Camp Gagnon - Who Really Are The Sikhs? | Sacrifice, Philosophy & Power

Episode Date: May 11, 2025

Today, we explore the heart of Sikhism. We cover various concepts like the 5 theives, the beliefs of Sikhism, The 3 Pillars and other interesting aspects of Sikhism! WELCOME TO RELIGION CAMP 🏕️��️☪️✡️🕉️☦️ Religion Camp Merch: https://religion-camp.com🏕️ Get Today In History Email Here (Free): https://camp.beehiiv.com/🎟️ 🎫 Comedy Tour Tickets Here: https://markgagnonlive.comTimestamps:0:00 What Is Sikhism?2:14 Origins In Punjab + Gurdwaras + The Golden Temple7:23 What Is The Guru?9:25 Guru Nanak Dev Ji 14:05 Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Teachings15:33 Guru Angad Dev Ji + The Great Khali Is Sikh 17:57 Guru Amar Das Ji19:33 Guru Ram Das Ji + Pool of Nectar21:53 Guru Arjan Dev Ji + The First Sikh Martyr 23:32 Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji25:14 Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji26:05 Guru Har Krishan Sahib Ji28:58 Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji32:04 Guru Gobind Singh Ji + The Khalsa39:11 Guru Granth Sahib42:29 The Beliefs of Sikhism48:08 The 5 Theives50:36 The 3 Pillars52:58 Sikhism In a Nutshell

Today, we're diving in deep. And two, Sikhism. The most important Sikh Guadwara in the world is the Golden Temple. Its communal meal, the Langar, serves free meals to about 100,000 people every day. Guru Nanak was working as a storekeeper. And one morning, Nanak vanished. And when he returned, and his first words were this, there is no Hindu, there is no Muslim.

Guru Amar Das. He continued to reinforce the Sikh tradition of these communal meals by requiring that everyone including the emperor of the time, Emperor Akbar, to sit and eat together before meeting him, sending a powerful message of equality. In 1699, Guru Gobind assembles six and dramatically calls for human sacrifice. What actually do six believe

and how do they conduct their life? What are the core beliefs of the faith? So today we're going to go through all the history where it comes from, where on earth it's derived, who the gurus are that actually created this way of life, and really what it's all about. What's up people and welcome back to religion camp. My name is Mark Kagnon and this is my tent where we explore the most interesting, fascinating,

controversial stories and theories from all religions from around the world from all time. And today we're diving in deep into Sikhism. Oftentimes people in the West will call it Sikhism, which is a reasonable misunderstanding. Throughout most of my life I was thought it was Sikhism. But according to my sick friends and my Punjabi friends, they will say Sikhism. I didn't know this. This is apparently the original name given by the guru. It's not even Sikhism.

It's Siki. And this was basically what was described as the way of life for Sicks. Now, Sikhism or Sikhism, rather, was a label created by Europeans. It's kind of like a colonial term, you could say. But Sikhism or Sikhism isn't really found anywhere in Sikh history, culture, text, or, you know, any of that stuff. So these words don't even really mean the same thing. So sicky and sickism aren't necessarily the exact parallels. And I think this is just like an important kind of discerning point. Sicky means to learn. It is basically the universal path, you could say. And the bastardized term sickism means the religion of the six. And it sort of reduces Sicky to just a religion where many, you know, six would not see it as religion. They would see this more as a, way of life. So this term has just persisted, you know, for, you know, many, many six in the United States, just kind of accepting more or less what the term is. And it makes it a little bit easier

because now people know more or less what you're talking about. But what is it, right? I think oftentimes people will see, you know, a guy with like a, like a cutta, like a, you know, a bracelet around their wrist. You've probably seen people wearing these or even maybe like wearing a pug or like a turban, as we would describe it. And oftentimes we were like, are you Hindu, or you Buddhist or you Muslim. People don't really know what it is. I didn't, that's for sure, until right now. So today we're going to go through all the history,

where it comes from, where on earth it's derived, who the gurus are that actually created this way of life, and really what it's all about. So where do we start? We're going over to Punjab about 500 years ago. This is right where modern day, India, and Pakistan meet. You can see it here on the map. And the name Punjab literally means the land of,

five rivers. It's one of the most historically diverse crossroads on earth. The region was once home to the ancient Indus Valley civilization, one of the earliest urban societies in human history ever. And over the centuries, everyone from the Persians

to the Greeks, yeah, Christos, the Greeks, to central Asian nomads, muggle emperors, and eventually even the British all rolled through the area. And all that mixing left a deep cultural imprint, as you can imagine. So religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Jainism were already woven into daily life.

And that blend of ideas helped shape what would eventually become Sikhism. So what is the Goudoira? I've been to a Goudoirah. For Akash's wedding, matter of fact. Six basically go to this place. They gather in places known as Goudoiras. Also, I just want to apologize in general to all the Sikhs that are watching this. I don't have great pronunciation.

I am just a guy from Florida trying my best. So if I mispronounce anything dropped in the comments, my apologies in advance. So the gudora literally means the doorway to the guru or the guru, if you were to pronounce it correctly. I'm going to say guru. And this building becomes a gudwara by housing a copy of the guru grand sahib. This is the sick holy book. Now, in this place, men and women of all cats, and social backgrounds come together for communal meals, prayer, singing. These meals are interesting.

They're actually known as Langar. Anyone can visit these Guaduars and participate in services and the meals followed by, you know, basic etiquette, right? They have to cover their head, remove their shoes, wash their hands upon entering, and they may not bring any drugs, even tobacco inside the gudwara. It was actually really beautiful. I was told even at the wedding that I went to that anyone can go to this place and receive a meal. No matter who you walk, where you are on earth. So that's something to note. If you're ever just, you know, lost somewhere, maybe you're in Houston or something, you're like, man, I'm starving. I don't have solid footing beneath me. These folks, the very kind people at the gudwara, the Sikhs, will take care of you.

