Sikhism is one of the youngest religions whose origin dates back to the end of the 15th century in the Indian region of Punjab. Currently, there are more than 25 million inhabitants who profess it, of which more than a million Sikhs are outside India. The United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, where they are already in their fifth generation, are the countries with the largest population of this confession.
In Spain, the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundation estimates that there are about 25,000 people who practice this monotheistic religion, which has its three main pillars in meditation, generosity and honest work at the service of the family.
Half are located in Catalonia, where there are a dozen worship centers (gurdwara), open to anyone regardless of their condition or religion and where food is served daily.
More than half of Catalonia's gurdwaras are in the province of Barcelona, where the first place of worship was opened in 1995. However, it is in Garrotxa where the largest community exists, with nearly 3,000 people.
“The majority arrived in the second half of the 1990s and work in factories or run their own businesses or supermarkets,” explains Gagandeep Singh Khalsa, spokesperson for the community in Catalonia and mediator by profession.
He notes that his religion is “greatly unknown, we are sometimes confused with Islam” and points out the obstacles posed by the turban, which can be worn by both men and women, and which is one of the main signs of identity.
“It is our uniform, our identity symbol.” A garment that covers the hair, which practitioners do not cut throughout their lives, nor their beard. “We respect nature and its course; For us, hair is as important to our body as a tree is to the earth,” he says.
Another of the precepts of this religion is vegetarianism. “Killing an animal represents for us the same violence as killing a human,” he adds. They also do not consume alcohol or tobacco and proclaim equality between all races.
One of the peculiarities of the Sikhs is the use of the same surname, Kaur (princess) for women and Singh (lion) for men. An action that marked the end of the caste system in 1699 and that was one of the main legacies of the tenth and last Sikh guru, Gobind Singh Ji (1666-1708).
He is also credited with the founding of the Khalsa, a brotherhood that urged the faithful to lead a life as pure as possible according to the teachings of the nine previous gurus and a dress code, based on five symbols, the 5 K.
Apart from the fact that practicing Sikhs never cut their hair (Kesh), as a sign of holiness and purity, under their turban they carry a wooden comb (Kangha), which symbolizes inner cleanliness and purity.
They also wear a steel bracelet (kara), as a commitment to the truth, as well as a small dagger (kirpan), which symbolizes bravery and defense of the weakest, and shorts that serve as underwear (kachera), which represents chastity
In memory of the birth of the last guru, today more than 3,000 Sikhs, coming mainly from Barcelona and the metropolitan area, will meet at the Sant Adrià del Besòs gurdwara, from where they will leave in a procession around 10:30 a.m. through the streets of the municipality in one of the most important ceremonies and festivities of this religion.
