Foundations of Faith

In this chapter Mahmood attempts to reveal the foundation for Sikh belief through the history and background of the Gurus.

Guru Nanak was born in Nankana Sahib on 1469 A. D. Guru Nanak rejects ritualism and tradition as the path to enlightenment and embellishes commitment and faith as the only true path to salvation. He also renounced cast and pronounced his followers as disciples, Sikhs, who were all of one equality. Although outside critics often associate Hinduism and Muslim beliefs as the foundation of Sikhism, it is very important to indicate that Sikhism has its own original origins and that Sikhism is not part of any other religion. Sikhs believe that one should stay pure among the impurities of the world, p. 28-quote from Granth Sahib. One can only live in the world in a true manner if he or she has the power of prayer behind them.

The time before sunrise is thought to be especially important in communicating with the divine and therefore many Sikhs will awake very early and bathe. Moreover, Prayer is a way of life as many Sikhs will pray umpteen times a day inorder to bring peace to them. One such example is Jarnail Singh Bindranwale, the military leader and "sant" who defended Harmandir Sahib during Operation Blue Star, who prayed 20 hours a day.

The Janamsakis help portray the biographies of Guru Nanak as he traveled the continent teaching.

Punjab is the land of five rivers and is now split between Pakistan and India. Fourteen million Sikhs live in Punjab today. In addition, 2-3 million who live around the sub-continent and another 3 million in Diaspora. Gudwaras are present in London, Nairobi, and Chicago.

Guru Nanak wrote the Japji Sahib, or the Morning Prayer. He also stressed that there is only one god through the phrase ek onkar. As a result, many Sikhs believe that there was basically only one soul in all ten Gurus and that the each time there was only a different embodiment. When Guru Nanak died the Hindus and Muslims both claimed him for their own, however the Sikhs believed that his body turned to light. This basically points out the respect that was given to Guru Nanak no matter whom it was.

Martyrdom and Militancy

Persecution of the faith was enormous as the Moghuls killed many. Many Gurus were Martyred, or their heads were taken as they stood strong in their faith. Guru Arjun was bron in 1563 and was martyred in 1606, by the Mughals. Sikhs in the past and Khalistani warriors took torture in order to show their unwillingness to accept pain. They believe that no pain is too great, so long as the lord is with you.

Contemporary stories of the violence include how the Indian government tried to kill off the Khalistan movement by killing anyone in the age of 14 to 35.

Crude torture was performed on Khalistani students who had formed organizations called the Sikh Students Federation. They were beaten, electrocuted, and left to die.

Another legend is that Baba Deep Singh, a Sikh Martyr, had his head severed and was so determined to die in Amritsar that he traveled many Kilometers until he finally fell at Amritsar and died.

Miri and Piri, done by the seventh Guru Hargobind, was a way of revealing the militant side of Sikhism as they tried to defend themselves from outside tyranny.

The militancy is believed to due to the fact that one must cease the oppression of the weak. Put simply, fight for those who cannot.

In 1699 Guru Gobind Singh established the Khalsa, the last peace in establishing the Sikhs as a militant entity.

The Khalsa Sikhs can easily be identified b/c of their five K’s. Moreover, these k’s are often symbolically more powerful than even blood relationships.

Khalistanis fight for one thing only-Dharam or righteousness. They believe that what they are doing is for the benefit of all Sikhs and in the name of the Gurus.

Prayer brings peace to the militants as they prepare, participate, and return from battle.

Caste system is still present in Sikhism, such as weddings.

Sikhism has a close solidarity to Muslims because of their similarities in India. I.e. discrimination and also b/c have monotheistic faith.

Like how she uses Passages from the Guru Granth Sahib to reveal her point.

Does being a Sikh mean that you’re ultimately a warrior? (Very intense debate).

If an independent Punjabi nation is formed will it survive? (or will corruption take over)?

Overall criticism of book is that it doesn’t flow well. She switches from martyrdom to talking about Gurus, back to other stories…