View source for Sikhism

{{Short description|Religion originating in Punjab, India}}
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{{Use British English|date=November 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox religion
| name               = Sikhism
| image              = Hamandir Sahib (Golden Temple).jpg
| imagewidth         = 250px
| caption            = [[Golden Temple]] in [[Amritsar]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], India. It is the [[Holy site|holiest site]] of Sikhism.
| type                = [[Ethnic religion]]
| main_classification = [[Indian religion|Indian]]
| scripture          = [[Guru Granth Sahib]]
| theology           = {{plainlist|

* [[Panentheism]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Takhar |first1=Opinderjit Kaur |title=Sikh Identity: An Exploration of Groups Among Sikhs |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781351900102 |quote=Since the Sikh concept of the divine is panentheistic, the divine is always greater than the created universe, its systems such as karma and samsara, and all phenomena within it. In Sikhism, due to the sovereignty of God, the doctrines of Nadar and Hukam override all systems, both concepts reinforcing panentheism. Hence one becomes a jivanmukt only in accordance with the Hukam.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Pashaura |last2=Mandair |first2=Arvind-Pal Singh |title=The Sikh world |date=2023 |publisher=Routledge |location=London New York |isbn=9780429848384 |quote=In looking at the teachings of the Gurus as a whole, it seems that Lourdunathan overstates the degree to which Sikh scripture is anti-monistic. Guru Nanak famously referred to the world as a "palace of smoke" (GGS: 138) and made countless references to the idea of maya (Illusion). While the Gurus did not teach a radical nondualism, it is perhaps more accurate to suggest that some aspects of Sikh thought constitute a qualified nondualism (in which Creator and Creation are part of the same whole) (GGS: 125) or panentheism (in which the Creator pervades the natural world) (GGS: 24), while many others are monotheistic, including passages in Japji Sahib, where God is described as the King of Kings (GGS: 6). These different interpretations lend themselves to varying understandings of the relationship between the natural world and divinity.}}</ref>
* [[Monotheism]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nesbitt |first1=Eleanor |title=Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction |date=2016 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=9780191062773|quote=From the rest of this introduction to the Guru Granth Sahib, and from Guru Nank's compositions, it is a monotheistic, rather than a monist, view of God which emerges.}}</ref>
}}
| governance         = [[Panj Takht]]
| language           = [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] and [[Punjabi dialects and languages|its dialects]]<br />[[Sant Bhasha]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mann |first1=Gurinder Singh |title=The Making of Sikh scripture |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780195130249 |page=5}}</ref><br />[[Khalsa bole]]<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |publisher=OUP Oxford |others=Pashaura Singh, Louis E. Fenech |year=2014 |isbn=9780191004117 |series=Oxford Handbooks |pages=380}}</ref>
| founder            = [[Guru Nanak]]
| founded_date       = 15th&ndash;16th century [[Common Era|CE]]
| founded_place      = [[Punjab]]
| headquarters       = [[Akal Takht]], Amritsar, Punjab, India
| number_of_followers = {{circa}} 25&ndash;30 million (individually referred to as [[Sikhs]], collectively referred to as ''Sikh Panth'')<ref>{{cite web | url=https://pluralism.org/sikhism-0#:~:text=Sikhs%20call%20their%20tradition%20the,Guru%20Gobind%20Singh%20in%201708. | title=Sikhism | access-date=30 April 2023 | archive-date=30 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430193915/https://pluralism.org/sikhism-0#:~:text=Sikhs%20call%20their%20tradition%20the,Guru%20Gobind%20Singh%20in%201708. | url-status=live }}</ref>
| area               = Predominant religion in [[Punjab, India]] (58%), and [[Sikhism by country|widespread worldwide]] as minorities ([[Sikh diaspora]])
}}
{{Sikhism sidebar}}
'''Sikhism'''{{efn-lr|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|iː|k|ɪ|z|əm}} {{respell|SEEK|iz|əm}} <ref>{{cite web |title=Sikhism, n. |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/sikhism_n |publisher=Oxford English Dictionary |access-date=7 July 2024}}</ref> It is also known simply as '''Sikhi'''{{snd}}{{langx|pa|ਸਿੱਖੀ}}, [[International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration|IAST]]: {{IAST|''Sikkhī''}} {{IPA|pa|ˈsɪkkʰiː||Sikkhi.ogg}}, from {{langx|pa|ਸਿੱਖ|lit=disciple|translit=[[Sikh]]|label=none}}.}} is an [[Indian religions|Indian]], [[Monotheism|monotheistic]], [[ethnic religion]] and [[Indian philosophy|philosophy]]<ref name=":2a">{{cite book |date=2014 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |editor1-first=Pashaura |editor1-last=Singh |editor2-first=Louis E. |editor2-last=Fenech |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=299–301}}</ref> 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 religious groups|major religions]] and is followed by 25–30{{nbsp}}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 [[Proselytism|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 Japo|''naam japna'']] ({{Literal translation|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 (Sikhism)|kesh]]'' (uncut hair). Most religious Sikh men thus do not cut their hair but rather [[Dastar|wear a turban]].{{efn-lr|Women may optionally wear a turban.}}

{{Quote box
| quote = The definition of a Sikh, according to the ''[[Rehat Maryada]]'', the Sikh code of conduct, is any human being who faithfully believes in the following:<ref>[http://old.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_one.html Rehat Maryada] {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160101102058/https://old.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_one.html |date=1 January 2016}}</ref>
{{Ordered list|list-style-type= upper-roman |One Immortal Being, |Ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak Sahib to Guru Gobind Singh Sahib, |The Guru Granth Sahib, |The utterances and teachings of the ten Gurus and, |The baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru;}} and who does not owe allegiance to any other religion.
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| align = right
| style = padding:8px;
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[[File:Jewels of the Sikh Faith.png|alt=|thumb|Prominent Sikh shrines:
{{Ordered list |[[Golden Temple]], [[Akal Takht|Akaal Takht]] |[[Takht Kesgarh Sahib|Kesgarh Sahib]] |[[Takht Sri Damdama Sahib|Damdama Sahib]] |[[Takht Sri Patna Sahib|Patna Sahib]] |[[Hazur Sahib]] |[[Gurdwara Panja Sahib|Panja Sahib]] |[[Gurdwara Janam Asthan|Nankana Sahib]] |[[Gurdwara Dera Sahib|Dera Sahib]] |[[Sultanpur Lodhi|Ber Sahib]] |[[Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur|Kartarpur Sahib]], [[Dera Baba Nanak]] |[[Gurdwara Hemkund Sahib|Hemkund Sahib]] |[[Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib|Sis Ganj Sahib]]}} ]]
[[File:Tarn Taran 1.jpg|thumb|[[Tarn Taran Sahib]] – The World's Largest Sarovar (sacred pool)]]
The religion developed and evolved in times of [[Religious persecution#Persecutions of Sikhs|religious persecution]], gaining converts from both [[Hinduism]] and [[Islam]]. The [[Mughal emperor]]s of India tortured and executed two of the Sikh gurus—[[Guru Arjan]] (1563–1605) and [[Guru Tegh Bahadur]] (1621–1675)—after [[Forced conversion#Islam|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 [[Freedom of religion|religion]], with members expressing the qualities of a ''[[Sant Sipahi|sant-sipāhī]]'' ("saint-soldier").<!--Do NOT add citations to the lead, except for material likely to be challenged, per [[MOS:LEADCITE]] ([[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section#Citations)]]. Move unneeded citations to the body.-->

==Terminology==
The majority of Sikh scriptures were originally written in the alphabet of [[Gurmukhi|''Gurmukhī'']], a script standardised by [[Guru Angad]] out of [[Laṇḍā scripts]] historically used in present-day Pakistan and [[North India]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Gurmukhi |last=Bahri |first=Hardev |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=9 April 2016 |archive-date=29 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729230458/http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ShackleMandair2013pxxi">{{cite book |last1=Shackle |first1=Christopher |last2=Mandair |first2=Arvind |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VvoJV8mw0LwC |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-136-45101-0 |pages=xxi–xxiii |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308155950/https://books.google.com/books?id=VvoJV8mw0LwC |url-status=live }}</ref> Adherents of Sikhism are known as ''[[Sikhs]]'', meaning "students" or "disciples" of the guru. The [[English language|English]] word ''Sikhism'' derives from the Punjabi word for the religion ''Sikhi'' ({{langx|pa|ਸਿੱਖੀ}} ''{{IAST|Sikkhī}}'', {{IPA|pa|ˈsɪk.kʰiː||Sikkhi.ogg}}, from {{langx|pa|ਸਿੱਖ|lit=disciple|translit=[[Sikh]]}}),<ref group="lower-roman">''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes from the [[Sanskrit]] root ''{{IAST|[[śiṣya]]}}'' meaning "disciple", or ''{{IAST|śikṣa}}'' meaning "instruction". [[Khushwant Singh|Singh, Khushwant]]. 2006. ''The Illustrated History of the Sikhs''. [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-19-567747-8}}. p. 15.Kosh, Gur Shabad Ratnakar Mahan. https://web.archive.org/web/20050318143533/http://www.ik13.com/online_library.htm</ref> which connotes the "temporal path of learning" and is rooted in the verb {{transliteration|pa|sikhana}} ({{Literal translation|to learn}}).<ref name="Mandair2013p12">{{cite book |last=Mandair |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7 |pages=3, 12–13 |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308160619/https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Chahal |first=Devinder |title=Understanding Sikhism in the Science Age |journal=Understanding Sikhism: The Research Journal |date=July–December 2006 |issue=2 |page=3 |url=http://www.iuscanada.com/journal/archives/2005/j0702p03.pdf |access-date=10 November 2013 |archive-date=10 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110091458/http://www.iuscanada.com/journal/archives/2005/j0702p03.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some Sikhs oppose the exonym term ''Sikhism'' as they claim the word was coined [[British Raj|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.<ref name="Mandair2013p4">{{cite book |last=Mandair |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7 |pages=4–7 |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308160619/https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Philosophy and teachings==
The basis of Sikhism lies in the teachings of [[Guru Nanak]] and his successors.<ref>Singh, Patwant (2000). ''The Sikhs''. New York: [[Alfred A. Knopf]]. p. 17. {{ISBN|0-375-40728-6}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-03 |title=When is Guru Nanak Jayanti? Check date and all you need to know - CNBC TV18 |url=https://www.cnbctv18.com/india/when-is-guru-nanak-jayanti-check-date-and-all-you-need-to-know-15064101.htm |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=CNBCTV18 |language=en}}</ref> [[Sikh]]s 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."<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|234}} Sikhism emphasises ''Ėk nūr te sab jag upjiā'', 'From the one light, the entire universe welled up.'<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dokras|first=Uday|year=2021|title=The Art & Architecture of THE GOLDEN TEMPLE COMPLEX, AMRITSAR|url=https://www.academia.edu/44900217|website=Academia|publisher=Indo Nordic Author's Collective|access-date=September 20, 2023|archive-date=20 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120212545/https://www.academia.edu/44900217|url-status=live}}</ref> Guru Nanak also emphasised his teachings to his disciples by giving them real-life examples.

