Sikhism was founded on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and nine other successive Gurus in fifteenth century. It is the fifth largest organised religion in the world.
The principal belief of Sikhism is faith in WaheGuru - represented using the sacred symbol of 'Ek Onkar' (one God). The essense of sikh teaching is summed up by Nanak in these words - 'Realisation of truth is higher than anything else. Higher is still truthful living.' Sikhism believes in equality of all humans and rejects discrimination cast and creed. Sikhism also does not attach any importance to acseticism as a means to attain saturation, but stresses on the need of leading life as a householder. For sikhs intiation to Khalsa strengths their identity and also signifies the sikh teaching of equality.
Sikhism is a monotheistic (that only one deity exists) religion. In sikhism, WaheGuru (God) is formless, eternal and unobserved. The beginning of the first composition of sikh scripture is the figure '1' signifying the university of God). It states that God is omnipresent and infinite, and is signified by the term 'Ek Onkar'
They believe that the full understanding of God is out of the reach of human beings. Guru Nanak Dev Ji described God as wholly unknowable. Guru Nanak Dev ji emphsized the revelation through meditation, as its rigorous application permits the existence of communication between God and human beings.
Nanak teachings are founded not on a final destination of heaven or hell, but on a spiritual union with God which results in salvation.
Maya (illusion) is one of the core deviations from the pursuit of God and salvation. Guru Nanak Dev Ji emphasised Maya as not a reference to the unreality of ego, anger, greed, attachment and lust (known as the five evils) are believed to be particularly pernicious. The fate of people is vulnerable to the five evils. The situation may be remedied only by devotion and meditation.
A key practice to be persued is Naam Simran (meditation with holy hymn). The verbal repetition of the name of God or a sacred syllable is an establishment practice in religious traditions in India, but Nanak's interpretation emphasized inward personal observance.
The tradition and philosophy of Sikhism were established by ten specific Gurus from 1499 to 1709. Each Guru added to and reinforced the message taught by previous resulting in the creation of Sikh religion. The ten Gurus are -
1. Guru Nanak Dev Ji
2. Guru Angad Dev Ji
3. Guru Amardas Ji
4. Guru Ramdas Ji
5. Guru Arjun Dev Ji
6. Guru Hargobind Dev Ji
7. Guru Har Rai Singh Ji
8. Guru Harkrishan Ji
9. Guru Teg Bahadur Ji
10. Guru Gobind Singh Ji
In addition to these ten Gurus, there is another Guru - Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (the holy book of Sikhs). The final version of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji was compiled by the tenth Guru, Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji. It consists of the Adi Granth in addition of Guru Teg Bahadur's hymns. It was decreed by Guru Gobind Singh Ji that the Grand is to be considered as the eternal GurU of all Sikhs, however, this tradition is not mentioned either in Guru Granth Sahib or in Dasam Granth. Guru Granth Sahib contains compositions by first five Gurus, Guru Teg Bahadur ji and just one slok (couplet) from Guru Gobind Singh ji. It also contains the tranditions and teachings of Saints such as St. Kabir, St. Namdev, St. Ravidas, and St. Sheikh Farid along with several others.
All text in Granth is known as 'Gurbani'. According to Guru Nanak Dev ji, Gurbani
was revealed by God directly and authors wrote it down for the followers. In
the Saint tradition of Guru Nanak Dev ji, the Guru was literally the world of
God.
The Dasam Granth is an eighteenth century collection of miscellaneous work, generally attributed to Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The teachings of Guru Gobind Singh were not included in Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs and instead were collected in the Dasam Granth. Unlike Guru Granth Sahib the Dasam Granth was never declared to hold guruship. The entire Granth is written in Gurmukhi script, although most of the language is Braj but not Punjabi.
Khalsa (pure) is the name given by Guru Gobind Singh Ji to all sikhs who have been baptised or initiated by taking Amrit in a ceremony called Amrit Sanchar. Baptised Sikhs are bound to wear the five K's (Kes, Kangha, Kada, Kirpan, and Kachera).
World wide, there are 25,800,000 (25.8 million) sikhs, but around 75% of sikhs live in the State of Punjab, where they are about 61% of the population. However, sikhs are only 2% of the Indian population.
Like Hindus, many sikhs are also divided along caste lines, although these divisions exist contrary to the teachings of Sikh Gurus. Nihangs, tend to have a little difference in practice but are considered proper by mainstream Sikhism.
