• Guru Nanak founded Sikhism in the Punjab, which straddles modern India and Pakistan, in the 16th century.
• Sikhs are monotheistic, that is they worship a single God, and their central beliefs are focused on the religious state of the individual. The Sikhs regard their God as neither male nor female.
• The most important Sikh beliefs are there is one God, God has no physical existence and no gender, all have access to God, all are equal before God, all should live an honest, caring life and rituals are worthless.
• The Sikh holy scripture is the Guru Granth Sahib. Its first entry is the religious prayer called the Mool Mantra.
• The five vices are lust, envy and greed, materialism, anger and pride.
• The five virtues are Sat (truthfulness), Santokh (contentment), Daya (compassion), Nimrata (humility) and Pyar (love of God).
• The five stages of liberation are Dharma Khand (good deeds), Gian Khand (knowledge), Saram Khand (spirituality), Karam Khand (grace) and Sach Khand (truth).
• The Gurdwara is the Sikh place of worship. Although the Sikh flag flies outside, inside there are no icons, pictures or statues as the Sikh God is formless. The central object in each Gurdwara is a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib.
• Vaisakhi celebrates the Sikh New Year on April 13th or 14th. Diwali is the Festival of Light in the autumn and commemorates the release from prison in 1619 of the sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind.

• The Gurpurbs are a series of holy days through the year that celebrate either the birthdays or the martyrdom of one or other of the Ten Gurus.
• Sikhs believe in three duties, Nam Japna (knowing God through prayer and meditation), Kirt Karna (hard work and honesty) and Vand Chhakna (caring for others and giving to charity).
• Sewa is the Sikh concept of service to the community. There are three types of Sewa, Tan, (physical service at the Gurdwara or Langar), Man (intellectual service) and Dhan, service to other people.
• Guru Gobind Singh created the five Ks in 1699 and they are worn by Khalsa members. They are Kesh (uncut hair), Kara (a steel bracelet), Kanga (a wooden comb), Kaccha (cotton underwear) and Kirpan (a steel sword).
• The Sikh code of conduct, the Sikh Rahit Maryada, contains instructions for ceremonies including birth, naming and marriage.
• Amrit Sanskar is a baptismal service carried out when the initiate is old enough to understand the ceremony. After Amrit a Sikh takes a new name, starts to wear the five Ks and joins the Khalsa.

Sikhism – Test it!

1. What do Sikhs believe about God?
2. What are the most important Sikh beliefs?
3. What are the five vices?
4. What are the five virtues?
5. What are the five stages of liberation?
6. What are the most important characteristics of the Gurdwara?
7. Name three Sikh festivals and describe their significance.
8. What are the three duties?
9. What are the Five Ks?
10. What are the three types of Sewa?

——————————————————

Some top tips!

1. Print out the Test It! Questions – it will allow you to replicate exam conditions and also allows you to give your eyes a rest from the computer screen whilst doing your crucial revision.
2. Make a copy of the Remember It! Section and put in a place that you often look at. i.e. front of a journal, next to a mirror, on a kitchen cupboard door, etc. That way you can do some cheeky religious studies revision whilst doing those things you have to do!

——————————————————