ABSTRACT
The origins of what is today called Sikhism can be traced to the Punjab religion of North India five centuries ago. The Guru Granth Sahib's authority and influence on the Sikh way of life is due partly to the fact that its hymns directly testify to the poetic experiences of the Sikh Gurus, and partly because the central message of these hymns is existential/experiential rather than epistemological/transcendental. The notion of true death as dying to oneself has kindred resonances in Sikh social practices, ceremonies, and in the way that Sikhs remember the lives and deaths of the ten historical Sikh Gurus. Sikhs believe that human birth is a precious gift, an opportunity with which to harness the body's potential for adoring the Name and serving others. In accordance with the practices specified by the Sikh Gurus, death rites are a relatively simple and dignified affair. In Western countries Sikh funerals follow the Rahit Maryada as far as possible.