===God===
{{See also|Ik Onkar|Waheguru}}
Sikhism is a [[Monotheism|monotheistic]] and [[Panentheism|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]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rose |first=Tudor|date=2015|title=Agree to Differ|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Mg91CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA97 |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |page=97 |isbn=978-92-3-100090-4}}</ref><ref>"[http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/ataglance/glance.shtml Sikhism at a glance |Religions: Sikhism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902132011/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/ataglance/glance.shtml |date=2 September 2017 }}." BBC (2014).</ref> In Sikhism, the word for God is ''[[Waheguru]]'' ({{Literal translation|wondrous teacher}}). The ''Waheguru'' is considered to be ''[[Nirankar]]'' ("shapeless"), ''Akal'' ("timeless"), ''Karta Purakh'' ("[[Creator deity|the creator being]]"), ''Akaal Purkh'' ("beyond time and death") and ''Agam Agochar'' ("[[Divine incomprehensibility|incomprehensible]] and invisible").<ref>{{cite web |title=There is One God |url=https://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Spiritual/2018-09-01/There-is-One-God/409124 |last1=The Hans India |date=1 September 2018 |work=[[The Hans India]] |access-date=10 July 2019 |archive-date=10 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710164237/https://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Spiritual/2018-09-01/There-is-One-God/409124 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a literal sense, God has no [[Gender of God in Sikhism|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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Guru Nanak Dev Ji |author-link=Guru Nanak |url=http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Page&Param=17&english=t&id=719#l719 |title=Gurū Granth Sāhib |page=17 |quote=If you long for your Husband Lord, O soul-bride, you must know that He is not met by falsehood. |access-date=8 June 2021 |archive-date=3 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503145503/http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Page&Param=17&english=t&id=719#l719 |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, the gurus also wrote in the Guru Granth Sahib that there are many worlds on which the transcendental God has created life.<ref>{{cite book |last=Guru Nanak Dev Ji |author-link=Guru Nanak |url=http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Page&Param=15&punjabi=t&id=632#l632 |title=Gurū Granth Sāhib |page=15 |quote=You are the One True Lord and Master of all the other beings, of so many worlds. |access-date=15 June 2006 |archive-date=29 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929092220/http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Page&Param=15&punjabi=t&id=632#l632 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Sikh scripture begins with God as ''Ik Onkar'' ({{Langx|pa|ੴ|label=none}}), the 'One Creator',<ref name="singhaikonkar">{{cite book |last=Singha |first=H. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gqIbJz7vMn0C |title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism |publisher=Hemkunt |date=2000 |isbn=978-81-7010-301-1 |pages=20–21, 103 |access-date=3 October 2017 |archive-date=11 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811005235/https://books.google.com/books?id=gqIbJz7vMn0C |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0">Singh, Pashaura; Fenech, Louis E. (2014). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA234 The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies]''. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-969930-8}}.</ref>{{Rp|227}} understood in the Sikh tradition as monotheistic unity of God.<ref>{{cite book |title=Merriam-Webster's encyclopedia of world religions |last=Doniger |first=Wendy |date=1999 |publisher=Merriam-Webster |page=500 |url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877790440 |url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-87779-044-0}}</ref> ''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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mayled |first=John |title=Sikhism |publisher=Heinemann |date=2002 |isbn=978-0-435-33627-1 |page=16 |url= https://archive.org/details/sikhism0000mayl_l1v5/page/16 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

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'':<ref name="pashauramulmantar2">{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Pashaura |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=aiwpDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT101 |title=The Guru Granth Sahib: Canon, Meaning and Authority |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|date=2003 |isbn=978-0-19-908773-0|pages=101–02}}</ref>

{{blockquote
|text=
{{fs interlinear|lang=pa
|{ੴ} ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ॥
|{ikk ōankār} sat<small>(i)</small> nām<small>(u)</small> karatā purakh<small>(u)</small> nirabha'u niravair<small>(u)</small> akāl<small>(a)</small> mūrat<small>(i)</small> ajūnī saibhan gur<small>(a)</small> prasād<small>(i)</small>
|"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."}}
|author=''[[Guru Granth Sahib]]'' (17th c.), p. 1}}

===Worldly illusion===
[[File:Akalees Emily Eden PDL.jpg|thumb|upright|A sketch made in 1844 by [[Emily Eden]] of the "Akalees or Immortals". Digitised by the [[Panjab Digital Library]].]]
''[[Maya (illusion)|Māyā]]'', defined as a temporary illusion or "[[Derealization|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, [[Guru Nanak|Nanak]] emphasised māyā as not a reference to the world's unreality but its values. In Sikhism, the influences of [[Ahankar|ego]], [[Krodh|anger]], [[Lobh|greed]], [[Moh|attachment]], and [[Kam|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''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Nirmal |title=Searches in Sikhism |date=2008 |publisher=Hemkunt Press |isbn=978-81-7010-367-7 |page=68}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Parrinder |first=Geoffrey |author-link=Geoffrey Parrinder |date=1971 |title=World Religions: From Ancient History to the Present |publisher=[[Hamlyn (publisher)|Hamlyn]] |location=London |isbn=978-0-87196-129-7|page=253}}</ref>

===Timeless truth===
[[File:Sikh.man.at.the.Golden.Temple.jpg|thumb|A [[Nihang]] Sikh at the [[Harmandir Sahib]], also called the [[Golden Temple]]]]
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 Japō|nām]]'' (the divine Name of the Lord)<ref name="Pruthi 2004 204">{{cite book |last=Pruthi |first=Raj |title=Sikhism and Indian Civilization |date=2004 |publisher=Discovery Publishing House |isbn=978-81-7141-879-4 |page=204}}</ref><ref name="NaamSimran" /> leads to the end of egotism. Guru Nanak designated the word ''Guru'' ('teacher')<ref>Some disagree with this viewpoint and state that ''guru'' in Sikhism is "not a teacher or a guide", but "God's own manifestation"; see: {{cite book |first1=Bhagat |last1=Singh |first2=G. P. |last2=Singh |title=Japji |date=2002 |publisher=Hemkunt Press |page=9 |quote=In Sikh religion the word 'Guru' does not denote a teacher, or an expert or a guide in human body. When God manifested his attributes in person, that person was called 'Guru Nanak'}}</ref> to mean the voice of "the spirit": the source of knowledge and the guide to salvation.<ref name="p254">{{cite book |last=Parrinder |first=Geoffrey |author-link=Geoffrey Parrinder |date=1971|title=World Religions: From Ancient History to the Present |publisher=[[Hamlyn (publisher)|Hamlyn]] |location=London |isbn=978-0-87196-129-7|pages=254–256}}</ref> As ''ik onkar'' is [[Panentheism|universally immanent]], ''Guru'' is indistinguishable from ''Akal'' and are one and the same.<ref name="singh2013">{{cite journal |last=Singh |first=R.K. Janmeja (Meji) |date=August 2013 |title=Gurbani's Guidance and the Sikh's 'Destination' |url=http://www.hemkunt2.org/PDF/The%20Sikh%20Review,%20August%202013.pdf#page=24 |url-status=dead |journal=The Sikh Review |series=8 |volume=61 |issue=716 |pages=27–35 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001421/http://www.hemkunt2.org/PDF/The%20Sikh%20Review%2C%20August%202013.pdf |archive-date=3 December 2013 |access-date=29 November 2013}}</ref>

===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 ''[[Jivanmukta|jivanmukti]]'' ('enlightenment/liberation within one's lifetime'),<ref>{{cite book |last=Takhar |first=Opinderjit |title=Sikh Identity: An Exploration of Groups Among Sikhs |date=2005 |publisher=Ashgate |location=Burlington, Vermont |isbn=978-0-7546-5202-1 |page=143}}</ref> a concept also found in [[Hinduism]].<ref name="Grewal">{{cite book |last=Grewal |first=J. S. |url= https://archive.org/details/sikhsofpunjab0000grew/page/25 |title=The Sikhs of the Punjab |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |date=1998 |isbn=978-0-521-63764-0 |pages=25–36}}</ref> [[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.<ref name=chahal2011>{{cite journal |last=Chahal |first=Amarjit Singh |title=Concept of Reincarnation in Guru Nanak's Philosophy |journal=Understanding Sikhism: The Research Journal |date=December 2011 |volume=13 |issue=1–2 |pages=52–59 |url=http://www.iuscanada.com/journal/archives/2011/j1312p52.pdf |access-date=29 November 2013 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203115118/http://www.iuscanada.com/journal/archives/2011/j1312p52.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Sikhs accept [[reincarnation]] and [[karma]] concepts found in [[Buddhism]], [[Hinduism]], and [[Jainism]],<ref name="Reichberg2014p672" group="lower-roman">"As an Indian religion, Sikhism affirms transmigration, the continued rebirth after death". {{cite book |last=Brekke |first=Torkel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t3CFAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA672 |title=Religion, War, and Ethics: A Sourcebook of Textual Traditions |date=2014 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-139-95204-0 |editor1-last=Reichberg |editor1-first=G. M. |page=672 |editor2-last=Syse |editor2-first=H. |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref group="lower-roman">"Sikhism, Indian religion founded in the Punjab in the late 15th century." (McLeod 2019/1998).</ref><ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/classification-of-religions "Classification of Religions"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707224218/https://www.britannica.com/topic/classification-of-religions|date=7 July 2015}}, ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Online''.</ref> but do not necessarily infer a [[Metaphysics|metaphysical]] [[soteriology]] such as a state of "heaven" or "nirvana."<ref name=chahal2011 /><ref>{{cite book |last=Wilkinson|first=Philip|title=Religions|date=2008|publisher=Dorling Kindersley |isbn=978-0-7566-3348-6|pages=209, 214–215}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=House |first=H. Wayne |title=Resurrection, Reincarnation, and Humanness |journal=Bibliotheca Sacra |date=April 1991 |volume=148 |issue=590 |url=http://www.hwhouse.com/images/Resurrection,_Reincarnation,_and_Humanness.pdf |access-date=29 November 2013 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203040501/http://www.hwhouse.com/images/Resurrection,_Reincarnation,_and_Humanness.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Nevertheless, in Sikhism, both karma and liberation are "modified by the concept of God's grace" (''nadar, mehar, kirpa, karam'', etc.).<ref name="Grewal" /> Guru Nanak states that "the body takes birth because of karma, but salvation is attained through grace."<ref>{{cite book |last=Singh |first=H. S. |title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism |publisher=Hemkunt Press |date=2000 |isbn=978-81-7010-301-1|page=80}}</ref> To get closer to God, Sikhs: avoid the evils of ''maya''; keep the everlasting truth in mind; practice ''[[Shabad (hymn)|shabad]] [[kirtan]]'' (musical recitation of hymns); [[meditate]] on ''[[Nām Japō|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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kapoor |first=Sukhbir |title=Guru Granth Sahib: An Advanced Study |volume=I |date=2005 |publisher=Hemkunt Press |isbn=978-81-7010-317-2 |page=188}}</ref> The [[Sikhs|Sikh]] community may be seen to correspond to [[Anthony D. Smith|A.D. Smith's]] definition of a politicised community, sharing common ancestry myths and historical memories of [[martyr]]dom and persecution under successive rulers.<ref name="Shani 1–17">{{Cite journal |last=Shani |first=Giorgio |date=March 2000 |title=The Construction of a Sikh National Identity |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/026272800002000101 |journal=South Asia Research |language=en |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=1–17 |doi=10.1177/026272800002000101 |issn=0262-7280 |s2cid=144560083|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Power and devotion (Miri and Piri)===
{{Main|Miri 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.<ref name="Marty">{{cite book |last=Marty |first=Martin E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=doCmVaOnh_wC |title=Fundamentalisms and the State: Remaking Polities, Economies, and Militance |date=1996 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-50884-9 |page=278 |author-link=Martin E. Marty}}</ref><ref name="jas">{{cite book |author1=Singh, Dr Jasraj |title=A Complete Guide to Sikhism |publisher=Unistar Books |isbn=9788171427543 |page=182 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rFm9_Jc1ykcC&dq=miri+piri&pg=PA182 |date=2009 |access-date=19 March 2023 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404133041/https://books.google.com/books?id=rFm9_Jc1ykcC&dq=miri+piri&pg=PA182 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="grove">{{cite book |author1=Grover, William |title=Making Lahore Modern: Constructing and Imaging a Colonial City |publisher=U of Minnesota Press |isbn=9781452913384 |page=211 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6NRcKIZ2Y00C&dq=miri+piri&pg=PA211 |date=2008 |access-date=19 March 2023 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404133045/https://books.google.com/books?id=6NRcKIZ2Y00C&dq=miri+piri&pg=PA211 |url-status=live }}</ref> After the martyrdom of [[Guru Arjan|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.<ref>Jakobsh, D. R. (2012). ''Sikhism''. University of Hawaii Press.</ref><ref name="jas" /> The two [[kirpan]] of Miri and Piri are tied together with a [[Khanda (sword)|khanda]] in the center, 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]].<ref name="jas" /><ref>Singh, D. (1992). ''THE SIKH IDENTITY''. Fundamental Issues, 105.</ref>

