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Criticism Of Sikhism
Sikhism has often been criticised by non-Sikhs regarding its texts, practices, and societal norms, but Sikhs and other scholars argue that these criticisms are flawed and are based on a biased and poor understanding of the texts, especially of the multiple languages used in the Sikh scriptures. They also argue that most western scholars who attempted to interpret eastern religious texts were missionaries and could not overcome the bias they carried with them, irrespective of whether they were translating the Quran, Vedas, Puranas or the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Nanak rejected ritualistic worship and encouraged belief in one true God, Waheguru. The veneration and bowing to the Guru Granth Sahib, has often been interpreted by western scholars as akin to idolatry, as observed by the Hindu faith, which defeats the ideology of Guru Nanak. Other scholars dismiss Sikhism as, either consciously (according to John Hardon) or spontaneously (according to John B. Noss), a syncretism of the Hin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sikhism
Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes from the Sanskrit root ' meaning "disciple", or ' meaning "instruction". Singh, Khushwant. 2006. ''The Illustrated History of the Sikhs''. Oxford University Press. . p. 15.Kosh, Gur Shabad Ratnakar Mahan. https://web.archive.org/web/20050318143533/http://www.ik13.com/online_library.htm is an Indian religion that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent,"Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikh originated in India." around the end of the 15th century CE. It is the most recently founded major organized faith and stands at fifth-largest worldwide, with about 25–30 million adherents (known as Sikhs) .McLeod, William Hewat. 2019 998 Sikhism developed from the spiritual teachings of Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the faith's first gu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guru
Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential figure to the disciple (or '' shisya'' in Sanskrit, literally ''seeker f knowledge or truth'' or student, with the guru serving as a "counselor, who helps mold values, shares experiential knowledge as much as literal knowledge, an exemplar in life, an inspirational source and who helps in the spiritual evolution of a student". Whatever language it is written in, Judith Simmer-Brown explains that a tantric spiritual text is often codified in an obscure twilight language so that it cannot be understood by anyone without the verbal explanation of a qualified teacher, the guru. A guru is also one's spiritual guide, who helps one to discover the same potentialities that the ''guru'' has already realized. The oldest references to the concep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harjot Oberoi
Harjot Singh Oberoi is a Professor of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. He received his PhD from the Australian National University. His thesis earned him the J.G. Crawford Prize in 1987. He is known for his studies of Sikh history, particularly during the late 19th-century and early 20th-century. Book Oberoi wrote ''The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition''. The book examines the first four centuries of Sikh traditions, and shows that most Sikhs recognized multiple identities grounded in "local, regional, religious, and secular loyalties". Sikhs did not establish distinct religious boundaries until the Singh Sabha Movement, according to Oberoi. His book is described by the publisher as "a major reinterpretation of religion and society in India". Sociologist T. N. Madan states Oberoi is a "careful Sikh scholar", while the Sikhism historian W. H. McLeod William Hewat McLeod (1932–2009; al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pashaura Singh (Sikh Scholar)
Pashaura Singh is a religious studies scholar and a professor at the University of California, Riverside where he currently holds the Dr. Jasbir Singh Saini Endowed Chair in Sikh and Punjabi Studies. He completed his Ph.D. at University of Toronto under the supervision of W. H. McLeod – an influential scholar and historian of Sikhism. Singh pursued an academic career and joined the University of Michigan, where he edited and co-published two collections of Sikh studies. Copies of Singh's thesis at University of Toronto, "The Text and Meaning of the Adi Granth", were circulated without permission. Some of these reached the conservative faction of the Sikh community, who with alarm, complained about it before the Akal Takht The Akal Takht ("Throne of the Timeless One") is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikhs. It is located in the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar, Punjab, India. The Akal Takht (originally called Akal Bunga) was built by ... at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masand
A masand was a representative and tithe collector in Sikhism. They were an officially appointed missionary minister representing the Sikh Guru, who baptized conversions to Sikhism, and collected ''dasvandh'' ("the tenth" of income) as an offering to the Sikh community and religious establishment. A masand forwarded the collected amount to the Sikh guru. Etymology The word masand (Punjabi: ਮਸੰਦ) is an adaptation of the Persian term ‘masnad’ (Punjabi: ਮਸਨਦ), which refers to ‘a seat’ that is at a lower level than the throne. The Guru was the highest authority while masands were emplaced to spread the message of Sikhism and given the authority to baptize individuals converting to Sikhism. During conversions happening in the absence of the Guru, the new convert would touch the feet of the masand or drink the water they had dipped their toe in, in order to become initiated into the Sikh religion. History: Origin and Structure It is unclear when the m''asand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mina (Sikhism)
