Agaliha
January 19th, 2008, 03:06 AM
I think I'm a day or two early, but my sister is going to visit this weekend and I didn't want to miss posting, so here it is... This time a symbol from Sikhism.
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7880/khanda1mz7.jpg
The Khanda is the symbol of the Sikhs, as the Cross is to Christians or the Star of David is to Jews. It reflects some of the fundamental concepts of Sikhism. The symbol derives its name from the double-edged sword (also called a Khanda) which appears at the center of the logo. This double-edged sword is a metaphor of Divine Knowledge, its sharp edges cleaving Truth from Falsehood. The circle around the Khanda is the Chakar. The Chakar being a circle without a beginning or and end symbolizes the perfection of God who is eternal. The Chakar is surrounded by two curved swords called Kirpans. These two swords symbolize the twin concepts of Meeri and Peeri - Temporal and Spiritual authority introduced by Guru Hargobind. They emphasize the equal emphasis that a Sikh must place on spiritual aspirations as well as obligations to society.From: Sikhs.org (http://www.sikhs.org/khanda.htm)
The Khanda (khaṇḍā) is one of most important symbols of Sikhism. Is emphasized by the fact that many Sikh flags, including the Nishan Sahib have the Khanda on them. It is a collection of four weapons commonly used by Sikhs at the time of Guru Gobind Singh Ji .
The weapons are
A double-edged sword called a Khanda sits in the middle.
A Chakkar is a circular weapon that surrounds the Khanda
Two single-edged swords, or kirpans, are crossed at the bottom and sit on either side of the Khanda and Chakkar. They represent the dual nature/duties of the Gurus, Miri and Piri.The weapons have symbolic meanings. The Khanda symbolises knowledge of God, the Chakkar symbolizes the oneness of God, Miri means political sovereignty and Piri means spiritual sovereignty.
The Khanda is an important emblem in Sikhism and can be compared to the symbol of Om in Hinduism and symbols from other Dharmic religions. The Chakar is the circle that indicates that God and eternal life is without end and perfect.
The current flag of Iran bears an emblem which is visually similar to a Khanda, but is not supposed to be referential to Sikhism. This has given credence to long standing rumors that Ayatollah Khomeni (who personally authorized this flag) explicitly borrowed this from Sikhism. There is a very established family in the Majha region of Punjab that has always claimed that the Ayatollah spent part of his childhood there.
The symbol is encoded in Unicode, in the Miscellaneous Symbols range, at codepoint U+262C (☬).
From: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khanda_%28religious_symbol%29)
The Khanda is the emblem of the Sikh faith, symbolizing the four pillars of Sikh belief. It consists of four symbolic weapons:
In the center, the double edged sword, or khanda, from which the symbol derives its name. The Khanda represents knowledge of divinity and the creative power of God.
Surrounding the khanda is a circular quoit, called a Chakkar (or chakka, meaning wheel, from the same root as chakra (http://altreligion.about.com/library/glossary/symbols/bldefschakra.htm)), a medieval weapon which symbolizes the unity of God.
On either side, crossed daggers, or kirpans, called Piri and Miri (after the personal weapons of Guru Hargobind), symbolizing spiritual and temporal (earthly) power in balance.
Another important device incorporating this symbol is the Nishan Sahib, or Saffron banner, which adorns Sikh Gurudwaras (temples).
From: Khanda (http://altreligion.about.com/library/glossary/symbols/bldefskhanda.htm)
Some Khanda wallpapers & images (http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0oGkmWTrpFHqqoABwpXNyoA?ei=UTF-8&p=khanda%20wallpapers&fr2=tab-web&fr=ytff1-yff2)
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7880/khanda1mz7.jpg
The Khanda is the symbol of the Sikhs, as the Cross is to Christians or the Star of David is to Jews. It reflects some of the fundamental concepts of Sikhism. The symbol derives its name from the double-edged sword (also called a Khanda) which appears at the center of the logo. This double-edged sword is a metaphor of Divine Knowledge, its sharp edges cleaving Truth from Falsehood. The circle around the Khanda is the Chakar. The Chakar being a circle without a beginning or and end symbolizes the perfection of God who is eternal. The Chakar is surrounded by two curved swords called Kirpans. These two swords symbolize the twin concepts of Meeri and Peeri - Temporal and Spiritual authority introduced by Guru Hargobind. They emphasize the equal emphasis that a Sikh must place on spiritual aspirations as well as obligations to society.From: Sikhs.org (http://www.sikhs.org/khanda.htm)
The Khanda (khaṇḍā) is one of most important symbols of Sikhism. Is emphasized by the fact that many Sikh flags, including the Nishan Sahib have the Khanda on them. It is a collection of four weapons commonly used by Sikhs at the time of Guru Gobind Singh Ji .
The weapons are
A double-edged sword called a Khanda sits in the middle.
A Chakkar is a circular weapon that surrounds the Khanda
Two single-edged swords, or kirpans, are crossed at the bottom and sit on either side of the Khanda and Chakkar. They represent the dual nature/duties of the Gurus, Miri and Piri.The weapons have symbolic meanings. The Khanda symbolises knowledge of God, the Chakkar symbolizes the oneness of God, Miri means political sovereignty and Piri means spiritual sovereignty.
The Khanda is an important emblem in Sikhism and can be compared to the symbol of Om in Hinduism and symbols from other Dharmic religions. The Chakar is the circle that indicates that God and eternal life is without end and perfect.
The current flag of Iran bears an emblem which is visually similar to a Khanda, but is not supposed to be referential to Sikhism. This has given credence to long standing rumors that Ayatollah Khomeni (who personally authorized this flag) explicitly borrowed this from Sikhism. There is a very established family in the Majha region of Punjab that has always claimed that the Ayatollah spent part of his childhood there.
The symbol is encoded in Unicode, in the Miscellaneous Symbols range, at codepoint U+262C (☬).
From: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khanda_%28religious_symbol%29)
The Khanda is the emblem of the Sikh faith, symbolizing the four pillars of Sikh belief. It consists of four symbolic weapons:
In the center, the double edged sword, or khanda, from which the symbol derives its name. The Khanda represents knowledge of divinity and the creative power of God.
Surrounding the khanda is a circular quoit, called a Chakkar (or chakka, meaning wheel, from the same root as chakra (http://altreligion.about.com/library/glossary/symbols/bldefschakra.htm)), a medieval weapon which symbolizes the unity of God.
On either side, crossed daggers, or kirpans, called Piri and Miri (after the personal weapons of Guru Hargobind), symbolizing spiritual and temporal (earthly) power in balance.
Another important device incorporating this symbol is the Nishan Sahib, or Saffron banner, which adorns Sikh Gurudwaras (temples).
From: Khanda (http://altreligion.about.com/library/glossary/symbols/bldefskhanda.htm)
Some Khanda wallpapers & images (http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0oGkmWTrpFHqqoABwpXNyoA?ei=UTF-8&p=khanda%20wallpapers&fr2=tab-web&fr=ytff1-yff2)