History UsefulNotes / Sikhism

The religion has 10 Gurus which is actually the Hindi for teachers, who helped found and defend the faith. Guruship was something that could be passed down through succession but one could also be born and identified as a Guru.

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Sikhs have a few tenets such as the 5 Ks: Kesh (Literally hair, but in context it means natural, uncut hair), Kachhera (long underwear), Kangha (wooden comb), Karra (steel bangle) and Kirpan (dagger). All of these make up the identity of a Sikh and are essential to their faith. Unfortunately, some of these tenets have created troubles for the Sikhs, such as the right to carry a dagger. Still many Sikhs find ways to adapt as best they can such as by only carrying blunt daggers, daggers permanently locked into their sheaths, or merely the image of a dagger.

* PlanetOfSteves: Almost all Sikhs have "Singh" [[MeaningfulName that is]] [[PantheraAwesome lion]] (for males) or "Kaur" [[MeaningfulName that is]] princess (for females) as a middle or last name.
%%* ProudWarriorRace

* TakeAThirdOption: As noted above, the religion was founded as an alternative to the dominance of Hinduism and Islam in an attempt to mediate finding and seek common ground. They instead were eventually attacked by both sides and thus had to adopt martial principles.
* ThePaladin: An arguably real-life example with The Khalsa or "the pure ones."

* TheTeetotaler: Sikhism in general prohibits intoxicants, but the Nihang are something of an exception due to their history of using cannabis for meditation purposes (though there have been some messy debates on this.)

* In ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' V and VI, Sikhism is a formable religion. The sikh holy building, the Gurdwara, is present in VI. It provides food, similarly to how it provides meals to the faithful and visitors.

The religion has 10 Gurus which is actually the Hindi for teachers, who helped found and defend the faith. Guruship was something that could be passed down through succession but one could also be born and identified as a Guru. It existed in a relatively peaceful state throughout the lives of the first four gurus, from Guru Nanak to to Guru Ram Das, until the Mughal Empire began to take notice and actively persecute it. After the brutal death of the fifth Guru, the religion put emphasis on defending oneself but also on spiritual ascertation and thus established the duality between warrior and devotee. These were testing times when they were still such a small minority and they suffered many grievous losses, and as such many of the Gurus are remembered as martyrs. Many of the Sikh gurus died in horrific deaths under the over-zealous persecution from the Muslim Moghul shahs Jahangir and Aurengzeb. Guru Arjan Dev was starved, boiled and eventually died after having hot sand poured over him. Despite this, he did not waver as he was deep in meditation. Aurengzeb had the two youngest sons of Guru Gobind Singh bricked alive and demanded that they forcibly convert to Islam, which they refused and so were killed. After the passing of the tenth and final guru in 1708, also known as Guru Gobind Singh, the Guru thereon became the Guru Granth Sahib also known as the Sikh holy book. This holy text not only contains the hymns and verses of the Gurus but of subsequent companions and other holy men who were Hindu and Muslim.

Following this and the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Sikhs began to establish their own empire, i.e. the Sikh Empire. The Empire was lead by the Maharaja Ranjit Singh who was credited with expanding the Empire which existed from the Khyber Pass in the west, to Kashmir in the north, to Sindh in the south, and Tibet in the east. Their rule was secular and they were tolerant of other religions and did not destroy or desecrate holy temples. Of course the Sikh Empire was tested by two wars with the British also known as the Anglo-Sikh wars. The Sikh Empire was hit hard by betrayals from high-ranking members of the rulership. With their defeat the British quickly seized their lands as well as the prized Koh-i-Noor diamond which was once known as the largest diamond in the world. This diamond was then placed within the Queen's crown but was also cut into smaller pieces for the possession of other royals. Following their subsequent defeat the British Empire realized that the Sikhs were a formidable fighting force which would greatly benefit their military and so they began recruiting Sikhs. This went in lieu with their philosophy of the Martial Races theory, which proposed that certain tribes within India were more apt warriors and had noble attributes which placed them higher than other tribes. The Gurkhas of Nepal were also recruited on this basis.

The religion has 10 Gurus which is actually the Hindi for teachers, who helped found and defend the faith. Guruship was something that could be passed down through succession but one could also be born and identified as a Guru. It existed in a relatively peaceful state throughout the lives of the first four gurus, from Guru Nanak to to Guru Ram Das, until the Mughal Empire began to take notice and actively persecute it. After the brutal death of the fifth Guru, the religion put emphasis on defending oneself but also on spiritual ascertation and thus established the duality between warrior and devotee. These were testing times when they were still such a small minority and they suffered many grievous losses, and as such many of the Gurus are remembered as martyrs. Many of the Sikh gurus died in horrific deaths under the over-zealous persecution from the Muslim Moghul shahs Jahangir and Aurengzeb. Guru Arjan Dev was starved, boiled and eventually died after having hot sand poured over him. Despite this, he did not waver as he was deep in meditation. Aurengzeb had the two youngest sons of Guru Gobind Singh bricked alive and demanded that they forcibly convert to Islam, which they refused and so were killed. After the passing of the tenth and final guru, also known as Guru Gobind Singh, the Guru thereon became the Guru Granth Sahib also known as the Sikh holy book. This holy text not only contains the hymns and verses of the Gurus but of subsequent companions and other holy men who were Hindu and Muslim.

->''"I will not be slightly worried or reluctant to leave my wife and young daughter under protection of any Sikh soldier."''
-->--'''British General'''

* PlanetOfSteves: Almost all Sikhs have "Singh" [[MeaningfulName that is]] [[PantheraAwesome lion]] (for males) or "Kaur" [[MeaningfulName that is]] [[EverythingIsBetterWithPrincesses princess]] (for females) as a middle or last name.

* MistakenIdentity: Sikhs are often confused with Muslims because of their headgear and brutally discriminated against because of it.%

* ActionGirl: Being a religion that was shaped by a long history of violence from all sides, it is to be expected that they would have plenty of these Perhaps their most famous one being Mai Bhago, a warleader and one of their most famous sikhs.

* ActionGirl: One of their greatest saints was the female warleader Mai Bhago. She was not the only one.

* MistakenIdentity: Sikhs are often confused with Muslims because of their headgear and brutally discriminated against because of it.%%

* ThePaladin: An arguably real-life example with The Khalsa "the pure ones."

%%* ChurchMilitant

* PlanetOfSteves: Almost all Sikhs have "Singh" [[MeaningfulName that is]] [[PantheraAwesome lion]] (for males) or "Kaur" [[MeaningfulName that is]] [[BadassPrincess princess]] (for females) as a middle or last name.

The Sikh faith rejects many Hindu practices such as sati (an obsolete tradition formerly practiced among certain upper-caste Hindus, in which a widow would immolate herself on her husband's funeral pyre), as well as many unequal traditions such as the caste system. Conversely, they reject Muslim principles such as holy pilgrimages, although many Sikhs do visit the Golden Temple which is the center of their faith in Amritsar, Punjab, northern India.

The Sikh faith is one that rejects many of the Hindu practices such as sati, where the wife is burned after a dead husband, as well as many unequal traditions such as the caste system. Conversely they reject Muslim principles such as holy pilgrimages, although many Sikhs do visit the Golden Temple which is the center of their faith in Amritsar, Punjab, northern India.