SIKHISM215Amaterasu, as the putative ancestor of
the imperial family, emerged as the most
important deity for the purposes of
political legitimization. Yet Shinto is pri-
marily concerned with nature. All great
works of nature—waterfalls, huge trees,
unusual rocks, and so on—are kami or
sacred beings. Kami does not mean “god”
or divinity in the Western sense, but sug-
gests awesomeness and special powers.
Emperors themselves came to be regarded
as kami, but the distinction between
humans and divinities was not clearly
drawn. Shinto lacks any clear moral
code—that came later with Buddhism.
The stress in Shinto is not so much ethics
or morality as it is ritual purity, which is
tarnished by physical dirtiness, disease,
menstruation, childbirth, wounds, and
contact with death. Such defilement must
be overcome by exorcism and cleansing
ceremonies.
SIDGWICK, HENRY (1838–1900). Brit-
ish philosopher who advanced a system-
atic utilitarian ethic and developed an
ideal observer theory, according to which
right and wrong reflect the judgments of
an observer, ideally situated in terms of
knowledge, impartiality, and an affective
awareness of all the involved parties. As
a non-theist, Sidgwick thought there was
no actual ideal observer (God), but he
thought that ideally we should seek out
such an ideal vantage point. His master-
piece, Methods of Ethics, was first pub-
lished in 1874.
SIKHISM. A monotheistic religion that
emerged in the Punjab region of India
in the 1600s, based on the teachings of
Guru Nanak (1469–1538) and the nine
Gurus who followed him. Following
the execution of the ninth Guru, Tegh
Bahadur, by the Mughals in Delhi, the
Sikh community or Panth became further
solidified and militarized by the tenth
Guru, Gobind Rai (a.k.a. Gobind Singh,
meaning “lion”). In 1699, Gobind Singh
established the Khalsa, a community of
initiated (amritdhari) Sikhs who would
defend the Guru and the Sikh Panth.
Members of the Khalsa keep the five Ks:
kesh (uncut hair), kangha (a steel comb in
one’s hair), kach (knee-length pants), kara
(a steel bracelet on one’s right wrist), and
kirpan (a sword or dagger at one’s side).
After the death of Gobind Singh in 1708,
Adi Guru (literally, the “original” or “first”
Guru), the Guru Granth Sahib, which is a
collection prayers and hymns, was estab-
lished as the eleventh and final Guru.
To d a y, t h e Guru Granth Sahib remains
the sacred scripture of the Sikhs and plays
a key role in their worship practices.
Sikhism drew upon the teachings of
the two main religions in the Punjab
region, Hinduism and Islam, but under-
stands itself to be a separate and distinct
religion. The central teaching of Sikhism
is the oneness of God: the Mul Mantra,
from Guru Nanak’s first composition,
begins with “Ek Onkar”—“There is one
God.” This God, who has many names but
is most commonly referred to as Wa h e g u r u
(a.k.a. Va h i g u r u, meaning “Wonderful