sikhism

concept of god
- no clear definition  (talk on 6aug17 arranged by hk sacred spaces)

Khalsa (Punjabi: ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ; Punjabi: "the pure") refers to both a special group of initiated Sikh warriors, as well as the community that considers Sikhism as its faith. The Khalsa tradition was initiated in 1699 by the last living Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh. Its formation was a key event in the history of Sikhism.^[2] The founding of Khalsa is celebrated by Sikhs during the festival of Vaisakhi, the Sikh new year. Guru Gobind Singh started the Khalsa tradition after his father had been beheaded for resisting the religious persecution of non-Muslims during the rule the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. The Khalsa redefined the Sikh tradition from the start. It formulated an initiation ceremony (amrit pahul, nectar ceremony) and rules of conduct for the Khalsa warriors. It created a new institution for the temporal leadership of the Sikhs, replacing the masands system maintained by the earlier Gurus of Sikhism. Additionally, the Khalsa provided a political and religious vision for the Sikh community. Upon initiation, a Khalsa Sikh was given the titles of Singh (male) and Kaur (female). The rules of life, included behavioral code (Rahit, such as no tobacco, no alcohol, no halal meat), and a dress code (Five Ks). ^[10]:121-126 The initiated Khalsa is also a warrior with a duty to protect the innocent from any form of religious persecution. The Sikhs who revere the teachings of Sikh gurus, but have not undergone the initiation have been called Sahajdhari. A Sahajdhari Sikhs do not accept some or all elements of the dress and behavioral codes of the Khalsa Sikhs.^[11] The Khalsa has been predominantly a male institution in Sikh history, with Khalsa authority in male leaders. In contemporary era, it has become more open to women.

- "Khalsa", according to McLeod, is derived from the Arabic or Persian word "Khalisa" which means "pure". Sikhism emerged in the northwestern part of Indian subcontinent (now parts of Pakistan and India). During the Mughal Empire rule, according to Eleanor Nesbitt, khalsa originally meant the land that was possessed directly by the emperor, which was different from jagir land granted to lords in exchange for a promise of loyalty and annual tribute to the emperor.^[14]Prior to Guru Gobind Singh, the religious organization was organized through the masands or agents. The masands would collect revenue from rural regions for the Sikh cause, much like jagirs would for the Islamic emperor.^[14][15] The khalsa, in Sikhism, came to mean pure loyalty to the Guru, and not to the intermediary masands who were increasingly becoming corrupt, states Nesbitt.

http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21679234-what-sounds-religious-schism-punjab-could-be-cry-better-political-leadership-seekingTHE Sikh religion provides for a gathering of believers, the Sarbat Khalsa, in times of great crisis. It was convened regularly in the 18th century, when the Mughal empire was trying to exterminate the Sikhs. But it was called just twice in the 20th century. The last time was in 1986, as a response to bloodshed that began with the Indian army’s assault on the Sikhs’ Golden Temple in Amritsar to flush out Sikh militants, some calling for their own Khalistan (“land of the pure”). It culminated in the murder of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards and—in mob revenge—of thousands of innocent Sikhs in Delhi. And so a tremor was felt in the state of Punjab when a Sarbat Khalsa was called for November 10th, to be held on an unassuming patch of ground outside Amritsar. Its topic was blasphemy and the desecration of the Sikhs’ holy book: torn pages had been showing up around the state for weeks. On the day itself the ground shook, when as many as 100,000 people gathered (see picture). The meeting concluded by calling for the ousting of the three high priests of Punjab’s most important temples or gurdwaras. One of the chosen replacements happens to be a pro-Khalistan separatist, in jail for assassinating a chief minister of Punjab in 1995.

