Information for the Media

Common Misconceptions Regarding Sikhism
Source: The Sikh Network

Flawed Definitions of Sikhism

Browsing the comparative religion section at Border's bookstore, we pulled out a few comparative religion books to see their definition of Sikhism. Unfortunately, very few of them described Sikhism accurately. Below you will find three (3) examples of what we found and the incorrect facts given in the description on Sikhism. Please be aware that what is stated in these encyclopedias/compilations is most often not very accurate.

Example 1: Smart, Ninian. The World's Religions, Second Edition. Cambridge University Press, 1998. Chapter: South Asian and Reactions to Colonial Intervention.

"The evolution of Sikhism is from a syncretic and peaceful way of combining Hindu and Muslim motifs - the religion of Kabir and Nanak - to the militant organization which was finally fashioned by the Tenth Guru, Gobind Singh (1666 - 1708), has puzzled observers. But it is only the tendency of religions to represent themselves as unchanging, as though the religion of Kabir were the religion of Gobind Singh, which causes this puzzlement. It was basically in the time of Gobind Singh that Sikhism as we know it was formed."

1. Sikhism is not a combination of Hinduism and Islam. Sikhism is a unique religion. While the poet Kabir's writings do appear in the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scripture, Kabir was not a predecessor to Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak started a distinct faith. Kabir was a pacifist, a vegetarian, and a part of the Bhakti movement, all of which are ideologically inconsistent with Sikhism.
2. The ten Sikh Gurus remained consistent in their teachings. From the first Guru to the tenth Guru, Sikhs are told to balance spirituality and activism. Different Gurus stressed different things depending on the historical context in which they lived. Guru Nanak asks his Sikhs, if you are ready to play the game of love, put your head on your palm and walk down my path. This message applies both in the spiritual and physical realms. The message of Guru Gobind Singh was no different with the formalization of the Khalsa and the Amrit ceremony in 1699.

Example 2: Singh, K. Dictionary of World Religions, Keith Crim, General Editor, HarperSanFrancisco. "Under definition of Sikhism"

"Sikhism is an eclectic faith combining the teachings of Bhakti Hinduism and the Muslim Sufis. Since all the Sikhs' ten gurus and the vast majority of those who accepted their teachings were Hindus,the influence of Hinduism on the development of Sikhism was preponderant; that of Islam is evident largely in the emphasis on monotheism and the rejection of idol worship and the caste system."

"Sikhs observe all Hindu festivals of Northern India as well as the birthdays of their gurus, the martyrdoms of Gurus Arjan and Tegh Bahadur, and the birth anniversary of the Khalsa, at which the time they take out the Adi Granth in procession"

1. Sikhism is a unique faith. The historical context of Sikhism's religious history does allow for culture influences on Hinduism and Islam. Yet the teachings of the Gurus were unique, as revealed to them by God.
2. Sikhs do not observe all Hindu festivals. There are some common days shared by both Hindus and Sikhs, but the reason for celebrating the day is different. For example, Hindus celebrate Divali, a festival of lamps, for the return of their king-god Rama from 14 years of exile. For Sikhs, this was the day when Guru Hargobind Ji, 6th Guru, was released from prison.
3. Sikhism rejects the Bhakti claim that God occasionally incarnates by taking birth in human form. For Sikhs, there is One Supreme God who has no form, body, color or lineage. God is beyond time, name, physical elements, and even creed. Indescribable is the Glory of God.

Example 3: Eliade, Mircea and Couliano, Ioan P. The Harper Collins Concise Guide To World Religions. HarperSanFrancisco.

In this text, a category called "The Sikhs" is labeled 14.8 under Chapter 14 entitled "Hinduism".

Sikhism can be envisaged as a branch of bhakti devotional mysticism...... Arjan began the construction of Har Mandar, the Golden Temple in the middle of Amritsar Lake, and established the Sikh canon, the Granth Sahib, or Noble Book (known later as Adi Granth, or First Book) , a sacred scripture containing Arjan's own hymns, the Japji, or sacred prayer, composed by Nanak, the songs of the first gurus and the fifteen precursors - Hindu and Muslim saints among whom Kabir (1380 - 1460), the Banaras saint, was suppsed to be Nanak's direct forerunner."

1. Sikhism should not be a subcategory of Hinduism. The Sikh faith is very different from Hinduism.
2. Guru Nanak had no forerunner or precursor. The message of God was directly revealed to Guru Nanak.
3. The Adi Granth, later known as the Guru Granth Sahib, contains the writings of the revealed Word by the first 5 Gurus and the ninth Guru. There are also selected hymns from Hindu and Muslim saints. The writings of the saint-poets were carefully chosen for the message. When thought needed, Guru Arjan added a hymn for clarification. The selected writings of these other saints became revealed Word for the Sikhs. All the writings of poets like Kabir are not considered sacred to the Sikhs, only those chosen by the Sikh Gurus.

[BACK]