Sikhism

Sikhism arose in a time of social change. In the 1500s, northern India was in transition between Muslim empires, the political system was corrupt, the Hindu caste hierarchy was deeply unjust, and the religious leaders of the time were perceived to be culprits in the inequities. The earliest Sikhs turned to Guru Nanak (1469-1539), his teachings, and those of his followers, rejecting the religious formalism that had seemingly gripped some of the practitioners of other religious persuasions.

Guru Nanak instructed them in daily meditations and reflections on the divine, on the hard work necessary to maintain the community's basic needs, and in the singing of his compositions. Early Sikh life in Kartarpur (the center of the Sikh community) under Guru Nanak's aegis developed the most fundamental of the Sikh institutions. Sikhs read from the Guru's compositions in the morning, the most fundamental of which is the Jap Ji, a long poem about Guru Nanak's thoughts on Kartar (the divine Creator) and how to live the good life. After the workday, they recited the So Dar, another of Guru Nanak's poems, and they went to sleep after chanting the Sohila (a night prayer) and contemplating Kartar's care for the world. All of the Gurus' compositions are works of poetry, which Sikhs consider to be divinely revealed.

Gathering in congregations, or sangats, Sikhs sang the Guru's compositions together, a practice known as kirtan. The singing was accompanied by string instruments, and set to the beat of leather drums. The Guru's compositions were set to musical measures from the Hindustani system of musical theory and included Iranian musical elements as well. In the sangat, early Sikhs would also have heard katha, or discourses from respected community members interpreting the Guru's compositions.

Another very important part of the Sikh development was the sharing of meals in the communal kitchen, or langar. The raw materials for these meals came from what the community reaped from its own farming lands, as well as from the generous contributions of visitors. Community members cooked and served the meals, and cleaned the dining hall. This aspect of early Sikh life was very important as it provided an opportunity for people from all walks of life to break bread together, and serve each other in the name of the divine. All of this work was done in the context of a family setting, with people of all ages and both genders contributing to the work.

The century or so after Guru Nanak's lifetime represented a period of great growth and expansion for the Sikhs. By the middle of the 17th century, a traveling Parsi cataloguer of manners and religions reported that pockets of small Sikh communities were ubiquitous along the trade routes from Kabul to Kashmir to Bengal, and throughout the Punjab region. For Sikhs in the formative 17th century, religious life revolved around the divine word enshrined in the Sikh Gurus' compositions. It was of central importance in Sikh life, and adherence to its principles marked membership in the community.

Writing after the 1606 martyrdom of Guru Arjan (1563-1606), Sikh intellectual Bhai Gurdas described Sikh life in his period. Interacting with the divine revelation meant reading it, learning it, singing it, and inscribing it to help grow the collection of Sikh manuscripts. Prayer—recitations from the compositions of the first five Gurus—made up the bedrock of Sikh daily routine. Gurdas stressed the need for Sikhs to enact the scripture's ethics in their daily lives.

From the founding of Kartarpur in the early 1500s, to Guru Arjan's lifetime around 1600, it is clear in early history that the early Sikh community saw the Guru as the "true emperor" (sacha patishah) with authority in this world and the next. It seems that this symbolism did not escape the opponents of the Sikhs. Guru Arjan was executed in 1606 as the result of the community's political position. Guru Tegh Bahadur's execution in 1675 also reflected the problematic nature of the Sikh community's relationship with the Mughal state.

The leadership of the tenth and final living Guru, Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708), was crucial in Sikh history. Leaders of local congregations (masands) had grown corrupt over the centuries, and some had begun to support rival claimants to the position of Guru. Some of these rival claimants received encouragement and support from the Mughals. By openly declaring their authority to be defunct, Guru Gobind Singh wrested authority back from these local leaders, thus freeing the community and articulating its status as the only rightful religious path.

Hindus and Muslims, it was argued, had forfeited their legitimacy and it was time for a new way, the Khalsa (the name of the Sikh community), to reign. Guru Gobind Singh established court at Anandpur, the reputed "City of Bliss" in the Punjab Hills, and styled himself as a prince who carried the authority of his Creator. A year after the death of the last great Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb, in 1707, Guru Gobind Singh was assassinated while trying to negotiate Sikh sovereignty in Punjab with Bahadur Shah, the Mughal successor.

Straight-sword initiation (khande di pahul) became the new mark for those who were ready to take up arms for the Guru. In this ceremony to initiate these new followers, called Singhs ("lions"), prayers were recited over a bowl of water sweetened by the addition of sugar cakes. The mixture was stirred by a double-edged straight-sword (khanda), turning the water into a nectar, which was then drunk as an act of initiation. Around the same time, Guru Gobind Singh elevated the Sikh community to the status of Khalsa ("sovereign"), and ended the authority of individual human beings over Kartar's holy community: the Khalsa Panth. After Guru Gobind Singh, the Khalsa Panth recognized no human Guru and understood the Guru to be the Sikh scripture (Guru Granth) and the community-at-large (Guru Panth).

Codes of Conduct from this period (rahit) describe some of the developments in Sikh life. Rules became more concrete, and the straight-sword rites became an important part of showing one's allegiance to the community as they signified the initiate's desire to die for his faith. At this point, the doctrine of the supreme authority of Sikh scripture, in conjunction with the authority of the communal consensus, was firmly established. After Guru Gobind Singh's life, Sikh soldiers became organized in warring bands called misls, and waged a guerilla-style war against the Mughal empire and its underlings. In 1765, the important Mughal city of Lahore fell to the Sikhs. In the early 1800s, the empire of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (the first great Sikh political ruler) extended over and around the Punjab.

Study Questions:
1.     What aspects of early Sikh life provided adherents with some repose from the social transitions of the times?
2.     What activities took place in early Sikh congregations?
3.     What kind of growth did the community experience after Guru Nanak's lifetime?
4.     Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru, was one of the most important leaders in the community's history. What changes did he oversee?