[[Guru Nanak]], the first Sikh guru and the founder of Sikhism, was a [[Bhakti]] saint.<ref name=richard>{{cite journal |first=H. L. |last=Richard |year=2007 |url=http://ijfm.org/PDFs_IJFM/24_3_PDFs/139-145Richard.pdf |title=Religious Movements in Hindu Social Contexts: A Study of Paradigms for Contextual 'Church' Development |journal=International Journal of Frontier Missiology |volume=24 |issue=3 |page=144 |access-date=11 March 2016 |archive-date=16 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616022633/http://www.ijfm.org/PDFs_IJFM/24_3_PDFs/139-145Richard.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> He taught that the most important form of worship is ''Bhakti'' (devotion to [[Waheguru]]).<ref name="Mayled2002">{{cite book |last=Mayled |first=Jon |url= https://archive.org/details/sikhism0000mayl_l1v5 |title=Sikhism |publisher=Heinemann |date=2002 |isbn=978-0-435-33627-1 |pages=30–31 |url-access=registration}}</ref> [[Guru Arjan]], in the ''[[Sukhmani Sahib]]'', recommended the true religion as one of loving devotion to God.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kohli |first=Surinder Singh |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ED0syBKqafMC |title=The Sikh and Sikhism |publisher=Atlantic Publishers<!--NOT Atlantic Books, of London.--> |location=New Delhi |date=1993 |isbn=978-81-7156-336-4 |pages=74–76}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Nirmal |title=Searches in Sikhism |date=2008 |publisher=Hemkunt Press |isbn=978-81-7010-367-7 |location=New Delhi |page=122}}</ref> The ''[[Guru Granth Sahib]]'' includes suggestions on how a Sikh should perform constant Bhakti.<ref name="Mayled2002" /><ref name="sggs305306">{{cite book |translator-last=Khalsa |translator-first=Sant Singh |url=http://www.srigurugranth.org/0305.html |title=Sri Guru Granth Sahib |publisher=SriGranth.org |date=2006 |at=pp. 305–306 (verses 305–16 to 306–2) |access-date=11 March 2016 |archive-date=21 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821171802/http://www.srigurugranth.org/0305.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Jhutti-Johal2011">{{cite book |last=Jagbir |first=Jhutti-Johal |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=91xotkSSyzUC |title=Sikhism Today |publisher=Bloomsbury |date=2011 |isbn=978-1-4411-8140-4 |page=92}}</ref> Some scholars call Sikhism a Bhakti sect of Indian traditions,<ref>Cole, William Owen, and Piara Singh Sambhi (1997). ''A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism: Sikh Religion and Philosophy''. Abingdon-on-Thames, England: Routledge. {{ISBN|978-0-7007-1048-5}}, p. 22.</ref><ref name="davidlorenzen">Lorenzen, David (1995). ''Bhakti Religion in North India: Community Identity and Political Action''. Albany: [[State University of New York Press]], {{ISBN|978-0-7914-2025-6}}.</ref> adding that it emphasises "''nirguni Bhakti''", i.e. loving devotion to a divine without qualities or physical form.<ref name=davidlorenzen/>{{Rp|1–3}}<ref name="hardip">Syan, Hardip (2014). P. 178 in ''The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies'', edited by P. Singh and L E. Fenech. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-969930-8}}.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Mandair |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |date=2011 |chapter=Time and religion-making in modern Sikhism |pages=188–190 |title=Time, History and the Religious Imaginary in South Asia |editor-first=A. |editor-last=Murphy |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-415-59597-1}}.</ref> While Western scholarship generally places Sikhism as arising primarily within a Hindu Bhakti movement milieu while recognising some [[Sufism|Sufi Islamic]] influences,<ref>Elsberg, Constance (2003), ''Graceful Women''. [[University of Tennessee Press]]. {{ISBN|978-1-57233-214-0}}. pp. 27–28.</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite book |last1=Cole |first1=William Owen |last2=Sambhi |first2=Piara Singh |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zIC_MgJ5RMUC |title=The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |date=1995 |isbn=978-1-898723-13-4 }}</ref>{{Rp|3, 42–3}} 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.<ref name="Singha">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=nRodBu9seiIC |series="Sikh Studies" series, book 7 |title=Evolution of Sikhism |publisher=Hemkunt Press |date=2009 |location=New Delhi |page=8 |isbn=978-81-7010-245-8}}</ref>

Several Sikh sects outside the [[Punjab, India|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]].<ref>{{cite book |first1=Karen |last1=Pechilis |first2=Selva J. |last2=Raj |title=South Asian Religions: Tradition and Today |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BsbfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA243 |date=2012 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-136-16323-4 |page=243}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Michael |last2=Hawley |title=Re-imagining South Asian Religions |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4SLhLakpsNsC&pg=PA42 |date=2012 |publisher=Brill Academic |isbn=978-90-04-24236-4|pages=42–43}}</ref> However, most Sikh gurdwaras forbid ''aarti'' during their Bhakti practices.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|201}} 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.<ref name="Kamala1">{{cite book |last1=Nayar |first1=Kamal Elizabeth |last2=Sandhu |first2=Jaswinder Singh |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WTfKwGV6mBkC |title=The Socially Involved Renunciate – Guru Nanaks Discourse to Nath Yogis |publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] |location=Albany |date=2007 |isbn=978-0-7914-7950-6 |page=106}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Nikky1">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=UUWIEfAY-mMC |title=Hindu Spirituality: Postclassical and Modern |editor1-first=K. R. |editor1-last=Sundararajan |editor2-first=Bithika |editor2-last=Mukerji |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |first1=Kaur |last1=Singh |first2=Nikky |last2=Guninder |date=30 January 2004 |page=530 |isbn=978-81-208-1937-5}}</ref> Guru Nanak described living an "active, creative, and practical life" of "truthfulness, fidelity, self-control and purity" as being higher than the [[metaphysics|metaphysical]] truth.<ref name="Marwha1">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ROtEr_QdB3sC |title=Colors of Truth: Religion, Self and Emotions |publisher=Concept Publishing |last=Marwha |first=Sonali Bhatt |date=2006 |location=New Delhi |page=205 |isbn=978-81-8069-268-0}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Marty1">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=doCmVaOnh_wC |title=Fundamentalisms and the State: Remaking Polities, Economies, and Militance |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |first1=E. Marty |last1=Martin |first2=Appleby R. |last2=Scott |date=1996 |pages=277–278 |isbn=978-0-226-50884-9}}</ref><ref name="Gandhi1" /> 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]].<ref name="Gandhi1">{{cite book |last=Gandhi |first=Surjit Singh |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qw7-kUkHA_0C |title=History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1606–1708 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers<!--NOT Atlantic Books, of London--> |location=New Delhi |date=2008 |isbn=978-81-269-0857-8 |pages=435, 676–77}}</ref>

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".<ref name="Mandair1" /> 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".<ref name="Mandair1">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=dzeCy_zL0Q8C |title=Religion and the Specter of the West: Sikhism, India, Postcoloniality and the Politics of Translation |publisher=Columbia University Press |first=Mandair |last=Arvind-Pal Singh |date=2009 |pages=372–373 |isbn=978-0-231-14724-8}}</ref>

===Singing and music===
Sikhs refer to the hymns of the gurus as ''[[Gurbani]]'' ({{Literal translation|Guru's word}}). [[Shabad (hymn)|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".<ref>{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Joginder |title=Celestial Gems |date=2004 |publisher=Hemkunt Press |isbn=978-81-7010-345-5 |page=67}}</ref> The three morning prayers for Sikhs consist of [[Japji Sahib]], [[Jaap Sahib]], and [[Tav-Prasad Savaiye]].<ref name="diaspora">{{cite book |title=Sikhs in the Diaspora: A Modern Guide to the Practice of Sikh Faith |publisher=Sikh Publishing House |last=Bakhshi |first=Surinder Singh |chapter=Chapter 22 – Nitnem |date=2008 |page=133 |isbn=978-0-9560728-0-1}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Kalsi_Chelsea">{{cite book |surname=Kalsi |given=Sewa Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YOI1nB_zTyAC |title=Sikhism |publisher=Chelsea House Publishers |year=2005 |isbn=0-7910-8098-6 |series=Religions of the World |place=Philadelphia |pages=41–50 |access-date=15 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231111152823/https://books.google.com/books?id=YOI1nB_zTyAC |archive-date=11 November 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Cole_Sambhi">{{cite book |last1=Cole |first1=William Owen |title=The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices |last2=Sambhi |first2=Piara Singh |date=1995 |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |page=200}}</ref><ref name="Teece 2004 4">{{cite book |last=Teece |first=Geoff |title=Sikhism: Religion in focus |date=2004 |publisher=Black Rabbit Books |isbn=978-1-58340-469-0 |page=4}}</ref>

===Remembrance of the Divine Name===
A key practice by Sikhs is remembrance<ref name="NaamSimran">{{cite book |title=Paths to the Divine: Ancient and Indian |publisher=Council for Research in Values & Philosophy |last=McLean |first=George |date=2008 |page=599 |id={{ASIN|1565182480|country=uk}}}}</ref> of the ''Naam'' (divine name), Waheguru.<ref name="Pruthi 2004 204" /> This contemplation is done through ''[[Nām Japō]]'' (repetition of the Divine Name) or ''[[Simran]]'' (remembrance of the Divine Name through recitation).<ref name="NaamSimran" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Noel |first=Sarah |title=Sikh Music: History, Text, and Praxis|date=2008 |isbn=978-0-549-83369-7|page=46}}</ref> The verbal repetition of the name of God—or a sacred syllable—is an established practice in religious traditions in India; however, Sikhism developed ''Naam-simran'' as an important Bhakti practice.<ref name="Dhillon1988">{{cite book |first=Dalbir Singh |last=Dhillon |title=Sikhism, Origin and Development |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=osnkLKPMWykC |date=1988 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers<!--NOT Atlantic Books, of London--> |location=New Delhi |page=229}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cave |first1=David |last2=Norris |first2=Rebecca |title=Religion and the Body: Modern Science and the Construction of Religious Meaning |date=2012 |publisher=Brill Academic |isbn=978-90-04-22111-6 |page=239}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Anna S. |last1=King |first2=J. L. |last2=Brockington |title=The Intimate Other: Love Divine in Indic Religions |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WhgDL6SwGeQC |date=2005 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |isbn=978-81-250-2801-7|pages=322–323}}</ref> Guru Nanak's ideal is the total exposure of one's being to the Divine Name and a conformation to [[Dharma]], the "Divine Order". Nanak described the result of the disciplined application of ''nām simraṇ'' as a "growing towards and into God" through a gradual process of five stages. The last of these is ''[[Sach Khand]]'' (''The Realm of Truth''): the final union of the spirit with God.<ref name="p254" />

