Sikhism is practiced by about 26 million people and is the fifth largest religion in the world. The word Sikh in Punjabi means disciple of God. A follower of Sikhism worships one God and aspires to live a peaceful life of honesty, charity, equality, and faith.
Have students define and illustrate key terms relating to Sikhism in a spider map
Storyboard Text
PUNJAB
CHAURI
Guru Granth Sahib
GURU
Punjab is a region in northwest India and eastern Pakistan. It has five rivers so historically was a fertile place for civilizations to thrive. Punjabi is the name for the language and people. The Indian State of Punjab was created in 1947 when the former Raj province of Punjab was split between India and Pakistan. The mostly Muslim western part of the province became Pakistan's Punjab Province and the mostly Sikh eastern part became India's Punjab state.
The chauri is a ceremonial fan made of white horse or yak hair set in a wooden or silver handle that is fanned over the scriptures as a sign of respect for the Guru Granth Sahib as it is treated like a living Guru.
A guru is a religious teacher and, for Sikhs, a messenger from God. There were ten successive Gurus in the Sikh religion that make up the basis of their teachings. The first guru and founder of the Sikh religion was Guru Nanak (1469-1539).
NISHAN SAHIB
SIKHISM VOCABULARY
LANGAR
KHANDA
The Nishan Sahib is a yellow (saffron) triangular flag that bears the Sikh symbol of the Khanda. It flies above Sikh temples or Gurdwara. The words Nishan Sahib means "exalted ensign".
The Langar is a charitable, free community kitchen where free vegetarian meals are served for anyone regardless of background. Food is cooked by volunteers from the community. Everyone sits and eats together on the floor to demonstrate equality of all people regardless of caste, religion, race, or gender. At the Golden Temple in India, 100,000 people are served each day!
The Khanda is the main symbol of Sikhism. It has a central double edged sword that represents belief in one God, the Chakkar (circle) representing unity and continuity of God, and the two crossed kirpans (swords) representing both spiritual and political or societal obligations that Sikhs undertake.