The Mīnās (Gurmukhi: ਮੀਣਾ; ''mīṇā'') were a heretical sect of Sikhs that followed Prithi Chand (1558–April 1618), the eldest son of Guru Ram Das, after his younger brother Guru Arjan was selected by the Guru to succeed him. Prithi Chand would vigorously contest this, attracting a portion of Sikhs to his side who followers of Guru Arjan referred to as ਮੀਣੇ ''mīṇe'', meaning "charlatans," "dissemblers," or "scoundrels." They sustained their opposition to the orthodox line of Gurus through the seventeenth century, and upon Guru Gobind Singh's founding of the Khalsa in 1699, they were declared by him, as well as by Khalsa ''rahitnamas'' (codes of conduct), as one of the ''Panj Mel'', or five reprobate groups, that a Sikh must avoid. They are occasionally referred to in the more neutral terms ''Sikhān dā chhotā mel'' ("those who remained with the true Guru lineage for a short time") or as the ''Miharvān sampraday'' (Gurmukhi: ਮਿਹਰਵਾਨ ਸੰਪ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramraiya
Ramraiyas (Gurmukhi: ਰਾਮਰਾਈਆ; ''rāmarā'ī'ā''), also referred to as ''Ram Raiyas'', are a Sikh sect that follow Baba Ram Rai, the excommunicated eldest son of Guru Har Rai (1630–61). Ram Rai was sent by his father as an emissary to the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi. Aurangzeb objected to a verse in the Sikh scripture (''Asa ki Var'') that stated, "the clay from a Musalman's grave is kneaded into potter's lump", considering it an insult to Islam. Baba Ram Rai explained that the text was miscopied and modified it, substituting "Musalman" with "Beiman" (faithless, evil) which Aurangzeb approved.Ram Rai Encyclopedia of Sikhism, Editor in Chief: Harbans Singh, Punjab University The willingness to change a word led Guru Har Rai to bar his son from his presence, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amrit Sanskar
Amrit Sanchar (Gurmukhi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਸੰਸਕਾਰ "nectar ceremony"; also called Amrit Parchar, or Khande di Pahul ਖੰਡੇ ਦੀ ਪਾਹੁਲ) is one of the four Sikh Sanskaars. The Amrit Sanskar is the initiation rite introduced by Guru Gobind Singh when he founded the Khalsa in 1699. A Sikh who has been initiated into the ''Khalsa'' ('pure'; the Sikh brotherhood) is considered to be ''Amritdhari'' (Baptised) () or ''Khalsa'' ('pure'). Those who undergo initiation are expected to dedicate themselves to ''Waheguru'' (Almighty God) and work toward the establishment of the Khalsa Raj. History Amrit Sanchar was initiated in 1699 when Gobind Singh established the order of the Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib. The day is now celebrated as Vaisakhi. This tradition had come to replace the prior Sikh initiation ceremony, in which the initiate would drink water that the Guru or a masand (designated official representing the Guru) had dipped his foot in. Guru Gobind S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panj Pyare
Panj Pyare ( pa, ਪੰਜ ਪਿਆਰੇ, ', the five beloved ones) is the collective name given to five men − Daya Singh, Dharam Singh, Himmat Singh, Mohkam Singh and Sahib Singh – by the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh during the historic and monumental divan at Anandpur Sahib in the Punjab region of India on March 30, 1699. (The Gregorian calendar skipped 11 days in 1752. So, in present times, Vaisakhi occurs near 13 April every year.) They formed the nucleus of the Khalsa: the first five persons to receive Khanda di Pahul initiation and rites (baptism) of the two-edged sword. They were the inaugural Panj Pyare. However, the term is not limited only to this inaugural group. After them, any group of five baptized Sikhs are also referred to as the Panj Pyare. Until the Vaisakhi of AD 1699, the Sikh initiation ceremony was known as ''Charan Pahul''. Story of Vasakhi Gobind Rai was 33 years old when he had Divine inspiration to actuate his designs and make an undying ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nirankari
Nirankari ( pa, ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰੀ, ''lit.'' "formless one") is a sect of Sikhism.Harbans Singh, Editor-in-Chief (201Nirankaris Encyclopedia of Sikhism Volume III, Punjabi University, Patiala, pages 234–235 It was a reform movement founded by Baba Dyal Das in northwest Punjab in 1851. He sought to restore the practices and beliefs of Sikhs back to what he believed were prevalent when Guru Nanak was alive. This movement emerged in the aftermath of the end of Sikh Empire and the Sikh history after Ranjit Singh's death. Nirankaris strongly oppose representing the "formless" God with any image, and believe that the true Sikh faith is based on ''nam simaran'' (remembering and repeating God's name). They believe in living hereditary gurus from Baba Dyal Das lineage, and that the Sikh scripture is an open text to which the wisdom of their living gurus after Guru Gobind Singh can be added. Nirankaris believe that human guru to interpret the scripture and guide Sikhs is a necessit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1978 Sikh–Nirankari Clashes
Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 – The Holy Crown of Hungary (also known as Stephen of Hungary Crown) is returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held since World War II. * January 10 – Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, a critic of the Nicaraguan government, is assassinated; riots erupt against Anastasio Somoza Debayle, Somoza's government. * January 18 – The European Court of Human Rights finds the British government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture. * January 22 – Ethiopia declares the ambassador of West Germany ''persona non grata''. * January 24 ** Soviet Union, Soviet satellite Kosmos 954 burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. ** ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neotantra
Neotantra, navatantra (Sanskrit: नव, ''nava'' 'new') or tantric sexuality, is the modern, Western misinterpretation of Tantra associated with new religious movements. This includes both New Age and modern Western interpretations of traditional Hindu and Buddhist tantric sex. Some of its proponents refer to ancient and traditional texts and principles, and many others use tantra as a catch-all phrase for "sacred sexuality", and may incorporate unorthodox practices. In addition, not all of the elements of Indian tantric practices are used in neotantra, in particular the reliance on a guru. As interest in Tantra has grown in the West, its perception has deviated from the Tantric traditions. It was seen as a "cult of ecstasy", combining sexuality and spirituality to change Western attitudes towards sex. Hence for many modern readers tantra is now synonymous with "spiritual sex" or "sacred sexuality," a belief that sex should be recognized as a sacred act capable of elevating its pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