Akhand Path (Gurmukhī: ਅਖੰਡ ਪਾਠ, Devanāgarī: अखंड पाठ, Shahmukhi: اکھنڈ پاٹھ) is the common practise of continuous recitation (without any break) of sacred religious texts in Sikhism.The continuous nonstop recitation of all the verses in the Guru Granth Sahib from the beginning to the end, in 31 Ragas as specified, in all 1430 pages, lasting more than 48 hours by a team of readers. This ritual is considered very holy and is said to bring peace and solace to the participants and the passive listeners of the recital. During the reading it is tradition for langar (or communal food) to be available at all times, thus requiring the continual service and dedication of those in whose honour the Akhand Path is being held. The recital - (Path) is undertaken for various reasons. It can be in honour of a particular occasion; to mark a happy or sad occasion within the family; or simply to increase one’s feeling of connection to Waheguru. Some of following may call for an Akhand Path depending on the family's circumstances: a birth, a birthday, recovery from a medical operation, a wedding, a death, a graduation, on achieving a goal like a high school certificate, on passing the driving lesson, an anniversary, a historic occasion, chasing away evil spirits and curses etc. Some Gurdwaras hold a weekly Akhand Path and this gives the congregation (Sadh Sangat) a beautiful opportunity to establish a close relationship with the Guru - the Granth and the communion that provides the chance to carry out volunteer work (Seva) thus obtaining the blessing of the Guru Granth Sahib for the whole of the communion.


festival
- Vaisakhi (Punjabi: ਵਿਸਾਖੀ, IAST: visākhī), also known as Baisakhi, Vaishakhi, or Vasakhi is a historical and religious festival in Sikhism and Hinduism. It is usually celebrated on April 13 or 14 every year. Vaisakhi marks the Sikh new year and commemorates the formation of Khalsa panth of warriors under Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. It is additionally a spring harvest festival for the Sikhs.^[7] Vaisakhi is also an ancient festival of Hindus, marking the Solar New Year and also celebrating the spring harvest. It marks the sacredness of rivers in Hindu culture, it is regionally known by many names, but celebrated in broadly similar ways. Vaisakhi observes major events in the history of Sikhism and the Indian subcontinent that happened in the Punjab region. The significance of Vaisakhi as a major Sikh festival marking the birth of Sikh order started after the persecution and execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur for refusing to convert to Islam under the orders of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. This triggered the coronation of the tenth Guru of Sikhism and the historic formation of Khalsa, both on the Vaisakhi day. Vaisakhi was also the day when colonial British empire officials committed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on a gathering, an event influential to the Indian movement against colonial rule. On Vaisakhi, Gurdwaras are decorated and hold kirtans, Sikhs visit and bathe in lakes or rivers before visiting local Gurdwaras, community fairs and nagar kirtanprocessions are held, and people gather to socialize and share festive foods.^[6][11][16] For many Hindus, the festival is their traditional solar new year, a harvest festival, an occasion to bathe in sacred rivers such as Ganges, Jhelum and Kaveri, visit temples, meet friends and party over festive foods. This festival in Hinduism is known by various regional names.

• in happy valley china daily 1may17

india
- there are 20 million sikhs in india, i.e. 2% of total indian population, most of them involved in the independence movement (talk on 6aug17 arranged by hk sacred spaces)
- https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3008017/they-do-not-want-delhi-interfere-why-punjab-will-be-outlier the group that seemed to be the least supportive of the BJP and Modi was not Muslims but another religious minority group. Some 68 per cent of Sikhs surveyed said they were against voting Modi back into power, compared with 56 per cent of Muslims, and 36 per cent of all respondents. Only 21 per cent of Sikhs – a group which makes up 1.9 per cent of India’s population – said they wanted Modi’s government to return. Sikh dislike of Modi makes the northern state of Punjab – where nearly three in five people are Sikh – an outlier this election.

shanghai
- sikh disapora in shanghai 1885-1945
https://www.facebook.com/FairbankCenter/photos/a.124671167584305/2352473531470713/


HK
- history

• http://www.khalsadiwan.com/index_topic.php?did=246689&didpath=/246689
• [silks in hk by sir guru gobind singh educational trust and khalsa diwan (sikh temple)] in 1869, training schools were formed for teaching them cantonese; in 1870 many sikh constables were transferred to prison guards; during ww2, sikh regiment was in the frontline and there were heavy casualties when more than 100 sikhs sacrificed their lives.  The remaining were captured and imprisoned by japanese at sham shui po. Gurdwara sahib building was damaged in japanese bombing in ww2. One bomb was dropped on the khalsa diwan in dec 1942 damaging most part of the building. Bhai nand singh, head priest at that time was killed; migration from india to hk till 1960 was every easy and resulting in increating population of sikhs; in yeaer 1949, almost all non chinese person were driven out of china. Most of the sikhs settled in shanghai came to hk. 

