Idol worship may also refers to worship of a cult picture or an object that’s honored as the illustration of a deity. Sikh gurus denounced idol worship of all forms. Among all the elements, it had been believed to be a method for manipulation of the normal masses by the priestly castes to maintain the power in their hands. Worship is the word used utilized in the “belief system”. Sikhi isn’t a belief system, but the trail of “realization”. When people believe in superior Entity (God) separated from them, sitting within the Sky, that will become a belief system. Idea of God in Sikhi is the omnipresent, all pervading all permeating Divine truth, that is everywhere and that we are significantly a part of it. ਘਰ ਮਿਹ ਠਾਕੁਰੁ ਨਦਿਰ ਨ ਆਵੈ ॥ Within the home of his own self, he does not even come to see his Lord and Master. ਗਲ ਮਿਹ ਪਾਹਣੁ ਲੈ ਲਟਕਾਵੈ ॥੧॥ And yet, around his neck, he hangs a stone god. ||1|| ਭਰਮੇ ਭੂਲਾ ਸਾਕਤੁ ਿਫਰਤਾ ॥ The faithless cynic wanders around, deluded by doubt. ਨੀਰੁ ਿਬਰੋਲੈ ਖਿਪ ਖਿਪ ਮਰਤਾ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥ He churns water, and after wasting his life away, he dies. ||1|| Pause || ਿਜਸੁ ਪਾਹਣ ਕਉ ਠਾਕੁਰੁ ਕਹਤਾ ॥ That stone, which he calls his god, ਓਹੁ ਪਾਹਣੁ ਲੈ ਉਸ ਕਉ ਡੁਬਤਾ ॥੨॥ That stone pulls him down and drowns him. ||2|| ਗੁਨਹਗਾਰ ਲੂਣ ਹਰਾਮੀ ॥ O sinner, you are untrue to your own self;ਪਾਹਣ ਨਾਵ ਨ ਪਾਰਿਗਰਾਮੀ ॥੩॥ A boat of stone will not carry you across. ||3|| ਗੁਰ ਿਮਿਲ ਨਾਨਕ ਠਾਕੁਰੁ ਜਾਤਾ ॥ Meeting the Guru, O Nanak, I know my Lord and Master. ਜਿਲ ਥਿਲ ਮਹੀਅਿਲ ਪੂਰਨ ਿਬਧਾਤਾ ॥੪॥੩॥੯॥ The Perfect Architect of Destiny is pervading and permeating the water, the land and the sky. ||4||3||9|| Guru Arjan Dev Ji / Raag Suhi / Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji : Ang 739 Idol ( Statues ) Making In the Gurbani, the Sikh gurus and Bhagats rejected such practices, mentioning them to be fruitless and delusional, and advocated the people to rather recognise their religious energies within the self. Purpose is to raise the self recognition to the Divine recognition or the enlightenment, thru the method referred to as Self-realization. Therefore, the main focus isn’t always outward but inward (inside), “Ataam-Gyan”. External forms or idols don’t seem to be required when the main target is to attach the real self inside, and to finish off baser impulses generated by the real self. ਸਾਲ ਗਾਮ ਿਬਪ ਪੂਿਜ ਮਨਾਵਹੁ ਸੁਿਤੁ ਤੁਲਸੀ ਮਾਲਾ ॥ O Brahmin, you worship and believe in your stone-god, and wear your ceremonial rosary beads. ਰਾਮ ਨਾਮੁ ਜਿਪ ਬੇੜਾ ਬਾਂਧਹੁ ਦਇਆ ਕਰਹੁ ਦਇਆਲਾ ॥੧॥ Chant the Name of the Lord. Build your boat, and pray, “”O Merciful Lord, please be merciful to me.”” ||1|| ਕਾਹੇ ਕਲਰਾ ਿਸੰਚਹੁ ਜਨਮੁ ਗਵਾਵਹੁ ॥ Why do you irrigate the barren, alkaline soil? You are wasting your life away! ਕਾਚੀ ਢਹਿਗ ਿਦਵਾਲ ਕਾਹੇ ਗਚੁ ਲਾਵਹੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥ This wall of mud is crumbling. Why bother to patch it with plaster? ||1|| Pause ||Guru Nanak Dev ji / Raag Basant Hindol / Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji : Ang 1170 For idols in Hinduism, Divine Bhava and religious ideas are carved on the Stone/Murtis by the labor elegance and different groups, which includes contracts that supplied to businesses in China, who have gotten paid to achieve this as per the demand of the dealer and customers. And these Murtis are created totally based on heavy superstition, imagination and superficiality. Therefore, this can be the main example and definition of Idoltary. Marble Idols / Statues ( Murti ) ਸਿਤਗੁਰੁ ਿਮਲੈ ਤ ਸਹਸਾ ਜਾਈ ॥ Meeting the True Guru, doubt is dispelled. ਿਕਸੁ ਹਉ ਪੂਜਉ ਦੂਜਾ ਨਦਿਰ ਨ ਆਈ ॥੩॥ Who else should I worship? I can see no other. ||3|| ਏਕੈ ਪਾਥਰ ਕੀਜੈ ਭਾਉ ॥ One stone is lovingly decorated, ਦੂਜੈ ਪਾਥਰ ਧਰੀਐ ਪਾਉ ॥ While another stone is walked upon. ਜੇ ਓਹੁ ਦੇਉ ਤ ਓਹੁ ਭੀ ਦੇਵਾ ॥ If one is a god, then the other must also be a god. ਕਿਹ ਨਾਮਦੇਉ ਹਮ ਹਿਰ ਕੀ ਸੇਵਾ ॥੪॥੧॥ Says Naam Dayv, I serve the Lord. ||4||1|| Bhagat Namdev Ji / Raag Gujri / Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji : Ang 525 Sikhism believes in only one god. In Sikh philosophy — there’s One ideal reality (depicted by the “Ik Onkar” symbol). And please no, the ten gurus aren’t avatars of Gods. they’re simply prophets who propagated the message of God. The Mool Mantar that is the most significant composition in the Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji clearly uses a lot of synonyms for God: ੴ -There is one Godਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ -Eternal Truth is his/her name ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ -Creator of all things ਨਿਰਭਉ -Without fear ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ -Without enmity ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ -Timeless, immortal, never Incarnated ਅਜੂਨੀ -Beyond the cycle of birth and Death ਸੈਭੰ -Self-created, self-existent ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ -Known by the grace of the God Ik Onkar What about the worship of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji ? Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji includes the Holy hymns of Guru Nanak Dev Ji from his revelation from the God being. Later gurus introduced more hymns and teachings in Guru Granth Sahib Ji to educate and guide the Sikh. Guru Gobind Singh declared at as a final eternal Guru that each and every Sikhs have to follow. Bowing is showing respect to the guru. Guru Granth Sahib Ji guides people who are in search of answers just like our parents guide us to remain on the correct path of life. Sikh reaches enlightenment through little by little guidance of the Guru. The word or shabad is the Guru. The main purpose is to read and understand the shabad, to peel off myth layer by layer to succeed in the enlightenment. The Karah Prasad on the plate is to be consecrated through the Granth and is supposed to be for the priests, not for the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, as in the case of Hindus who’ve the concept of providing to the gods. ਪਾਖਾਨ ਗਿਢ ਕੈ ਮੂਰਿਤ ਕੀਨੑ◌ੀ ਦੇ ਕੈ ਛਾਤੀ ਪਾਉ ॥ The sculptor carves the stone and fashions it into an idol, placing his feet upon its chest. ਜੇ ਏਹ ਮੂਰਿਤ ਸਾਚੀ ਹੈ ਤਉ ਗੜਣਹਾਰੇ ਖਾਉ ॥੩॥ If this stone god was true, it would devour the sculptor for this! ||3|| ਭਾਤੁ ਪਿਹਿਤ ਅਰੁ ਲਾਪਸੀ ਕਰਕਰਾ ਕਾਸਾਰੁ ॥ Rice and beans, candies, cakes and cookiesਭੋਗਨਹਾਰੇ ਭੋਿਗਆ ਇਸੁ ਮੂਰਿਤ ਕੇ ਮੁਖ ਛਾਰੁ ॥੪॥ the priest enjoys these, while he puts ashes into the mouth of the idol. ||4|| Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Asa / Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji : Ang 479 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji In Sikhism, idol worship is prohibited. This can lead to a wrong practice, if not stopped immediately. Most Sikhs don’t seem to be following this. You will be able to easily spot photographs of gurus in our houses and may be Hindu gods as well in a few homes. I’m not against Hindu gods, but the purpose to say them here is because idolatry is practised in Hinduism and Guru Nanak Dev ji started his ideology against it. So it’s ironical that we’ve photographs of not only our gurus but Hindu gods as well in our residence even as we claim to be Sikhs. The Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of Sikhism, in 2015 appealed to the Sikh community to refrain from all types of idolatry. As this practice was prohibited by the gurus. Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh Ji made it clear to individuals of the community that idols or statues of Sikh gurus, moulded in clay, bronze or some other metal, must not be gifted at religious or any other functions. They clarified that there was no restriction on making or portraits photographs of the gurus. He stated people were free to hang photos of the gurus in their houses but these need to be well taken care of. There is no place for idol worshiping in Sikhism as we bow our heads only before the Guru Granth Sahib Ji and no one else. Credits Navneet Kaur : She is a B.Com graduate. She has been researching in Sikh History and its various aspects. She is exploring her research and content writing skills in testimony. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading books and analysing the history of Gurdwara Sahib