So the most important Sikh goodwara in the world is the Harmandir Sahib, better known as the Golden Temple. And you can see a picture of it here. It's beautiful. It was completed in 1604 under Guru Arjun in Armistar, India, and it still houses the original copy. of the Guru Granith Sahib. Remember, this is the holy text. And this temple specifically has fascinating architecture. I think it's actually interesting and important to start sometimes with the actual communal place of a people

to really understand who the people are and what they value. And the temple's architecture, in this case, is no different. So you have the four doors opening in all directions to welcome people from every background, from all walks of life. And while multiple entrances exist, only one path, leads to the inner sanctum, representing how all spiritual paths ultimately lead to the one God. Today, the Golden Temple draws around six million visitors every year, making it one of the most visited religious sites in the world. Its communal meal, the Langar, serves free meals to about

100,000 people every day. Regardless of your background, whatever your belief is, and it is the largest free communal kitchen meal meeting place on earth. And it's all run on volunteer support. I mean, like, that's awesome. Like, how cool is that? Anyone can go to this place and receive a meal. 100,000 people a day. That's crazy. And so today, there are 25 million sticks around the world. Most of them live in India, as you can imagine, in Punjab. But here's something interesting. While six make up only about 2% of India's total population, they account for 60% of, of the people in Punjab, where the religion begins. So I think that's important note. Not all Punjabis are sick and not all sick people are Punjabi, but again, 60% of the people in Punjab are sick. And so,

yeah, Punjab exists sort of as the heart of sickism. And there's a video here showing some of the communal meals. I mean, how cool is this, that all people can go in and receive a meal, even some white dude looking like me. Right? And you can see he has his head covered and I'm assuming went through all the necessary steps, took off his shoes, no tobacco, nothing like that. I mean, that's so cool.

I would love to go see that. It's also important to note that six are everywhere. Big communities have taken root in places like the United Kingdom, US, Australia, Malaysia, East Africa, and in particular Canada. So actually, if you go to Canada, specifically Toronto, you'll find many six there. In fact, Canada has the second high

sick population outside of India. And they make up nearly 1.5% of the entire country. So in order to really understand the tenets of Sikhism and what it really means, you have to understand the guru. So the word sick in and of itself literally means learner or student, which is fitting since the whole faith is rooted in the idea of learning from the teachings of the gurus. So many Sikhs refer to the tradition as Sikki or Gersiki or Germat, which all tie back to the path of the guru. It's central to basically everything, the entire philosophy and the entire way of life. The word guru means teacher or a spiritual guide. I think oftentimes people see it today and they're like, you know, if you're a business guru, it's like, oh, you're the, you know, a genius of

business or something like that. And that is basically, you know, kind of an appropriated term or a bastardized term from the faith, literally just meaning a spiritual guide. And so this is just someone that shows the way. And remember, sick means student. So it's literally a student-teacher-dynamian, at the core of the faith. So you have the guru that is the teacher that guides the way and you have the sick, which is the student, you know, the one that's on the path to reaching some type of enlightenment. And it wasn't done overnight. This has been shaped by many different gurus, specifically 10 that have kind of forged the path of, you know, what it means to be to be sick. Each guru has effectively passed the torch on to the next, adding more wisdom and structure and

direction to the growing community. I think this is what like almost like a lot of people think the pope is. I think a lot of people see the pope and they're like, oh, that's the guy that like decides what Catholicism is. It's not really the same thing because the popes are sort of given more or less, you know, the Bible and there's much more dogma and ritual, I think, that goes into the faith that the popes are typically upholding, whereas it seems like the gurus are kind of working collaboratively across generations to contribute. And what's interesting is that many of these gurus weren't just these religious, you know, enlightened folks. Some of them were poets, warriors, philosophers,

social advocates and reformers who push for equality. And they have a long history. So let's just go through the 10 gurus of Sikhism and learn kind of what they're all about. So it starts with Guru Nanak. And this guy was born around 1469. You can see a photo of him here, or a painting, rather. So again, this is around, you know, 1400s time, right?

And Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism and its most honored teacher. He was born in 1469 in a tiny little village known as Talwandi. It's now a part of Pakistan. And even as a baby, people knew that there was something, I guess, different or unique about him. And again, this goes back to sort of like sick, you know, ethos or the mythology, you could say, that there was a legend that he even had like an adult-like laugh as an infant. like he was already on some type of, you know, a more mature, enlightened path. So from the start, Anak was not the same as other people.

While many other kids of the region, you know, might be, you know, doing kid stuff, playing games, or, you know, maybe even the upper level were, you know, studious and thoughtful and chasing, you know, you know, religious rituals and trying to be, you know, sort of, you know, like having status within their own faith, thenac was different. He was interested in sitting under trees and sort of asking, big questions like why are we here why are we fighting over religion if god is real why do we treat other people so badly why does evil exist all of these kinds of questions and so even as a kid guru nanak wasn't impressed by these empty rules he even was questioning the caste system which at

the time was very much cemented into the society that they were living in and he didn't buy into these religious divisions or he didn't think that the truth needed to be locked inside some type of strict ritual structure or a title or a hierarchy. He was much more, I guess you could describe it in modern terms, spiritual, but not so much into the structured, strict dogma and the labels that go along with that. And then something wild happened in his life. Guru Nanak was working as a storekeeper in the granary of Dalot Khan Lodi.