===Service and action===
{{Further|Seva (Indian religions)#Seva in Sikhism}}
The Sikh gurus taught that by constantly remembering the divine name (''[[Simran|naam simran]]'') and through selfless service (''[[Seva (Indian religions)|sēvā]]'') the devotee overcomes egotism (''[[Haumai]]''). This, it states, is the primary root of five evil impulses and the cycle of birth and death.<ref>{{cite book |first1=W. Owen |last1=Cole |first2=Piara Singh |last2=Sambhi |title=A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism: Sikh Religion and Philosophy |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vcSRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA9 |date=2005 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-135-79760-7 |pages=9–10}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Michael L. |last=Hadley |title=The Spiritual Roots of Restorative Justice |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IntWqeMeU_oC&pg=PA202 |date=2001 |publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] |location=Albany |isbn=978-0-7914-4851-9 |pages=202–203}}</ref>

Service in Sikhism takes three forms: ''Tan'' (physical service, i.e. labor), ''Man'' (mental service, such as dedicating your heart for service of others), and ''Dhan'' (material service, including financial support).<ref>{{cite book |last=Wood |first=Angela |title=Movement and Change |date=1997 |publisher=[[Nelson Thornes]] |location=Cheltenham, England |isbn=978-0-17-437067-3|page=46}}</ref> Sikhism stresses ''[[kirat karō]]'', that is, "honest work". Sikh teachings also stress the concept of sharing, or ''[[vaṇḍ chakkō]]'', giving to the needy for the benefit of the community.<ref>{{cite book |first1=W. Owen |last1=Cole |first2=Piara Singh |last2=Sambhi |title=A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism: Sikh Religion and Philosophy |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vcSRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA9 |date=2005 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-135-79760-7 |pages=31, 59}}</ref>

===Justice and equality===
Sikhism regards God as the true emperor, the king of all kings, the one who dispenses justice through the law of ''[[karma]]'', a retributive model and divine grace.<ref name="Chanchreek 2007 142" /><ref name="Dugga 2001 33" /><ref name="Justice">{{cite book |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IntWqeMeU_oC&pg=PA199 |via=Google Books |title=The Spiritual Roots of Restorative Justice |series=SUNY Series in Religious Studies |publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] |location=Albany |first=Pashaura |last=Singh |editor-last=Hadley |editor-first=Michael L. |chapter=Sikhism and Restorative Justice: Theory and Practice – Pashaura Singh |date=2001 |pages=199–202 |isbn=978-0-7914-4852-6}}</ref>

The term for justice in the Sikh tradition is Niāyā.<ref name="Justice" /> It is related to the term ''dharam'', which in Sikhism connotes 'moral order' and righteousness (derived, but distinct from the etymologically related Hindu concept of [[dharma]]).<ref name="Justice" /> According to the tenth Sikh guru, [[Guru Gobind Singh]], states Pashaura Singh (a professor of Sikh studies), "one must first try all the peaceful means of negotiation in the pursuit of justice" and if these fail then it is legitimate to "draw the sword in defense of righteousness".<ref>{{cite book |first=Pashaura |last=Singh |editor-first=John |editor-last=Renard |title=Fighting Words: Religion, Violence, and the Interpretation of Sacred Texts |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fCjVRqPD-HQC |date=2012 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-95408-3 |page=213}}</ref> Sikhism considers "an attack on dharam is an attack on justice, on righteousness, and on the moral order generally" and the dharam "must be defended at all costs".<ref name="Mcleod">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vTJhC_l1gksC |title=The Sikhs: History, Religion, and Society (ACLS Lectures on the History of Religions) |publisher=Columbia University Press; Reprint edition |last=Mcleod |first=W. H. |date=1991 |page=56 |isbn=978-0-231-06815-4}}</ref> The divine name is its antidote for pain and vices. Forgiveness is taught as a virtue in Sikhism, yet it also teaches its faithful to shun those with evil intentions and to pick up the sword to fight injustice and religious persecution.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IntWqeMeU_oC&pg=PA202 |title=The Spiritual Roots of Restorative Justice |series=SUNY Series in Religious Studies |publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] |location=Albany |first=Pashaura |last=Singh |editor-last=Hadley |editor-first=Michael L. |chapter=Sikhism and Restorative Justice: Theory and Practice |date=2001 |pages=202–207 |isbn=978-0-7914-4852-6}}</ref>

Sikhism does not differentiate religious obligations by sex. God in Sikhism has no sex, and the Sikh scripture does not discriminate against women, nor bar them from any roles.<ref name="McLeod2009p70" /> Women in Sikhism have been in positions of leadership, including leading in wars and issuing orders or [[hukamnama]]s.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA65|title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |page=65 |last1=Fenech |first1=E. Louis |last2=Mcleod |first2=H. W. |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1|date=11 June 2014}}</ref><ref name="McLeod2009p70">{{cite book |first=W. H. |last=McLeod |title=The A to Z of Sikhism|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vgixwfeCyDAC&pg=PA70 |date=2009|publisher=Scarecrow |isbn=978-0-8108-6344-6|pages=70–71}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Louis E. |last1=Fenech |first2=W. H. |last2=McLeod |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ |date=2014 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1 |pages=121–122 |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=17 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817161136/https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Ten Gurus and authority===
{{Main|Sikh gurus}}
[[File:Sikh Gurus with Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana.jpg|thumb|upright|A rare [[Tanjore painting|Tanjore]]-style painting from the late 19th century depicting the ten Sikh Gurus with [[Bhai Bala]] and [[Bhai Mardana]]]]
The term "[[guru]]" is derived from the [[Sanskrit]] ''gurū'', meaning teacher, enlightener, guide, or mentor. The traditions and philosophy of Sikhism were established by ten gurus from 1469 to 1708.<ref name="Panjab Publishers">{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Darshan |title=Indian Bhakti Tradition and Sikh Gurus |date=1968 |publisher=Panjab Publishers |location=Chandigarh |page=158}}</ref><ref name="Nesbitt2005_a">{{cite book |first=Eleanor |last=Nesbitt |title=Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Ai-rpcY-rrgC&pg=PT22 |date=22 September 2005 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-157806-9 |page=22}}</ref> Each guru added to and reinforced the message taught by the previous, resulting in the creation of the Sikh religion. Guru Nanak was the first guru and appointed a disciple as successor. [[Guru Gobind Singh]] was the final guru in human form. Before his death, Guru Gobind Singh decreed in 1708, that the Gurū Granth Sāhib would be the final and perpetual guru of the Sikhs.<ref name="granthfinalguru">{{cite book |last=Mann|first=Gurinder Singh|url={{Google books|PC4d-5xrysIC|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|title=The Making of Sikh Scripture |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |date=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-513024-9 |pages=21–25, 123–24}}</ref>

Guru Nanak stated that his guru is God who is the same from the beginning of time to the end of time.<ref>{{cite book |title=History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1469–1606 C.E |publisher=Atlantic Publishers<!--NOT Atlantic Books, of London--> |location=New Delhi |last1=Gandhi |first1=Surjit Singh |date=1 February 2008 |page=265 |isbn=978-81-269-0857-8}}</ref> Nanak said to be a God's slave and servant, but maintained that he was only a guide and teacher.<ref name=ksingh116>{{cite book |first=Khushwant |last=Singh |title=Hymns of Guru Nanak |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=W3jXHMDwOb4C&pg=PA116 |date=1969 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |isbn=978-81-250-1161-3 |page=116}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1469–1606 C.E. |publisher=Atlantic Publishers<!--NOT Atlantic Books, of London--> |location=New Delhi |last=Gandhi |first=Surjit Singh |date=2007 |page=265 |isbn=978-81-269-0859-2}}</ref> Nanak stated that the human guru is mortal, who is to be respected and loved but not worshipped.<ref name=ksingh116/> When ''guru'', or [[satguru]] ({{Literal Translation|the true guru}}) is used in ''Gurbani'' it is often referring to the highest expression of truthfulness.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Darshan |title=Indian Bhakti Tradition and Sikh Gurus |date=1968 |publisher=Panjab Publishers |location=Chandigarh |page=148}}</ref><ref>"Sikhism rejects the view that any particular religious tradition has a monopoly regarding Absolute Truth. Sikhism rejects the practice of converting people to other religious traditions."  Kalsi, Sewa Singh (2008). ''Sikhism''. London: Kuperard. p.&nbsp;24. {{ISBN|978-1-85733-436-4}}.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Reichberg |first1=Gregory M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t3CFAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA672 |title=Religion, War, and Ethics: A Sourcebook of Textual Traditions |last2=Syse |first2=Henrik |date=2014 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-139-95204-0 |pages=672–674}}</ref>

[[Guru Angad]] succeeded Guru Nanak. Later, an important phase in the development of Sikhism came with the third successor, [[Guru Amar Das]]. Guru Nanak's teachings emphasised the pursuit of salvation; Guru Amar Das began building a cohesive community of followers with initiatives such as sanctioning distinctive ceremonies for birth, marriage, and death. Amar Das also established the ''manji'' (comparable to a [[diocese]]) system of clerical supervision.<ref name="p254" />

[[File:Interior of Akal Takht.jpg|thumb|The interior of the [[Akal Takht]]]]The Sikh gurus established a mechanism which allowed the Sikh religion to react as a community to changing circumstances. The sixth guru, [[Guru Har Gobind|Guru Hargobind]], was responsible for the creation of the concept of [[Akal Takht]] (''throne of the timeless one''), which serves as the supreme decision-making centre of Sikhism and sits opposite the [[Harmandir Sahib]]. The Akal Takht is located in the city of Amritsar. The leader is appointed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Pabandhak Committee (SPGC). The ''[[Sarbat Khalsa|Sarbat Ḵẖālsā]]'' (a representative portion of the Khalsa Panth) historically gathers at the Akal Takht on special festivals such as [[Vaisakhi]] or [[Hola Mohalla]] and when there is a need to discuss matters that affect the entire Sikh nation. A ''[[Gurmata|gurmatā]]'' (literally, 'guru's intention') is an order passed by the Sarbat Ḵẖālsā in the presence of the Gurū Granth Sāhib. A ''gurmatā'' may only be passed on a subject that affects the fundamental principles of Sikh religion; it is binding upon all Sikhs.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.sgpc.net/sikhism/tankah.asp |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20020606154817/http://sgpc.net/sikhism/tankah.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 June 2002 |title=Sikh Reht Maryada&nbsp;– Method of Adopting Gurmatta |access-date=9 June 2006 }}</ref>

[[File:SikhGurus-LifeSpans-GurushipSpans.jpg|thumb|center|upright=3.65|alt=Graph showing Life Spans and Guruship Spans of Sikh Gurus|Approximate Life Spans and Guruship Spans of the 10 Sikh Gurus]]

The word ''guru'' in Sikhism also refers to ''Akal Purkh'' (God), and God and ''guru'' can sometimes be synonymous in ''[[Gurbani]]'' (Sikh writings).<ref name="Panjab Publishers" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Raj |first1=Selva |title=South Asian Religions: Tradition and Today |date=2013 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-415-44851-2 |page=232}}</ref>

