Sikh Beliefs and Teachings

• • Sikhs believe that God is a creator who is both transcendent and immanent.
  • Sikhs believe that God created everything in the world and sustains it.
  • Sikhs accept scientific views of how life was created, such as the theory of evolution, but believe that all is done through Gods will
  • God wills the universe to exist and gives order to everything.
  • In the Guru Granth Sahib, it is written “HE IS THE ONE, THE ONE UNIVERSAL CREATOR”
• • God has never taken on a physical form, nor does he have qualities, although many human qualities are used to try and describe him.
  • Sikhs use the word transcendent to explain this aspect of God.
• • Sikhs believe that as God created, he is immanent as he sustains the universe, every part of the universe reveals God.
  • God’s presence in everything shows his love for the creation and enables him to reveal himself to human beings. Sikhs use the word sargun to describe this aspect of God.
  • This shows that God can be grasped by humans, such as through the teachings of the Guru’s, through the word of God (e.g. the Mool Mantra) or through nature.
• The Mool Mantra literally means ‘main chant’.

  It was Guru Nanak’s first teaching to Sikhs and contains the core Sikh beliefs about the nature of God.
• • ‘Ik Onkar’ - There is only one God that should be worshipped. Sikhs should not worship any other God or an image of God. God is the creator of all things and sustains the universe.
  • ‘Sat nam’ - The word for truth is Sat and the God is sometimes addressed as Satnam. God is eternal truth and can be reached by humans if they reflect of truth.
• • The Mool Mantra is the most important statement for Sikhs and summarises the beliefs that Sikhs have about God.
  • Sikhs say the Mool Mantra in their daily prayers and it is also said in the initiation ceremony. The ‘Ik Onkar’ written in Punjabi is used a symbol of the Sikh religion.
• • Sikhs believe that all animals, including humans, have a soul. A soul is the unchanging part of a person that contains their divine spirit, a part of God.
  • Sikhs believe in reincarnation which means that when a human being dies their soul is reborn into another body.
  • This cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth will keep repeating itself, possibly thousands of times, until the soul is freed from this cycle and becomes united with God.
• • Karma means the sum total of a person’s actions and words, which determine what happens to that individual in the future (both later in life and in future lives).
  • This idea is described, using a metaphor, in the following quote from the Guru Granth Sahib, “THE BODY IS A FIELD OF KARMA; WHATEVER YOU PLANT, YOU SHALL HARVEST”
• • The life you have now then is not random; it is due to your behaviour in a previous life.
  • Sikhs believe that being born as a human being shows that an individual has done good deeds in previous lives and that God has caused this to happen.
• • Once born as a human, a person has the valuable opportunity to make further progress towards liberation.
  • Sikhs can do this in two ways; by behaving well to others and by receiving God’s grace.
  • If people do bad deeds (such as being greedy, angry or lustful), there will be consequences. For each bad deed, there will be suffering in a future life.
  • People can only rid themselves of past bad karma by meditating on God’s name, hearing his words (from the Guru Granth Sahib) and serving others.
• • The word mukti means ‘freedom’, ‘liberation’, ‘release’ or sometimes it is translated as ‘salvation’.
  • This is the point at which the soul is reunited with God.
  • To achieve mukti, a person must rid themselves of all that stands in the way of getting close to God.
  • They can do this by taking charge of their life and finding the strength to withstand dangers and temptations.
• • Sikhs believe that there are 5 khands, or stages, through which a human being can pass and that will lead to God, the Ultimate Truth or Reality.

  These stages are like the stages of a journey and usually they will not all happen within one lifetime.
• Piety - All humans are born into this stage. Piety enables people to meet with God through commitment or devotion to him.
• Knowledge - Knowledge is gained once someone has begun to devote time to God and learn about him. With knowledge they begin to be aware of how vast the universe is and how little they know about God or their own existence, this in turn can help people become humble (one of the 5 virtues).
• Effort - By making the effort to devote oneself totally to God they can 'tune in' to God and develop their personality and gifts as far as they can.
• Grace - God, through his love, enables spiritual growth and strength. Grace is a gift from God; it results in the person being at peace in themselves, knowing God.
• Truth - Involves being with God (Remember Sat Nam means truth). This stage is only reached upon achieving mukti and cannot be described, only experienced as God is beyond human words.
• • The 5 virtues are in the Guru Granth Sahib and suggest that they allow us to live in peace and harmony.
  • The Guru’s teach that each person must develop certain positive characteristics and avoid being tempted to develop certain negative characteristics.
  • Not only does developing these qualities lead to a society centred on justice, but it also allows a person to gain good karma.
  • Having good karma benefits a person in the afterlife.
• Truth and Truthful Living

  • In the Mool Mantra God is described at Sat Nam, meaning Truth; therefore, to become closer to God Sikhs need to live a truthful life.
  • In the Guru Granth Sahib it says, “TRUTH IS HIGHER THAN EVERYTHING; BUT HIGHER STILL IS TRUTHFUL LIVING”.
  • Sikhs might live a truthful life by, speaking the truth, working honestly, acting fairly and treating people as equals.
• Compassion and Patience

