About Sikh

About Sikh Religion

Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), Amritsar- India

  Sikhism (/ˈsikɪzəm/, Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖੀ), or Sikhi Sikkhī,

 pronounced [ˈsɪkːʰiː], from Sikh, meaning a "disciple", or a 

"learner"), is a religion that originated in the Punjab region

 of the Indian subcontinent about the end of the 15th century.

 It is one of the youngest of the major world religions. The 

fundamental beliefs of Sikhism, articulated in the sacred 

scripture Guru Granth Sahib, include constant spiritual

 

meditation of God's name, being guided by the Guru instead

 of yielding to capriciousness of mind or psyche, living a

 householder's life instead of monasticism, truthful action to

 dharam (righteousness, moral duty), being of selfless service

 to others, equality of all human beings, and believing in 

God's grace. In the early 21st century there were nearly 25

 million Sikhs worldwide, the great majority of them living in

 the Indian state of Punjab.

Sikhism is based on the spiritual teachings of Guru Nanak, 

the first Guru (1469 – 1539), and the nine Sikh gurus that

 succeeded him. The Tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, named

 the Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahibas his successor,

 terminating the line of human Gurus and making the

 scripture the eternal, religious spiritual guide for Sikhs

Sikhism rejects claims that any particular religious tradition

 has a monopoly on Absolute Truth.

The Sikh scripture opens with Ik Onkar (ੴ), its Mul Mantar

 and fundamental prayer about One Supreme Being (God).

 Sikhism emphasizes simran (meditation on the words of the

 Guru Granth Sahib), that can be expressed musically

 through kirtan or internally through Nam Japo (repeat God's

 name) as a means to feel God's presence. It teaches followers to transform the "Five Thieves" (lust, rage, greed,

 attachment, and ego). Hand in hand, secular life is

 considered to be intertwined with the spiritual life. Guru

 Nanak taught that living an "active, creative, and practical

 life" of "truthfulness, fidelity, self-control and purity" is

 above the metaphysical truth, and that the ideal man is one

 who "establishes union with God, knows His Will, and

 carries out that Will". Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh Guru,

 established the political/temporal (Miri) and spiritual (Piri)

 realms to be mutually coexistent. Sikhism evolved in times of

 religious persecution. Two of the Sikh gurus – Guru Arjan

 (14. April 1563 – 25 May 1605) and Guru Tegh Bahadur (12.

 April 1621 – 19. December 1675 ), after they refused to

 convert to Islam, were tortured and executed by the Mughal

 rulers. The persecution of Sikhs triggered the founding of

 the Khalsa.