Our latest class was a basic overview of India's history. It was nice to learn about the history of the area I will be living in all summer. What it made me realize is I scarcely know anything about India's history. Sure, I've read a few books about India, but all that was recent history, primary British imperialism. I vaguely remember a fifth grade report I wrote on Inda, but besides that I am woefully ignorant. So, the next few posts will be the results of my attempts to educate myself. I will begin with the religions of India, namely Sikhism. Sikhism is a relatively new monotheistic religion formed in the 15th century. Sikhs are mainly found in the Punjab region (on the border of Pakistan) in India. It is the fifth largest religion with 25 million followers. Its was founded by Guru Nanak Dev and continued by ten successive Gurus. Sikhs view themselves as a saint-soldier. Their basic doctrines are faith and justice. Self control over vices is emphasized as well as pursuing worthy virtues. They must have the courage to defend all those who are persecuted regardless of race, religion or beliefs. I was inspired by the beauty of their beliefs. It seems the more I learn about other religions, the more surprised I am at how similar our teachings really are.
Emma! I love this picture of this Sikh man!! Sikhism is actually really dear to my heart...when I moved from Colombia to New York, I was scared and didn't know the language. In a matter of weeks, I met this sweet girl named Amanjot, who was also 8 and had just moved from India. She was from Punjab and she was Sikh. We became best friends and remained friends until I moved to AZ. I loved going to her apartment and talking to her family. Her parents didn't know much English, but they were the sweetest people. I love the fact that Sikhism denounces the caste system and that they also have one God. I love Amanjot and I love all the Sikhs I met.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post, I really liked it.
*fun fact* After most Sikhs go through a certain religious initiation ceremony, they change their last names. So, the women become Kaur (which means princess) and the men become Singh (which means Lion). My friend was named Amanjot Kaur, for that reason. Cool huh?
Sikhism is near and dear to my heart as well. One of my Sikh friends told me "you know, the Sikhs are the Mormons of India," which is true in a lot of ways. Check out my blog for a paper I wrote on Sikhism for REL C 630. It was a lot of fun, and I think you would appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to go to Amritsar! :)