Sikhism in Central Pennsylvania
About how many practicing Sikhs
are there in the 9 county area?
What are the important beliefs
of Sikhism?
What are the importance features
of the practice of Sikhism?
How has traditional Sikhism
been shaped by the US culture?
What is the level of participation
in Sikh worship and community activities in the area?
What resources are there in
the community for those who wish to practice Sikhism or learn
more about the religion?
Speakers and Contact info.
For further reading
About how many practicing Sikhs are
there in the 9 county area?
There is no accurate count of Sikhs in this area, although
community sources suggest that the numbers are relatively
small, living in various areas. Sikhs travel out of
the area to attend religious services at a gurdwara in a larger
metropolitan area.
What are the important beliefs of Sikhism?
The mission of the Sikh (pronounced "sic") religion,
as described by one member of the Sikh community in Central
Pennsylvania, is "bringing the light of Guru Nanak through
Guru Gobind Singh." In the history of the Sikh religion,
there were ten living masters or prophets. The first was Guru
Nanak who founded the religion around 500 years ago. He brought
the message of "Ek Ong Kar" meaning "we are
all one, created by the One Creator of all creation."
Guru Nanak then infused his consciousness into a disciple
who became the next Guru and in turn passed his light down
to another disciple who passed it to another, each one representing
a divine attribute. The last was Guru Gobind Singh who then
passed his being into the Khalsa, a spiritual brotherhood
and sisterhood devoted to purity of thought and action. He
then transferred the spiritual light of the Guru, which had
been passed down from Guru Nanak to him, into the Siri Guru
Granth Sahib, the Sikh scripture which is written in poetry
and organized into 31 sections, each corresponding to a particular
melodic scale called a raag. The Book is written in Gurumukhi,
which literally means "from the mouth of the Guru"
and is the written form of Punjabi. Guru Granth Sahib contains
poetry from six of the Sikh Gurus, as well as from Muslim
and Hindu saints. Since the Siri Guru Granth Sahib is considered
a living master, it is kept on a Palki Sahib, a "couch"
with pillows and a covering.
The one main tenet
of the Sikh religion is that it is not the only faith. The
Sikh religion is very open to all belief systems and respects
all other religions with the belief that people should choose
the path that works best for them. As a result of this belief,
Sikhs do not proselytize. The Sikh tradition is also very
open to those who wish to join the faith or learn more about
it. The Golden Temple in India has door on all four sides
to represent that all are welcome. An extension of this belief
that all religions should be valued and respected is that
all people should be valued and respected as equals. Women
are equal to men and highly respected.
The one Sikh commandment is Jap, meaning "repeat."
The Sikh tradition has extended this to mean meditation, which
is an important part of the Sikh religion.
What are the importance features of the practice
of Sikhism?
The Khalsa, or spiritual brother and sisterhood devoted to purity
of thought, comes with external reminders of that commitment.
Sikhs, those who follow the teachings of the ten gurus through
Guru Gobind Singh and the scriptures Siri Guru Granth Sahib, are
initiated as Khalsa and must where five items at all times that
were a gift of love from Guru Gobind Singh. These five items represent
a balance of five elements and energies.
1. Kesh - Uncut hair and beard, as is natural and given by God,
in order to sustain a person in higher consciousness. He or she
must also wear a turban, which is the crown of spirituality.
2. Kangha - A wooden comb must be used to groom the hair and symbolize
cleanliness.
3. Katchera - All initiated Sikhs must wear cotton underwear that
is specially made and a reminder to the wearer of the commitment
to purity.
4. Kara - A steel bracelet is always worn around the wrist in
order to symbolize a Sikhs bondage to truth and his or her freedom
from all other entanglements.
5. Kirpan - The Khalsa must carry a small symbolic sword with
which he or she will defend the fine line of truth.
Those Sikhs initiated as Khalsa vow to refrain from sexual relations
outside of marriage. They also will not eat meat, use tobacco
products or intoxicants, or drink alcohol.
Sikhs are required to pray three times a day and the prayer
books are covered while they are not being used in order to show
respect. Kirtan celebrations, the devotional singing of hymns
(shabads), accompanied by instruments, from the Guru Granth Sahib,
have separate seating with men on one side of the room and women
on the other. This represents the differences of each sex, though
each is seen as equal to the other. As one member of the community
put it, a person has a right hand and a left hand and both hands
are very important, but they are different. Kirtan always has
as part of it a meal called Langar. It is free and open to all
people and its purpose is to reinforce the Sikh principle of the
equality of all humanity. The practice rejects the caste system
of India where members of different castes could not eat together.
How has traditional
Sikhism been shaped by the US culture?
In many of the larger U.S. cities in America, Sikhs worship
together in a gudwara. Information about these Sikh
religious centers can be found at the Pluralism
Project web site.
What
is the level of participation in Sikh worship and community
activities in the area?
Sikhs in the area get together about once a month. A Kirtan
celebration, a service of singing, with prayers and reading
from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib (the holy-book of the Sikhs),
usually draws about sixty people. Most of them are Asian Indians
and many of the people who attend the Kirtan celebrations
in the Harrisburg area are not Sikhs; some are Hindu. Kirtans
are currently held in different places each time. Sikhs in
the area are hoping to raise money to establish a place to
worship.
What resources are there in the community
for those who wish to practice Sikhism or learn more about
the religion?
Members of the Sikh community participate in interfaith dialogue.
A new brochure to educate about the Sikh religions, that the
Sikh community felt was needed after Sikhs were harassed and
attacked in the aftermath of September 11, will be available
soon. Information will be posted here about obtaining this
brochure.
Speakers and Contact info.
Speaker: Sirineel Kaur Khalsa
Availability: will arrange schedule
Cost: donation requested
Topics: general principles of Sikh faith
Speaker: Manmeet Singh
Topics: perspective of Indian Sikh community
Contact: (717) 761-6363
For further reading…
If you would like to learn more, check out the following books
and websites:
Matlins, Stuart M. and Arthur J. Magida.
How to be a Perfect Stranger, Vol. 2: A Guide to Etiquette
in Other People's Religious Ceremonies. Jewish Lights Publishing,
Vermont; 1997.
Pluralism Project,
Harvard University:
http://www.sikhnet.com/
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