Sikh religion is a well known faith system across the world and there would hardly be any region on the Earth where the Sikhs cannot be found. Let us learn some Sikhism facts and use them to understand the Sikh religion in a somewhat better manner.

The Sikhs are a part of the Khalsa that was started by the Guru Govind Singh. As a result they wear a turban and carry a small sword. We have discussed the five K’s of Sikhism previously. None of these signs are meant to depict violence in any form.

Ik Onkar

These are simple signs of commitment that a Sikh shows towards his faith. You can become a Sikh if you commit that you will follow the rules of the Khalsa. Some of the rules that must be followed by the Sikhs on a daily basis are:

• Naam japna – In this exercise the Sikhs are supposed to recite the name of God. This is the daily meditation that the Sikhs must take. This intends to connect them to the universal power and also help them to attain peace of mind.
•  Kirat karni – The Sikhism do not say that the followers should leave their households and serve the God. The Sikhism says that the Sikhs must do all the responsibilities of the household but always ensure that they do not go against the teachings of the Sikhism in order to serve their family duties.
• Vand chakna – This is another concept in Sikhism that say all the Sikhs should do charity. They must help one another and see that the whole community is progressing. The Sikhism says that only if you give will you get. The Sikhism is the only religion that provides free food to all the members of different faith who walk into the Gurudwara (the place of religious worship) for the Sikhs. This is done on daily basis. The different members of the Sikh community contribute for this charity open heartedly.

The Sikhism says that the five enemies of a man are:

1. Kaam (lust)
2. Krodh (anger and rage)
3. Lobh (greed)
4. Moh (attachement)
5. Ahankar (ego)

A true sikh must get rid of all these negative qualities in order to please God and get blessed. The Sikhism also shows the way to get rid of these negative qualities. The path is as follows and to develop the five virtues:

1. Sat (truth)
2. Daya (compassion)
3. Santosh (contentment)
4. Nimrata (humility)
5. Pyar (love)

If a true follower of Sikhism follows these five virtues in spite of being a house holder he or she will be blessed by the God himself and reach salvation. It is perhaps easy to list these but as a human we all have the negative qualities that become difficult to control at times.

The most important beliefs of Sikhism are listed below:

• There is only one God who is the supreme power who created the whole world as we see it. He is very compassionate and has the ability to forgive and guide the sinners. He cannot be seen but he is in everything that we see around us. We must submit to him completely and let him guide us.

• The Sikhism believes in equality. The Gurus of Sikhism said that all men are the same in the eyes of law. All the religions are the different paths that lead to the same God. There is no point fighting among each other as God is one and he will always guide us. The Sikhism did not believe in casts. Sikhism says all men are the same in the eyes of God no matter he is rich or poor, literate or illiterate. The Sikhism says that even men and women have the same rights. We all are the children of the God. It is the only religion that traditionally has allowed women to practice all the religious activities. The Sikhism has never ever oppressed women or considered them inferior. These aspects of the Sikhism were one reason for it being so popular in India and Pakistan.

• The Sikhism says that human life is precious. We should always respect the human life. The Sikhism condemns suicide and murder. They say that if we are not respecting a human life we are indirectly insulting God as he created all the living beings. Many people have a misconception that the Sikhism promotes violence. This is not true at all. It is one of the most peaceful and very caring religions in the world. The Sikhism further says that there is a part of God in all of  us and in all the living human beings.

• The Sikhism says that if there is injustice being done then a true Sikh must raise arms and oppose injustice. This must be the last resort when all means to get justice fails. Peace must be used as the first means. If peace is not able to attain the goal then Sikhism says that violence is justified. The Sikhism stands for justice and truth even if it means getting it through a violent mean. The Sikhs must be clear that violence is justified but.

The Beliefs of Sikhism also includes some simple concepts and these were:

1. Not to have non vegetarian food.
2. The Sikhs should not follow any superstitious beliefs. They were told to analyse a point scientifically and only then follow the same.
3. All the Sikhs must follow the terms of the Khalsa and adopt the five k’s that we have discussed before in this article.
4. The Sikhs are told that heaven and hell do exist and as per the tasks one does in this life he or she will be rewarded and punished accordingly.
5. The Sikhs must get themselves baptised. This is called Amrit in Sikhism.

Hope these basic Sikhism facts about their belief system helps you to understand the Sikh religion in a better way