Sikhism, also known as Sikhi, is an Indian religion and philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religions and is followed by 25–30 million adherents, known as Sikhs.
Sikhism developed from the spiritual teachings of Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the faith's first guru, and the nine Sikh gurus who succeeded him. The tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708), named the Guru Granth Sahib, which is the central religious scripture in Sikhism, as his successor. This brought the line of human gurus to a close. Sikhs regard the Guru Granth Sahib as the 11th and eternally living guru.
The core beliefs and practices of Sikhism, articulated in the Guru Granth Sahib and other Sikh scriptures, include faith and meditation in the name of the one creator (Ik Onkar), the divine unity and equality of all humankind, engaging in selfless service to others (sevā), striving for justice for the benefit and prosperity of all (sarbat da bhala), and honest conduct and livelihood. Following this standard, Sikhism rejects claims that any particular religious tradition has a monopoly on absolute truth. As a consequence, Sikhs do not actively proselytise, although voluntary converts are generally accepted. Sikhism emphasises meditation and remembrance as a means to feel God's presence (simran), which can be expressed musically through kirtan or internally through naam japna (lit. 'meditation on God's name'). Baptised Sikhs are obliged to wear the five Ks, which are five articles of faith which physically distinguish Sikhs from non-Sikhs. Among these include the kesh (uncut hair). Most religious Sikh men thus do not cut their hair but rather wear a turban.
The religion developed and evolved in times of religious persecution, gaining converts from both Hinduism and Islam. The Mughal emperors of India tortured and executed two of the Sikh gurus—Guru Arjan (1563–1606) and Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675)—after they refused to convert to Islam. The persecution of the Sikhs triggered the founding of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 as an order to protect the freedom of conscience and religion, with members expressing the qualities of a sant-sipāhī ("saint-soldier").
Terminology
The majority of Sikh scriptures were originally written in the alphabet of Gurmukhī, a script standardised by Guru Angad out of Laṇḍā scripts historically used in present-day Pakistan and North India. Adherents of Sikhism are known as Sikhs, meaning "students" or "disciples" of the guru. The English word Sikhism derives from the Punjabi word for the religion Sikhi (Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖੀ Sikkhī, [ˈsɪk.kʰiː] ⓘ, from Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ, romanised: Sikh, lit. 'disciple'), which connotes the "temporal path of learning" and is rooted in the verb sikhana (lit. 'to learn'). The Global Institute of Sikh Studies translates the term Sikh as meaning "bearers of sikhiā [wisdom]".
Some Sikhs oppose the exonym term Sikhism as they claim the word was coined by the British colonists rather than by Sikhs themselves, and they instead prefer the endonym Sikhi. They argue that an "-ism" connotes a fixed and immutable worldview which is not congruent with the internally fluid nature of the Sikh philosophy. Other terms Sikhs use to name their faith are gursikhi, gurmat, or dharam.
Philosophy and teachings
The basis of Sikhism lies in the teachings of Guru Nanak and his successors. Sikhs emphasise the congruence between spiritual development and everyday moral conduct. Its founder, Guru Nanak, summarised this perspective by saying, "Truth is the highest virtue, but higher still is truthful living." Sikhism emphasises Ėk nūr te sab jag upjiā, 'From the one light, the entire universe welled up.' Guru Nanak also emphasised his teachings to his disciples by giving them real-life examples.
God
Sikhism is a monotheistic and panentheistic religion. Sikhs believe that only one God exists and that God is simultaneously within everything and is all-encompassing. The oneness of God is reflected by the phrase Ik Onkar. In Sikhism, the word for God is Waheguru (lit. 'wondrous teacher'). The Waheguru is considered to be Nirankar ("shapeless"), Akal ("timeless"), Karta Purakh ("the creator being"), Akaal Purkh ("beyond time and death") and Agam Agochar ("incomprehensible and invisible").
In a literal sense, God has no gender in Sikhism, but metaphorically, God is presented as masculine and God's power as feminine. For example, Guru Gobind Singh refers to God as his father and God's creative power as his mother. Similarly, another example is that the Guru Granth Sahib, the primary Sikh scripture, says that all humans are soul-brides who long to unite with their husband Lord. In addition, the gurus also wrote in the Guru Granth Sahib that there are many worlds on which the transcendental God has created life.
