Deck 8: Sikh Traditions

Question 1

What does the word Sikh mean?

A) Ascetic
B) Disciple
C) Guru
D) One who submits
E) Student

Answer 1

B

Question 2

What is God, as "Timeless Being (or Person)," referred to as in Sikhism?

A) Akal Purakh
B) Adi Granth
C) Guru Nanak
D) Ahura Mazda
E) Allah

Answer 2

A

Question 3

In what region of India did Sikhism emerge?

A) Andhra Pradesh
B) Gujarat
C) Uttar Pradesh
D) Goa
E) Punjab

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Approximately how many Sikhs are there worldwide?

A) 5 million
B) 100 million
C) 25 million
D) 10 million
E) 500 million

Question 5

With what North Indian spiritual tradition did Guru Nanak share much in common?

A) Shramana
B) Vaishnava
C) Sant
D) Sufi
E) Tamil

Question 6

To what does nam refer, on which Sikhs meditate to achieve spiritual liberation?

A) The divine Name
B) The mystical connection with God
C) The Golden Temple
D) The names of the Gurus
E) The infinite power of God

Question 7

The life of Guru Nanak may be divided into how many distinct phases?

A) 2
B) 3
C) 4
D) 5
E) 6

Question 8

According to Sikh tradition, when did Nanak have his foundational mystical experience?

A) While bathing in a river
B) While reading sacred verses in the Vedas
C) While travelling in the desert
D) While praying in a mountain cave
E) During meditation under a tree

Question 9

According to Sikh tradition, what did Guru Nanak famously proclaim after his mystical experience?

A) "Hindus and Muslims are one."
B) "There is no god but God."
C) "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim."
D) "We are all God."
E) "There is no God."

Question 10

What, according to Sikh tradition, did Nanak receive from God during his mystical experience?

A) A special robe bearing both Hindu and Muslim markings
B) A harp to accompany the hymns sung in God's name
C) A series of laws that became the content of the Adi Granth
D) A cup of divine nectar (amrit)
E) A holy sceptre

Question 11

What is kirtan, a central part of Sikh congregational worship?

A) Devotional singing
B) An instructional sermon on ethics
C) Silent meditation
D) Chanting a single mantra repeatedly
E) Full-body prostration in prayer

Question 12

Through what means did Guru Nanak primarily convey the message of liberation?

A) Essays
B) Letters sent to the Mughal emperor
C) Hymns
D) Missionaries sent all over India
E) Sermons

Question 13

In the Sikh tradition, what is the langar?

A) The ceremonial dagger or sword worn by members of the Khalsa
B) The special room in which the Adi Granth is kept
C) The main hymn sung at the end of every Sikh service
D) The turban worn by observant Sikhs
E) The communal meal open to all castes, prepared as a community service

Question 14

What is a Sikh place of worship called?

A) Kirtan
B) Gurdwara
C) Panth
D) Stupa
E) Gurmukh

Question 15

Whom did Guru Nanak name as his successor?

A) Ramdass
B) Har Rai
C) Ranjit Singh
D) Angad
E) Gobind Singh

Question 16

How many Gurus comprise the succession of human gurus concluding with Gobind Singh?

A) Fifty
B) Twelve
C) Eight
D) Five
E) Ten

Question 17

What script, refined by Guru Angad, is the principal form of Sikh written language?

A) Gurmukhi
B) Sanskrit
C) Hindi
D) Arabic
E) Persian

Question 18

What does the term bani mean in English?

A) Divine Word
B) Divine Truth
C) Divine Light
D) Divine Wisdom
E) Divine Discipline

Question 19

Which Guru advanced equality of women in Sikhism by abolishing the wearing of the veil and the practice of sati?

A) Angad
B) Gobind Singh
C) Har Rai
D) Ram Das
E) Amar Das

Question 20

Which Guru founded Amritsar "(nectar of immortality") and ordered the construction of a large pool there?

A) Ram Das
B) Nanak
C) Gobind Singh
D) Arjan
E) Har Rai

Question 21

What is the English name for the Darbar Sahib, which was built by Guru Arjan in Amritsar?

A) Great Gurdwara
B) Taj Mahal
C) Babri Mosque
D) Divine Court
E) Adi Granth

Question 22

Which Guru suffered the "first martyrdom," which pushed the Sikh community in the direction of separatism and militancy?

A) Nanak
B) Ramdass
C) Gobind Singh
D) Arjan
E) Amardas

Question 23

What is symbolized in Sikhism by the two swords, first donned by Guru Hargobind?

A) Wisdom and strength
B) The requirement of all Sikhs to bear arms
C) Justice and equality
D) The martyrdoms of the Gurus
E) One temporal and the other spiritual authority

Question 24

What does Baisakhi Day commemorate in the Sikh tradition?

A) The birth of Guru Gobind Singh
B) The foundation of the Khalsa
C) The birth of Guru Nanak
D) The martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur
E) The release of Guru Hargobind from prison

Question 25

What is the Khalsa in the Sikh tradition?