And this was the local governor of Sultan Parlodi. This is now in present-day Punjab. and there was a moment that changed everything. One morning, while taking a bath in a nearby river, then Nak vanished. And for three days, he was gone. And people feared that maybe he had drowned, maybe something worse had happened to him,

but he returned. And when he returned, he was calm and filled with purpose and just seemed like he was radiating this wisdom. And his first words were this. There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim. In other words, there are no law. labels. There is only one God, and under that God, we are all equal, which, as you can imagine,

in that time and in that place, that was a very controversial thing to say. All righty, don't skip forward, guys, because I am on the road, World's Fastest Ad Read, coming at you. I'm going to be a Hoboken, Indianapolis, Buffalo, Raleigh, Poughkeepsie, Portland, Oregon, Fort Worth, Texas, Austin, Texas, Stanford, Philly, Levittown, Chandler, Arizona, San Diego. I'm also going be adding Toronto, Montreal, as well as Washington, D.C., and a bunch of other dates. You can get all that at the markagdon.com. Dates are in the description also in probably the comments of this episode. Go see me on the road. Come hang out. I'll be hanging out with everyone after the show. Come shake my hand. Call me an idiot. Whatever you want to do, I will be there.

Additionally, I will be doing my one hour of stand-up comedy. I'm very proud of this hour. I'm really excited to share with you guys, and it would mean the world if everyone could come on out. And what do you wear to a show on the road? That's a great question. You can go to campgoadso. That's right. We got merch. We got camp merch. We got hats, hoodies, t-shirts.

A lot of stuff is out of stock. Things have been selling like hotcakes, but we're going to be restocking everything and all the sizes. So you can go there right now. Get all the merch. Get all the coolest clothing in the podcast game. We're going to be updating that site regularly. And if you come out to a show, I'd love to see you sporting some of the threads that we got

up online. I'll see you guys there. Let's get back to the show. What's up, guys? We're going to take a quick break because I have great news. Religion Camp has merch. That's right. right. We have amazing t-shirts like this one you see here and this one. We got hats, all sorts of

very interesting designs, not only for Christianity, the one I was raised in, but for all religions, Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Judaism, Mormonism. I actually don't know if we have a Mormonism, sure, but maybe we can work on that if we on him, you know, Latter-day Saints trying to cop. Anyway, you can catch it all here at this link. We'll also have it in the description, as well as the comments. Get that right now. And peace be with you. So from that point, Nanak dedicated his life to spreading this message of divine unity and human equality. He traveled everywhere. He even reached places like Mecca, Tibet, Sri Lanka, and he would engage in this spiritual dialogue with the leaders of that region and of the religions of those places that he would go to.

So along the way, he was composing hymns and poems that basically captured the belief that he had about the world and about the divine. And these writings later became a part of the holy book known as Guru Granth Sahib. And again, this is the book that belongs inside every good water. Eventually, he settles in a place known as Kartapur, where he founded the first sick community and established a way of life based on shared labor, shared meals, and devotional singing. He taught that all humans were the same and that were all equal and famously even said, accept all humans as your equals and let them be your only sect kind of a beautiful way of just seeing the world right like hey we are all human beings especially i think it's important to contextualize

in the time and in the place you had so much religious infighting you had holy wars breaking out not only amongst christians muslims but hindus and every other religious group that existed in that place so for him to come out and say we're all students of the of God was pretty remarkable. So before his death, Guru Nanak chose one of his followers by Lena to succeed him and renamed him Guru Angad, basically meaning part of me. Angad, meaning, you know, you are one of me, you are an enlightened one like I am. And Guru and God standardize, you can say the script. It's known as the Gurmuki script to make sick teachings easier to read and easier to teach and more accessible to just everyday regular people

like you and me he opened schools that promoted you know literacy and compiled guru to knox hymns and helped preserve the early teachings of the faith that then went on to be the holy book in sickism he also formalized the the communal meal system the the langar meal and he also encouraged the physical fitness amongst six through activities like wrestling even today i think it's important to point out, there's a few sick guys that go to my gym, and you can tell them, typically they'll have long hair. Oftentimes they'll be wearing like the pug, or they'll just have the cut the on. And these guys are jacked. They're diesel, dude. It's crazy. Like, matter of fact, I actually, we did a show in Toronto and all the security guards were Sikh. And maybe it's just because they knew someone or they,

you know, like, they just kind of hired people that they were tight with in their community. But I think that there's also a component of strength and like a warrior. mentality amongst many sick people that they still hold on to this day. Matter of fact, Chrysos just pulled something up that is fascinating. The great Khali.

He's a professional wrestler. Can you pull up an image of him real fast? Because I think everyone's seen with this guy. I mean, this is one of the scariest dudes in the world. What movie was in? Was he in the longest yard? I feel like it was one of the fascinating Furious. He's probably in Fast and Furious. I think he was in the longest yard. But basically, this dude was also I mean, he was raised

Sikh, or sick, I'm assuming. Yeah, but he's Punjabi, right? So his real name is Dalip Singh Rana, and he's of Punjabi descent and therefore likely sick. And, wow, I mean, this dude's a beast. I mean, that's wild. I don't know if he was necessarily raised in that religion,

but you can even see a picture of him. I'm assuming at a good war here. I mean, yeah, this guy was a diesel, so, I mean, scary guy. So after the second guru, now we have Guru Amar Das, and this was the third Sikh guru. He becomes a spiritual leader in his 70s and spends his final decades basically transforming this way of life into a more socially progressive and kind of organized movement. He expands the community into 22 regions known as Monjys and appointed both men and women as leaders, which again, nowadays you're like, okay, who cares, men and women? This was a radical move for the 1500s.