The Sikh scripture begins with God as Ik Onkar (ੴ), the 'One Creator', understood in the Sikh tradition as monotheistic unity of God. Ik onkar (sometimes capitalised) is more loosely rendered 'the one supreme reality', 'the one creator', 'the all-pervading spirit', and other ways of expressing a diffused but unified and singular sense of God and creation.
The traditional Mul Mantar goes from ik onkar until Nanak hosee bhee sach. The opening line of the Guru Granth Sahib and each subsequent raga mentions ik onkar:
ੴ
ikk ōankār
ਸਤਿ
sat(i)
ਨਾਮੁ
nām(u)
ਕਰਤਾ
karatā
ਪੁਰਖੁ
purakh(u)
ਨਿਰਭਉ
nirabha'u
ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ
niravair(u)
ਅਕਾਲ
akāl(a)
ਮੂਰਤਿ
mūrat(i)
ਅਜੂਨੀ
ajūnī
ਸੈਭੰ
saibhan
ਗੁਰ
gur(a)
ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ॥
prasād(i)
"There is one supreme being, the eternal reality, the creator, without fear and devoid of enmity, immortal, never incarnated, self-existent, known by grace through the true guru."
Worldly illusion
Māyā, defined as a temporary illusion or "unreality", is one of the core deviations from the pursuit of God and salvation: where worldly attractions give only illusory, temporary satisfaction and pain that distracts from the process of the devotion of God. However, Nanak emphasised māyā as not a reference to the world's unreality but its values. In Sikhism, the influences of ego, anger, greed, attachment, and lust, known as the pānj chor ('Five Thieves'), are believed to be particularly distracting and hurtful. Sikhs believe the world is currently in a state of Kali Yuga ('age of darkness') because the world is led astray by the love of and attachment to māyā. The fate of people vulnerable to the five thieves is separation from God, and the situation may be remedied only after intensive and relentless devotion.
Timeless truth
According to Guru Nanak, the supreme purpose of human life is to reconnect with Akal ('The Timeless One'). However, egotism is the most significant barrier to making this connection. Using the Guru's teaching remembrance of nām (the divine Name of the Lord) leads to the end of egotism. Guru Nanak designated the word Guru ('teacher') to mean the voice of "the spirit": the source of knowledge and the guide to salvation. As ik onkar is universally immanent, Guru is indistinguishable from Akal and are one and the same.
Liberation
Guru Nanak's teachings are founded not on a final destination of heaven or hell but on a spiritual union with the Akal, which results in salvation or jivanmukti ('enlightenment/liberation within one's lifetime'), a concept also found in Hinduism. Guru Gobind Singh makes it clear that human birth is obtained with great fortune, and therefore one needs to be able to make the most of this life.
Sikhs accept reincarnation and karma concepts found in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism, but do not necessarily infer a metaphysical soteriology such as a state of "heaven" or "nirvana." Nevertheless, in Sikhism, both karma and liberation are "modified by the concept of God's grace" (nadar, mehar, kirpa, karam, etc.). Guru Nanak states that "the body takes birth because of karma, but salvation is attained through grace." To get closer to God, Sikhs: avoid the evils of maya; keep the everlasting truth in mind; practice shabad kirtan (musical recitation of hymns); meditate on naam; and serve humanity. Sikhs believe that being in the company of the satsang (association with sat, 'true', people) or sadh sangat is one of the key ways to achieve liberation from the cycles of reincarnation. The Sikh community may be seen to correspond to A.D. Smith's definition of a politicised community, sharing common ancestry myths and historical memories of martyrdom and persecution under successive rulers.
Power and devotion (Miri and Piri)
Miri Piri is a doctrine practiced in the Sikh religion since the seventeenth century. The doctrine of the "Mir" (social and political aspects of life) and the "Pir" (guides to the spiritual aspect of life) was revealed by the first guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, but propounded by the sixth guru of Sikhism, Guru Hargobind, on 12 June 1606. After the martyrdom of his father, Guru Hargobind was elevated to the Guruship and fulfilled the prophecy that was given by the primal figure of Sikh, Baba Buddha, that the guru will possess spiritual and temporal power. Guru Hargobind introduced the two swords of Miri and Piri, symbolising both worldly (social and political) and spiritual authority. The two kirpan of Miri and Piri are tied together with a khanda in the centre, so the combination of both is considered supreme. This means that all action informed or arising out of the spiritual heart completes one's purpose and meaning in the world of action: spirituality.
