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Unlock This CourseIn The Guru Granth Sahib: The Living Guru you saw that Sikhs believe the scripture is their eternal Guru. In Guru Gobind Singh, the Khalsa and the Five Ks you met the Khalsa. This lesson looks at the written guide that helps Sikhs live by both: the Rahit Maryada.
The Rahit Maryada is the Sikh Code of Conduct. The words mean roughly "the way of living and the proper practice". It is also spelt Rehat Maryada. It sets out what a Sikh believes and how a Sikh should live and worship.
The Gurus did not leave one short list of rules. As the Sikh community spread, Sikhs in different places followed different customs. In the 1930s a committee of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the elected body that looks after many historic gurdwaras in Punjab, began to write down a shared code. Sikh scholars and leaders discussed it for many years. A draft was accepted in 1936, the SGPC approved the final version in 1945 and it was published in 1950. Today it is the code most Sikhs around the world look to.
Key terms:
The code defines a Sikh as a person who believes in one God, in the Ten Gurus, in the Guru Granth Sahib and in the teachings of the Gurus, who has accepted the amrit (the sweetened water used in the Khalsa initiation) of the tenth Guru, and who does not follow another religion.
It asks Sikhs to rise early, wash, meditate on God's name and say their daily prayers (the Nitnem, studied later). It asks them to earn an honest living, to give to others (as you saw with dasvandh) and to do sewa, service.
It explains how gurdwara services run, how the Guru Granth Sahib is treated, and how ceremonies such as naming, marriage and death are carried out. Everyone is welcome in the sangat whatever their background, and all sit and eat together.
It lists the rules for Sikhs who have joined the Khalsa: wearing the Five Ks, and keeping away from the four prohibitions.
The four prohibitions are: cutting the hair, eating meat from an animal killed by the slow ritual method called kuttha, sex outside marriage, and the use of tobacco. Many Sikhs also avoid alcohol and other intoxicants. How a person joins the Khalsa is taught in The Naming Ceremony and Amrit Sanskar. The code's rules on punishment, such as confessing before the sangat, were met in Sikh Attitudes to Punishment and Its Aims.
Sikhs hold different views.
The code is not scripture. Sikhs believe the Guru Granth Sahib alone is the Guru. The Rahit Maryada is a human guide that explains how to live by the Guru's teaching, so it cannot overrule it. Some Sikhs say the code is out of date in places or too strict, while others say it keeps Sikhs united and clear about what matters.
(a) Outline two things that the Rahit Maryada covers. [4 marks]
(b) Explain why the Rahit Maryada is important for Sikhs. [6 marks]
(c) "The Rahit Maryada is the only guide a Sikh needs." Discuss this statement, considering the arguments for and against. In your answer you should include reference to teachings, other points of view, and your own opinion with reasoned arguments. [10 marks]
(a) It explains who is a Sikh (1), a person who believes in one God, the Ten Gurus and the Guru Granth Sahib and follows no other religion (1). It also gives rules for the Khalsa (1), such as wearing the Five Ks and avoiding the four prohibitions (1).
(b) It gives Sikhs all over the world one shared code (1), so they hold similar services and ceremonies and feel part of one community (1). It guides personal life (1), with daily prayer, honest work and sewa, which builds discipline (1). It helps family life (1), as it values faithful marriage and bringing children up in the Sikh way (1). For Amritdhari Sikhs it is also a promise they have made, so it shapes how they live (1).
(c) Plan. For: it sums up how to live as the Gurus taught, covering prayer, work, service and worship; it is agreed by Sikh scholars and the SGPC; initiated Sikhs promise to follow it. Against: it is a human guide, and Sikhs believe the Guru Granth Sahib is the Guru, so the Guru's words come first; its rules cannot give understanding without the hymns; some groups, such as the Nihangs, follow their own codes. Conclusion: a possible conclusion is that the code is very useful but not enough alone, because it points Sikhs back to the Guru Granth Sahib, sewa and the sangat for guidance.
In a "Discuss" question, name the Guru Granth Sahib as a different source of authority and give a view from another group of Sikhs. These show the divergent views the mark scheme asks for.