A) The Sikh sacred text
B) The list of honoured Sikhs who have been martyred since the time of Guru Arjan
C) The communal meal provided free of charge to the general community
D) Order oh loyal Sikhs bound by a common identity and discipline
E) The central temple found in Amritsar in the midst of a lake

Question 26

How many volunteers initially responded to Guru Gobind Singh's call, forming the nucleus of the newly formed Khalsa?

A) 100
B) 10
C) 5
D) 500
E) 50

Question 27

In the Sikh tradition, which Guru was the last of the succession of human Gurus, passing authority instead to the Adi Granth?

A) Gobind Singh
B) Har Rai
C) Arjan
D) Amardas
E) Tegh Bahadur

Question 28

Gobind Sing delivered the core of the Rahit, which is in reference to which of the following?

A) Code of Love
B) Code of Discipleship
C) Code of the Gurus
D) Code of the Community
E) Code of Conduct

Question 29

In the Sikh tradition, what surnames were Khalsa initiates, male and female respectively, given?

A) Rai and Kaur
B) Singh and Kaur
C) Sharma and Chopra
D) Gupta and Mehra
E) Singh and Patel

Question 30

What does Kes (unshorn hair) symbolically indicate for the Sikh community?

A) Spirituality and saintliness
B) Divine grace, dignity and courage
C) Order and discipline
D) Moral restrain
E) Allegiance to the Guru

Question 31

What is the second sacred collection in Sikhism, after the Adi Granth?

A) The rahit-namas
B) The Qur'an
C) The gur-bilas
D) The janam-sakhis
E) The Dasam Granth

Question 32

What "Seed Formula," the first words of the Adi Granth, constitute a fundamental statement of Sikh belief?

A) The kirpan
B) The langar
C) The bani
D) The Mul Mantar
E) The Rahit

Question 33

Sikh doctrine understands God as which of the following?

A) One manifestation of the Divine Reality among many deities
B) Radically transcendent
C) Completely unknowable
D) Totally and always immanent
E) At once transcendent and immanent

Question 34

What is the term for "divine order" (or "divine will/command") in Sikhism?

A) Shabad
B) Hukam
C) Karam
D) Nam
E) Sansar

Question 35

The key concept of sansar means which of the following?

A) Forgiveness
B) Meditation
C) Awareness
D) Reincarnation
E) Recitation

Question 36

What ultimately separates us from God and keeps us trapped in the cycle of rebirth, according to Sikh tradition?

A) Hatred
B) Jealousy
C) Self-centeredness
D) Anger
E) Dualism

Question 37

According to Sikh teaching, humans must resist the five evil worldly impulses through cultivation of which interior discipline?

A) Hukam
B) Amrit-dhari
C) Miri-piri
D) Nam-simaran
E) Rahit

Question 38

The discipline known as nam-simaran means in English which of the following?

A) Remembering the divine Name
B) Forgetting the self
C) Renouncing desires and greed
D) Singing hymns of praise
E) Meditating on the teachings of the Gurus

Question 39

What is another name for the Adi Granth, the Sikh scripture?

A) Guru Hukam
B) Guru Granth Sahib
C) Guru Panth Sahib
D) Akal Purakh
E) Adi Panth

Question 40

Along with justice, what is seen as a key element of Sikh ethics?

A) Nobility
B) Service
C) Compassion
D) Pragmatism
E) Submission

Question 41

When are the "ambrosial hours" in the Sikh tradition?
A) 3
A)m.
A)m.
A)m.

A)m. - 6

Question 42

What is the primary ethical duty of Khalsa Sikhs?

A) Renouncing all possessions and living monastically
B) Non-violence
C) Converting non-believers
D) Almsgiving
E) The quest for justice

Question 43

During what times do devout Sikhs perform their daily liturgical prayers?

A) Continually throughout the day
B) Morning, noon, midafternoon, evening, and bedtime
C) Morning and early evening
D) Early morning, evening, and bedtime
E) Early morning and before bed

Question 44

Which term refers to the "reader" and custodian of the Adi Granth, who is present in every gurdwara?

A) Sadhu
B) Japji
C) Kes-dhari
D) Granthi
E) Guru

Question 45

What "sanctified" sweet, rich paste of flour, sugar, and butter is distributed in Sikh services following the Vak ("Saying")?

A) Langar
B) Karah prashad
C) Sugar-dough
D) Mul Mantar
E) Chauri

Question 46

Who shares in the langar or communal meal after a Sikh service?

A) Sikh men and women only
B) Sikh and non-Sikh men only
C) Khalsa members only
D) All who are present, Sikh and non-Sikh
E) Sikh men only

Question 47

Sikhs celebrate the autumn festival of lights (Divali) to commemorate which event?

