Panth 0Guru Nanak attracted a large number of
followers due to his teachings0He formed the first Sikh community called the
Panth
Gurdwara0Guru Nanak built a special building
for worship called gurdwara 0Represents the central structure
of any particular Sick community 0Means doorway of the Guru0House of worship0Generally contain a kitchen to
prepare food for the needy0Contains the Adi Granth
Adi Granth0 It means first book0Sacred scripture0The Adi Granth seats
on a special seat within the gurdwara
0 It is referred to as Guru
Sikh0 Sikh
0 “learner” or “disciple”0One who learns from the teachings of the Guru
Guru0 A guru is a spiritual teacher.0 The literal meaning of the term
guru is explained by referring to its parts: 0 Gu means darkness0 Ru means enlightenment
0 A guru is one who delivers people from the darkness of ignorance to a state of enlightenment
0 The capitalized term Guru is used in three different ways:
1. The title of Guru Nanak and his successors and the ten historical leaders of Sikhism
2. Adi Granth- sacred scripture 3. It is a name for God- True
Guru
The Khanda0A symbol that represents Sikhism 0There are three different items used in a Khanda,
which have a symbolic meaning: 0A double-edged sword called a Khanda in the
center 0A Chakkar which is circular 0Two single-edged swords, or kirpans, are crossed
at the bottom and sit on either side of the Khanda and Chakkar.
0The Khanda represents knowledge of God, the Chakkar represents the eternal nature of God and oneness of humanity, the two swords represent Miri (political sovereignty) and Piri (spiritual sovereignty)
Teachings: God 0God is One, eternal, beyond time, and
formless0God is immanent or indwelling (as opposed
to transcendent or beyond creation)0God dwells within all human beings, and is
actively concerned about their spiritual welfare.
0God is referred to as Guru0 For by revealing himself God delivers humans
from darkness to enlightenment 0The term most often used in the Adi Granth
to denote the nature of God is nim, the divine name0 Meditation on the nim or recitation of the nim is
prescribed as the path to spiritual perfection
Teachings: Humans 0 Sikhs are not opposed to eating meat but
many prefer vegetarianism 0 Humans tend to neglect the need to center
their lives on God0 Rather than being God-centered, humans
are inclined to be self-centered. 0 This human condition is expressed in the
Sikh term haumai0 Haumai= self-reliance, pride, egoism
0 Haumai is human’s insistence on making do on their own rather than acknowledge dependence of God.
0 Haumai and its vices increase the distance between a person and God