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Summary of Question:	Punjabi Culture & Sikhi--What's The Difference
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Wednesday, 9/05/2001 8:12 PM MDT

Sat Sri Akal Ji

These days i see alot of peolple calling themselves Sikh. I just wanted to ask if its alright for a mona with 40 different earings on their face and someone that doesnt know nothing about Sikhi, except that sikhs go to the gudwara and wear a turban, call himself a Sikh. I Know its not my job to judge them but i still think its not right.

Alot of people say Punjabi & Sikh are the same people...i dont agree
can u tell me a little about Punjabi Culture & Sikhi...if there is any difference

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa
Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh

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Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa
Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh

Dear One:

You are right. It is very hard not to judge who calls himself a Sikh or not. We can never really know what's in one's heart when it comes to faith and religious discipline, and the relationship of someone to Guru is personal and pretty much private. So as hard as it is, do not judge what you see. Just bless them and pray to Guru that they live as Guru taught, and if they make you feel uncomfortable stay out of their way.

It's important to remember that the SIkh faith was born in what we call Punjab, a state in Northern India. (During Guru's time, Punjab included part of what is now in Pakistan.) So, Sikh faith could be called a Punjabi religion, but it is not limited to Punjab!

Punjabi means things or people of/from Punjab, India. This includes many people who are Sikh, many who are Hindu, and more. India is a huge country. Its dominant, Hindu-based culture is thousands of years old. This culture influences ALL of India to different degrees and lengths. So Punjabi culture is aspects of Indian culture typical of Punjab. This means both Sikhs and Hindus and Muslims of Punjab might have a lot of cultural practices in common, including food, music, dance, dialect (Punjabi language) etc.

As for Sikhi, this is a world religion. It started in Punjab, but is not limited to Punjab. There are ethnically non-Punjabi Sikhs in USA, Mexico, Latin America, Europe, Africa. They practice Sikhi without Punjabi culture, essentially.

This is not the place to go on at length about what Sikhi is, and what Punjabi culture is. Sikhi can be practiced anywhere. Punjabi culture can include Punjabi Sikhs, but is greater than that.

Many Punjabi Sikhs consider themselves both Punjabi and Sikh, naturally. Sometimes, how Sikhi is practiced by some Punjabis can be heavily influenced by non-Sikh Punjabi or Hindu practices and beliefs. This can cause confusion, because many Punjabi Sikhs don't usually recognize that some things they practice are not actually part of Sikhi. I see a lot of questions on this Web site that ask about cultural things that are not part of Sikhi, but have been perceived to be so because someone was raised with it.

I hope this gives you a framework to work from on this matter. Guru rakha,
-DKK