And he continued to reinforce the sick tradition of these communal meals by requiring that everyone, including the emperor of the time, Emperor Akbar, to sit and eat together before meeting him, sending a powerful message of equality. So Guru Amar Das was super oppositional to the social injustices that he was seeing around him. He condemned the practice of Sati, which is known as widow burning. So literally, you know, someone whose, you know, husband dies is now. you know, not able to, I guess, it wouldn't necessarily be valued in the society in the same way. And so as a result, they've maybe gotten rid of. And he was condemning this practice in the 1500s, which again, nowadays, you're like, whatever. Back then, that was commonplace. And he stood against it and upheld kind of a moral code that all of us sort of respect and appreciate it today. So he supported

this widow remarriage and actively tried to break these caste barriers. He was also a prolific spiritual writer. He contributed many hymns to the Sikh scripture and even founded the holy city of Goindval, establishing basically a central hub for this growing faith. And then you have the guru Ram Dass, which might be a little bit more of a familiar name. He's the fourth guru and the son-in-law of Guru Amrdas. He founded this city of Amritsar in 1577. The name literally means pool of nectar, referring to the sacred pool that he began to excavate, which would later become the site of this, the holy temple that many six will go and meet at today.

And he also composed the Levant, which is a set of four hymns still used in sick marriage ceremonies today. So under his guidance, Amritsar becomes the spiritual and cultural heart of the sick community. He also introduces a system where Sikhs are kind of encouraged to contribute their wealth in some capacity towards the community and two religious causes, roughly a tenth of their earnings, which is similar because Christianity has a very similar amount of money, the tithe that we use in Christianity is about a tenth is what most people would recommend. And as a result of this, this really helped the sick institution and the charitable efforts of the way of life and kind of helped it grow. There's also a story that's not in the text, but it's told in some of the oral traditions, not all, but this is

what some people say is that Guru Ram Dass, as he was growing in fame for his humility and spiritual insight, Mukhal royalty began hearing about him. So the Mughal emperor, likely Akbar or someone within his close court, sent a royal robe as a gift to Guru Ramdas, this luxurious garment that was meant for the kings. So instead of wearing it, though, Guru Ramdas basically does something that no one saw coming. Again, if you're getting a gift from the emperor, you're going to wear it, you're going to hang it up, you're going to treat it with severe reverence. But instead, he cuts up the robe and uses the fabric to make clothes for a poor man. I mean, that's pretty profound. You can imagine, right? And naturally, people were shocked. They

were like, why would you disrespect the royalty? Like, this guy sends you a gift and you're just going to cut it up and give it away. But this one action said everything about him. It wasn't a rejection of the great honor. It was, I guess you could say, like, a higher honor, which was serving other people, specifically the disenfranchised and the poor at all times. And then you have Guru Arjun. And, you know, building on the work of the predecessors, this is the fifth guru who brings major developments to Sikhism, both politically but also spiritually. And he oversees the construction of the Harmandir Sahib and also emphasizes the Sikh openness to all faiths. And he even invites the Muslim Sufi saint Myanmar to lay the foundation stone. Guru Arjun also compiled the

Adi Grantz, this is the official version of the Sikh scripture that's accepted by many six. And it's not only the hymns of the Sikh gurus, but also the writings from Hindus and Muslim saints whose teachings aligned with the Sikh values of devotion and humility. But as Sikhism grows, so does the political tension. So this Mughal emperor Jahanjir saw Guru Arjun's influence as a threat. As you can imagine, you have the political power in a place and the religious power, especially if it's growing, you can see that as a threat because as an emperor, all people need to show reverence, potentially even worship me. But now if there's this other guy who has all this influence and able to tell people what to do, what to believe, who they should

support, that's a problem. So he calls for his arrest. Guru Arjun is arrested in order to convert to Islam, but he refuses. And after days of brutal torture, he's executed, becoming the first sick martyr. His death marks a turning point. in Sikh history, shifting the community from this sort of peaceful religious group towards one that would soon adopt a stronger, more organized, almost like a militaristic stance for self-defense and survival. So after his execution, his son, the sixth guru, Guru Hargabind, takes a new direction, you could say. I mean, he just saw his father get executed. So he introduces the concept of Mitypiti. I'm assuming that's how you pronounce it. Again, I'm not an expert here.

this miri-piri or the miri-piri holds a balance of spiritual and worldly power. Again, to symbolize this, he wore two swords, one for the spiritual authority, and then also one for the temporal, earthly authority. And again, this guru builds the Akal Takt. This is basically the throne of the timeless one, and it's directly across from the Golden Temple. And it becomes the seat of the sick political leadership and justice, basically complementing the spiritual role of the temple itself. Again, you have this duality of the spiritual sort of cosmic relationship, but then also the political, earthly relationship. And he actually organizes a standing army and then starts to lead several successful defensive battles against the Mughals of the region. And even while preparing

for conflict, Guru Hargobind didn't abandon the core values. Again, I'm sure you're thinking, like, okay, you have this religion of peace and tolerance and all people are welcome and accepted, but then some type of militaristic aim to defend themselves, how are these compatible? So what he does to promote this religious tolerance, he builds a mosque for local Muslims who didn't have a place to worship as just an example or a token of his commitment to justice and equality for all faiths. And then you have Guru Hargabin's grandson. And again, I'm sure that I'm skirting over a lot of this.

