Reflective essay: Hinduism

The Resistant Community

Bing raised as a Hindu, I ever believed that Sikhism and Hinduism shared a really strong set of similarities. A Hindu temple is what I ab initio expected the Gurdwara to be like, but, to my surprise, it was wholly different. The largest difference I noted was that there were no graven images of Gods or divinities. The apparatus was slightly evocative of a Christian church – the fans all faced Sikh priests who were declaiming poetries from sacred texts, much like a Christian curate reading from the Bible during a service. From my observations, I have interpreted that Sikhism non merely applies to Emile Durkheim’s theory of Religion and Society, but besides fits Stuart Hall’s theory of Power and Culture – which correlates with Dick Hebdige’s theory of Sub-Cultures and Resistance. The Gurdwara reflects the Sikh manner of life – a life that has been founded from revolution.

The first thing I noticed while come ining the Gurdwara was that equality was one of the many nucleus values of Sikhism. Everyone is seen as peers in a Gurdwara – all are expected to cover their caputs, take their places, and sit on the floor among others – some of them may even belong to different religions. It didn’t affair who you were or what your background was, all were welcome. There were three priests that were on a type of phase – they all sang poetries from the sacred texts and played instruments at the same clip. Many of the fans chimed in and sang along with the poetries. There was a strong sense of integrity in the Gurdwara, I felt like I belonged at that place in a unusual manner, even though it was my first clip sing. I was even offered free nutrient at a communal counter for fans, made by the fans themselves. In fact, the Gurdwara seemed like its ain tightly knit community. I saw all walks of life in the Gurdwara, from 6 year-olds to 60 year-olds.

Most of the fans in the Gurdwara are seen take parting in one or more facets ; from take parting in the service, to volunteering in functioning or cooking the nutrient, or even forming the places that visitants leave at the forepart. By that observation entirely ; Sikhism could be classified as an illustration of popular faith, because it is merely what is “well liked by the masses” and it is “what people do” ( Nye 2008, 29 ) . However, it is something much more than that. To the Sikhs ; faith is society. Durkheim believes ; faith gives “people a manner of apprehension and seeing society, since it was through spiritual individualities that people came to hold societal individualities. A individual belonged to a group because her or his spiritual emblem was shared by others within the same group” ( Nye 2008, 45 ) . This is really accurate about the Sikhs ; before even come ining the Gurdwara, I noticed a mammoth flag pole winging an orange flag with a xanthous Sikh symbol on it, right outside the edifice. Which I assume Acts of the Apostless like a marker for all Sikhs to place and fall in in the Gurdwara service and of class interact with the tightly-knit community. It is besides a bold statement being made by the Sikh people that they want everyone to see their Gurdwara, because they are proud of their community. Since the Gurdwara doubles as a kind of community centre, non merely a topographic point of worship, I think it is valid to claim that Sikhism and engagement in the Gurdwara gives the Sikhs their societal individualities within their community, and binds them together as a society.

Before go forthing the Gurdwara, I decided to inquire an older Sikh adult male on how Sikhism was created, he merely explained in one sentence that Sikhism was created in response to the Hindus and Muslims in Ancient India ; it was to contend Mughal regulation and interrupt off from the Hindu caste system. This is when I saw the form of struggle in Sikhism. Visibly, most of the males wrap their hair in fabric and leave their facial hair unshaven. Many of the males besides visibly transport a little sticker that is slung to their side. What these features have in common is that they visibly go against the norms of the mainstream society in Canada.

Reflecting on what the old adult male said and based on Hebdige’s theory of Sub-Cultures and Resistance ; I noticed that Sikh civilization in Ancient India was in fact, a sub-culture that was embedded between the assorted other civilizations that made up India at that clip. “Hebdige suggests that sub-cultures do non merely be in themselves, but are articulations of opposition to the prevailing dominant culture” ( Nye 2008, 49 ) . In this scenario, based on what the adult male said ; the dominant civilizations are presumptively Ancient Hindu and Muslim civilizations. Possibly the overpowering sense of equality in the Gurdwara was to battle the sense of inequality seen in the operations of the Ancient Hindu caste system. The elaborate on the man’s remark on Mughal regulation ; it seems as if Sikhism was created in order to non merely oppose these “elite” religions’ ideals – such as with the Hindu caste system – but besides to oppose them with force. Many of the males were if fact transporting stickers. A plausible account of this is ; in add-on to opposing seeable norms, the Sikhs likely faced a important sum of resistance and struggle in the signifier of conflicts, historically. Harmonizing to Hall’s theory of Power and Culture ; “popular” faiths such as Sikhism are “non-mainstream and even insurgent patterns, frequently frowned upon by those in control” ( Nye 2008, 42 ) . The seeable forms of struggle, which I mentioned earlier, could probably present as a statement of rebellion against these “elite” civilizations that were in control.

Some of the restrictions that I faced during this assignment was the fact that I merely did non acquire the chance to see the different spectrum of services the Gurdwara had to offer based on go toing merely one service. I felt like I wasn’t being fair in analysing the Sikh religion merely based on one individual visit. Besides, that Gurdwara entirely, could hold been runing otherwise compared to the other Gurdwaras in the universe. Another major restriction I had during this assignment, was that most of the theories that are presented in the Nye text, are all either really similar to one another, or merely merely do non back up claims for the opponent side. For illustration ; most of the theories in the readings for civilization relate to popular civilization and faith, but there are following to no developed theories to congratulate elect civilization and faith. It was really disputing to compose an analysis based on entirely my observations, and so associate it to theories that may non hold anything to make with them at all, since the theoreticians weren’t explicitly composing with faiths such as Sikhism in head.

Personally, I enjoyed sing the Gurdwara and holding an chance to see being in the center of such a tightly knit community. Bing from a Hindu background, I was really really surprised in seeing how different a Gurdwara was compared to a temple. During my visit I non merely observed the manner that faith gives Sikhs their societal individualities within their community, but I besides came across another form ; the overarching form of struggle with “elite” faiths and norms in society. I feel that Sikhs are really proud people who cherish their roots. It is apparent because of the fact that many of the males wear a turban and maintain a full grown face fungus. Unlike other civilizations, those factors are an instant form to everyone that the individual being observed is a Sikh. There are besides Sikh males who don’t wish to maintain a turban and a face fungus ; this presumably shows the credence of free-will in Sikhism because of the fact that they are still accepted and treated merely the same in their community.

Bibliography:

Nye, Malory. 2008.Religion: The Basicss,2^neodymiumedition. London and New York: Routledge.

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