Sikhism began more than 500 years ago in Punjab, a region now split between India and Pakistan. Its founder, Guru Nanak, lived from 1469 to 1539. The Sikh Coalition counts more than 25 million Sikhs worldwide, which makes Sikhism the fifth-largest religion on earth. About 500,000 live in America. Sikhs have been here since the late 1800s.
A Guru is a teacher who leads people toward God. Sikhs follow ten human Gurus, starting with Guru Nanak. The tenth Guru named the Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, as the final Guru. Sikhs treat it with the respect you’d give a living teacher.
What Sikhs believe
Sikhs believe in one God, present in all creation and in every person. Because God is in everyone, the Sikh Coalition notes, Sikh teaching gives no room for treating people as lower because of caste, gender or background. There are no clergy standing between a person and God.
Three daily ideals show up again and again: live truthfully, serve others, and remember God. Service, called seva, is a big deal. Which brings us to lunch.
The gurdwara and the free kitchen
A gurdwara is a Sikh house of worship. Most have a langar, a free community kitchen. Anyone can come and eat, Sikh or not, rich or poor. Everyone sits together, often on the floor, and eats the same simple vegetarian meal. Volunteers cook it, serve it and wash up after.
Visitors are welcome. You’ll be asked to take off your shoes and cover your head. Most gurdwaras keep scarves by the door. Alcohol and tobacco stay outside.
Plenty of churches could learn a thing or two from a kitchen that feeds whoever walks in and doesn’t ask for a prayer card first.
The five Ks and the turban
Sikhs who take initiation, called amrit, keep five articles of faith. Each starts with K in Punjabi:
- Kesh. Uncut hair.
- Kara. A steel bracelet.
- Kanga. A small wooden comb.
- Kachera. A cotton undergarment.
- Kirpan. A small blade, a sign of the duty to protect others.
Many Sikh men and some Sikh women wrap their uncut hair in a turban. Many Sikhs who haven’t taken initiation keep some of these too.
What many Sikh neighbors wish you knew
Sikhs are often mistaken for Muslims, and have been hurt for it. On September 15, 2001, a man shot and killed Balbir Singh Sodhi outside the gas station he owned in Mesa, Arizona. The killer thought he was targeting a Muslim. Many consider Sodhi the first victim of a hate crime after 9/11. His brother later said he forgave the killer.
A 2013 survey by SALDEF, a Sikh American civil rights group, found that 48% of Americans linked a turban and beard with Islam rather than Sikhism. The fix isn’t to say “I’m not Muslim.” It’s for the rest of us to stop treating any neighbor as a target.
Try it on
The last time you saw a man in a turban, what did you assume? Did you see him, or a headline from twenty-five years ago?