Sikhism

The Sikh Community Today

The Sikh Community TodayThe Sikh community in the United States has continued to grow and put down roots across the entirety of the United States. Sikhs are active members of civic service and advocacy projects while they continue efforts to maintain their distinctive religious traditions, such as teaching Punjabi to children and wearing the five K’s.... Read more about The Sikh Community Today

The American “Cousins”

The American cousinsIn the late 1960s, Yogi Bhajan arrived in the United States and shortly after began the 3HO movement, an acronym for the Happy, Healthy, and Holy Organization and now called Sikh Dharma. The movement is a syncretic form of Sikhism and other religious traditions that has attracted many non-Punjabi Americans. There are currently hundreds of 3HO centers throughout the United States.... Read more about The American “Cousins”

Bhagat Singh Thind: Citizen or Alien?

BhagatSinghThindOne of the major legislative tests of eligibility for citizenship was the case of Bhagat Singh Thind, a Punjabi who had come to the U.S. in 1913. He had been granted a certificate of naturalization but it was later contested. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that Bhagat Singh Thind was not white and therefore his citizenship was revoked. As a result of the ruling, the Justice Department began proceedings to de-naturalize Sikhs who had already obtained citizenship. Since Sikhs were no longer considered citizens, they were not allowed to own land.... Read more about Bhagat Singh Thind: Citizen or Alien?

First Arrivals

First ArrivalsSikhs first arrived in the United States by way of Vancouver in the first decade of the 20th century. Most Sikhs at this time settled in California and worked as manual laborers. In 1912, the first gurdwara in the United States was opened in Stockton, California.... Read more about First Arrivals

The Ghadar Party: Freedom for India

The Ghadar PartyThe Ghadar Movement was formed in 1913 by expatriate Punjabis in the United States with shared leadership from Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims. The goal of the movement was to assist in overthrowing British colonial rule in India. The publicity that the group attracted in the United States was used as further justification for anti-Asian discrimination and suspicion.... Read more about The Ghadar Party: Freedom for India

Sikh Renewal and Identity

Sikh renewal and identityUnder British rule, a number of Sikh reform movements rose in Punjab. Notably, the Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925 placed the management of gurdwaras under a central Sikh authority, precipitating the standardization of  codes of Sikh conduct. In 1947, after independence from colonial rule, the partition of India and Pakistan led to extreme violence and displacement along religious lines. The call for a separate Sikh state in Punjab persisted through independence and in 1984 the Indian government attacked Sikh separatists who were fortified within the Golden Temple.... Read more about Sikh Renewal and Identity

The Development of the Sikh Community

The Development of the Sikh CommunityThe Sikh community developed during Mughal reign under the ten gurus. The first four gurus led the Sikh community during a period of peace with the Mughals. During the time of the fifth guru, the Sikh community entered a period of militarized resistance to the Mughal empire, which would lead the tenth guru to create the Khalsa, a committed core group of Sikhs.... Read more about The Development of the Sikh Community

The Struggle for Survival

The Struggle for SurvivalFrom the death of the tenth guru in 1708 until the British annexation of Punjab in 1849, the Sikhs maintained control over various parts of Punjab. At their height, the Sikhs established a kingdom which included Lahore, Amritsar, and various smaller Sikh confederacies.... Read more about The Struggle for Survival

The Khalsa

The KhalsaThe tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, created a new Sikh order, the Khalsa. The members of the Khalsa were given the names Singh (for men) and Kaur (for women), wore five distinctive symbols marking them as members of the Khalsa, and were instructed to uphold the highest codes of conduct and morality.... Read more about The Khalsa

Guru Nanak’s Message

Guru Nanak's messageGuru Nanak taught that there is one God who dwells within the human heart and can be known by the grace of the guru. Guru Nanak espoused a vision of equality across caste and religion, and he called for Sikhs to be fully socially engaged.... Read more about Guru Nanak’s Message

The Word of God

The Word of GodIn the early 16th century a community of disciples, called Sikhs, gathered around Guru Nanak who presented strong monotheistic teachings after receiving direct revelations from God. The Sikh community, centered in Punjab, grew under ten generations of successive gurus and has since spread throughout the world.... Read more about The Word of God

The Sikh Scripture

The Sikh ScriptureAfter Guru Nanak, many successive gurus worked to compile and to prepare the collection of hymns seen as the divinely inspired word of God. The tenth guru made the final revisions to the collection before naming the scripture itself as the final guru, the Guru Granth Sahib. Honoring, reading, and singing these hymns is central to Sikh practice.... Read more about The Sikh Scripture

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