NEW YORK — The killing of six worshippers at a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee brought fresh worries Sunday to the half million U.S. followers of a faith whose congregants have worried about their safety since the Sept. 11, 2001 ...
, - August, 2012
Sikhs are expected to embody the qualities of a "Sant-Sipāhī"—a saint-soldier. One must have control over one's internal vices and be able to be constantly immersed in virtues clarified in the Guru Granth Sahib. A Sikh must also have the courage to defend the rights of all who are wrongfully oppressed or persecuted irrespective of religion, colour, caste or creed.
Sikhi is a monotheistic[9][10] and a revealed religion.[11] In Sikhi, God—termed Vāhigurū—is shapeless, timeless, and sightless: niraṅkār, akaal, and alakh. The beginning of the first composition of Sikh scripture is the figure "1"—signifying the universality of God. It states that God is omnipresent and infinite with power over everything, and is signified by the term ēk ōaṅkār.[12] Sikhs believe that before creation, all that existed was God and God's hukam (will or order).[13] When God willed, the entire cosmos was created. From these beginnings, God nurtured "enticement and attachment" to māyā, or the human perception of reality.[14]
While a full understanding of God is beyond human beings,[12] Nanak described God as not wholly unknowable. God is omnipresent (sarav viāpak) in all creation and visible everywhere to the spiritually awakened. Nanak stressed that God must be seen from "the inward eye", or the "heart", of a human being: devotees must meditate to progress towards enlightenment. Guru Nanak Dev emphasized the revelation through meditation, as its rigorous application permits the existence of communication between God and human beings.[12] God has no gender in Sikhi, (though translations may incorrectly present a male God); indeed Sikhi teaches that God is "Akaal Purkh" with characteristic of "Nirankar" [Niran meaning "without" and kar meaning "form", hence "without form"]. In addition, Nanak wrote that there are many worlds on which God has created life.[15]
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