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Sikhism: Religious Life and Moral Principles

Sant sipahi and dharam yudh

  • 3 things to know
  • AS Unit 1

Overview

Philosophical meaning of sant sipahi, dharam in the phrase dharam yudh and conditions under which a Sikh may fight a dharam yudh.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Explain the philosophical meaning of sant sipahi.

Key term

What duties belong to the sant in the saint-soldier ideal?

Key term

What is meant by dharam in the phrase dharam yudh?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Translate the term sant sipahi and state what it describes.

    Model answer

    Sant sipahi means saint-soldier, and it describes the Sikh ideal of a person disciplined in devotion who is also ready to take up arms in defence of the oppressed.

  2. 2

    How did Guru Hargobind give the saint-soldier ideal its form?

    Model answer

    At his installation in 1606 Guru Hargobind took up two swords, one for spiritual authority and one for temporal power, built the Akal Takht facing the Harmandir Sahib and trained his Sikhs in arms as well as in worship.

  3. 3

    What led Guru Hargobind to arm the community?

    Model answer

    The execution of his father Guru Arjan in 1606 showed that a purely devotional community could not protect itself or others from persecution by the Mughal state.

  4. 4

    How did Guru Gobind Singh develop the saint-soldier ideal?

    Model answer

    He created the Khalsa as an order in which initiation, daily prayer and the discipline of the Five Ks were inseparable from the duty to bear arms for the defence of the weak.

  5. 5

    Explain the philosophical meaning of sant sipahi.

    Model answer

    The two words describe one person, not two roles: the sant governs the sipahi, so that the fighter's motive is purified of hatred and self-interest, and courage becomes an expression of devotion rather than of anger.

  6. 6

    What duties belong to the sant in the saint-soldier ideal?

    Model answer

    The sant remembers the Name at amrit vela, lives humbly and truthfully, controls the five thieves, serves others and keeps compassion even towards an enemy.

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