  • Sikhs believe that God is compassionate and so therefore they should also show compassion to others.
  • Sikhs will help those people who are vulnerable or suffering by being careful and kindly in what they say and how they act towards others.
  • In being patient Sikhs should seek to forgive others, be tolerant and prepared to make sacrifices for other people.
  • In the Guru Granth Sahib it says, “BE KIND TO ALL BEINGS. THIS IS MORE MERITOUS THAN… PILGRIMAGE AND THE GIVING OF CHARITY”.
• Contentment

  • Being content means that you are satisfied, not wanting more than you have.
  • Sikhs believe that this can be achieved by living their lives focusing on God and not on themselves or material goods.
  • Therefore, Sikhs are encouraged to accept the life that God has given them and try to do God’s will.
  • Sikhs believe that being content will bring happiness as they will not worry about the future and be scared of the unknown.
• Humility and Self-control

  • For Sikhs, being humble means recognising that God is superior to humans and so they should not believe in their own self-importance.
  • Equally they should not consider themselves more important than other people.
  • Sikhs should pray and bring God to mind regularly in order to eliminate evil thoughts.
• Love

  • Sikhs believe that God is full of love and so in response to God, Sikhs must be full of love.
  • They believe that part of the loving response to God is to serve.
  • For this reason, many Sikhs perform sewa (selfless service) by volunteering to donate or prepare langar, the free meal that anyone who attends the gurdwara may receive.
• • Sikhs believe that illusion, self-centredness and the 5 evils take people away from God.
  • One of the difficulties that can prevent people from making spiritual growth is the illusion that things that will not last are actually permanent and valuable.
  • Focusing on these impermanent things makes it impossible to escape the cycle of reincarnation.
  • Self-centredness, sometimes called ego, prevents people from getting close to God and obeying his will as they are not concerned for God or other people, but rather with themselves.
• • Sikhs should aim to focus on God at all times in order to avoid being deceived by the illusion of temporary things.
  • It is written in the Guru Granth Sahib, “Those who are committed the to the Nam, see the world as a temporary pasture”.
• Anger

  • Anger usually results from a lack of self-control.
  • This caused someone to stop thinking clearly and act without balance.
  • For Sikhs, hatred, which often causes anger, is not acceptable when directed at a person whom God created
• Lust

  • Uncontrolled lust and sexual desire outside of marriage is seen to result in weakness and lack of balance.
  • It can lead people to father wrongdoing and may encourage untruthfulness and lack of reliability.
  • Sikhs believe that sex within marriage is good and part of God's will, but sex outside of marriage or against the partner's will, leads people father away from God.
• Greed

  • Greed results in a desire to possess more than what one needs for daily life, and possibly leads to a wish to possess what belongs to someone else.
  • It is selfish and self-centred.
  • It results from a lack of self-control and from ignoring the principles of equality and justice.
  • It centres life on material things father from God.
• Wordly Attachment

  • Worldly good are things that you own (money, games consoles, shoes, cars, and houses).
  • Worldly attachment is connected with greed because it places too much emphasis on possessions and relationships in the world.
  • As a result people becomes less concerned about God and more concerned about possessions.
• Pride

  • It involved being proud of things that are given, rather than achieved, or things that are unimportant (such as intelligence, talent or having lots of money).
  • Pride leads people away from being humble and the belief in equality and instead promotes reactions such as jealousy, rivalry and unhappiness.
• • Sikhs aim to have their mind centred on God at all times.
  • A God centred person (gurmukh) has turned towards God and is in this sense becoming a perfect person, as God intended.
  • Such a person lives in accordance with Sikh teachings and meditates in the Name of God.
  • He or she is free from attachment, pride and ego, and from the evils that can overwhelm a person, and instead does good because it is good, not for any other motive.
• In the Guru Granth Sahib, it says “Suffering is the medicine and pleasure the disease, because where there is pleasure, there is no desire for God”
• In the Guru Granth Sahib, it says “The Gurmukh acts in harmony with God’s Will; the Gurmukh finds perfection”
• • Manmukh describes people who are centred on themselves and their own desires.
  • They are attached to the worldly wealth and things that will not last.
  • They are not content with life because they want more.
  • They selfishly ignore the needs of others and are focused on the five evils, even if they are not aware that they are.
  • This prevents them from being liberated and achieving mukti.
• • Haumai is sometimes described as a spiritual disease which those who are manmukh have.
  • Its symptoms are arrogance and therefore suffering (as they will gain bad karma).
  • The only way to overcome this disease is to become gurmukh.
• Guru Nanak taught that self-reliance can prevent a person achieving mukti, as they arrogantly believe that they do not need the help and guidance from other people’s or God.
• Guru Nanak taught that all people, no matter their religion, believe and worship the same God and that the various ceremonies and rituals that they performed were only different ways of trying to connect with the same one God.
• Guru Nanak told people: “There is no Hindu, no Muslim” meaning all humanity is created by God and is equal.
• • Sikhs do not feel the need to convert others to Sikhism it a tolerant and inclusive faith.
  • This is because Guru Nanak taught people about God whilst always showing respect to those who held different religious beliefs.
  • Therefore, Sikhs are expected to honour and protect the rights of others to practise their faith, whatever that faith may be.
• • Sikhs believe that all creatures are created by God, however humans are unique among the creatures.
  • Humans have a divine spark, a part of God within them, that allows them to know the difference between right and wrong.