==Scripture==
There is one primary scripture for the Sikhs: the ''[[Guru Granth Sahib]]''. It is sometimes synonymously referred to as the ''Ādi Granth''.<ref name=shacklexvii/> Chronologically, however, the ''Ādi Granth'' – literally, 'First Volume' – refers to the version of the scripture created by [[Guru Arjan]] in 1604.<ref>Cole, William Owen; Sambhi, Piara Singh (1995), ''The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices'', Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1-898723-13-4}}, pp. 45–46</ref> The Guru Granth Sahib is the final expanded version of the scripture compiled by [[Guru Gobind Singh]].<ref name=shacklexvii/><ref>Cole, William Owen; Sambhi, Piara Singh (1995), ''The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices'', Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1-898723-13-4}}, pp. 49–50</ref> While the Guru Granth Sahib is an unquestioned scripture in Sikhism, another important religious text, the ''[[Dasam Granth]]'', does not enjoy universal consensus, but is considered a secondary scripture by many Sikhs.<ref name=shacklexvii>Christopher Shackle and Arvind Mandair (2005), Teachings of the Sikh Gurus, Abingdon-on-Thames, England: Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0-415-26604-8}}, pp. xvii–xx</ref>

===Ādi Granth===
{{Main|Ādi Granth}}
The ''Ādi Granth'' was compiled primarily by [[Bhai Gurdas]] under the supervision of [[Guru Arjan]] between the years 1603 and 1604.<ref>{{cite book |last=Trumpp |first=Ernest |date=2004 |orig-year=1877 |title=The Ādi Granth or the Holy Scriptures of the Sikhs |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers |isbn=978-81-215-0244-3 |page=xxxi}}</ref> It is written in the [[Gurmukhi|Gurmukhī]] script, which is a descendant of the [[Laṇḍā]] script used in the Punjab at that time.<ref>{{cite book |last=Grierson |first=George Abraham |author-link=George Abraham Grierson |date=1967 |orig-year=1927 |title=The Linguistic Survey of India |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-85395-27-2 |page=624}}</ref> The Gurmukhī script was standardised by Guru Angad, the second guru of the Sikhs, for use in the Sikh scriptures and is thought to have been influenced by the [[Śāradā script|Śāradā]] and [[Devanāgarī]] scripts. An authoritative scripture was created to protect the integrity of hymns and teachings of the Sikh gurus, as well as thirteen Hindu and two Muslim bhagats of the [[Bhakti movement]] sant tradition in medieval India.<ref>{{cite book |first=E. |last=Nesbitt |date=2014 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |editor1-first=Pashaura |editor1-last=Singh |editor2-first=Louis E. |editor2-last=Fenech |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=360–369}}</ref> The thirteen Hindu ''bhagats'' whose teachings were entered into the text included [[Ramananda]], [[Namdev]], [[Bhagat Pipa|Pipa]], [[Ravidas]], [[Bhagat Beni|Beni]], [[Bhagat Bhikhan|Bhikhan]], [[Bhagat Dhanna|Dhanna]], [[Jayadeva|Jaidev]], [[Bhagat Parmanand|Parmanand]], [[Bhagat Sadhana|Sadhana]], [[Bhagat Sain|Sain]], [[Sur (poet)|Sur]], [[Bhagat Trilochan|Trilochan]], while the two Muslim ''bhagats'' were [[Kabir]] and Sufi saint [[Fariduddin Ganjshakar|Farid]].<ref name=shapiro924>{{cite book |last=Shapiro |first=Michael |date=2002 |title=Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth |publisher=Journal of the American Oriental Society|pages=924, 925}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Mahinder |last=Gulati |date=2008 |title=Comparative Religious and Philosophies: Anthropomorphism and Divinity |publisher=Atlantic |isbn=978-81-269-0902-5 |page=302}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=H. S. |last=Singha |date=2009 |title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism |publisher=Hemkunt Press |isbn=978-81-7010-301-1 |page=8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Mann |first=Gurinder Singh |date=2001 |title=The Making of Sikh Scripture |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-513024-9 |page=19}}</ref> However, the bhagats in context often spoke of transcending their religious labels; Kabir, often attributed to being a Muslim, states in the ''Ādi Granth'', "I am not Hindu nor Muslim."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eraly |first1=Abraham |title=The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate |date=2015 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-93-5118-658-8 |quote=The main thrust of Kabir's mission was to unite Hindus and Muslims in a common quest for god realisation. 'Hindus and Muslims have the same god, he held. 'God is the breath of all breath&nbsp;... Look within your heart, for there you will find [God]&nbsp;... All men and women in the world are his living forms.' Although many of his sayings had a strong Hindu flavour in them—presumably because of Ramananda's influence—he made no distinction between Hinduism and Islam Similarly, though he usually referred to god as Hari or Rama, he used those words as synonyms of god, and not as the names of particular deities. 'I am not Hindu nor Muslim; Allah-Ram is the breath of my body,' he stated, and went on to declare that All that lives and dies, they are all one. The this and that haggling, is done.}}</ref> The gurus following this message taught that different methods of devotion are for the same infinite God.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Susanne |first1=Scholz |title=God Loves Diversity and Justice |date=2013 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-0-7391-7318-3 |page=16 |quote=The Sikh Divine comprises every imaginable theological ideal! Hindu, Buddhist, Tantric, and Islamic views that were current in medieval India come together in the wide-ranging literary spectrum of the GGS. The stereotypical oppositions between the Indic and Abrahamic worldviews of the day are transcended: "Some call it Rama, some call it Khuda; some worship it as Vishnu, some as Allah" (GGS: 885). Interestingly, even the atheistic Buddhist Nirvana is not omitted: "Itself Nirvana, It itself relishes pleasures" (GGS: 97). "God" or "gods" or "no god" alike are recognized as part of the infinite One! "Always, always you alone are the One Reality&nbsp;– ''sada sada tun eku hai''" (GGS: 139). Persian terminology is used to emphasize the unity of being: "''asti ek digari kui ek tui ek tui''&nbsp;– Only the One is, there is none other; Only you, you only" (GGS: 144). Again, "''hindu turk ka sahib ek'' &nbsp;– Hindus and Muslims share the One sovereign" (GGS: 1158). (The term "Turk" referred to all Muslims in this period.) Since everything is a manifestation of That One being, all the manifestations would be a part of it. No god, no body, and no thing is excluded from this all pervasive being}}</ref>

===Guru Granth Sahib===
[[File:Guru Granth Sahib.jpg|thumb|upright|Gurū Granth Sāhib – the primary scripture of Sikhism]]
{{Main|Guru Granth Sahib}}

The Guru Granth Sahib is the holy scripture of the Sikhs and is regarded as the living guru.

====Compilation====
The Guru Granth Sahib started as a volume of Guru Nanak's poetic compositions. Prior to his death, he passed on his volume to the subsequent guru, Guru Angad. The final version of the Guru Granth Sahib was compiled by [[Guru Gobind Singh]] in 1678. It consists of the original Ādi Granth with the addition of [[Guru Tegh Bahadur]]'s hymns. The predominant bulk of Guru Granth Sahib consists of compositions by seven Sikh gurus: Guru Nanak, Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das, Guru Arjan, Guru Teg Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh. It also contains the traditions and teachings of thirteen [[Hindu]] Bhakti movement ''sants'' (saints) such as [[Ramananda]], [[Namdev]], [[Sant kabir]] among others, and two [[Muslim]] saints: the Sufi [[Sheikh Farid]].<ref name="p254" /><ref name=shapiro924/>

The text comprises 6,000 ''[[shabhad|śabads]]'' (line compositions),<ref name=shacklexvii/> which are poetically rendered and set to rhythmic ancient north Indian classical music.<ref name=king359>Anna S. King and JL Brockington (2005), The Intimate Other: Love Divine in Indic Religions, Orient Blackswan, {{ISBN|978-81-250-2801-7}}, pp. 359–361</ref> The bulk of the scripture is classified into sixty ''[[raga|rāgas]]'', with each Granth rāga subdivided according to length and author. The hymns in the scripture are arranged primarily by the ''rāgas'' in which they are read.<ref name=shacklexvii/>

====Language and script====
[[File:Guru Har Rai - Mool Mantar.jpg|thumb|[[Mul Mantar]] written by [[Guru Har Rai]], showing the Ik Onkar at top]]
The primary language used in the scripture is known as ''[[Sant Bhasha|Sant Bhāṣā]]'', a language related to both [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] and [[Hindi language|Hindi]] and used extensively across medieval northern India by proponents of popular devotional religion ([[bhakti]]).<ref name="parrinderp259">{{cite book |last=Parrinder |first=Geoffrey |author-link=Geoffrey Parrinder |date=1971 |title=World Religions: From Ancient History to the Present|publisher=[[Hamlyn (publisher)|Hamlyn]] |location=London |isbn=978-0-87196-129-7|page=259}}</ref> The text is printed in [[Gurmukhi|Gurumukhi]] script, believed to have been developed by Guru Angad.<ref name=shacklexvii/> The language shares the Indo-European roots found in numerous regional languages of India.<ref>Shackle, Christopher; Mandair, Arvind (2005); ''Teachings of the Sikh Gurus''; Abingdon-on-Thames, England: Routledge; {{ISBN|978-0-415-26604-8}}, pp. xxi–xxxii</ref>

====Teachings====
[[File:Sikh musicians.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A group of [[Sikh music]]ians called Dhadi at the [[Golden Temple]] complex]]

The vision in the Guru Granth Sahib, states Torkel Brekke, is a society based on divine justice without oppression.<ref name=brekke673/>

:One God exists, truth by name, creative power, without fear, without enmity, timeless form, unborn, self-existent, by the guru's grace.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mandair |first=Arvind |editor-last=Pemberton |editor-first=Kelly |date=2008 |title=Shared Idioms, Sacred Symbols, and the Articulation of Identities in South Asia |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-415-95828-8 |page=61}}</ref>
:({{langx|pa|ੴ ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥ |Ika ōaṅkāra sati nāmu karatā purakhu nirabha'u niravairu akāla mūrati ajūnī saibhaṅ gura prasādi}})

====As guru====
The tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, named the Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib as his successor, terminating the line of human gurus and making the scripture the literal embodiment of the eternal, impersonal guru, serving as the spiritual guide for Sikhs.<ref name="WH McLeod 2014 page 17">Fenech, Louis, and [[William Hewat McLeod]] (2014). [https://books.google.com/books?id=vgixwfeCyDAC ''Historical Dictionary of Sikhism''] (3rd ed.). [[Rowman & Littlefield]]. {{ISBN|978-1-4422-3600-4}}. pp. 17, 84–5.</ref><ref name="William James 2011 pages 241-242">James, William (2011). ''God's Plenty: Religious Diversity in Kingston.'' [[McGill–Queen's University Press]]. {{ISBN |978-0-7735-3889-4}}. pp. 241–42.</ref><ref name="granthfinalguru" /><ref>Jane Bingham (2007), Sikhism, Atlas of World Faiths, {{ISBN|978-1-59920-059-0}}, pp. 19–20</ref>

The Guru Granth Sahib is installed in all Sikh ''Gurdwara''s (temples); many Sikhs bow or prostrate before it when entering the temple. The Guru Granth Sahib is installed every morning and put to bed at night in many ''Gurdwaras''.<ref>Cole, William Owen; Sambhi, Piara Singh (1995), ''The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices'', Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1-898723-13-4}}, p. 44</ref> The Granth is revered as eternal ''[[gurbani|gurbānī]]'' and the spiritual authority.<ref>{{cite book |first=Torkel |last=Brekke |date=2014 |title=Religion, War, and Ethics: A Sourcebook of Textual Traditions |editor1-first=Gregory M. |editor1-last=Reichberg |editor2-first=Henrik |editor2-last=Syse |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-45038-6 |page=675}}</ref>

The copies of the Guru Granth Sahib are not regarded as material objects but as living subjects. According to Myrvold, the Sikh scripture is treated with respect like a living person, in a manner similar to the Gospel in early Christian worship. Old copies of the Sikh scripture are not thrown away. Instead, funerary services are performed.<ref name="Myrvold">Kristina Myrvold (2016). "Making the Scripture a Person: Reinventing Death Rituals of Guru Granth Sahib in Sikhism", pp. 134–136, 142–143, 152–155; In: Kristina Myrvold (2016), ''The Death of Sacred Texts: Ritual Disposal and Renovation of Texts in World Religions'', Abingdon-on-Thames, England: Routledge</ref>

