All the Sikh Gurus were married men, except the eighth Sikh Guru who died very young. They also led a normal life of a householder and regarded sex desire as a natural phenomenon. In Sikhism, spiritual freedom is to be secured not by the unnatural suppression of human desires but by their judicious organization.
The Sikh Gurus and various Sikh saints did much to progress women's rights which were considerably downtrodden in the 15th century. To ensure a new equal status for women, the Gurus made no distinction between the sexes in matters of initiation, instruction or participation in sangat (holy fellowship) and pangat (eating together).
Sikhs are a part and parcel of the Indian society which is comprised of more than four-fifths of Hindus-their exact proportion during the four censuses beginning 1951 being 84.9 per cent, 83.5 per cent, 82.7 percent and 82.6 percent respectively.
Note- Sikh PA will NOT be sharing any of the disturbing footage of the assaults carried out against the Sikh woman (as of yet, unnamed).
Central to Sikhism is the idea of social justice and equality, which is seen through the institution of langar, or providing everyone with free food. Langar was established more than 500 years ago, in part by a woman, Mata Khivi.
They are not necessarily related. Many women of the Sikh faith share the name Kaur as a way to indicate equality and sisterhood.
Bibi Bhag Bhari was appointed to the Manji of Kashmir and ultimately chosen for this role because Guru Amar Das felt she was fully conversant with the doctrines of the Sikh faith.
She was ultimately sentenced to two years in prison in Lahore (present-day Pakistan) for seditious acts. 2) The Bishop-Mayor: Bibi Bhag Bhari (late 1400s–early 1500s) Bibi Bhag Bhari was one of the first to occupy a seat in the Sikh administrative system (Manji system) of Punjab, India.
In Manila, Gulab Kaur heard lectures by the Ghadar Party, an organization founded by Punjabi Indians abroad with the aim to liberate India from British Rule. She was inspired to join the movement and, with a press pass in hand and disguised as a journalist, she distributed arms to Ghadar Party members.
Inderjit Kaur was one of the first women to earn her Master’s degree from Punjab and went on to become the only woman on the governing council of Khalsa College, Amritsar. In 1975, she became the first female Vice-Chancellor of a Northern Indian university serving at the Punjabi University in Patiala.
1) The Freedom Fighter: Gulab Kaur (1890–1941) Coming from a poor family, Gulab Kaur and her husband, Man Singh, sought a better future. So, from Punjab, India, they went to Manila, Philippines, with the ultimate aim of migrating to America.
Notable women in Sikhism. Mata Sahib Kaur, wife of Guru Gobind Singh Ji and leader of Khalsa for 40 years. Sada Kaur, chief of the Khalsa Kanhaiya Misl from 1789 to 1821. Rani Jindan, wife of Ranjit Singh. Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, prominent suffragette of womans civil rights movemenent in the United Kingdom.
The Sikh Gurus and various Sikh saints did much to progress women's rights which were considerably downtrodden in the 15th century. To ensure a new equal status for women, the Gurus made no distinction between the sexes in matters of initiation , instruction or participation in sangat (holy fellowship) and pangat (eating together).
During the Sikh revival movement of Singh Sabha beginning in the 1870s, the Singh Sabha raised its voice against the purdah system, female infanticide, child marriage, sati, bad conditions of widows, practice of dowry and extravagant expenditure during marriage.
The principles of Sikhism state that women have the same souls as men and thus possess an equal right to cultivate their spirituality with equal chances of achieving salvation. While technically woman can participate in all religious, cultural, social, and secular activities including lead religious congregations, take part in the Akhand Path (the continuous recitation of the Holy Scriptures), perform Kirtan (congregational singing of hymns), and work as a Granthis, although equality for women has always been a major attribute of Sikhism and a great number of women have made significant contributions, it is important to note that it is still a work in progress.
The inherent attraction of female was considered a temptation something that a Sannyasi must avoid. The Gurus, however, did not regard women as hurdles for attaining salvation. They rejected the idea of renunciation and regarded family life, if led in a righteous manner, better than the life of an ascetic. Instead of celibacy and renunciation, Guru Nanak recommends grhastha —the life of a householder.
Baba Ram Singh also did much for woman's rights including opposing infanticide, selling of young girls into servitude, the dowry system, the pardah system, and endeavored to achieve higher standards of literacy, and the remarriage of widows.
Though equality for women has always been a major attribute of Sikhism and a great number of women have made significant contributions, it is important to note that it is still a work in progress. In the 1990s a group of Sikh women requested to wash the floors or the Darbar Sahib and were denied.
And Mata Nanki, the sister of the first Guru! And Mata Khivi, wasn’t she the second Guru’s wife? You will hear an earful of mothers, sisters, and wives of the Ten Gurus, or teachers of the Sikh faith in the 15th and 16th centuries. As the list ends there, you may begin to sense there is something amiss. Advertisement.
