Sikhism

**Sikhism (ਸਿੱਖ ਧਰਮ)** is a monotheistic-dharmic religion and philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the beginning of the 16th century. It is one of the newest major religions, ranking as the fifth-largest worldwide, with about 25–30 million followers known as the *Sikhs*.

## Overview
The teachings of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, and the nine gurus who followed him formed the foundation of Sikhism. The tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, declared the Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib as the eternal guide for Sikhs, concluding the line of human gurus. Guru Nanak emphasized living a practical life with values like purity, truthfulness, self-control and fidelity, prioritizing these over abstract truths. Guru Hargobind, the sixth guru, introduced the idea of balancing the worldly and spiritual aspects of life.

### Scripture
The Sikh scripture begins with the Mul Mantar, a fundamental prayer about Ek Onkar ('One God'). Sikhism's key beliefs, found in the Guru Granth Sahib, include faith and meditation in the name of the one creator, recognizing the unity and equality of all humans, selfless service, seeking justice for everyone's well-being, and maintaining honesty while leading a family life. Sikhism rejects the idea that any specific religion holds a monopoly on absolute truth. It encourages practices like meditation (simran) and remembering the teachings through music (kirtan) or internal reflection (naam japna) to feel God's presence. Sikhs are taught to overcome the "Five Thieves" – lust, rage, greed, attachment, and ego.

## Beliefs
Guru Granth Sahib is not just a holy book for Sikhs, it is respected and treated as a living being as it is officially The Eternal Guru (Teachers). Shri Guru Granth Sahib is not written by one human but by saints from all across societies and religions. It is a universal teacher for all religions giving the message of one God and respect to all humans of every religion.

### General
* There is nothing that is beyond or outside the one God. So, therefore there is nothing being created or destroyed, as the creation and destruction are still only part of the one.
* The goal of life is to focus on being at one with God. This is attainable by meditation, prayer, and being in the company of others who share a similar goal.

### God
Sikhism teaches that God lasts forever and cannot be seen. Therefore, God has no gender. It is taught that God created the universe  and keeps it running. God is considered to be infinite, Alpha and Omega, no beginning and no end. Sikhs worship God, and meditate on God’s name through intense (passionate) repetition. They believe everything is a part of God and God is a part of everything. Good, bad, neutral are not applicable to God and are meant only for human beings, as Sikh philosophy indicates that human beings are born innately good. Since God created the world he could destroy it whenever he wants.

### Salvation
Followers are all trying to reach salvation, meaning they are trying to break the process of rebirth and become one with God. The thing that is keeping people from reaching union is bad karma. Bad karma is taught to be caused by pride, anger, greed, attachment and lust. Sikhs try to stay away from these things. Sikhs also believe that a piece of God resides within everything in the world. Once an individual discovers the God within and stops searching else then can he reach salvation.

## Temples
A Sikh temple is called a *Gurdwara* (meaning "the house of Guru"). It is the place of worship in the Sikh religion. Birth, death, baptism and marriage ceremonies are held in the temple. There are four doors for all religions. When a person enters the temple, their head must be covered. There are no chairs in the temple so people sit on the floor. The temple also serves as a kitchen. The kitchen is where festive food is donated, prepared and cooked by volunteers. All the food that has been made there is shared with all the community who visit the temple on that day. The meal is vegetarian and is called the Langar.
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### Holy sites
Three holiest sites in Sikhism are the Gurudwara Janam Asthan, Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan and the Golden Temple in India. In a Gurdwara, no special place or seat may be reserved or set aside for any dignitary, as all are considered equals. The service consists of singing of the liturgy, as well as the exposition of Sikh history, tradition, and theology.  In traditional Indian society, people of high and low caste were rigidly segregated. To combat this social problem, the Sikh community kitchen, or *langar*, requires everyone to sit side by side and eat together, thereby teaching the concept of equality by shattering all barriers of caste and class. Every major city in the United States and Canada has Sikh gurdwaras and they are open to all Sikh people go to Gurdwara to worship God.

## Vaisakhi
Vaisakhi is an important festival celebrated by Sikhs. Vaisakhi is also known as Basaki. It is the harvest festival in the Punjab region. Vaisakhi is celebrated on the first day of the Basak month, in the Nanakshahi calendar.

## Gurus
The term ‘guru’ comes from the Sanskrit: *gurū*, which means teacher, guide, or mentor. The traditions and philosophy of Sikhism were made by ten gurus from 1469 to 1708. Each guru added to and reinforced the message taught by the previous one. This resulted in the creation of the Sikh religion. Meanwhile, the eternal Guru is the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, which is a not just a book but contains the writings of each Guru. In addition to the above, Sikhs also believe in fifteen *bhagats* or saints, including ones from other creeds, whose words and deeds have been adopted into Sikhism by the great ten Gurus. Most notable of these *bhagats* is the Punjabi Sufi saint, Hazrat Baba Farid.

**Food Banks**
Sikhs believe in equality therefore they have food banks to go and get food for free. These are known as the ‘Langars’.

**Extra facts**
It is said that Sikhs have to give 10% of their earnings to charity. Sikhs believe in equality therefore the are all equal in money. Nobody is poor and nobody is rich. There is a Sikh alphabet. Sikhism, religion and philosophy founded in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent in the late 15th century. The Sikhs call their faith Gurmat (Punjabi: “the Way of the Guru”). According to Sikh tradition, Sikhism was established by Guru Nanak (1469–1539) and subsequently led by a succession of nine other Gurus.

### 5 Ks 
Khalsa is the military community of Sikhism. A Sikh must follow the 5 Ks:

# Having unshorn/uncut hair. This is called a Kesh. Whether male or female, a person is required to keep their Kesh covered. People usually cover their Kesh with a turban, or a scarf (Chunni).
# A wooden comb in their hair. This is called a Kanga. This symbolizes cleanliness which is an important part of Sikhism.
# A steel bangle. This is for protection and physical reminder that a one is bound to the Guru. This is called a Kara. This is to show that God has no beginning and no end.
# Cotton underwear that has to be always worn. This is called a Kachera. It is a reminder to stay away from lust and attachment.
# A sword. This is worn to defend one's faith and protect the weak. This is called Kirpan. It is only to be used in self-defense. Many of these are now welded shut.

### Nitnem 
Nitnem is a collection of Sikh  hymns Gurbani to be read minimally 3 different times of the day. These are mandatory and to be read by every Amritdhari Sikh as expressed in the Sikh Rehat Maryada. Optionally additional prayers may be added to a Sikh's *nitnem*. There are five prayer or Five Banis to be done during Amrit Vela (early morning), the Rehras Sahib hymn for the evening and Kirtan Sohila for the night. The morning and evening prayers should be followed by an Ardaas.

## References
## Other websites
* Sikhs.org
* https://sikhguruji.com(https://sikhguruji.com/index.html) 
* Sikh Missionary Society (UK)—Non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the Sikh religion, culture and history
* Religious Tolerance 
* BBC
* Siknet
* Sikhism 
* What is Sikhism
* Sikh Wiki 
* Sikh Karsewa 
* English translations of sacred texts
* Nitnem in Punjabi