SIKH DHARAM
Sikh
Learner - Disciple - Practitioner
Learn about Sikh life
Recognising Divine Sovereignty
ਅਵਲਿ ਅਲਹ ਨੂਰੁ ਉਪਾਇਆ ਕੁਦਰਤਿ ਕੇ ਸਭ ਬੰਦੇ ॥
ਏਕ ਨੂਰ ਤੇ ਸਭੁ ਜਗੁ ਉਪਜਿਆ ਕਉਨ ਭਲੇ ਕੋ ਮੰਦੇ ॥
In the very beginning, Allah made the Divine spark, noor, the light of all Life,
Through kudrat, the creative power of the Infinite Creator, all human beings were made.
If, from this noor, the One Divine Light, the entire universe welled up,
Then who can we truly judge as being good or bad?
– Bhagat Kabir Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 1349
The Sikh Gurus urged us to first marvel at the capacity blessed to us as humans. Then, they guided us to understand and tame the ego, and befriend the spirit or soul, to learn to live more fully ‘in God’s image’ and kindle the inner spark into a steady flame. Our learning begins then, by awakening our own awe and wonder for the gift of human life.
With its teachings, identity and practices, the path of learning founded by the Gurus is known as dharam and a ‘Sikh’ is the learner or disciple who follows it. This relationship finds a small echo in the scriptural numeral for Oneness – for in its curves we may also see a figure bowing in reverence.
The Soverign Oneness
Ik Oankar
The Divine Name
Nām
Inner Governance
Man Jeete Jag Jeet
Becoming a Practitioner
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਜਨ ਭਏ ਖਾਲਸੇ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਭਗਤਿ ਜਿਹ ਜਾਨੀ ॥
Says Kabir, those who really know the inward path of loving devotion to the Divine, They emanate the quality of being ‘khalsa’ – a sovereign being who is pure at heart.
– Bhagat Kabir Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 655
Upholding human responsibilities
Loosely translated as ‘faith’ or ‘religion’, dharam also means ‘responsibility.’ It implies an enlightened, accountable way of living, that recognises the light of Oneness in a diverse creation and sees the activation of spiritual qualities as core to both our personal transformation, as well as our collective flourishing. For the Sikh Gurus, dharam as responsibility meant being alert and responsive to injustice.
As Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji demonstrated, dharam involves defending precious freedoms based on honouring the dignity of all in the societies we form and govern. The Gurus also demonstrated this through vivid martial and regal imagery in the distinctive teachings, principles, symbols and practices that they successively advanced.
Threefold Mottos in the Sikh Dharam
The Sikh way of life is based on a heritage of teachings and practices inspired by the life of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. It offers humanity a response to the question: ‘How we are to fulfil life’s purpose during our stay in the world?’.
Over time, Sikhs have come to sum up this way of living with the threefold motto: ‘naam japo, kirat karo, vand ke chhako’. Put very simply, this means, ‘Pray, work, share’. It encourages people to live with a prayerful mind, hardworking hands and a generous heart.
This calling to ‘pray, work, share’ is a basic charter for the Sikh way of life. Joined by the practices of kīrtan and sevā, it sums up the path of spiritual growth and social contribution which became known as the Sikh dharam or faith.
Nām Japo
Kirat Karo
Vand ke Chhako
Simran
Sevā
Kīrtan
One janam sākhī account narrates that during Guru Nanak’s mystical experience meeting the Divine, he was instructed to spread the teaching of ‘nām, dān, ishnān’, a simple formula which appears many times in Sikh scriptural teachings.
Water is life-giving and life-sustaining. In scripture, the sacred word that connects us to the Divine Presence is described as amrit nām, the ambrosial nectar which Guru Nanak had tasted and absorbed. Two centuries later, when the tenth Guru established the Khalsa order of disciples, the amrit – or sweetened and sanctified water used in the initiation – would reverberate with this memory of Guru Nanak’s enlightenment experience.
In India, the tradition of making pilgrimages to bathe in the waters of holy sites was an act of ritual purification. Guru Nanak redirected the focus to inner cleansing in the sacred shrine of the self. He described nām as the soap and water to wash away the build-up of negative impressions that accumulate on our inner being, moment by moment and even across lifetimes. Inner cleansing then means renewing, refreshing and transforming the inner self.
Through its constant flow, water also carries the qualities of being able to give, forgive and let go. It transforms things gradually over time, like waves washing past rocks. Water’s natural downward movement is also associated with humility – the one virtue Guru Nanak had asked to be blessed within the enlightenment sākhī, so as to remain untouched by feelings of self-importance from people’s praise.
Nām
Dān
