Saturday, December 19, 2009

12/12/2009 Sikh Religion


Sikhism is one of the youngest world religion. It is a strictly monotheistic faith, preaching the existence of only one God, and teaching universally acceptable ideals of honesty, compassion, humility, piety, social commitment, and above all tolerance for other religions.

The word 'Sikh' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'shishya' which means a disciple, a learner, a seeker of truth. A Sikh believes in One God and the teachings of the Ten Gurus, embodied in the Eternal Shabad Guru, Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji. The Basic beliefs must be followed in Sikhism. Additionally, a Sikh must also partake Amrit, the Sikh Baptism. Every sikh is supposed to follow the Sikh Code of Discipline. Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak Dev Ji in the beginning of the sixteenth century. The succeeding nine Gurus nurtured, developed and preached his ideas and teachings. The pontificates of the nine successors of Guru nanak were only the extensions of Guru nanak's work. It is significant to note that five of the successors of Guru Nanak also composed under the name 'Nanak' implying thereby that there is no difference between the compositions of the successor and the founder.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Guru installed,in 1708, Guru Granth Sahib ji as his successor and the permanent Guru of the Sikhs and brought to an end to the line of human Gurus. Earlier, on Baisakhi day of 29th March,1699 The Birth of The Khalsa took place.

The Sikh Gurus provided guidance for about 240 years. They taught the basic values of freedom, brotherhood, charity, obedience, understanding, sympathy, patience, humility, simplicity, and piety, and outlined the path to spirituality in life. The Gurus themselves said that they were human beings and were not to be worshipped as God. They considered themselves to be mere servants of God.

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