I have chosen to compare Sikh worship in the gurdwara with the forms of worship in Christianity. Based on my observation, the Sikh worship in the gurdwara is widely different from the style of worship in Christianity despite the monotheistic nature of both religions. While Christians worship in churches, cathedrals, chapels, basilicas, and personal dwellings, Sikhs make use of the Gurdwara for their congressional worships (Parrinder, 1994). The Gurdwara is open to every individual regardless of one's caste, faith, or complexion. Personal worships among the Sikhs can be conducted at any place and at any time. Additionally, while Christianity allows for the use of statues and pictures in Orthodox and Catholic churches, Sikhism considers the use of statues and pictures as idolatry and the images of Sikh Gurus are not accepted from a religious viewpoint (Parrinder, 1994). Another difference between the Sikh worship and the forms of worship in Christianity is that Christians believe in eternity in either Heaven or Hell, while Sikhs believe in a constant or continuous cycle of reincarnation until they reach enlightenment. Also, while Christians set Sundays and Saturdays as the days of worship, Sikhs worship every day at their homes, with or without the Gurdwara service (Parrinder, 1994).
Research the Sikh gurus and select one guru other than Nanak. Explain at least two contributions your chosen guru made toward the development of the Sikh religion.
I have chosen Guru Ram Das, the fourth of the Sikhism’s ten Gurus. One of the contributions of Guru Ram Das to the development of the Sikh religion relates to his establishment of Amritsar, the holy city. From the historical records of Sikhism, Guru Amar Das, the third Guru, requested Guru Ram Das to identify the land with a human-made pool at its centre for starting a new town (Syan, 2014). The town later expanded and grew into the Amritsar City, while the central pool area developed into a worshipping complex. Ram Das also contributed to the development of Sikhism by composing 638 scripture hymns, which represent about 10 percent of the total hymns contained in the Sikhism’s religious scripture (Guru Granth Sahib) (Syan, 2014). Besides, Ram Das was a renowned poet, whose works covered a broad range of Sikhism topics. Guru Ram Das also introduced the Masand system to the Sikhism’s religious organization. The Masand consisted of various Sikh community leaders who led the congregations that lived in distant places, far away from the Guru’s residence. The Masand members ensured proper communication among the distant congregations, and they were also in charge of collecting revenues for various Sikh activities, including the building of the temple (Syan, 2014).
What factors worked to turn Nanak’s pacifistic movement into the martial character of later Sikhism?
One of the factors that turned Guru Nanak’s pacifistic movement into the martial character of later Sikhism was the ideology, which was based on cultural and religious innovations of Guru Nanak and the subsequent Gurus. In other words, the transformation of Nanak’s pacifistic movement to Sikhism was as a result of the Gurus’ religious experience, as well as some form of cultural experience guided by Nanak’s unique inner revelation (Singh, 2016). The second factor that contributed to turning Nanak’s pacifistic movement into Sikhism was the Punjabi society’s rural base, where family life depended significantly on extensive kinship relationships (Singh, 2016). Every person within the Punjabi society was considered a joint family member. Such cultural norms, therefore, played a pivotal role in converting Nanak’s pacifistic movement to Sikhism within the Punjabi society’s patriarchal structures (Singh, 2016). The third factor that contributed to turning Nanak’s pacifistic movement into the martial character of later Sikhism was the era of Punjab history. The Punjab history period got characterized by the belief that divine name was the only sure way of liberating the four castes (the Brahmin, Khatri, Vaishya, and the Shudra) (Singh, 2016). The combination of these three factors resulted in the mutual interaction between the environment and ideology, thereby contributing to Sikhism’s historical development.
References
Parrinder, G. (1994). Book Reviews: Sikhism and Christianity. The Expository Times, 105(10), 319-319. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/001452469410501041
Singh, C. (2016). Religion and Economic Growth: Elements from Sikhism. SSRN Electronic Journal. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2763585
Syan, H. (2014). The merchant gurus: Sikhism and the development of the medieval Khatri merchant family. The Indian Economic " Social History Review, 51(3), 303-330. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0019464614536016
