Sikh not Muslim, there's a difference

Sikh. Okay, Sikh: form of Muslim or Middle Eastern religious group. This is not an accurate definition; this is my preliminary concept of what it means to be Sikh. Before attending the Sikh Experience in America lecture this last week at Chico State, I had only a vague idea of what it means to be Sikh, especially what it means to be practicing in the states. After hearing Dr. Daniel Viblinger speak, I went home and typed in Sikh on NewYorkTimes.com’s search engine and was bombarded with articles covering the numerous hate crimes against this marginalized, American sub-culture. One article described a high school boy being assaulted in a bathroom by a pier simply for the reason that he wore traditional Sikh garb and appeared to be Middle Eastern. This issue that peaked after 911 is relevant and is not subsiding.

            Dr. Viblinger, professor of Eastern Religions led the group of college students through the discussion and was accompanied by a Sikh representative, a student by the name of Rashmeer. Giving a brief overview of the religion’s historical background, Dr. Viblinger commenced the talk. It was mentioned that this practice has a distinguished past and was initiated in the year 1499; way before modern American Christian practice was developed. Apparently this faith springs from areas in India and Pakistan all of which are preponderantly Punjab. As I understand it, a Guru is chosen, or was chosen in the beginning, as the leader of the faith, and systematically finds an apprentice to carry on his legacy. This practice was discontinued, however, when it appeared that one leader’s dictation was going to be detrimental to the group as a whole. It seems this is a reoccurring theme throughout the societies of the world; once a nation’s or a religion’s leader obtains too much power the cohesiveness of the followers is impacted negatively.

            As the lecture progressed, the speaker switched gears from the past of the Punjabis to their current experience. He focused specifically on the growing American Sikh population and mentioned that much of that increasing community has relocated to California. This is supposedly largely due to the fact that weather patterns are so closely related in Northern California to that of their originating regions in Southern Asia. Here they are able to reproduce the types of plant life in areas such as Yuba City and Butte County that originate in India and Pakistan. To me, this would seem like a huge comfort when migrating to a distant place; food can be extremely comforting especially when the food in your new home is so over processed. Overall, this was an eye-opening venue. It is so helpful to get forced to go learn about the world around you, especially when you’re a twenty-year-old self-centered American. Knowledge never hurt anybody..