- in hk since 1840, part of the british army and police (talk on 6aug17 arranged by hk sacred spaces)

• 最早聲稱得知恐怖份子「赤道」所在的人，是一名信奉錫克教的情報商人，他與警察相遇的場所，就是灣仔皇后大道東錫克廟，也是筆者經常帶學生「田野研究」的地方。香港錫克教徒有沒有情報體系，筆者不敢妄言，但歷史上，他們的確和香港安全息息相關。早在19世紀中期，港英政府因為不滿華人警員和孟買水兵貪污成風，刻意在1867年開始，從印度增派了百多名錫克教徒警員，使當時以錫克教徒為主的印度裔警員，佔了香港警隊人數1/3。到了1870年代，香港警隊又引入來自印度的穆斯林搞平行，讓錫克教徒、穆斯林和華人警員共同在白人高層領導下共事。由於錫克教徒有尚武傳統，不少後代留在香港擔任保安人員，亦有經商。目前，在港錫克教徒約有一萬人，成為連接香港與印度的紐帶之一。錫克教徒大多聚居龐遮普邦，希望脫離印度獨立，有自己的激進組織，印度「鐵娘子」甘地夫人就是被錫克教徒暗殺。但這些組織近年已趨向溫和，和中東激進組織表面上也沒有關連，但若要互通資訊，相信必有渠道。當然，要找香港的錫克教情報商人，根本毋需到錫克廟，不過為了實景，也可以理解。https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsimonshen.blog%2F2016%2F06%2F04%2F%E8%B5%A4%E9%81%93%EF%BC%9A%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E6%B6%89%E5%A4%96%E9%97%9C%E4%BF%82%E5%A4%A7%E5%AD%97%E5%85%B8%2F&h=AT1q27R8UoKLW__wCumCmbgbNoQO7pA3LXQBjtmpJrDUCAcfcMApkPkpQ51cMfn4T4GLAW4SXXRBvrob-p_Njuuy0koupd73lM8yTK-67J4LmZ8JV80c-oe-sPFdESpWg6agAZZp-_k4ZHayj1-1_n9aMrD9tO1a0hETLWRWrtLZwiFdONayb-5HSInLx-_EMv005vZqFpfivwJFmzogjenWEfHxKFHXzwaVNtfal-auvLWolqb4UuRQV05XXGjGCaLHbva4gd98E8s0XtMbDT67pF6wIM48WSPx9nmx1xA9suVfbLcTtU3J1dFOAMky_pmB45kXsEFpVJTzlnOvxWp_GSY6dK4aCo2ADcJsnb6N-z4rDKho9XWCfVobx9ybYH1-K2riDq7sbtRbAEbNhCpOJRX06JpePZgTJwN0VkHlRN6vzYUg2VDQVTRgQK5Ze5oO1cwfvzAek-yCAg

- there are 15,000 sikhs in hk (talk on 6aug17 arranged by hk sacred spaces)
- Consular staff recently visited the Khalsa Diwan (Sikh Temple) in Happy Valley. Staff enjoyed a fascinating tour of the historic site, and thanked President Santokh Singh Maluwal and Honorary Secretary Jagraj Singh for the Temple’s ongoing partnership with the Consulate to offer support to Brits in distress. https://www.facebook.com/UKandHongKong/videos/1662359620474126/
- company

