Sikhism And The Belief Of God And Worship
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There is one God: God made everything. God is called Satguru — “True Guru” and Waheguru – “Wonderful Guru”. Sikh basic beliefs are summed up in the words of the Mool Mantar, the first hymn written by Guru Nanak and part of Japji Sahib, the first Bani that appears in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib:
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When Sikhs speak of the Guru they are referring to God, the Great Teacher. God, the unknowable, becomes the teacher who reveals God to those who follow. God created everything, so all life is good, but attachment to material things leads to reincarnation and the sufferings of birth and death. The goal of Sikhism is to end the cycle of rebirth and be united with God.
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Service and devotion: or Sewa and Simran
Sikhs emphasize two primary aspects of daily life: service and devotion to God. Service means honest work and service to the community – Sewa, in which all are equal regardless of caste, creed, race or gender. Devotion is cultivated by singing devotional hymns and by meditation on the holy name of God – Simran and Naam Japna
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There is only One God who is purely spiritual and does not take human form.
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All creation is part of God and is an expression of God’s Divine Spirit Naam and His Will Hukam.
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All human beings have an immortal soul (atma) which is part of God and is on a journey to reunite with Him (Mukti).
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All human beings are equal regardless of race, religion, gender, age or social class.
All people are equal:
You must all live together.
You must be kind are share what you have. (Wand kay Shako)
All people can talk to God.
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Lasting happiness can only be found when the soul reunites with God
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Service to others (sewa), while remembering God at all times (simran), are essential if the soul is to reunite with God
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Live a life of a house-holder and live a truthful life earning a honest living while remembering God (Kirat Karni)
Sikhs must not drink alcohol, smoke or gamble. They have one wife or husband. They must pray every morning. They must read the holy book everyday. The Ten Gurus (teachers) of the Sikh told the people what God wanted; how they should live their lives; and how peace and tranquility could be obtained. Sikhs must wear the 5Ks — Uncut Hair Kesh, Small Comb Kanga, Bangle Kara, Special Shorts Kacha and Sword Kirpan. All Sikhs were instructed to do this by Guru Gobind Singh on a day which Sikhs now celebrate as Vasaikhi.
Concept of God
Followers of the Sikh faith believe that all life, including human life, comes from God. God is the Creator of the universe and the force that keeps it in existence. God is purely spiritual, has no physical body and cannot be known or experienced through the five senses. God is infinitely above and beyond everything else that exists (transcendent). God is also within all creation, including human beings (immanent) and, therefore, Sikhs believe that all creation is part of God.
Mukti or Salvation
However, salvation (reunion with God Mukti) cannot simply be gained by attention to physical, emotional and intellectual needs. The physical world may be real in the sense that it does actually exist, but it is not real in a lasting or ultimate sense. The only True Reality is God and the only truly lasting part of a human being is the soul (Atma). If a person forgets this, and allows the physical world to become a barrier between God and the soul, he/she will lose the unique opportunity to reunite with God. Too much concentration on the material aspects of life (Maya) leads the soul further and further away from reunion with God (Mukti). Human pleasures and needs pass, the human body eventually dies and only the soul remains — if a person forgets this he/she will have wasted the unique opportunity which is part of being born human.
Transmigration of the soul
The Sikh Gurus taught that existence in the universe involves the soul in a journey through many life forms. During this journey, provided the being perform good deeds, the soul travels towards ever-closer reunion with the Creator and One True Reality of which it is a part. The human form is only one of 8.4 million forms that the soul has inhabited during its existence in the physical world. The soul will have lived through many lives and will have inhabited many different forms before eventually being born in a human body.
Being reborn in human form is regarded as a special blessing because human beings are different to all other forms of life and have a higher form of consciousness. Only human beings have this higher form of consciousness, awareness of a moral conscience and, as a result, free will. Humans should not be pure slaves of their instinct which is how lower life-forms are governed.
The natural law of Karma
The law of karma can be described simply as the belief that all actions have consequences for the person who acts. These consequences do not just involve the immediate physical results — for example, when someone uses violence against another person and he/she is injured as a result. There are also moral consequences which affect the soul on its journey towards reunion with God and determine the nature of further rebirths if reunion with God is not achieved.
If a person returns to the cycle of life, death and rebirth,