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Encyclopedia :
S :
SI :
SIK :
Sikh |
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SikhA Sikh is a follower of Sikhism, a religious faith originating in the Punjab.The word Sikh is derived from the Sanskrit word shishya which means disciple or student. In the Punjabi language the word Sikh also means to learn. So a Sikh is a disciple of the Ten Gurus and a follower of the teachings in the Sikhism's holy scriptures who they regard as a living guru, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji The KhalsaMain article: Khalsa A baptised Sikh becomes a member of the Khalsa or the "Pure". When a Sikh joins the Khalsa, he/she is supposed to have pledged his/her life to the Guru, and is expected not to desist from sacrificing anything and everything in a struggle for a just cause. General DispositionHistorically, Sikhs have been known to be great saintly-warriors. The tenth Sikh guru Guru Gobind Singh Ji is considered a great military leader and strategist of his time. He inspired and eventually led a relatively small number of Sikh forces to remarkable triumphs over expansive state armies of the Mughal king Aurangzeb. The Battle of Saragarhi (1897) is remembered as one of many battles where the Sikhs have fought with unflinching strength. In the Battle of Saragarhi, the Sikh Havildar Ishar Singh with 21 other soldiers fought with great bravery against 10,000 Afridi tribesmen. This battle has been taught in history lessons in French schools for many years as a model and an example of extreme human bravery, sacrifice and of comradeship. In the two World Wars, over 80,000 Sikhs died for the allied forces in battles. Many Sikhs have received the Victoria Cross and the Param Vir Chakras for their gallantry and courage. Sikhs and Punjabis Since Sikhism originated in the region of Punjab, most Sikhs trace their roots to that region (though in recent times, with the spread both of Sikhism and Sikhs, one might encounter Sikhs belonging to other geographical locations across the world). So more often than not, a Sikh might also be identified as a Punjabi, although one should not be confused with the other. Consequently, and also because the Guru Granth Sahib is written in Gurmukhi, a script of the Punjabi language, most Sikhs are able to speak, read or write the language, or are at least familiar with it. Sikh NamesA Sikh man almost always bears the second name of Singh, which means 'tiger', and a Sikh woman can be identified with a second name of Kaur, which means 'princess', (Though the name Kaur is an exclusively Sikh name. Additionally, except only a very few cases, the same first names as used for men are used for women. In other words, though one may not be able to tell the sex of a Sikh person from his/her first name, the second name of Singh or Kaur makes the distinction completely clear. Unisex first names are a salient example of the complete equality between men and women. Moreover, the said first names usually end with common suffixes such as: inder, jeet, jot, preet, pal, meet, deep, mail, bir, vant etc. Even the prefixes of the first names aren't too much varied. The commonest of prefixes are: Gur, Har, Man, Bal,Dal, Kul, Jas etc. The various combinations of these prefixes and suffix make up Sikh first names. Also of note, Sikh names always represent some exalted ideal state or perfect concept. For example, Harjot means "divine spirit of the lord." (Har - God, Jot - spirit). Savraj means "Independence" (sav - self, raj - rule). Keeping above in mind, a few examples of Sikh names might be: Male namesFemale names Despite the above unwritten conventions that are usually followed while naming Sikh children, till a generation earlier, shorter, one syllable names such as: Banta Singh, Bhag Singh, Jant Singh, Jeet Kaur, Har Kaur etc. could be easily encountered especially in rural areas of Punjab. Other than that, modern Sikh families living in bigger, cosmopolitan cities, have adopted names from other communities as well. For instance, in New Delhi you might find a Sikh girl named simply Amita. In this case, the second name Kaur has been done away with and more significantly, the name Amita is unlike any conventional Sikh first name and is, in fact, a name more commonly associated with a Hindu girl. Some Sikh girls simply take on last name of Singh, a practice more common in larger cities. Some believers maintain that this practice of naming without using the word Singh or Kaur is manmat (Against the will of the Guru) and is prohibited in the Reht Maryada (The way of living of Sikhs). Prescribed daily practices of a SikhThe following is the daily routine to be followed by a practising Sikh:
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