In India, the Guru Granth Sahib is officially recognised by the Supreme Court of India as a judicial person who can receive donations and own land. Yet, some Sikhs also warn that, without proper comprehension of the text, veneration for the text can lead to [[bibliolatry]], with the concrete form of the teachings becoming the object of worship instead of the teachings themselves.<ref name=Myrvold/>

==== Distinction from Other Monotheistic Religions ====
The Abrahamic religions do not deny the existence of spiritual beings such as angels, Satan (Iblis), and jinn under the one true God. However, Sikhism does not acknowledge the existence of such spiritual entities; it recognises only the one, formless, omnipotent, and omniscient God (Waheguru), emphasising the directness and oneness of God. Although Sikh scriptures mention angels, devas, Yama, and demons, these references are merely literary metaphors or borrowings, and are not regarded as descriptions of real, existing spiritual beings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is the Concept of Evil in Sikhism? |url=https://www.learnreligions.com/do-sikhs-believe-devil-or-demons-2993497 |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=Learn Religions |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-21 |title=Understanding Sikhism's Monotheistic View of God • Philosophy Institute |url=https://philosophy.institute/religions-of-the-world/sikhism-monotheistic-beliefs/ |access-date=2025-08-17 |language=en-US}}</ref>

====Relation to Hinduism and Islam====
{{main|Sikhism and Hinduism|Islam and Sikhism}} 
The Sikh scriptures use [[Hindu]] terminology, with references to the [[Vedas]], and the names of gods and goddesses in Hindu bhakti movement traditions, such as Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Parvati, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Rama, Krishna, but not to worship.<ref name=brekke673>Torkel Brekke (2014), Religion, War, and Ethics: A Sourcebook of Textual Traditions (Editors: Gregory M. Reichberg and Henrik Syse), Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-521-45038-6}}, pp. 673, 675, 672–686</ref><ref>Sinha, A. K. (2013), ''Glimpse of Scriptures of Religions of Indian Origin'', Xlibris, {{ISBN|978-1-4836-6308-1}}, pp. 204–216{{self-published source|date=December 2017}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=December 2017}}<ref>{{Cite book |first1=Christopher |last1=Shackle |first2=Arvind |last2=Mandair |date=2005 |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-415-26604-8 |pages=xxxiv–xli}}</ref> It also refers to the spiritual concepts in Hinduism (''[[Ishvara]], [[Bhagavan]], [[Brahman]]'') and the idea of God in [[Islam]] (''[[Allah]]'') to assert that these are just "alternate names for the Almighty One".<ref>Singh, Nirbhai (1990); [https://archive.org/details/philosophyofsikh0000nirb/page/n134 <!-- pg=115 --> ''Philosophy of Sikhism: Reality and Its Manifestations''], New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers<!--NOT Atlantic Books, of London.-->; pp. 115–122</ref>

While the Guru Granth Sahib acknowledges the Vedas, [[Puranas]] and [[Quran]],<ref>Cole, William Owen; Sambhi, Piara Singh (1995), ''The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices'', Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1-898723-13-4}}, p. 157</ref> it does not imply a [[Syncretic religion|syncretic]] bridge between Hinduism and Islam,<ref>Cole, William Owen; Sambhi, Piara Singh (1995), ''The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices'', Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1-898723-13-4}}, p. 40</ref> but emphasises focusing on [[Nitnem|nitnem banis]] like [[Japji Sahib|Japu]] (repeating [[mantra]] of the divine Name of God – [[Waheguru]]), instead of practices such as praying by prostrating on the ground to God towards a [[Qibla|specific direction]] by Muslims, or Hindu rituals such as wearing thread; the former being, though, a disciplinary aspect of worship, given [[Dhikr]] (remembrance of Allah) is similarly emphasised in Islam.<ref>{{cite book |first1=William Owen |last1=Cole |first2=Piara Singh |last2=Sambhi |date=1995 |title=The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |isbn=978-1-898723-13-4 |pages=155–156}}</ref>

===Dasam Granth===
[[File:Dasam.Granth.Frontispiece.BL.Manuscript.1825-1850.jpg|thumb|The Dasam Granth is a Sikh scripture which contains texts attributed to Guru Gobind Singh, including his autobiography [[Bachittar Natak]]. The major narrative in the text is on [[Chaubis Avtar]] (24 [[Avatars]] of Hindu god [[Vishnu]]), [[Rudra]], [[Brahma]], the Hindu warrior goddess [[Chandi]] and a story of [[Rama]] in [[Bachittar Natak]].<ref name="jdeol31">{{cite book |first=J. |last=Deol |date=2000 |title=Sikh Religion, Culture and Ethnicity |editor1-first=Arvind-Pal Singh |editor1-last=Mandair |editor2-first=Christopher |editor2-last=Shackle |editor3-first=Gurharpal |editor3-last=Singh |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-7007-1389-9 |pages=31–33}}</ref>]]
{{Main|Dasam Granth}}

The Dasam Granth is a Sikh scripture which contains texts attributed to Guru Gobind Singh. Scholars, on the other hand, attribute the work to after the guru's death, being authored by an unknown poet. The ''Dasam Granth'' is important to a great number of Sikhs. However, it does not have the same authority as the ''Guru Granth Sahib''. Some compositions of the ''Dasam Granth'' like [[Jaap Sahib]] ([[Amrit Savaiye]]), and [[Chaupai (Sikhism)|Benti Chaupai]] are part of the daily prayers ([[Nitnem]]) for Sikhs.<ref>Robert Zaehner (1988), The Hutchinson Encyclopedia of Living Faiths, Hutchinson, {{ISBN|978-0-09-173576-0}}, pp. 426–427</ref> The first verse of the [[ardās]] prayer is from [[Chandi di Var]]. The ''Dasam Granth'' is largely a version of Hindu mythology from the [[Puranas]]: secular stories from a variety of sources called ''Charitro Pakhyan''—tales to protect careless men from the perils of lust.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Christopher |last1=Shackle |first2=Arvind-Pal Singh |last2=Mandair |date=2005 |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-415-26604-8 |page=xx}}</ref><ref>William McLeod (2009), The A to Z of Sikhism, Toronto: Rowman & Littlefield, {{ISBN|978-0-8108-6828-1}}, p. 151</ref>

Many versions of ''Dasam Granth'' exist, and the authenticity of the ''Dasam Granth'' has, in modern times, become one of the most debated topics within Sikhism. The [[Nihang|Akali Nihangs]] consider the Dasam and [[Sarbloh Granth]] as extensions of the [[Guru Granth Sahib]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sethi |first=Chitleen K. |date=21 October 2021 |title=The 3 granths in Sikhism & the debate surrounding Sarbloh Granth & Dasam Granth |url=https://theprint.in/theprint-essential/the-3-granths-in-sikhism-the-debate-surrounding-sarbloh-granth-dasam-granth/754060/ |access-date=22 February 2023 |website=ThePrint |language=en-US |archive-date=22 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222223640/https://theprint.in/theprint-essential/the-3-granths-in-sikhism-the-debate-surrounding-sarbloh-granth-dasam-granth/754060/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The text played a significant role in Sikh history, but in modern times parts of the text have seen antipathy and discussion among Sikhs.<ref name=jdeol31/>

=== Sarbloh Granth ===
The [[Sarbloh Granth]] is a holy text containing 6,500 poetic stanzas traditionally attributed to Guru Gobind Singh. Scholars, on the other hand, attribute the work to after the guru's death, being authored by an unknown poet.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/42718918 |title=Archived copy |access-date=19 November 2023 |archive-date=19 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119215901/https://search.worldcat.org/title/42718918 |url-status=live }}</ref> This scripture contains, alongside various topics, the [[Dharamyudh (Sikhism)|Sikh Art and Laws of War]]. Akali Nihangs largely revere this scripture, and many non-Nihang Sikhs reject it as an authentic work of the 10th guru.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/606234922 |title=Archived copy |access-date=19 November 2023 |archive-date=19 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119234418/https://search.worldcat.org/title/606234922 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to [[Harbans Singh]] the authenticity of the work is rejected on the grounds of its writing style and mastery of poetry not matching up with Guru Gobind Singh's ''Dasam Granth'' work. Also, the text makes mention of a work composed in 1719, much after the death of Guru Gobind Singh.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/29703420 |title=Archived copy |access-date=19 November 2023 |archive-date=20 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120005930/https://search.worldcat.org/title/29703420 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[W. H. McLeod]] dates the work to the late 18th century and believes an unknown poet authored it, which was mistakenly attributed to the tenth guru.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/435778610 |title=Archived copy |access-date=19 November 2023 |archive-date=19 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119202841/https://search.worldcat.org/title/435778610 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Janamsakhis===
{{Main|Janamsakhis}}

The Janamsākhīs (literally ''birth stories'') are writings that profess to be biographies of Guru Nanak. Although not scripture in the strictest sense, they provide a [[hagiography|hagiographic]] look at Guru Nanak's life and the early start of Sikhism.

==Observances==
{{See also|Sikh rites|Sikh culture}}
[[File:InsideSikhGurdwara.jpg|thumb|The [[Darbar Sahib Hall|Darbar Sahib]] of a [[Gurdwara]]]]
Observant Sikhs adhere to long-standing practices and traditions to strengthen and express their faith. The daily recitation of the divine name of God, Waheguru, and from a memory of specific passages from the Guru Granth Sahib, like the ''Japu'' (or ''Japjī'', literally ''chant'') hymns is recommended immediately after rising and bathing. Baptised Sikhs recite the five-morning prayers, the evening and night prayer. Family customs include both reading passages from the scripture and attending the [[gurdwara]] (also ''gurduārā'', meaning ''the doorway to God''; sometimes transliterated as ''Gurudwara''). There are many gurdwaras prominently constructed and maintained across India, as well as in almost every country where Sikhs reside. Gurdwaras are open to all, regardless of religion, background, caste, or race.<ref name="brittanica-gurdwara">{{cite web |title=gurdwara |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/gurdwara |website=britannica.com |date=5 May 2024 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |access-date=28 June 2024}}</ref>

Worship in a gurdwara consists chiefly of the singing of passages from the scripture. Sikhs will commonly prostrate before the holy scripture when entering a gurdwara. The recitation of the eighteenth century ''[[ardās]]'' is also customary for attending Sikhs. The ardās recalls past sufferings and glories of the community, invoking divine grace for all humanity.<ref name="p260">{{cite book |last=Parrinder |first=Geoffrey |author-link=Geoffrey Parrinder |date=1971 |title=World Religions: From Ancient History to the Present |publisher=[[Hamlyn (publisher)|Hamlyn]] |location=London |isbn=978-0-87196-129-7|page=260}}</ref>

The gurdwara is also the location for the historic Sikh practice of ''[[Langar (Sikhism)|langar]]'' or the community meal. All gurdwaras are open to anyone of any faith for a free meal, which is always vegetarian.<ref>Cole, William Owen; Sambhi, Piara Singh (1995), ''The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices'', Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1-898723-13-4}}, p. 148</ref> People eat together, and the kitchen is maintained and serviced by Sikh community volunteers.<ref>{{cite book |first=Mark |last=McWilliams |title=Food & Material Culture: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 2013|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yj8QDgAAQBAJ |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford Symposium |isbn=978-1-909248-40-3|page=265}}</ref>

