-pervasive ignorance" that they appear real to mundane senses. In reality, only Brahman exists and then only as Nirguna. All else is Saguna and destined to total resorption into the a-cosmic totality which is Reality (ER 10.58).
Sikhism is in basic agreement with this understanding, but adds, along with Srila Ramanuja note 32., Srila Radhakrishnan and others that "the Absolute [Brahman] is a living reality with a creative urge. When this aspect is stressed, the Absolute [Brahman] becomes a Personal God, Ishvara [in saguna]." Ishvara is not therefore something different from or added to Brahman, Ishvara or God is Brahman Personified (ER 59). It is for this reason that Sikhism speaks of God as both an Impersonal Cause-Ground and a Personal Divinity:
He has no name, no dwelling-place, no caste; He has no shape, or color, or outer limits. He is the Primal Being, Gracious and Benign, Unborn, ever Perfect, and Eternal. He is of no nation, and wears no distinguishing garb; He has no outer likeness; He is free from desire. To the east or to the west, look where you may, He pervades and prevails as Love and Affection (Dasam Granth, Jap 80, SW 267).
And again:
God is indeed Limitless, but we limited beings try to limit Him in measured and restricted terms, for we cannot know Him at all until we become one with Him (S 37)
.
- Note 29: The Golden Temple is the physical heart of Sikhism. It is the most important of the five major Takhts ("thrones") of the religion. The temple was built and the Gurmukhi, or hymns of the Gurus (and others), was enshrined here by Guru Arjan in 1604. Return
- Note 30: As discussed above, Sikhism maintains that their understanding is not based upon the teachings of any other religion or culture. To honor this, one might say that Hinduism had previously received the same light. See above. Return
- Note 31: It was not until the Shata-Patha-Brahmana (8th or 9th century B.C.E.) that the word brahman acquired the now prominent philosophical connotation of the Absolute or Vast Expanse. Previously it was understood as a 'prayer' or 'meditation' employed to evoke the universal power (also called brahman). Its root brih means "to grow" or "to expand" (EDY 64). Return
- Note 32: Shree Ramanuja further insists that brahman is essentially saguna. Nirguna brahman is known as the brahmajyoti or spiritual effulgence of the saguna totality as the rays of the sun emanate from that luminary (HG 107). Return
No comments:
Post a Comment