Guru Nanak, the first Sikh guru and the founder of Sikhism, was a Bhakti saint. He taught that the most important form of worship is Bhakti (devotion to Waheguru). Guru Arjan, in the Sukhmani Sahib, recommended the true religion as one of loving devotion to God. The Guru Granth Sahib includes suggestions on how a Sikh should perform constant Bhakti. Some scholars call Sikhism a Bhakti sect of Indian traditions, adding that it emphasises "nirguni Bhakti", i.e. loving devotion to a divine without qualities or physical form. However, Sikhism also accepts the concept of saguni, i.e. a divine with qualities and form. While Western scholarship generally places Sikhism as arising primarily within a Hindu Bhakti movement milieu while recognising some Sufi Islamic influences, some Indian Sikh scholars disagree and state that Sikhism transcended the environment it emerged from. The basis of the latter analysis is that Bhakti traditions did not clearly disassociate from Vedic texts and their cosmologies and metaphysical worldview, while the Sikh tradition clearly did disassociate from the Vedic tradition.
Several Sikh sects outside the Punjab region of India, such as those found in Maharashtra and Bihar, practice aarti (the ceremonial use of lamps) during Bhakti observances in a Sikh gurdwara. However, most Sikh gurdwaras forbid aarti during their Bhakti practices. While emphasising Bhakti, the Sikh gurus also taught that the spiritual life and secular householder life are intertwined, and not separate. This logically follows from the panentheistic nature of Sikh philosophy. In Sikh worldview, the everyday world is part of the Infinite Reality, increased spiritual awareness leads to increased and vibrant participation in the everyday world. Guru Nanak described living an "active, creative, and practical life" of "truthfulness, fidelity, self-control and purity" as being higher than the metaphysical truth.
The sixth guru, Guru Hargobind, after Guru Arjan's martyrdom, faced with oppression by the Islamic Mughal Empire, affirmed the philosophy that the political/temporal (Miri) and spiritual (Piri) realms are mutually coexistent. According to the ninth Sikh guru, Tegh Bahadur, the ideal Sikh should have both Shakti (power that resides in the temporal), and Bhakti (spiritual meditative qualities). This was developed into the concept of the "saint soldier" by the tenth Sikh guru, Gobind Singh.
The concept of humanity, as elaborated by Guru Nanak, refines and negates the "monotheistic concept of self/God", declaring that "monotheism becomes almost redundant in the movement and crossings of love". Sikh gurus have taught that the human's goal is to end all dualities of "self and other, I and not-I", attain the "attendant balance of separation-fusion, self-other, action-inaction, attachment-detachment, in the course of daily life".
Singing and music
Sikhs refer to the hymns of the gurus as Gurbani (lit. 'Guru's word'). Shabad Kirtan is the singing of Gurbani. The entire Guru Granth Sahib is written in the form of poetry and rhyme to be recited in thirty-one ragas of classical Indian music as specified. However, the exponents of these are rarely to be found amongst the Sikhs who are conversant with all the Ragas in the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Nanak started the Shabad Kirtan tradition and taught that listening to kirtan is a powerful way to achieve tranquility while meditating, and singing of the glories of the "Supreme Timeless One" (God) with devotion is the most effective way to come in communion with the "Supreme Timeless One". The three morning prayers for Sikhs consist of Japji Sahib, Jaap Sahib, and Tav-Prasad Savaiye. Baptised Sikhs (Amritdharis) rise early and meditate, then recite all the Five Banis of Nitnem, before breakfast. The Five Banis consist of Japji Sahib, Jaap Sahib, Tav-Prasad Savaiye, Chaupai Sahib, Anand Sahib; recitation of the banis paath is followed by Ardās, in which the Sarbat da Bhala principle is taught by gurus.