Introduction
Hinduism	Islam	Sikhism	Christianity
Buddhism	Jainism	Zoroastrianism	Bahai

Sikhism

Sikhism comes from the word Sikh, which means a disciple. A Sikh is a person who believes in One God and the teachings of the Ten Gurus, enshrined in Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book.

While both Buddhism and Jainism were inspired by religious and social ideas that emerged from an exclusively Hindu (or, technically speaking, Vedic) background, Sikhism, a more recent development, has similar links to both Hindu and Islamic ideals as well.

Sikhism shares beliefs with both Islam (e.g. monotheism) and Hinduism (e.g. Bhakti and monism). Sikhism should not, however, be regarded simply as two older religions blended into one, but rather as a genuinely new religion. Its followers believe it to have been authenticated by a new divine revelation

Background

This religion was founded by Guru Nanak, who was born in 1469 to a Hindu family. After several years of wandering, Nanak had a call to teach. He preached before Jain and Hindu temples and Muslim mosques and, in the process, attracted a number of sikhs or disciples. Religion, he thought, was a bond to unite men, but in practice he found that it set men against one another. He particularly regretted the antagonism between Hindus and Muslims. He wanted to go beyond what was being practiced by either religion and hence a well-known saying of Nanak is, "There is no Hindu and no Muslim." Nanak was opposed to the caste system. His followers referred to him as the guru (teacher). Before his death he designated a new Guru to be his successor and to lead his community. The tenth and the last Guru, Guru Gobind Singh (AD 1666–1708) initiated the Sikh Baptism ceremony in AD 1699 AD; and thus gave a distinctive identity to the Sikhs. The five baptised Sikhs were named Panj Pyare (Five Beloved Ones), who in turn baptised the Guru at his request. This is an empowering and democratizing phenomenon rarely seen in other major religions, i.e. a leader acknowledging the primacy of their followers. This empowerment of the Sikh community, the Khalsa, can be compared with the baptism of Jesus Christ by one of his followers, John the Baptist.

Shortly before passing away the Guru ordered that Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Holy Scripture would be the ultimate spiritual authority for the Sikhs and temporal authority would vest in the Khalsa Panth – The Sikh Commonwealth. The Sikh Holy Scripture was compiled and edited by the Fifth Guru, Guru Arjan in AD 1604. This is the only scripture in the world which has been compiled by the founders of a faith during their own life time. The Sikh Holy Scripture is written in Punjabi with parts in Bhojpuri and Urdu.

Nanak's doctrinal position is fairly simple, despite the appearance that it is a blend of insights originating from two very different faiths. Sikhism's coherence is attributable to its single central concept – the sovereignty of the One God, the Creator. Nanak called his god the "True Name" because he wanted to avoid any limiting term for God. He taught that the True Name, although manifest in manifold ways and in manifold places and known by manifold names, is eternally One, the Sovereign and omnipotent God, at once transcendent and immanent, creator and destroyer.

Nanak also subscribed to the Hindu belief in Maya. Even though he regarded material objects as realities and as expressions of the creator's eternal truth, they tend to erect "a wall of falsehood" around those who live totally in the mundane world of material desires. This prevents them from seeing the truly real God who created matter as a veil around God, so that only spiritual minds, free of desire, can penetrate it.

The world is immediately real in the sense that it is made manifest to the senses by maya, but is ultimately unreal in the sense that God alone is ultimately real. Retaining the Hindu doctrine of the transmigration of souls, together with its corollary, the law of karma, Nanak warned his followers not to prolong their round of reincarnation by living apart from God – that is, by choosing, through egoism and sensuous delights, to live in a worldly manner, abandoning God.

To do this is to accumulate karma. One should do nothing but think of God and endlessly repeat God's name (Nama Japam), another Hindu practice, and so have union with God. Salvation, he said, does not mean entering paradise after a last judgment, but a union and absorption into God, the true name.

Political pressure from surrounding Muslim nations forced the Sikhs to defend themselves and by the mid-nineteenth century, the Punjab area straddling modern-day India and Pakistan was ruled by them. The Sikh khalsa (army) was a match even for the invading British army.

History of Sikhism

Guru Nanak (1469–1538), the founder of Sikhism, was born in the village of Talwandi, now called Nankana Sahib, near Lahore in present-day Pakistan. His parents were of Hindu background and he belonged to the mercantile caste. Even as a boy, Nanak was fascinated by religion, and his desire to explore the mysteries of life eventually led him to leave home. He wandered all over India in the manner of Hindu saints. It was during this period that Nanak met Kabir (1441–1518), a saint revered by both Hindus and Muslims. He made four distinct major journeys, which are called Udasis spanning many thousands of miles.