This is just a general summary of all the gurus and all the major things that they did. And then that brings us to Guru Hararai. And he becomes the seventh guru and continues this balance of strength, but also compassion. So while he upholds the sort of military traditions of his grandfather, he places a greater focus on peace and service. He actually establishes an herbal medicine center that offers treatment to anyone in need, not only six, but anyone, regardless of their

gender or their religion or their social status. So during this time, there's a smallpox outbreak. And his remedy were used to treat the son of the Mughal emperor. Again, the Mughals typically were not sick, but still, he's helping the people that are affected with smallpox. This act of compassion stands out, and given the political tension between the Sikh community and the Mughal rulers,

it creates more peace and harmony amongst them. And then after his leadership, it takes us to the youngest guru. This is Guru Har Khrushan, and he becomes the eighth guru at just, five years old. And despite his young age, he was known for his compassion and insight. So during his brief guruship, a smallpox epidemic sweeps through Delhi. And instead of staying, you know, distant from the smallpox or, you know, trying to get away from it and stay safe,

the guru chooses to serve the sick himself, literally the people that are infected with smallpox. He moved amongst the people, offers them water and blessings and treats everyone the same, regardless of their caste or their religion, but his selfless act comes at a cost. And Guru Har Krashan contracts smallpox during his time and dies in 1664 at just eight years old. Before his death, he simply just says, Baba Bakala, pointing to the village where his grand uncle,

the next guru was living, setting the stage for a significant moment in sick history. What's up, people? Quick announcement. If you are a fan of Camp Gagnon or Religion Camp, I have great news because we are dropping history camp. That's right. This is the channel where we're going to be exploring the most interesting, fascinating,

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And centuries earlier, in a cold stone chamber, a teenage girl in armor stood before her accusers, her crime, leading armies speaking to angels, and daring to challenge the most powerful men in Europe. Joan of Arc's trial would become one of history's most infamous moments. These are just two stories from today in history, the newsletter that brings you the most fascinating events from the past delivered fresh to your inbox. From epic wars to religious rebellions, ancient mysteries to modern marvels, don't miss another piece of history. Scan the QR code now or click the link in the description to sign up for today in history. So after Guru Har Krishan's death, there was uncertainty about who would succeed him.

I mean, what happens next? His final words, Bababakala, didn't name a person but hinted that, the next guru was in the village of Bakala. Many stepped forward, each claiming to be the true successor. And confusion basically ended when a devoted sick, Makhan Shah Lubana arrives. During a dangerous sea voyage, he had prayed for safety and promised to offer 500 gold coins to the true guru if he survived.

And miraculously, he did. But when back in Bakala, he tested each claimant by offering them just two coins. none said a word until guru teg baghador a quiet spiritual man reminded him of the full vow of 500 coins the moment confirmed tag baghador as the true ninth guru which is fascinating story i mean kind of crazy if he knew this i mean somehow he must have known i guess perhaps it is truly the uh the spiritual path but also it's funny to being like yeah you said 500 Right? The dude's like, yo, like, please, like, if I, you know, God, if I make it, I'll give my money to the guru. And then he was telling everyone, like, yeah, here's two bucks. And this guy was like, come on now. I need all that.

But it also proved that he was truly in contact and truly enlightened. So this new guru, he was the youngest son of Guru Hagabind. And this was the guru that was known for carrying the two swords. And although he had lived a quiet, sort of ascetic, meditative life up until then, he stepped into, leadership at a critical time. He traveled across India, spreading the core sick values of service and equality, and his leadership was tested during the reign of the Mughal emperor who launched a campaign to forcibly convert all non-Muslims to Islam, starting with the place known as Kashmir. When a group of Kashmiri pundits, these are basically Hindu scholars, were threatened with death or conversion, they turned to this guru and they asked for help. And the guru told, the Mughal authorities, if you can convert me, they will follow. Which is, I mean, a remarkable

leadership that, you know, you have to understand these Mughal emperors are saying, hey, convert everyone, and they're going after the, you know, Hindu scholars. And this guy says, hey, come from me. You don't want them. If you can get me, you can get them. And so this public challenge leads to his arrest, and then given the choice between conversion or death, he refuses to abandon his principles and was publicly executed in Delhi in 1675. Kuru, Teg, Bahadur becomes a martyr for this religious freedom. Not just for six, but for all people. He died really on behalf of Hindus,

people that are of a different faith than him altogether. And his death would leave a deep impact on his own son, who would go on to lead the sick community into a new era. So that brings us into the 10th and the final human, guru and you'll understand why I'm saying human guru in just a second. So, Guru Gobind was only nine years old when he witnessed his father's, you know, execution and the followers of him abandoning his body after the execution because they weren't visibly identifiable as six. And this created a distinction, you know, it created a problem within the sick community. And so what does he do?

he basically creates a stronger identity within his people that would basically compel followers to uphold their values even in dangerous situations. So in 1699, Guru Gobind assembles six and dramatically calls for a human sacrifice. After the initial shock, one volunteer entered the guru's tent, followed by the guru. Moments later, the guru emerged.

He walks out of the tent with a bloodied sword and calls for another volunteer. The scene repeats until five volunteers have now entered the tent each time he comes out with a sword covered in blood. And then finally the guru emerges with all five volunteers alive, dressed in these beautiful saffron robes. And he proclaimed them the Pange Payer. These are the five beloved ones.

And they would become the core of the new sick community known as the Kalsa. The guru offered these five volunteers, Amrith, which is basically the sick, holy water. All five representing different casts drank from the same bowl, an act that, again, went in the face of this caste segregation that was so common in the region at that time. And this ritual basically symbolized their joining of this new castless family, the calza. You can see an image here of what their robes actually look like. And these robes are pretty indicative of what a lot of six where today different, you know, festivals or, you know, special holy days, things like that.