Just as in most patriarchal traditions around the world, the bodies of women have been considered vessels of honor in Punjabi culture. When riots and massacre swept Punjab during the 1947 Partition of India, some Sikh men poisoned their daughters before letting them fall into the hands of Muslim rioters.
In the worst anecdotes, domestic violence is an outlet for men who bear racism on the street, intermarriage an act of betrayal, and honor killings an actual threat. But there’s another story too. The call for liberation pulses through the Sikh tradition: it’s in our scriptures and songs and stories.
Symbol of Sikhism. Sikhism developed from the spiritual teachings of Guru Nanak, the first Guru (1469–1539), and of the nine Sikh gurus who succeeded him. The tenth guru, Gobind Singh (1666–1708), named the Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib as his successor, bringing to a close the line of human gurus and establishing the scripture as ...
t. e. Sikhism ( / ˈsɪkɪzəm /) or Sikhi ( Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖੀ Sikkhī, [ˈsɪkːʰiː], from ਸਿੱਖ, Sikh, 'disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner') is an Indian Dharmic religion that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE.
Guru Nanak explaining Sikh teachings to Sadhus. After its inception, Sikhism grew as it gained converts among Hindus and Muslims in the Punjab region. In 1539, Guru Nanak chose his disciple Lahiṇā as a successor to the Guruship rather than either of his sons.
Sikhism emphasizes simran ( ਸਿਮਰਨ, meditation and remembrance of the teachings of Gurus), which can be expressed musically through kirtan, or internally through naam japna ('meditation on His name') as a means to feel God's presence.
However, what is not in doubt is the emphasis on 'one'.". In Sikhism, the overall concept of God is Waheguru ('wondrous Teacher') considered to be nirankar ('shapeless'), akal ('timeless'), karta purakh ('the creator'), and agam agochar ('incomprehensible and invisible').
Adherents of Sikhism are known as Sikhs, meaning 'students' or 'disciples' of the Guru. The anglicised word Sikhism derives from the Punjabi verb Sikhi, which connotes the "temporal path of learning" and is rooted in the word sikhana ('to learn').
Sikhism is the fourth-largest amongst the medium-sized world religions, and one of the youngest. Worldwide, there are 30 million Sikhs, which makes up 0.4% of the world's population. Approximately 75% of Sikhs live in Punjab, where they constitute over 60% of the state's population. Large communities of Sikhs migrate to the neighboring states such as Indian State of Haryana which is home to the second largest Sikh population in India with 1.1 million Sikhs as per 2001 census, and large immigrant communities of Sikhs can be found across India. However, Sikhs only comprise about 2% of the Indian population.
Unlike other religions Sikhi clearly states that Sikh women have always been regarded as equals with men and have all the rights and privileges enjoyed by men. Women are considered to have the same soul as men and have an equal right to grow spiritually. Sikh women are allowed to lead religious congregations, to take part in Akhand Path (the continuous recitation of the Holy Scriptures), to perform Kirtan, to work as Granthi (caretaker) or a preacher and to participate freely in all religious, cultural, social, political and secular activities.
The Sikh Women always have been, and always will be, the backbone of the Khalsa Panth. Their selflessness lies second to none in the world. Sikh women are able to earn Godly qualities (due to the extremely important responsibilities placed on them) that their male counterparts may not be able to earn.
From women, women are born; without women, there would be no one at all. Sri Guru Nanak Sahib Ji , the founder of Sikhism, said the above in about 1499. So for Sikhs (unlike many other religions) women are seen, treated and valued as equals.
Bibi Basant Lata - a Gursikh woman, with no living relatives that spent her time in the service of Mata Sundri. Bibi Bhagbhari - was a disciple of Guru Amar Das Ji. She was also one of the first Sikh woman preachers.
Judge Nigel Peters QC said: 'You have accepted that you have caused the most serious injuries to your daughter in law. 'You set about her having taken umbrage because you felt she was having affairs when it turned out she had been receiving prank calls.
This photo shows the horrific injuries a Sikh woman suffered after being attacked by her father-in-law because he thought she was having an affair with a Muslim man. Jageer Mirgind was left blind and scarred for life after 51-year-old Manjit Mirgind slashed her wrists and stabbed her in the eyes screaming 'I am going to kill you'.
Jageer Mirgind's eyes gouged with knife and wrists slashed in violent assault. Manjit Singh Mirgind, 51, attacked her claiming she had 'ruined his family'. He became angry when he became convinced she was 'sleeping with a Paki'. Victim's children witnessed the horrific ordeal and pleaded for him to stop. Mrs Mirgind has been left blind, scarred and ...
Mrs Mirgind’s children, just three and six years old, watched the horrific attack at their mother's home in Kensington Gardens, Ilford, East London, and pleaded with their grandfather to stop. Jageer Mirgind was left blind and scarred for life after Manjit Mirgind, 51, slashed her wrists and stabbed her in the eyes screaming 'I am going ...
Sikhism made a radical departure from Hinduism by demolishing the iniquitous barriers that the Hindu society had erected between man and man, and between man and woman. The Sikh Gurus laid down the foundations of a healthy, egalitarian and progressive social order.
