Discussions on Diversity- Sikhism

    On Cal State Chico Campus one week ago, the university continued a program of discussions on diversity.  The professor from the Religious Studies department was Dr. Daniel Veidlinger, who was joined by CSUC senior, Rajim. I was very interested in the subject because I had done a presentation on Sikhism in my senior English class, but 5 years expiring since then, I had forgotten some aspects of the religion.
   

    Dr. Veidlinger started off with a few statistics of Sikhism, such as how many Sikhs there were in the world, how much of the population lived in the US and England. He also gave an overview of the founding of Sikhism, and a brief history.  In the region of Punjab, which modernly is a section of north-west India, and an eastern section of Pakistan, Hindu and Muslim populations were in constant struggle against the other over their religions. In 1499, Guru Nanak began the Sikh religion, which had influences from both of the other religions in the region.  Guru Nanak thought that with such similar practices and beliefs, why are people wanting to fight each other? So he wrote the Mul Mantra, or core statement of the religion. The statement called for a believe in one Creator, who exists in spirit for only, independent from everything, known by grace through the Guru’s, who ever-present and immortal.  Dr. Veidlinger also talked about the 5 “K’s” worn by the Khalsa, or pure Sikhs.
   

    After 9/11, there was an unfair animosity toward anyone who was of Middle-Eastern decent, and Sikhs were subject great discrimination. Since one of the 5 “K’s” is the Kes, literally meaning hair, Sikhs would wear turbans to keep their long, uncut hair manageable. People saw Osama Bin Laden wearing a turban and immediately carried that image of a terrorist over to another group of people.  This is extremely ironic, because the founding of Sikhism was created for people to live in peace, not cause death and destruction.  The other “K’s” are Kara, or bracelet, which was a reminder that your hands are instruments of Sikhism and to act accordingly. Kangha means comb, Kachera, which were a kind of undergarment, and Kirpan, which was a dagger, but was symbolic of the willingness to defend one’s believe, not to cause conflict in any way.
   

    There were 10 Guru’s, or enlightened teachers, and the Tenth named the holy scripture as the Eleventh, not to be replaced. The audience asked the student, Rajim, some cultural questions regarding Sikhism, like if it is okay to marry outside of the religious community, what other Sikhs think about ones who cut their hair, questions like that. I thought it was really interesting to learn that there is a common last name taken by both sexes. Singh, for men, and Kaur for female.
   

    It is very, very unfortunate that the attacks on the World Trade Centers caused ever Middle Eastern American to be discriminated against, on such a shallow premise.  After attending the discussion on Sikhism, I more knowledgeable on a region and religious culture.  I am able to help other people learn that there are many different cultures that do not advocate terrorism or anti-Americanism, and should therefore no be treated differently. The seminar was very informational and important in my opinion. Knowledge is the best tool for peace and these discussions on diversity are vital to develop an equal society.