===Sikh festivals/events===
[[Guru Amar Das]] chose festivals for celebration by Sikhs like [[Vaisakhi]], wherein he asked Sikhs to assemble and share the festivities as a community.<ref name="ColeSambhi1995p135">{{cite book |first1=William Owen |last1=Cole |first2=Piara Singh |last2=Sambhi |title=The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zIC_MgJ5RMUC&pg=PA135 |date=1995 |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |isbn=978-1-898723-13-4 |pages=135–136 |quote=Since the time of Guru Amar Das it has been customary for Sikhs to assemble before their Guru. }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Kathleen |last=Kuiper |title=The Culture of India |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=c8PJFLeURhsC&pg=PA127|date=2010 |publisher=Rosen |isbn=978-1-61530-149-2|page=127}}</ref>

Vaisakhi is one of the most important festivals of Sikhs, while other significant festivals commemorate the birth, lives of the gurus and Sikh martyrs. Historically, these festivals have been based on the moon calendar [[Bikrami calendar]].<ref name=nesbittbc>{{cite book |first=Eleanor |last=Nesbitt |title=Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XebnCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA122 |date=2016 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-874557-0 |pages=122–123 |access-date=6 March 2017 |archive-date=15 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415073742/https://books.google.com/books?id=XebnCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA122 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2003, the [[SGPC]], the Sikh organisation in charge of upkeep of the historical gurdwaras of Punjab, adopted [[Nanakshahi]] calendar.<ref name=nesbittbc/> The new calendar is highly controversial among Sikhs and is not universally accepted. Sikh festivals include the following:
{{wide image|Yuba City Nagar Kirtan 2011.jpg|760px|[[Nagar Kirtan]] crowd listening to [[Kirtan]] at [[Yuba City, California]]}}
* Band Chor Diwas has been another important Sikh festival in its history.<ref>{{cite book |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7 |pages=128–130 |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308160619/https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> In recent years, instead of Diwali, the post-2003 calendar released by SGPC has named it the [[Bandi Chhor Divas]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Eleanor |last=Nesbitt |title=Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4ysRDAAAQBAJ |date=2016 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-106276-6 |pages=6, 124}}</ref>
* [[Hola Mohalla]] is a tradition started by Guru Gobind Singh. It starts the day after Sikhs celebrate [[Holi]],<ref name="McLeod2009p95">{{cite book |first=W. H. |last=McLeod |title=The A to Z of Sikhism|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vgixwfeCyDAC&pg=PA95|date=2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-6344-6|page=95}}</ref> sometimes referred to as ''Hola''.<ref name="Roy2005p192">{{cite book |first=Christian |last=Roy |title=Traditional Festivals: A Multicultural Encyclopedia |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IKqOUfqt4cIC&pg=PA192 |date=2005 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-089-5 |pages=192–193}}</ref> Guru Gobind Singh modified Holi with a three-day Hola Mohalla extension festival of martial arts. The extension started the day after the Holi festival in [[Anandpur Sahib]], where Sikh soldiers would train in mock battles, compete in horsemanship, athletics, archery and military exercises.<ref>{{cite book | first1=James K. Jr. |last1=Wellman |first2=Clark |last2=Lombardi |title=Religion and Human Security: A Global Perspective|url= https://archive.org/details/religionandh_xxxx_2012_000_10856028 |url-access=registration|date=2012|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-982775-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/religionandh_xxxx_2012_000_10856028/page/n125 112] note 18}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Nikky-Guninder |last=Kaur Singh |title=Sikhism: An Introduction|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=e0ZmAXw7ok8C&pg=PA93|date=2011 |publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]] |location=London / New York |isbn=978-1-84885-321-8|pages=93–94}}</ref>

===Ceremonies and customs===
[[File:Sikh wedding.jpg|thumb|[[Sikh wedding]]]]
[[File:Sikh funeral procession. Mandi, Himachel Pradesh.jpg|thumb|Sikh funeral procession, [[Mandi, Himachal Pradesh]]]]
 
Sikhs have also supported and helped develop major pilgrimage traditions to sacred sites such as Harmandir Sahib, Anandpur Sahib, Fatehgarh Sahib, Patna Sahib, Hazur Nanded Sahib, Hemkund Sahib and others.<ref name="Oberoi1994p68">{{cite book |first=Harjot |last=Oberoi |title=The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1NKC9g2ayJEC |date=1994 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-61592-9 |pages=43–49, 68, 327–328}}</ref> Sikh pilgrims and Sikhs of other sects customarily consider these as holy and a part of their ''Tirath''.<ref name="Ferrari2011p48">{{cite book |first=Ron |last=Geaves |editor-first=Fabrizio |editor-last=Ferrari |title=Health and Religious Rituals in South Asia: Disease, Possession and Healing|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=OyKFM2qrNUEC&pg=PA48|date=2011 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-136-84629-8|pages=48–51}}</ref> The [[Hola Mohalla]] around the festival of [[Holi]], for example, is a ceremonial and customary gathering every year in [[Anandpur Sahib]] attracting over 100,000 Sikhs.<ref>{{cite book |first=Gene R. |last=Thursby |title=The Sikhs |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=PNsIoNN5ie8C&pg=PA17 |date=1992 |publisher=Brill Academic |isbn=978-90-04-09554-0 |pages=17–18}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=W. O. |last1=Cole |first2=Piara Singh |last2=Sambhi |title=Sikhism and Christianity: A Comparative Study|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=G8KMCwAAQBAJ |date=2016|publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-349-23049-5|pages=134–135, 168}}</ref> Major Sikh temples feature a ''[[sarovar]]'' where some Sikhs take a customary dip. Some take home the [[Sacred waters|sacred water]] of the tank particularly for sick friends and relatives,<ref name=singha7>{{cite book |first=H. S. |last=Singha |title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=gqIbJz7vMn0C&pg=PA7 |date=2000 |publisher=Hemkunt Press |isbn=978-81-7010-301-1 |pages=7, 16, 27}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Nikky-Guninder |last1=Kaur Singh |title=Sikhism |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=k0s2dUUMHbkC&pg=PA101 |date=2004 |publisher=Infobase |isbn=978-1-4381-1779-9 |pages=100–101}}</ref> believing that the waters of such sacred sites have restorative powers and the ability to purify one's ''karma''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thursby |first=Gene R. |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=PNsIoNN5ie8C&pg=PA17 |title=The Sikhs |publisher=Brill Academic |date=1992 |isbn=978-90-04-09554-0 |pages=14–15}}</ref><ref group="lower-roman">The Sikh scripture contains verses which have been literally interpreted as relevant to pilgrimage and taking dips in waters for salvific value; some criticize it (AG 358, 75); others support it (AG 623–624).</ref><ref name="singha7" /> The various gurus of Sikhism have had different approaches to pilgrimage.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Louis E. |last1=Fenech |first2=W. H. |last2=McLeod |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |date=2014 |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1 |pages=5–6, 29, 60–61}}</ref>

Upon a child's birth, the Guru Granth Sahib is opened at a random point and the child is named using the first letter on the top left hand corner of the left page. All boys are given the last name [[Singh]], and all girls are given the last name [[Kaur]] (this was once a title which was conferred on an individual upon joining the [[Khalsa]]).<ref>{{cite book |last=Loehlin|first=Clinton Herbert|date=1964 |orig-year=1958 |edition=2nd |title=The Sikhs and Their Scriptures |publisher=Lucknow Publishing |page=42}}</ref>

The Sikh marriage ritual includes the ''[[Anand Karaj|anand kāraj]]'' ceremony.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Nikky-Guninder |last1=Kaur Singh |title=The Birth of the Khalsa: A Feminist Re-Memory of Sikh Identity |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IsYucLFfEIsC&pg=PA189 |date=2005 |publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] |location=Albany |isbn=978-0-7914-6583-7 |page=189 |quote=The name of the wedding ceremony, anand karaj (anand=bliss, karaj=event), is derived from Guru Amar Das's rapturous hymn Anand (bliss) and institutionalized by the fourth Sikh Guru, Guru Ram Das.}}</ref><ref name="Ruether2006p700">{{cite book |first1=Rosemary |last1=Skinner Keller |first2=Rosemary |last2=Radford Ruether |first3=Marie |last3=Cantlon |title=Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WPILfbtT5tQC&pg=PA700 |date=2006 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-34687-2 |page=700}}</ref> The marriage ceremony is performed in front of the Guru Granth Sahib by a baptised Khalsa, Granthi of the Gurdwara.<ref name="HaarKalsi2009p10"/><ref name="fenech33" /> Its official recognition and adoption came in 1909, during the [[Singh Sabha Movement]].<ref name="fenech33">{{cite book |first1=Louis E. |last1=Fenech |first2=W. H. |last2=McLeod |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA220 |date=2014 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1|pages=33–34, 220}}</ref>

Upon death, the body of a Sikh is usually cremated. If this is not possible, any respectful means of disposing the body may be employed. The ''kīrtan sōhilā'' and ''ardās'' prayers are performed during the funeral ceremony (known as ''[[Antam Sanskar|antim sanskār]]'').<ref>{{cite web |url= http://sgpc.net/sikhism/antam-sanskar.asp |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20020406164549/http://sgpc.net/sikhism/antam-sanskar.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 April 2002 |title=Sikh Reht Maryada – Funeral Ceremonies (Antam Sanskar) |access-date=8 June 2006 }}</ref>

===Initiation and the Khalsa===

[[Khalsa]] (meaning "pure and sovereign") is the collective name given by Guru Gobind Singh,<ref name="pashauraarjan" /><ref name="Gandhi" /> to those Sikhs who have been fully initiated by taking part in a ceremony called ''[[ammrit sañcār]]'' (nectar ceremony).<ref name="SinghFenech2014p23" /> During this ceremony, sweetened water is stirred with a double-edged sword while liturgical prayers are sung; it is offered to the initiating Sikh, who ritually drinks it.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p23">{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Louis E. |last2=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7YwNAwAAQBAJ |date=2014 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-100411-7 |pages=23–24 |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308160518/https://books.google.com/books?id=7YwNAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Many Sikhs are not formally and fully initiated, as they do not undergo this ceremony, but do adhere to some components of Sikhism and identify as Sikhs. The initiated Sikh, who is believed to be [[Dvija#The meaning of the two births|reborn]], is referred to as [[Amritdhari]] or Khalsa Sikh, while those who are not initiated or baptised are referred to as Kesdhari or Sahajdhari Sikhs.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p23" /><ref>{{cite book |first1=Louis E. |last1=Fenech |first2=W. H. |last2=McLeod |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ |date=2014 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1 |pages=84–85 |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=17 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817161136/https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The first time that this ceremony took place was on [[Vaisakhi]], which fell on 30 March 1699 at [[Anandpur Sahib]] in Punjab.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p23" /> It was on that occasion that Gobind Singh baptised the [[Panj Piare|Pañj Piārē]] – the five beloved ones, who in turn baptised Guru Gobind Singh himself. To males who initiated, the last name Singh, meaning "lion", was given, while the last name Kaur, meaning "princess", was given to baptised Sikh females.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p23" />

