Sikhism Study Workbook: Scriptures, Community, and Sikh Ethics in Practice

Reading about Sikhism provides a map; working directly with its scripture, analyzing its community practices, and tracing the application of its ethics builds the deeper engagement that serious study requires. This workbook provides structured exercises for exactly that kind of active engagement with Sikh texts and tradition. By the end of this course you will be able to read excerpts from the Guru Granth Sahib with attention to their theological content and poetic form, identify the ethical principles that structure Sikh community life and trace them to specific scriptural sources, analyze the institution of the langar as an expression of Sikh theology, compare Sikh, Hindu, and Islamic perspectives on God using a structured analytical framework, and write an accurate and respectful analytical account of a specific Sikh practice or institution. What you will learn: - Close reading: a shabad (hymn) from Guru Nanak in the Guru Granth Sahib — identifying theological claims, metaphors, and what is being rejected as well as affirmed - The Ardas (Sikh prayer): its structure, occasions of use, and what it reveals about Sikh theological priorities - Naam Simran in practice: what different historical and contemporary accounts describe as the experience and effect of divine name recitation - The langar as applied theology: how the institution of the community kitchen enacts the Sikh principles of equality, sewa, and Ik Onkar - Comparative theology exercise: comparing Sikh, Sufi Islamic, and Hindu bhakti descriptions of the experience of divine presence — identifying shared language and irreducible differences - Sikh ethics and the householder ideal: why Sikhism affirms active family and civic life rather than ascetic renunciation — tracing the reasoning from scripture - The Khalsa and identity: analyzing the Five Ks as both symbolic and community identity markers — what academic and insider accounts say about their meaning - Writing exercise: a structured analytical account of the Gurdwara as a community institution, with a worked model and annotated rubric Each workbook section provides framing text, primary source excerpts with annotations, structured analytical tasks, a worked example, and a self-assessment checklist. All Punjabi and Gurmukhi terms are provided with Romanized transliteration and English gloss. This course is suitable for students of religious studies, South Asian studies, or anyone who wants to engage analytically with Sikh primary sources and institutions. No prior background in Sikhism or Punjabi is required. Suitable for those new to the academic study of Sikh tradition.