In 1538, Guru Nanak chose Lehna, his disciple as a successor to the Guruship rather than his son. Bhai Lehna was named Guru Angad and became the second guru of the Sikhs. He continued the work started by the Founder. Guru Amar Das became the third Sikh guru in 1552 at the age of 73. Goindwal became an important centre for Sikhism during the Guruship of Guru Amar Das. Guruji continued to preach the principle of equality for women, the prohibition of Sati and the practise of Langar. In 1567, even Emperor Akbar sat with the ordinary and poor people of Punjab to have Langar. Guruji trained 140 apostles of which 52 were women to manage the rapid expansion of the religion. Before Guruji died in 1574 aged 95, he appointed his son-in-law, Jetha as the fourth Sikh Guru.

Jetha became Guru Ram Das and vigorously undertook his duties as the new guru. He is responsible for the establishment of the city of Ramdaspur later to be named Amritsar. In 1581, Guru Arjan Dev , youngest son of fourth guru became the Fifth Guru of the Sikhs. Guruji was responsible for the construction of the Golden Temple. He was also responsible for preparing the Sikh Sacred text and his personal addition of some 2000 plus hymns in the SGGS. In 1604 Guruji installed the Adi Granth for the first time as the Holy Book of the Sikhs. In 1606, for refusing to make changes to the SGGS Guruji was tortured and killed by the rulers of the time.

Guru Hargobind, became the sixth guru of the Sikhs. Guruji carried two swords – one for Spiritual reasons and one for temporal (worldly) reasons. From this point onward, the Sikhs became a military force and always had trained fighting force to defend their independence. In 1644, Guru Har Rai Ji became Guru followed by Guru Har Krishan, the Boy Guru in 1661. Guru Teg Bahadur became Guru in 1665 and led the Sikhs until 1675, when he sacrificed his life to save the Kashmiri Hindus who had come to him for help.

The final Sikh Guru in human form was Guru Gobind Singh who in 1708 made Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji the last, perpetual living guru of the Sikhs.

The Gurus of SikhismThe Ten Gurus of Sikhism

Sikhism was established by ten Gurus, teachers or masters over the period 1469 to 1708. These teachers were enlightened souls whose main purpose in life was the spiritual and moral well-being of the masses. Each master added and reinforced to the message taught by the previous and they ‘reined’ in succession resulting to the creation of a new religion that we now call Sikhism. Guru Nanak Dev Ji was the First Guru and Guru Gobind Singh the final Guru in human form. When Guru Gobind Singh Ji left this planet, he made the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (SGGS) the ultimate and final Sikh Guru. The SGGS is more than a holy book for the Sikh people.

1. Guru Nanak Dev 2. Guru Angad Dev 3. Guru Amar Das 4. Guru Ram Das 5. Guru Arjan Dev 6. Guru Hargobind 7. Guru Har Rai 8. Guru Har Krishan 9. Guru Teg Bahadur 10. Guru Gobind Singh For information on this section select The Ten Gurus of Sikhism

The Sri Guru Granth Sahib

The Sri Guru Granth Sahib is the living, perpetual and current Guru of the Sikhs. The eleventh and final Guru of the Sikhs is held in the highest regard by the Sikhs and is treated just like a living Guru. The SGGS forms the central part of the Sikh place of worship called a Gurdwara – the Sikh Church. The Holy Scripture is during the day placed in a large hall on a dominating platform on which is placed the throne upon which the SGGS is with great dignity and respect placed on expensive and colourful fabric.

For more information see Sri Guru Granth Sahib

Sikh Religious Philosophy

The Sikh Religious Philosophy can be divided into 5 Sections: Primary Beliefs & Principles:

Underlying Values:

Prohibited Behaviour:

Technique and Methods:

Other Observations:

Sikhs Five Ks

Main article: The Five Ks

Sikhs are bound to wear five items, known as the 5Ks, on them at all times. It is done either out of respect for the tenth prophet, Guru Gobind Singh, or out of sense of duty.

The 5 items are: Kaysh, Kanga, Kara, Kirpan & Kacha which translate into: Uncut hair, small comb, bangle, small sword, shorts. Most male Sikhs will wear a turban over the uncut hair.

Sikhs today

India, 1980s

United States, 2000s

France, 2000s

The Sikh Pages

Audio Links

Kirtan Links

Nitnem Links

Notes

Census 2001 Religion Data

Census confusion highlights Indian rift
By Ranjit Devraj

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