Sat Sri Akal!
Guess where I just got back from….? Amritsar! Amritsar is a
city in Punjab and a popular tourist spot, famous for Harmandir Sahib, or the
Golden Temple.
57.69% of the people in Punjab are Sikhs, so I decided to
find out more about them. Here are some interesting facts about Sikhs and their
distinctive religion.
Sikhism, a monotheistic religion, emerged in the 15th
century in Punjab, India. It was a militaristic religion that was established
to fight against the Mughal invaders. Sikhs follow the scripture Guru Granth Sahib and believe in only one
God. They follow gurus too.
One thing that is truly impressive about the religion is the
concept of ‘seva’ or service to
people. At the Golden Temple, there were many people, old and young, rich and
poor, doing different jobs like storing others’ shoes, giving out cups of
water, making and serving food.
When we asked various people about how we could do service
too, they said we could just walk in, wash our hands and do whatever form of
service we liked for however long we wanted, from five minutes to four hours!
Sikhism has five symbols – kesh (uncut hair), kara
(steel bangle), kanga (wooden comb), kirpan (sword), and kacchera (long underwear). I think Sikhs are very religious people
as most of the Sikhs I saw at the temple carried kirpans, had long hair and wore karas.
I was fascinated to see the kirpans that so many people were carrying around with them, and the
shops that sold so many different types – sharp and blunt, simple and fancy,
short and long.
Sikhs were deeply affected during the partition of India,
though they were neither Hindu or Muslim. When we visited the Partition Museum
we saw how horrible the partition was and how so many innocent Sikhs were
massacred. Almost no Sikhs in West Punjab survived, as they were brutally
killed. Trains carrying Sikhs from Pakistan arrived in India full of blood and
corpses as the trains had been attacked by mobs on the way.
But some Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims actually helped each
other. Sarjit Singh Chowdhary, a Sikh soldier, helped Muslims cross the border
and might have saved the lives of a few hundred people!
Overall, I think Sikhism is a very interesting religion that
adds to India’s diverse culture.
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ReplyDeleteThanks for so much information on Sikhism Netra! Keep writing!
ReplyDeleteThank you 😊
DeleteGreat insights on Sikhism & lovely depiction of the Golden Temple. Waiting for more Netra!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteInteresting learning new facts and learning about how rich the world is with his thoughts and diffrent people.
ReplyDeleteThanks! What would you like me to write about next?
DeleteHello Netra, so nice to see this post! I enjoyed reading it. Look forward to reading about your life in Bangalore and the new friends you have made in school and the apartment complex. Are there any fun doggies in the complex? We have 2 massive St Bernards who live next door, Hector and Molly. They are gentle giants who drool a lot, but they are good dogs indeed!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I love dogs but we don’t have a pet as we just moved and still have to settle down. I hope I can adopt a dog next year though.
DeleteHi Netra. This is Venkat. A well worded blog. Your eagerness to learn more about Sikhism is evident. Very informative . Keep writing. All the best for more !!
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteDear Netra, very informative and well written blog. You kept it interesting till the end. I also learned some new facts about Sikhism. Looking fwd to read more of your writing.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Please give me suggestions on what you would like me to write about next!
DeleteHi Netra, this is Mini. I enjoyed reading this post, especially how you alternated between the facts and your experience. I learnt so much, new as well as many things I had forgotten!
ReplyDeleteI found your deduction about Sikhs being very religious people (as most of them showed visible signs of practice at the temple) very interesting.. But isn’t one more likely to find people who are more religious at the temple in the first place? Just some food for thought...
Thank you! About your question, I think you’re right. However, I didn’t really expect to see so many Kirpans. Also- though this may not answer the question exactly- I found that many people on the roads and in markets, too, were dressed religiously.
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