Membership

How to become a member:

• Please read the SSA Code of Conduct - (bottom of this page)

• Just come to one of our general meetings or events, and approach one of our board members. They will ask you for you for some contact information, and you should be added to our mailing list within two days. 

SSA Code of Conduct

The Sikh Student Association of UC Irvine complies with the universally accepted Sikh code of conduct (Rehat Maryada) and makes every effort to embody these ideals. The Sikh code of conduct is a body based on the writings and teachings of the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. Pertinent sections have been included to highlight their relevance to daily college life in UC Irvine.

 

The Definition of Sikh
Article 1

Any human being who faithfully believes in

(i)  One Immortal Being,
(ii) Ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak Dev to Guru Gobind Singh,
(iii) The Guru Granth Sahib,
(iv) The utterances and teachings of the ten Gurus and
(v) the baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru, and who does not owe allegiance to any other religion, is a Sikh.

 

A Sikh's Personal Life

A Sikh's personal life should comprehend -

(i)  meditation on Nam (Divine Substance) and the scriptures,
(ii) leading life according to the Gurus teachings and
(iii) altruistic voluntary service.  

 

Living in Consonance with Guru's Tenets

A Sikh's living, earning livelihood, thinking and conduct should accord with the Guru's tenets. The Guru's tenets are:

(1) No superstitions need be entertained.

(2) No person, no matter which country, religion or cast he/she belongs to, is debarred from entering the gurduwara for darshan (seeing the holy shrine). However, he/she should not have on his/her person anything, such as tobacco or other intoxicants, which are tabooed by the Sikh religion.

(3) In the congregation, there should be no differentiation or discrimination between Sikh and non-Sikh, persons traditionally regarded as touchable and untouchable, the so called high and low caste persons, the high and the low.

(4) The Khalsa should maintain its distinctiveness among the professors of different religions of the world, but should not hurt the sentiment of any person professing another religion.

 

Voluntary Service (Sewa)

Voluntary service is a prominent part of Sikh religion. Illustrative models of voluntary service are organized, for imparting training, in the gurudwaras. Its simple forms are: sweeping and plastering the floors of the gurudwara [In olden times, buildings, particularly in rural areas had mud and not brick paved or cement floors. To give to these floors firmness and consistency, they were thinly plastered with a diluted compound of mud.], serving water to or fanning the congregation, offering provisions to and rendering any kind of service in the common kitchen-come-eating house, dusting the shoes of the people visiting the gurudwara, etc.

(a) Guru's kitchen-come-eating House. The philosophy behind the Guru's kitchen-come-eating house is two fold: to provide training to the Sikhs in voluntary service and to help banish all distinction of high and low, touchable and untouchable from the Sikhs minds.

(b) All human beings, high or low, and of any caste or color may sit and eat in the Guru's kitchen-come-eating house. No discrimination on grounds of the country of origin, color, caste or religion are be made while making people sit in rows for eating.

Reference: http://allaboutsikhs.com/rehat/

  Saturday, Jan 17, 2007