• Thakral Corporation Ltd. (Chinese: 德加拉集团) is a diversified company listed on the Singapore stock exchange (SGX: T04) involved in manufacturing, logistics and property development in India, China and south-east Asia. Kartar Singh Thakral is the Executive Chairman of the Board — he joined his family's trading business in 1949, which now includes Singapore-listed Thakral Corp. that distributes tech gear such as iPods in China and India, and Australian property group Thakral Holdings. Son Inderbethal helps run the business. Forbes ranked him as the 25th richest person in Singapore in 2006, with a fortune of $175 million. The Company is engaged in the supply chain management in consumer electronics sector, electronic manufacturing services (EMS), creation of technology products, as well as property and equity investments. It has four core activities: supply chain management, marketing and brand building; EMS; property holding division, and others. Its brand portfolio includes Apple, Asus, Canon, Casio, Cisco, Fuji, Kodak, Lenovo, Nikon, Nokia, Olympus, Orion, Panasonic, Pentax, Samsung and Sony. Some of the products distributed under these brands include digital video cameras, digital still cameras, plasma televisions, desktop and notebook computers, personal digital assistants, data projectors, electronic accessories, mobile phones and audio products, including Moving Picture Experts Group layer-3 audio/ Moving Picture Experts Group layer-4 audio/ Moving Picture Experts Group layer-5 audio (MP3/MP4/MP5) players. It also creates and markets consumer products under its own brand name, YES. CAV Thakral Home Entertainment Co, Ltd. (Chinese: 中录德加拉家庭娱乐有限公司) is a Chinese company that distributes DVDs, VCDs and CDs. It has released many DVDs and VCDs with movies from Disney, Warner Bros. Pictures, MGM, 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures. It is the largest distributor of Hollywood films on video in China.^[2] In 2006, CAV Thakral was defunct and absorbed into Excel Media.

- people

• kala mohan sakhrani obit scmp 13mar18

• https://www.hongkongcaselaw.com/the-hong-kong-and-shanghai-banking-corporation-v-mohandas-detaram-sakhrani-also-known-as-detaram-sakharani-mohan/

• Ram Issardas Mahtani obit scmp 25apr18

- canada

• The Komagata Maru incident involved the Japanese steamship Komagata Maru, on which a group of citizens of the British Raj attempted to emigrate to Canada in 1914, but were denied entry and forced to return to Calcutta (present-day Kolkata), India. There they were fired upon by Indian Imperial Police, resulting in the deaths of 20 Sikhs. Komagata Maru sailed from British Hong Kong, via Shanghai, China, and Yokohama, Japan, to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1914, carrying 376 passengers from Punjab, British India. Of them, 24 were admitted to Canada, but the other 352 passengers were not allowed to disembark in Canada, and the ship was forced to return to India.^[1] The passengers comprised 337 Sikhs, 27 Muslims and 12 Hindus, all Punjabis and British subjects.^[2] This was one of several incidents in the early 20th century in which exclusion laws in Canada and the United States were used to exclude immigrants of Asian origin.The Canadian government's first attempt to restrict immigration from British India was an Order in Council passed on January 8, 1908, that prohibited immigration of persons who "in the opinion of the Minister of the Interior" did not "come from the country of their birth or citizenship by a continuous journey and or through tickets purchased before leaving their country of their birth or nationality". In practice this continuous journey regulation applied only to ships that began their voyage in India, as the great distance usually necessitated a stopover in Japan or Hawaii. These regulations came at a time when Canada was accepting huge numbers of immigrants, almost all of whom came from Europe. More than 400,000 arrived in 1913, an annual figure that has not been equaled since.The Komagata Maru incident was widely cited at the time by Indian groups to highlight discrepancies in Canadian immigration laws. Further, the inflamed passions in the wake of the incident were widely cultivated by the Indian revolutionary organisation, the Ghadar Party, to rally support for its aims. In a number of meetings ranging from California in 1914 to the Indian diaspora, prominent Ghadarites including Barkatullah, Tarak Nath Das, and Sohan Singh used the incident as a rallying point to recruit members for the Ghadar movement, most notably in support of promulgating plans to coordinate a massive uprising in India. Their efforts failed due to lack of support from the general population.

terms
- sikh means student, learner (talk on 6aug17 arranged by hk sacred spaces)

reference

- http://www.sikhiwiki.org/
- https://www.evernote.com/shard/s221/sh/b85f7fd9-4965-48ab-9bb8-77ec84c3d4fe/9aeb31961753b26c13ccd1ebe7551b9a