So each volunteer adopted the surname Singh, meaning lion, from the Sanskrit, Simha. I'm assuming where you get Simba from. It's got to be, right, for the Lion King, Simba? I actually don't know that to be a fact. That's just what I've sort of deduced from my research. Creezes, you can fact check that, because that's crazy. And as a result of taking on this new name of Singh, they abandoned their previous cast-identifying names. remarkably the guru then requested permission to join the kalsa himself which again is just another

token of humility this guy is the enlightened one the leader of the worldview and of the faith and he himself is asking for permission to join the kalsa the five beloved ones then administer amrit to him and he becomes guru go bin to sing now did you did you pull this up simba comes from swahili come on dude there's no way what are the odds what are the odds that in sanskrit it's Simba, and in Swahili it's Simba. I've refused to believe that those are disconnected. I mean, what are the, the coincidence is too crazy. Indians create the Lion King. Right? They did Aladdin, then they did the Lion King. It's your world. I'm just living here anymore. It's a whole new world. Anyway, surprisingly, the women were equally welcomed into the Kalsa, receiving the surname Kaur,

which literally means princess after the partaking of the Amrit. And today, many six still undergo the Amrit Ceremony and adopt the surname of Singh or Kor. And members of the Kalsa follow distinctive practices, including wearing the Ponj Kakar, also known as the 5Ks. And here are the Kays. There's Kess or Keshe. And this is uncut hair, symbolizing the acceptance of God's will, spiritual discipline, and respect for the perfection of creation.

Six don't cut their hair from any part of their body. So oftentimes you'll see six with super long hair typically worn into. a pug, which we'll get to. And then you have the Kanga. This is a small wooden comb, usually tucked into the hair underneath the turban, symbolizing cleanliness and order. It reminds the six to keep their bodies and minds tidy, organized, and discipline. And then you have the Kerpon, and this is a ceremonial sword symbolizing the six duty to uphold justice, protect the innocent, and fight oppression. So while this is historically used in defense, today it's generally worn in a small sheathed form and is not intended for violence.

It's mostly symbolic, but it is used as a last resort in the defense of others. Could you actually grab a picture of the Kirpon? I'd love to see what that looks like. So we have an image of it here. Wow, that's so interesting. And I wonder how many of them would wear this. I feel like they'd probably wear this in like, you know, holy days and different types of spiritual processions. But wow, I mean, that's just badass.

Like, what other religion is like, yo, you got to have that bang on you. You know what I mean? You got to stay strapped. That's sick as hell. And then you have the cachera, or known as the cacha. And this is a modest, you know, the cotton undergarment, basically like almost like an underwear, like a boxer short. And this represents this modesty and moral character, especially in terms of, you know, sexual restraint and commitment. And then, perhaps most famously, you have the cada. And this is a steel bracelet worn on the wrist. Its circular shape symbolizes the eternal nays. It's eternal nays.

nature of God without beginning or end, right? It has this perfect, you know, circle, almost like an infinity. And it serves as this daily reminder to act with integrity and restraint. I actually heard, I think maybe the Schultz had told me this, that like the, the Kada is, it's, it's like a sheath or something for like a sword or like protection or something like that. It used to be your whole arm. Is that what it is? I think that's what Schultz said. Can you look that up? I don't want to fact check my boy here, but, I mean, in the interest of learning about, you know, Sikhism. I think it's probably worth finding out. Oh, wow.

Yeah, I mean, that's exactly right. It looks like from here, from, again, dictionary.com, it says that it symbolizes unity with God, and it was originally worn as a wristguard by swordsmen. So again, like, that sort of like a militant, like, you know, warrior element of the faith is present, right? You have like the, you have the Krapan, and then you also have the Kada, which is, you know,

symbolizing God, but also a, you know, a risk guard. capacity. And then you have the pug, also known as the d'estar, also known as the Pange Kakar. There's, I guess, many different names. I don't know what all the different names mean. I would actually be curious to know. But what's interesting is that, you know, we know it in the West as a turban. And the turban isn't one of the 5Ks, but it is worn to cover and protect this uncut hair. And although it's, you know, a common misconception, turbanes are primarily worn by six and not Muslims. You know, Muslims will have, you know, different headdress and things like that. But in the West, you know, specifically probably after 9-11, we were just like,

anyone with any type of headdress, you're Muslim, which is obviously not the case at all. That if you see a dude on a plane with like a long beard and a turban, that guy is sick. And Guru Gobind Singh, the last of the 10 gurus, lost all four of his sons, two in battle and two executed by Mughal authorities while they were still children. And despite this, he never lost his spiritual path or commitment to justice. He composed many powerful hymns and wrote the Dasam Grantz, and this was a collection of writing separate from, but complementary to the Guru Granth Sahib, again, the holy book in Sikhism. And before his death in 1708, Guru Gobind Singh declared an end to the line of human gurus, bestowing the guruship on the Adi Granth, the scripture written by Guru

Arjun, and the Sikh community itself, known as the Guru Panth. And the Guru Granth Sahib is unique compared to other scriptures or other holy text, because it contains writing not only from the Sikh founders composed during their lifetimes rather than posthumously, but also, like I said, from the Hindu and Muslim saints. And the texts include references to Judaism and Buddhism and Christianity as well. His final instruction established the scripture as the eternal living guru for all six. This made it function simultaneously as both like a sacred text, kind of like the Bible, but also a living spiritual guide.

The title combines guru, teacher, with Granth, meaning book, and Sahib, meaning Lord. So basically the teaching book of the Lord. Since that moment, six have revered the guru Granth Sahib as their living guru, treating it with profound respect and care. Also, the Granth isn't read but sung, full of thousands of hymns. That would actually be interesting. Could we get like a video of them singing from the Guru Granth Sahib? And so while he pulls that up, I think it's also interesting to note that rather than, you know,

formal services, these six gather for Khartan. which is communal singing, typically, you know, accompanied by, like, traditional instruments from the region in Punjab or in India. So, Cresos just pulled up an excerpt from the Guru Granth Sahib, and this is, again, it's not meant to necessarily be read, but ideally to be sung. I mean, it's beautiful. I wish I knew what they were saying, but I don't. But it sounds wonderful. I mean, I could imagine being inside, like, a good water, and you're with, you know, all these other six and people of different backgrounds and religious and, you know, religious affiliations. all singing together is a pretty powerful experience.