Yogi Gorakh Nath called women baghani, a she-wolf who robbed man of his youthful vigour. Yogis take vow to remain celibates for ever. The founder of Buddhism, Lord Buddha, too forsake family life for his nirvana. Buddhist monks are required by their religious discipline to remain sanyasis.
The role that a society assigns to woman in real life determines the extent and level of her participation in the social, economic, cultural and political proccesses which in turn shapes the demographic portrait of a country. Women in the Indian society occupy a low status.
It is generally said that the state of development of a society can be judged from the status a woman occupies in it. A woman performs a number of roles in the family, community and the wider social system. Her status in the society is determined by her composite status depending upon her various positions and roles.
Accordingly, a woman’s status in society is to be analysed in terms of her participation in decision making and her access to opportunities in education, training, employment and income as well as her ability to control the number and spacing of her children.
However, the main factor that has been responsible for underutilization of full women power potential in India is the impact of the Hindu religious precepts and tradition that shape the thought, attitudes and behaviour of more than four-fifths of the population. 2. Place of Women in the Hindu Society.
The position of women in Hinduism is no better. Their fate has been hanging in between that of Durga and Devdasi, closer to Devdasi than to Durga.2 For a long time, because of high valuation placed on the ideal of sanyasa in Hinduism, women were despised as the source of worldliness.
The principles of Sikhism state that women have the same souls as men and thus possess an equal right to cultivate their spirituality with equal chances of achieving salvation. Women in Sikhism participate in all religious, cultural, social, and secular activities including lead religious congregations, take part in the Akhand Path (the continuous recitation of the Holy Scriptures), perform Kirtan (congregational singing of hymns), and work as a Granthis.
Sutak is a belief associated with impurity of the house on account of birth of a child. It is also believed that women are most prone to such impurity. Guru Nanak condemned such notions of pollution/impurity in no uncertain terms.
Should Sutak be believed in, then that such impurity occurs everywhere, Worms are found in cow dung and the wood. No single grain of corn is without life in it. Water is the first source of life, an…
Sutak is a belief associated with impurity of the house on account of birth of a child. It is also believed that women are most prone to such impurity. Guru Nanak condemned such notions of pollution/impurity in no uncertain terms.
Should Sutak be believed in, then that such impurity occurs everywhere, Worms are found in cow dung and the wood. No single grain of corn is without life in it. Water is the first source of life, an…
According to Sikhism, men and women are two sides of the same human coin. There is a system of interrelationship and interdependence whereby man is born of women, and women are born of man's seed. By these doctrines a man cannot feel secure and complete in his life without a woman, and man's success is proportional to the love and support of the woman who shares her life with him (and vice versa). The founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, reportedly said in 1499 that "[i…
There are many examples of women who are considered models of service and sacrifice throughout Sikh history, such as Mata Gujri, Mai Bhago, Mata Sundari, Mata Desan Kaur, Rani Sahib Kaur, Rani Sada Kaur, Rani Datar Kaur and Maharani Jind Kaur.
In the present-day democratic politics of India, a fair amount of organizations study and work in order to rid women of many of their disadvantages. They have access to political franchise and …
• Mata Sahib Kaur, wife of Guru Gobind Singh Ji and leader of Khalsa for 40 years
• Sada Kaur, chief of the Khalsa Kanhaiya Misl from 1789 to 1821
• Maharani Datar Kaur, consort of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and mother of Maharaja Kharak Singhcommander during the Battle of Multan (1818)
• Women in the Guru Granth Sahib
• Sikh feminism
• Women in India
• Women's rights
• Legal rights of women in history
• Sikh women
• Guru Quotes on women
• www.sikhs.org
• www.sikhnarimanch.com
• Concepts In Sikhism – Edited by Dr. Surinder Singh Sodhi
Sikhism or Sikhi (Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖੀ Sikkhī, [ˈsɪkʰiː], from ਸਿੱਖ, Sikh, 'disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner') is a religion that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, present-day Pakistan, around the end of the 15th century CE. It is the most recently founded major organized faith, and stands at fifth-largest worldwide with about 25–30 million adherents (known as Sikhs) as of the early …
The majority of Sikh scriptures were originally written in the alphabet of Gurmukhī, a script standardised by Guru Angad out of Laṇḍā scripts historically used in present-day Pakistan and North India. Adherents of Sikhism are known as Sikhs, meaning 'students' or 'disciples' of the Guru. The anglicised word Sikhism derives from the Punjabi verb Sikhi, which connotes the "temporal path of learning" and is rooted in the word sikhana ('to learn').
These prohibitions are strictly followed by initiated Khalsa Sikhs who have undergone baptism. While the Sikh gurus did not enforce religion and did not believe in forcing people to follow any particular religion in general, the Sikh community does encourage all people to become better individuals by following the Guru's Way (Gur-mat), as opposed to living life without the Guru's code of disciple (Man-mat):