Rehat
code of Conduct for Sikhs
Rehat (Punjabi: ਰਹਿਤ, alternatively transliterated as Rehit, Rahit, or Rahat) refers to the rules and traditions which govern the unique Sikh lifestyle and determines correct Sikh orthodoxy and orthopraxy. The Sikh Rehit Maryada (Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਰਹਿਤ ਮਰਯਾਦਾ, Sikkh Rahit Maryādā; also transcribed as Sikh Reht Maryada or Khalsa Rehat Maryada) is a code of conduct and conventions for Sikhism. The final version of the Rehat Maryada was controversially approved by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar in 1945. The Rehat Maryada was created to provide guidance to Sikhs (and those desirous of embracing the Sikh faith) on practical and functional aspects of daily life, including the operations of Sikh Gurdwaras, and religious practices to foster cohesion throughout the community. Rehitnāma (meaning "epistles of conduct; plural: Rehitnāme) is a Punjabi term that refers to a genre of Sikh religious literature which expounds upon specifying an approved way of life for a Sikh.
Etymology
Rehat derives from the Punjabi word rahiṇā (to live, to remain) and means "mode of living". Maryādā derives from a Sanskrit compound word composed of marya (limit, boundary, mark) and ādā (to give to oneself, to accept, to undertake), meaning bounds or limits of morality and propriety, rule, or custom.
History
Before the passing of the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, in 1708, he transferred the Guruship and authority to the Sikh Holy Scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, and the body of initiated Sikhs, called the Khalsa Panth. Before his death, Guru Gobind Singh provided what is known as 52 Hukams and instructed his followers to formalize them by writing Rehat Namas. The 52 Hukams are a set of 52 rules on proper conduct.
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This entry incorporates text from “Rehat” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.