And so the singing is typically accompanied by, you know, classic Indian traditional, you know, musical instruments, you know, found in India and Punjab. So now that we understand more or less what the temple looks like, their place of worship, as well as the gurus that ultimately set the faith in the worldview in motion and how all of them contributed to it, where does that leave us now? What actually do Sikhs believe and how do they conduct their life? what are the core beliefs of the faith? So, in order to understand that, again, go to the living or the written guru right now,

the guru Gran Sahib. And in the opening line, it's just two words, ik on khar, meaning one god. Basically, there is only one god, emphasis on the one. And again, ik specifically represents the numeral one, not the concept of oneness. It is a finite, monotheistic belief. And this belief forms the foundation of Sikhism. But with a distinctive understanding, six conceptualized God as formless, genderless, and universal.

Since no image or idol could represent this divine essence, six used the sacred symbol Iq onkar instead. Many refer to this one god as Wahagu, meaning the wondrous lord. And you can actually see an image here of the Iqonkar symbol. And again, I'm sure my pronunciation is off on that. So my apologies, again, to any of the six that are watching. But the symbol here, I've actually never really seen. I don't ever see that. I haven't seen it depicted in that many places.

Have you seen this, Christos? I have not, but it looks dope. I mean, yeah, it looks sick as hell. And again, this just symbolizes the oneness of God. And there's no, which is kind of interesting. There's no symbol to indicate this. So they just use the writing from the holy book as the symbol. So Guru Nanak made it clear that this divine presence isn't owned by any one religion.

He taught that the same truth could be seen through different lenses. Some may call it Allah or Vishnu or Yahweh or even the Tao. But ultimately, the idea is simple. No single religion has a monopoly on the truth. For Nanak, what mattered was not the label, but the humility and the intentionality and the devotion behind it. This view cut straight through basically the root of all the religious conflict. If all sincere paths lead to ultimately the same divine source, then what is the point of all this fighting? What are we arguing about?

Like your symbol versus my symbol, your ritual or my ritual, ultimately they are all going towards the same place. So Guru Gobind Singh taught recognize all mankind as one, whether Hindus or Muslim, the same Lord is the creator. and nourisher of all. Recognize no distinctions between them. The monastery and the mosque are the same. So is Hindu worship and Muslim prayer. Men are all one. And it doesn't just stop at religious parity. It goes even into gender equality. So this is another major key idea of Sikhism. And this is similar to the one God in that God is genderless, that God exists beyond the binary of maleness or femaleness. And this concept isn't just theological. It sets the foundation for equality between men and women, right? Like if God is a man, then perhaps men have, you know, some

type of, you know, superiority to women. But in Sikhism, that's not the case. So when it first emerged, this was a radical idea in a world dominated by very strict gender rules. But because of this belief, sick women have always been seen as spiritually equal. So historically, they played a big role, not just in the community or the home, but as warriors in battle, religious teachers, and even leaders of sick institutions. Equality isn't just a value in Sikhism. It's in the core. It's in very much the identity of what it actually means to be sick.

And it also takes a different approach to the afterlife. So it doesn't focus on earning a spot in heaven or doing good things so you don't go to hell. Instead, it teaches that being disconnected from divine truth can make, life in and of itself feel like hell. Think about that for a second, right? Christianity and Islam are saying, you know, oftentimes like follow God. By following God, you will be, you know, will be allowed to enter into communion with him. Whereas in Sikhism, it's sort of saying that by being disconnected from God, you're, you know, life on earth is hell. The soul stuck in ego and

illusion keeps getting reborn until it breaks free. So like Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, Sikhs believe in reincarnation and karma. But Sikhism adds something unique, this idea of divine grace. So if you are not familiar, we've done a few different episodes on karma and Dharma as it exists within Hinduism. Karma shapes your starting point, your birth, your situation, but God's grace in Siki gives everyone the chance to wake up spiritually, no matter what their past actions are. So the ultimate goal in Sikhism is this idea of Mukti. And again, this is found in Buddhism as well as Hinduism. And this is this spiritual liberation. That means escaping the cycle of birth and death and realizing that your soul is already

a part of the divine. So once the ego dissolves and the person lives in full awareness of this truth, the soul can merge back with God, becoming infinite and timeless and blissful where it always was supposed to be. And that's the closest that Sikhism will get to, I guess, the Western or Christian idea of heaven. And because of this idea of, you know, sort of this loop that then we're trying to escape from to actually reach Mukti, you have this idea of the five thieves or spiritual obstacles that get in the way. One of those is Maya.

This is the illusion. And that is what gets people stuck in this cycle of rebirth. So in Siki, the answer is Maya. And this illusion is significant. Maya is anything that distracts us from divine truth, material wealth, ego, our own carnal desires. It's not that the world in and of itself is evil. It's that people get caught up in these temporary things that we can see and touch, like money or status or fame, that they forget that they themselves are eternal.

So Guru Nanak taught that the wall of Maya is constructed from five spiritual thieves. you have lust, anger, greed, attachment, and pride. And these five thieves emerge from what's known as Khomei, literally meaning the eye of myself or the ego. And Khomei causes full separation through these sort of attachments like, I am this or I am that, and it blocks the recognition of this divine oneness. And the ego drives people towards this self-centered living in Siki.

You have this negativity and this craving of wealth and power, and this can attach you to the world and make you forget that you yourself are eternal. This is what the Siki believe. Someone dominated by these tendencies is called the manmuk, meaning facing towards their desire. This is someone that has given in to all their desires while here on earth, whether it's the pursuit of fame or money or sex or whatever that is. Guru Nanak identified worldly conflict, whether it's religious or ethnic or cultural as stemming from the ego and Maya.

