World Religions - Sikhism

Sikhism

What do Sikhs believe?

Sikhism was founded to bring a harmony to the religions of Islam and Hinduism. While, it is not really a compromise between the two religions Sikhism has taken beliefs from both religions to create their own. Sikhism was founded by Nanek, who was born in 15th century India to Muslim mother and Hindu father. When Nanek was young he asserted that he received a directive from God who told him he was guru. Nanek soon had dozens of disciples, or sikhs that followed him.

The core beliefs of Sikhism are:

• God is one, and God is Ekankar (meaning one mystical lord)
• God is all, and does not have just one personality or one soul
• Believed in karma and the reincarnation cycle
• A true believer can escape the reincarnation cycle by uniting with God. This is done by their faith and devotion to chanting to Ekankar.

After Nanek's death there were nine more gurus appointed to maintain the leadership of the Sikhs well into the 18th century. In the 18th century the tenth guru, Singh, organized an army of warriors and went to war against both the British, who was invading India, and the Muslims.

Today the Sikhs are not controlled by a guru, but follow the Sikh holy book Adi Granth. They are known as a militant group, still primarily based in India, with some followers in Pakistan. While most Sikhs are peace loving folks, there are many that become embattled in political and religious movements that result in violence and war with other groups.

The principal belief of Sikhism is faith in waheguru—represented using the sacred symbol of ik ōaṅkār, the Universal God.

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 Gurū Granth Sāhib, which, along with the writings of six of the ten Sikh Gurus, includes selected works of many devotees from diverse socio-economic and religious backgrounds. The text was decreed by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth guru, as the final guru of the Khalsa Panth.