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PUPILS learning about religion got hands-on as they learnt to tie a turban.

Students at Marine Academy Plymouth (MAP) explored the Sikh faith, history and the lives of Sikhs in the country today – as well as learning about those who fought for Britain in the First World War.

The Year 7 students were joined for their studies by Councillor Chaz Singh and his wife, Sarah.

The youngsters learned about the Gurus, the Gurdwara and the Guru Grant Sahib, and as well as looking at the 5 Ks of Sikhism, the students wrapped up the lesson with some hands-on learning.

The boys learned how to tie a turban with Cllr Singh whilst the girls had the opportunity to wear a sari and a bindi.

MAP student Leon Davey said “It was awesome! I loved wearing the turban.”

Fellow student Kieran Carey said: “I didn’t know who those people wearing turbans were – but now I know that it is a symbol of the Sikh religion. I learned loads about Sikhism.”

Source ~ http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/

Congregational United Church of Christ hosted an adult learning program last week on Sikhism led by Balijit Singh Virdi.

Virdi gave an overview of Sikhism, including principals, beliefs, holy literature, founding teachers, place of worship, clothing accessories, symbols and some famous practicing Sikhs today.

Sikhism is 545 years old and is the fifth largest religion in the world, with 30 million Sikhs worldwide and one million in the United States.

“Many people believe that Sikhism is a part of the Hinduism and Islam religions, but Sikhism is a separate religion from both Hinduism and Islam,” Virdi said.

Sikhism conveys a message of equality and respect amongst people and religion.

“Men and women are treated as equals,” Virdi said. “We believe everyone should respect their religion because all religions are equally good and is a medium to reach God.”

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion, meaning Sikhs believes in one God. Sikh, by definition, means a student or learner.

“In school, all the students need teachers,” Virdi said. “In the Sikh faith, our teachers are the gurus.

In Sanskrit origin, ‘gu’ means darkness and ‘ru’ means lightness. It means, the one who brings you from darkness to lightness. Guru means teacher.”

Sikhism was founded in Punjab, India, in 1469 by the first Sikh guru, Nanak Dev. Sikhism had 10 gurus from the inception of the religion through today. In 1708, the 10th guru, named Gobind Singh Ji, bestowed the guruship to the Shri Guru Granth Sahib, which is the central religious scripture that has been used by Sikhs since 1708.

Shri Guru Granth Sahib has 1,430 pages written in poetry. The text includes writings from the gurus and contains hymns from Hindu and Muslim saints. SGGS is written in Gurbani, the Punjabi language. Sikhs keep the SGGS in the Sikh place of worship, the Gurudwara. The Sikh services in the Gurudwara consists of singing from the scripture.

The Gurudwara means the gateway to the guru’s house. Everyone is welcome in the Gurudwara, regardless of their religion, and are offered shelter, comfort and food. All the Gurudwaras have a community kitchen, which provide free vegetarian meals known as “Langar.”

“The holiest of shrines in Sikhism is Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), located at Amritsar in India. The shrine was founded in 1604 by the fifth Guru. It has four doors, welcoming people from all directions, which symbolizes openess and acceptance. The “Langar” feeds 80,000 people on a weekday and 160,000 people on a weekend day.

Sharing, called “Vand Chako,” is one of the principals of Sikhism. Sikhs practice sharing through “Langar,” selflessly serving others and sharing income. They’re also expected to contribute 10 percent of their wealth and income, called “Dasvandh,” to needy people of the world or to a worthy cause. Meditation, called “Naam Japo,” is another of the principals of Sikhism, which Sikhs remember God through meditation. Honest living, called “Kirt Karo,” is the last principle of Sikhism and requires Sikhs to remember they must work hard and earn an honest living while remembering God.

The Sikhs have had a unique identity through their actions, but in 1699 Singh created the Khalsa, which gave Sikhs an addition to their identity with five articles of faith, which are worn by Sikhs today. The Sikhs have a small comb to keep uncut hair neat and clean called a Kanga. The Sikhs wear undershorts called Kachera, which represents modesty and fidelity.

Sikhs believe uncut hair is a gift of God called Kesh. The Sikhs wear a bracelet called Kara that signifies a reality with no beginning and no end. Sikhs also keep a ceremonial, small, blunt knife symbolizing freedom, liberty and justice.

A Sikh’s turban is a custom kept by all Sikhs. It’s a religious obligation for Sikhs to wear turbans to cover uncut hairs and makes them stand out. The traditional turban consists of five to six yards of fabric.

Many people with a Sikhism faith are standouts in sports, military, science and government in the United States and throughout the world.

Source ~ http://www.newtondailynews.com/

A few months after starting employment at Tom Wood Lexus, Gurpreet Singh of Greenwood, Indiana, was approached by several co-workers who had many questions. His appearance aroused curiosity. “How long is your hair?”, “Have you ever cut it?”, “How do you wrap that turban?”, were some of the most common questions that were asked. Inspired by this curiosity, Gurpreet decided to hold a “Turban Day”. “I wanted my co-workers to get a taste of being in my shoes for one day, so I decided to tie turbans on everyone who was interested. I picked a date close to Vaisakhi so that I could educate them more about Sikhism and how the Khalsa Panth was created.”

Turban Day was a success! Gurpreet felt heightened respect from his co-workers, supervisors and managers. “Everyone had a great time that day!” Gurpreet intends to turn this into an annual Sikh Awareness day at his workplace.

Gurpreet Singh, 19, is an avid member of Chardi Kala Sikh Youth Society of the Mid-West, whose mission is to partake in selfless service and spread awareness of Sikhism by education both in the immediate and wider communities.

~ Parminder Kaur
Source: http://www.sikhnet.com/ 

As I walked out of my office building for a short break, I saw this small Asian guy (looked like a Korean or Japanese to me) looking at me with a big question mark on his face. I could figure out that it was my look that had him wonder if I belonged to this planet. Looking at his uniform, I could make out that he worked for the local housekeeping contractor.

Next, I walk up to him and say “Hello”, his first reaction was to point at my turban and ask “What is that and why do you wear it?”. I give him a smile and said “I am a Sikh”. He tried to pronounce it a couple of time and got it just right on his fourth try. We shook hands and I ask him for a quick chat. He looked at his watch trying to ensure that he was not ignoring any planned housekeeping tasks, and agreed to join me.

As we stood out side on a rather chili afternoon with me sipping into my hot cup of coffee, he kept staring at me as I shared more details about Sikhism including a little bit of history and culture and most interestingly for him, my looks. As I shared with him the rationale behind keeping my hair uncut and wearing a colorful turban, he for some reason kept going back to the hair imagining how difficult it would be to manage this look.

As he decided to go back to work (still having the same look that he had 10 minutes ago), we gave each other a hug and said “Good Bye”.

I see him every day and our bond seems to get stronger each day. He greets me each morning trying hard to pronounce my name but he does say “Sikh” pretty well and that brings a sense of pride and a smile on my face.

As you read this post, I request you to take a few minutes to read about Sikhism here. We are all about peace, love and service to humanity.

And to my new found friend John, we are from the same planet and this is we !

Courtesy – www.nirmaljeet.com