Alternative to becoming Manmuk is to become Gurmuk, meaning facing towards the guru. And this transformation happens by cultivating these sort of five truths. This is known as compassion or a orientation towards truth itself or contentment, humility, and love. Combined with divine meditation, these virtues can help someone, overcome the ego, overcome this wall, these thieves. So with this, you might be wondering, how am I supposed to actually live like this? How do you actually implement compassion and truth and contentment and humility and love into your everyday life? Well, Sikhism has a structured path for this transformation known as the three pillars. Now, the three pillars are a spiritual

practice that centers on these fundamental principles. So you have the first, Nam Japot. And this means meditating on God by repeating and reflecting the divine name Wahiguru. Now, this practice or this meditation is usually done in the morning and the evening, but it's more than just saying a word over and over. It's about staying mindful of God's presence and the qualities of this one God throughout daily life. And then you have the Karat Karni, and this is about earning an honest living through integrity and hard work. So Guru Nanak put it simply as this. Only he who earns his living by the sweat of his brow and shares his earnings with others has discovered the path of righteousness.

And then you have Wand Chakna. And this means sharing what you have with others. So this includes feeding the hungry or helping those that are in need or supporting your local community. And the sick practice of Langar, which is these free meals served at every good water, is a living example of this value and action. So the Langer serves free vegetarian food to all visitors, regardless of their faith or background. Again, we looked at the Holy Temple,

which serves 100,000 people a day. And this vegetarian menu ensures that all people with all dietary restrictions can participate. So during Goudunanax time, people from different casts would eat together on the floor, and this was seen as revolutionary. And beyond these pillars, you have this selfless service known as SEVA,

and this forms another vital sick practice. And the SEVA may include cleaning the good water, preparing the meals, washing dishes, volunteering for community projects, or really any other form of assistance to other people that might need it. And throughout practicing these principles and avoiding these five thieves, the Sikhs can work towards eliminating the ego

and ultimately achieving this Muqti, this liberation from the SEVs, cycle of rebirth. And there you have it. That is basically Sikhism in a nutshell. Of course, we don't have enough time to go over everything and all the gurus and all the details of what makes Sikhism so interesting and beautiful. I mean, again, this is a way of life. This is hundreds of years, 500 years to be exact, of development within this worldview. But that is, I think, a brief summary to get a lot of people like myself that didn't really know. anything about these people or what they believe about the world. And it's come a long way,

as you can imagine, right? Started by effectively one person in Punjab that now has communities all over the world. And what I think makes Sikhism so cool is just how straightforward the core ideas are, right? One God for all people, regardless of who they are or where they work, and basically to come together and work hard and help each other. Pretty simple. And the Sikhs have managed to stick to these principles through some pretty tough times. I mean, their tradition of feeding anyone who shows up to the good water, no questions asked, show how they put their beliefs into practice. So whether it's, you know, the guy with a pug or a turban helping out after a natural disaster or, you know, your local good water opening its doors during a community emergency,

six continue to live by the values that the gurus taught, even the guru today, the main holy text. So at the end of the day, Guru Nanak's message was pretty simple. We're all here on earth. We're all going to die. And while we're here, we might as well work together. So there you have it.

I mean, I found that enlightening, to be honest. I might be sick, dude. I might follow the way of the Sikhi. I mean, that is just, like, it's beautiful. I'd be so curious to talk to a sick person and be like, you know, how do you deal with like super technical moral philosophy? like there's certain things that are not super black and white like obviously these overarching

messages of just you know let's all get together work hard together and take care of everyone specifically the poor and disenfranchised is the most like beautiful and core message of I think all faith right like I think Christianity at like its core at the best like the teachings of Christ would teach the same thing and I'd be curious to know like how they deal with you know very specific, you know, like moral hazards or political issues or things like that. But that gives me a profound respect for six. I think that's so cool. I always, you know, I thought it was an interesting faith, but I didn't know all the details in the background and, you know, a lot of like the codes and core values that they actually follow. And I didn't really

know where it came from. I was like, how old is this? Like, where does it, where does it all start? But I think this, you know, this is, it was a really interesting deep dive. I mean, Christas, did you learn anything about the six? Was there anything that caught your eye? Yeah, I stupidly knew zero about it and now I have a lot of respect for it. I want to go to a good water soon and, you know, and join the communal meals. I mean, that sounds so cool. And I mean, anyone can do it anywhere on earth. I mean, look it up. Google a good water and just pull up and see, yeah, and just see who you talk to it. And be open-minded. I mean, I'm sure you can just ask questions. You're like, yeah, what do you guys believe?

what do you guys think of Jesus? Like, what is the, how do I fit into this whole thing? And I'm sure they would be more than happy to explain their worldview. And in my experience, I mean, six have been, you know, some of the coolest, chillest people I know. But now that I know about what they believe, I mean, I've, you know, I'm way more excited to learn more. So this was an awesome, an awesome deep dive.

I hope you guys enjoyed it. I would love to know what you guys think, again, I was not raised sick. I wasn't raised around that many sick people. So if I missed anything or if I left anything out or if I got something wrong, please let me know, drop a comment below. I would love to hear from you. So yeah, I'm curious to learn more. I'm excited to get into it. And I think the words of Guru Nanak, I think all people can get on board with this. And I think it's a great way to end us out. He says, accept all humans as you're equal and let them be your only sect. There you have it,

folks. Thank you so much for tuning into another episode of Religion Camp. If you have a topic for a future video or something you would like to see on this channel, again, I'm interested in exploring the greatness and the goodness of all faiths and all holy people from around the world from all time. So I'd love to know what do you guys want to learn about? Drop a comment. I'll be reading all of them. So it'll be nice to me, please. And I'll see you guys next time in my tent every Sunday for another episode of Religion Camp.

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