Basic Sikh Beliefs and Values

Key Issues

Titles

Chapters

• Beliefs in the soul being eternal and rebirth
• Differences among Sikhs in their attitudes to the roles and status of men and women and the reasons for them (Mati Sahib Kaur and the khalsa)
• differences of emphasis among the ten gurus
• Example of story of one of ten Gurus concerning responsibilities to others
• Experience of suffering and persecution through history
• Guru Arjan
• Guru Gobind Singh
• Guru Nanak
• Guru Nanak's teachings on insecurity in life
• Guru Nanak's teachings on reincarnation
• How non-religious explanations of the world and of miracles may lead to or support agnosticism or atheism
• How Sikhs respond to the problem of evil and suffering (haumai, manmukh)
• How studying the life of Guru Nanak may lead to or support belief in God
• How the appearance of the world (design and causation) may lead to or support belief in God
• How the search for meaning and purpose in life may lead to or support belief in God
• How unanswered prayers and the existence of evil and suffering (including moral evil and natural evil) may lead people to question or reject belief in God
• Kachera
• Kangha
• Kara
• karma (action)
• Kesh
• Key causes of suffering: haumai
• Key causes of suffering: manmukh
• Key causes of suffering: maya
• Kirpan
• Miri and piri
• mukti (release)
• one God, the true Guru
• Operation Blue Star's consequences for the Sikh people
• Political context of the founding of the Khalsa and original purpose of Five Ks
• Reasons for belief in life after death not specific to any religion including near-death experiences and the paranormal
• Release from suffering through obedience
• Sikh beliefs about the nature of God
• Sikh beliefs in God as Karta Purukh, Creator
• Sikh teaching on life after death (reincarnation, khands, mukti)
• Story of Guru Nanak and Duni Chand
• Symbols of belonging: the Five Ks; Nishan Sahib
• the acceptance of outcastes
• the community at Kartarpur
• The conflict that led to Operation Blue Star
• The contribution of Guru Nanak to racial harmony, and the religious basis for this work
• the divisions of varna
• The example of Guru Nanak
• the Five Ks
• the foundation of the Khalsa (Singh, Kaur, panj piare)
• The fundamental role of Guru Nanak as recorded in the Janem Sakhi and as exemplified in the major events of his life and by his teaching (Japji)
• The idea of Khalistan: differing views among British Sikhs
• The Khalsa
• the lives and teaching of the Ten Gurus, especially Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Arjan Dev Ji, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and Guru Gobind Singh Ji
• The nature and attributes of God: as expressed in the Mool Mantar (Akal Purakh, Satnam, Waheguru)
• The nature and attributes of God: God as the Eternal One, Creator and Teacher
• the nature of Sikh hope for a homeland (Khalistan) and the reasons why this might be the basis for political action or a cause of controversy
• the nomination of Lehna as Guru Angad
• The origin and destiny of human beings: gurmukh
• The origin and destiny of human beings: karma
• The origin and destiny of human beings: manmukh
• The origin and destiny of human beings: mukti
• The origin and destiny of human beings: samsara
• The origin and destiny of human beings: the aim of union with God
• The origin and destiny of human beings: the elimination of haumai
• The Rahit Maryada as the expression of Sikh religious and moral values
• The rejection of the Vedas and the Qur'an
• The significance of Guru Gobind Singh
• The ten human gurus and their significance in the establishment and development of Sikhism
• The use and significance of symbols in Sikh life: the panj kakke (kesh, kangha, kara, kach and kirpan)
• the ways in which Sikh religious practice might be affected by caste (jati)
• Why Sikhs believe in life after death
• Why some people do not believe in life after death