Sikh Religion

Community

Sikhism founded on the teachings of Nanak and nine successive gurus in fifteenth century Northern India, is the fifth-largest religion in the world.. This system of religious philosophy and expression has been traditionally known as the Gurmat (literally the counsel of the gurus) or the Sikh Dharma. Sikhism originated from the word Sikh, which in turn comes from the Sanskrit root meaning "disciple" or "learner", or śikṣa meaning "instruction.

The principal belief of Sikhism is faith in Vahiguru represented using the sacred symbol of Ek oa Kar. Sikhism advocates the pursuit of salvation through disciplined, personal meditation on the name and message of God. A key distinctive feature of Sikhism is a non-anthropomorphic concept of God, to the extent that one can interpret God as the Universe itself. The followers of Sikhism are ordained to follow the teachings of the ten Sikh gurus, or enlightened leaders, as well as the Holy Scripture entitled the Guru Granth Sahib, which includes the selected works of many authors from diverse socioeconomic and religious backgrounds.



The text was decreed by Gobind Singh, the tenth guru, as the final guru of the Khalsa Panth. Sikhism's traditions and teachings are distinctly associated with the history, society and culture of the Punjab. Adherents of Sikhism are known as Sikhs (students or disciples) and number over 23 million across the world. Most Sikhs live in the state of Punjab in India and, prior to the country's partition; millions of Sikhs lived in what is now the Punjab province of Pakistan.