Cultural Diversity - The Civil Service

Land Registry Cultural DiversitySikhismThe Sikh religion was founded in Northern India in the fifteenth century by GuruNanak. It was originally conceived as a synthesis between Hinduism and Islam, butrapidly took its own distinctive identity.There are estimated to be about 20 million Sikhs throughout the world, with around500,000 in Britain. The Sikh community in Southall, London, represents the largestconcentration of Sikhs outside the Indian sub-continent.Key beliefsSikhs believe in one God, whose word was revealed to mankind through ten majorprophets called “Gurus”. Salvation comes from achieving union with God throughdevotional worship. Until that union is achieved, Sikhs believe they must live throughmany reincarnations.Holy writingsThe holy texts are known as the Guru Granth Sahib and consist of a collection ofhymns and prayers of the Gurus. They include texts from followers of other faiths suchas Islam and Hinduism.Main festivalsBaisakhi is the most important of the Sikh festivals and falls on or around 13 April,marking the beginning of the Sikh New Year.The festival of Hola Mohalla is celebrated in February or March over a three dayperiod, and was originally adapted from the Hindu festival of Holi.Diwali falls in October or November and is a similar festival to that of the Hindus, withcentral themes of light and joy.Most Sikhs also celebrate the birthdays of the first and last Gurus, and the martyrdomof the fifth Guru, Arjan Dev and the ninth Guru, Teg Bahadur.Holy placesThe Sikh temple is known as a Gurdwara and is the focus for public worship. Templesrange in size from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the focal point of the Sikh religion,to converted houses in urban Britain.23