A) The day when Guru Hargobind was released from imprisonment
B) The martyrdom of Guru Arjan
C) The foundation of the Khalsa
D) Nanak's mystical experience
E) The birth of Nanak

Question 48

The Sikh understanding of the Adi Granth as living Guru is most evident in the practice known as "taking the Guru's word," which involves which of the following?

A) Chanting the Mul Mantar together
B) Meditating and praying silently as a group
C) Opening the Adi Granth at random and reading aloud the first hymn on the left-hand page
D) Receiving a sip from the ceremonial cup of amrit
E) Reading out loud the entirety of the Adi Granth from start to finish, using a succession of readers

Question 49

How is a Sikh child named, according to tradition?

A) A granthi is consulted, who suggests a name based on the parents' personalities.
B) The Adi Granth is opened at random and the first letter of the first composition on the left-hand page is noted; then a name beginning with the same letter is chosen.
C) The Adi Granth is opened at random, and a random word is chosen from the left-hand page; that word becomes the child's name.
D) A name is chosen from a special book of names composed by the tenth Guru, Gobind Singh.
E) Parents sit for a whole day in silent prayer and contemplation in the gurdwara.

Question 50

What is at the centre of every important Sikh life-cycle ritual?

A) The Guru Granth Sahib
B) A trip to the Golden Temple
C) The presence of five Khalsa members
D) The drinking of amrit
E) Congregational singing

Question 51

How many times do the bride and groom circumambulate the sacred scripture at their wedding?

A) One
B) Two
C) Three
D) Four
E) Seven

Question 52

How many vows are there between the bride and groom at a Sikh wedding?

A) Two
B) Three
C) Four
D) Five
E) Six

Question 53

What is the amrit sanskar within the context of the Sikh tradition?

A) Wedding ceremony
B) Funeral rites
C) Khalsa initiation ceremony
D) Last prayer in the evening
E) Sweet drink at communal meal

Question 54

What Sikh leader succeeded in unifying the Punjab in the late eighteenth century?

A) Gobind Singh
B) Ram Das
C) Bibi Jagir Kaur
D) Bhagat Singh
E) Ranjit Singh

Question 55

What is the English term applied to Sikhs who revered Hindu as well as the Sikh scriptures?

A) Gradualists
B) Conformists
C) Heretics
D) Schismatics
E) Halfway Disciples

Question 56

What is the primary medium by which Guru Nanak delivered his message?

A) Narratives
B) Philosophy
C) Ethics
D) Parables
E) Music

Question 57

What group played a leadership role in the Sing Sabha reform movement?

A) Writers
B) Mystics
C) Gradualists
D) Politicians
E) White Sikhs

Question 58

Who are known as "White Sikhs"?

A) Members of the Sikh Dharma ("3HO") organization in North America who dress in white
B) Sikhs who have taken a vow of celibacy
C) Westerners who have converted to Sikhism and moved to India
D) Sikhs who refuse to leave the Punjab and move into the diaspora
E) A militant group of Sikh separatists

Question 59

Guru Har Rai's birthday in March has been fixed as which of the following days?

A) Sikh Mother's Day
B) Sikh Diaspora Day
C) Sikh Awareness Day
D) Sikh Environment Day
E) Sikh Coalition Day

Question 60

In what year was the first North American conference on Sikh studies held?

A) 1999
B) 1969
C) 1985
D) 2009
E) 1976

Question 61

The Adi Granth, the Sikh sacred scripture, means "Good News."

Question 62

The area in northern India in which Sikhism was founded was under Muslim rule.

Question 63

Sikhism emerged in the sixteenth century.

Question 64

After his mystical experience, Guru Nanak proclaimed "All Hindus are Muslims."

Question 65

Sikh rituals were initially only open to upper-caste brahmins.

Question 66

The langar is served by volunteers from the Sikh community.

Question 67

Women have always been considered equal to men in Sikhism.

Question 68

Guru Nanak's son followed him to become the second Guru.

Question 69

The first Sikh Guru to be killed by the Muslim Mughal ruler was Arjan.

Question 70

Sikh militarism first developed in response to the British annexation of India.

Question 71

The Khalsa was formed on the day of Divali in 1699.

Question 72

The launching of the Khalsa is one of the reforms attributed to Gobind Singh.

Question 73

Steel-toed shoes are among the five required physical symbols for the Khalsa members.

Question 74

The Adi Granth includes a compilation of divinely inspired hymns by six Gurus.

Question 75

The standard text of the Adi Granth is 1,430 pages with exact same material on every page.

Question 76

The Adi Granth is the only collection of sacred literature in Sikhism.

Question 77

The Mul Mantar is the fundamental statement of Sikh belief.

Question 78

According to Sikh teachings, divine grace always takes precedence over the law of karam (karma), and can even break the chain of adverse karam.

Question 79

The line of succession of human Gurus has continued from the time of Nanak until the present day.

Question 80

A key part of Sikh belief and practice is remembering the divine Name.