Baptised [[Sikhs]] wear five items, called the [[five Ks]] (in Punjabi known as ''pañj kakkē'' or ''pañj kakār''), at all times. The five items are: ''[[Kesh (Sikhism)|kēs]]'' (uncut hair), ''[[Kanga (Sikhism)|kaṅghā]]'' (small wooden comb), ''[[Kara (Sikhism)|kaṛā]]'' (circular steel or iron bracelet), ''[[Kirpan|kirpān]]'' (sword/dagger), and ''[[Kaccha|kacchera]]'' (special undergarment).<ref name="SinghFenech2014p23" /> The five Ks have both practical and symbolic purposes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Simmonds |first=David |date=1992 |title=Believers All: A Book of Six World Religions |publisher=[[Nelson Thornes]] |location=Cheltenham, England |isbn=978-0-17-437057-4 |pages=120–121}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Sikhism}}
[[File:Punjab map.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Map of Punjab, where Sikhism originated, against present-day borders]]
Sikhism originated around the 15th century.<ref name="Nesbitt2005">{{cite book |last=Nesbitt |first=Eleanor M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fvTK_CfkeasC |title=Sikhism: a very short introduction |date=2005 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-280601-7 |pages=21–23 |access-date=15 May 2023 |archive-date=27 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927082839/https://books.google.com/books?id=fvTK_CfkeasC |url-status=live }}</ref> Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the founder of Sikhism, was born in the village of ''Rāi Bhōi dī Talwandī'', now called [[Nankana Sahib]] (in present-day Pakistan).<ref>{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Khushwant |author-link=Khushwant Singh |date=2006|title=The Illustrated History of the Sikhs |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-0-19-567747-8 |pages=12–13}}</ref> His parents were [[Punjabi Khatri]] Hindus.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Louis E. |last1=Fenech |first2=W. H. |last2=McLeod |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA182|date=2014|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1|page=182}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Pritam |last=Singh |title=Federalism, Nationalism and Development: India and the Punjab Economy |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lQpswqcdDLIC&pg=PA21 |date=2008 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-134-04946-2 |pages=20–21}}</ref> According to the [[hagiography]] ''Puratan Janamsakhi'' composed more than two centuries after his death and probably based on [[oral tradition]],<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Puratan Janam Sakhi |via=LearnPunjabi.org |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Sikhism |editor1-first=Harbans |editor1-last=Singh |editor2-first=W. H. |editor2-last=McLeod |date=2008 |access-date=9 April 2016 |archive-date=29 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729230458/http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |url-status=dead<!--replete with server errors--> }}</ref> Nanak as a boy was fascinated by religion and spiritual matters, spending time with wandering ascetics and holy men.<ref name=shacklexiii/> His friend was Mardana, a Muslim. Together they would sing devotional songs all night in front of the public, and bathe in the river in the morning. One day, at the usual bath, Nanak went missing and his family feared he had drowned. Three days later he returned home, and declared: "There is no [[Hindu]], there is no Muslim" ("''nā kōi hindū nā kōi musalmān''"). Thereafter, Nanak started preaching his ideas that form the tenets of Sikhism. In 1526, Guru Nanak at age 50, started a small commune in Kartarpur and his disciples came to be known as ''Sikhs''.<ref name="shacklexiii">{{cite book |last1=Shackle |first1=Christopher |last2=Mandair |first2=Arvind-Pal Singh |date=2005 |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-415-26604-8 |pages=xiii–xiv}}</ref> Although the exact account of his itinerary is disputed, hagiographic accounts state he made five major journeys, spanning thousands of miles: the first tour being east towards [[Bengal]] and [[Assam]]; the second south towards [[Andhra Pradesh|Andhra]] and [[Tamil Nadu]]; the third north to [[Kashmir]], [[Ladakh]], and [[Mount Meru|Mount Sumeru]]<ref>McLeod, W. H.; ''Essays in Sikh History, Tradition and Society'', [[Oxford University Press]], {{ISBN|978-0-19-568274-8}}, pp. 40–44</ref> in [[Tibet]]; and the fourth to [[Baghdad]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Harjinder Singh |last=Dilgeer |date=2008 |title=Sikh Twareekh |publisher=The Sikh University Press}}</ref> In his last and final tour, he returned to the banks of the Ravi River to end his days.<ref>{{cite book |last=Finegan |first=Jack |title=The Archeology of World Religions: the Background of Primitivism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, Islam, and Sikhism |url= https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.44705 |date=1952 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]}}</ref>

There are two competing theories on Guru Nanak's teachings.<ref name="arvindmandair131">{{cite book |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |date=2013 |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7 |pages=131–134}}</ref> One, according to Cole and Sambhi, is based on hagiographical [[Janamsakhis]],<ref>Cole, William Owen; Sambhi, Piara Singh (1995), ''The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices'', Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1-898723-13-4}}, pp. 9–12</ref> and states that Nanak's teachings and Sikhism were a revelation from God, and not a social protest movement nor any attempt to reconcile Hinduism and Islam in the 15th century.<ref name="Cole_Sambhi_Dic">{{cite book |title=A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism: Sikh Religion and Philosophy |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |first1=W. Owen |last1=Cole |first2=Piara Singh |last2=Sambhi |date=1997 |page=71 |isbn=978-0-203-98609-7}}</ref> The other states that Nanak was a [[guru]]. According to Singha, "Sikhism does not subscribe to the theory of incarnation or the concept of prophethood. But it has a pivotal concept of Guru. He is not an incarnation of God, not even a prophet. He is an illumined soul."<ref name="HS Singha 2009 page 104">{{cite book |first=H. S. |last=Singha |date=2009 |title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism |page=104}}</ref> The second theory continues that hagiographical ''Janamsakhis'' were not written by Nanak, but by later followers without regard for historical accuracy, and contain numerous legends and myths created to show respect for Nanak.<ref>Kaur Singh, Nikky-Guninder  (2011), ''Sikhism: An Introduction''; London / New York: [[I.B. Tauris]], {{ISBN|978-1-84885-321-8}}, pp. 2–8</ref> The term ''revelation'', clarify Cole and Sambhi, in Sikhism is not limited to the teachings of Nanak, but is extended to all Sikh gurus, as well as the words of past, present and future men and women, who possess divine knowledge intuitively through meditation. The Sikh revelations include the words of non-Sikh [[bhagat]]s, some who lived and died before the birth of Nanak, and whose teachings are part of the Sikh scriptures.<ref>Cole, William Owen; Sambhi, Piara Singh (1995), ''The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices'', Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1-898723-13-4}}, pp. 52–53, 46, 95–96, 159</ref> The Adi Granth and successive Sikh gurus repeatedly emphasised, states Mandair, that Sikhism is "not about hearing voices from God, but it is about changing the nature of the human mind, and anyone can achieve direct experience and spiritual perfection at any time".<ref name="arvindmandair131" />

===Historical influences===
The roots of the Sikh tradition are, states Louis Fenech, perhaps in the [[Sant (religion)|Sant]]-tradition of India whose ideology grew to become the Bhakti tradition.<ref name="Louis Fenech 2014 page 35" group="lower-roman" /> Furthermore, adds Fenech:<ref>{{cite book |first=Louis |last=Fenech |date=2014 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |editor1-first=Pashaura |editor1-last=Singh |editor2-first=Louis E. |editor2-last=Fenech |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |page=36}}</ref>
{{blockquote|Few Sikhs would mention these Indic texts and ideologies in the same breadth as the Sikh tradition, let alone trace elements of their tradition to this chronological and ideological point, {{em|despite the fact}} that the Indic mythology permeates the Sikh sacred canon, the ''Guru Granth Sahib'', and the secondary canon, the ''Dasam Granth''&nbsp;... and adds delicate nuance and substance to the sacred symbolic universe of the Sikhs of today and of their past ancestors.}}

The development of Sikhism was influenced by the [[Bhakti movement]];<ref name="David Lorenzen 1995 pages 1-2" group="lower-roman">"Historically, Sikh religion derives from this nirguni current of bhakti religion." (Lorenzen 1995, pp. 1–2).</ref><ref name="Louis Fenech 2014 page 35" group="lower-roman">"Technically this would place the Sikh community's origins at a much further remove than 1469, perhaps to the dawning of the Sant movement, which possesses clear affinities to Guru Nanak's thought sometime in the tenth century. The predominant ideology of the Sant ''parampara'' in turn corresponds in many respects to the much wider devotional Bhakti tradition in northern India. (Pashaura and Fenech 2014, p. 35).</ref><ref name="encyclobritannicasikh" group="lower-roman">"In its earliest stage Sikhism was clearly a movement within the Hindu tradition; Nanak was raised a Hindu and eventually belonged to the Sant tradition of northern India." (McLeod 2019/1998).</ref><ref name="Kitagawa2013">{{cite book |first=Joseph |last=Kitagawa |title=The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and Culture|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kfyzAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA111|date=5 September 2013|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-136-87597-7|pages=111–}}</ref> however, Sikhism was not simply an extension of the Bhakti movement.<ref name="Singha" /><ref name="Pruthi">{{cite book |isbn=978-81-7141-879-4 |title=Sikhism and Indian Civilization |publisher=Discovery Publishing House |last=Pruthi |first=R. K. |date=2004 |location=New Delhi |pages=202–203}}</ref> Sikhism, for instance, disagreed with some of the views of Bhakti saints Kabir and Ravidas.<ref group="lower-roman">These views include Sikhs believing in achieving blissful mukhti while alive, Sikhs placing emphasis on the path of the householder, Sikhs disbelief in [[Ahinsa]], and the Sikhs afterlife aspect of merging with God rather than a physical heaven.</ref><ref name="Pruthi" /> Sikhism developed while the region was being ruled by the [[Mughal Empire]]. Two of the Sikh gurus, [[Guru Arjan]] and [[Guru Tegh Bahadur]], refused to convert to Islam and were tortured and executed by the Mughal rulers.<ref name=pashauraarjan>Pashaura Singh (2005), Understanding the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan, Journal of Punjab Studies, 12(1), pp. 29–62</ref><ref>Gandhi, Surjit (2008), ''History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1606–1708''; New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers<!--NOT Atlantic Books, of London.-->; {{ISBN|978-81-269-0858-5}}, pp. 689–690</ref> The Islamic era persecution of Sikhs triggered the founding of the [[Khalsa]], as an order for freedom of conscience and religion.<ref name=pashauraarjan/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Johar|first1=Surinder|title=Guru Gobind Singh: A Multi-faceted Personality|date=1999|publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. |isbn=978-81-7533-093-1|page=89}}</ref><ref name="Gandhi">{{cite book |title=History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1606–1708 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers<!--NOT Atlantic Books, of London--> |location=New Delhi |last=Gandhi |first=Surjit Singh |date=1 February 2008 |pages=676–677 |isbn=978-81-269-0857-8}}</ref> A Sikh is expected to embody the qualities of a "Sant-Sipāhī"{{spaced ndash}} a [[Sant Sipahi|saint-soldier]].<ref name="Chanchreek 2007 142">{{cite book |last=Chanchreek |first=Jain |title=Encyclopaedia of Great Festivals |date=2007 |publisher=Shree Publishers |isbn=978-81-8329-191-0 |page=142}}</ref><ref name="Dugga 2001 33">{{cite book |last=Dugga|first=Kartar|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh: The Last to Lay Arms|date=2001|publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-410-3|page=33}}</ref>

===Growth of Sikhism===
[[File:Guru.Nanak.with.Hindu.holymen-b.JPG|thumb|[[Guru Nanak]] explaining [[Sikh beliefs|Sikh teachings]] to [[Sadhu]]s]]
After its inception, Sikhism grew as it gained converts among Hindus and Muslims in the Punjab region.<ref name="Singh2008">{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Pritam |title=Federalism, Nationalism and Development: India and the Punjab Economy |date=2008 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-134-04945-5 |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |quote=A large number of Hindu and Muslim peasants converted to Sikhism from conviction, fear, economic motives, or a combination of the three (Khushwant Singh 1999: 106; Ganda Singh 1935: 73).}}
</ref><ref name="Singh1989">{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Teja |last2=Singh |first2=Ganda |title=A Short History of the Sikhs: 1469–1765 |date=1989 |publisher=[[Punjabi University]] |isbn=978-81-7380-007-8 |page=41 |language=en |quote=He made many converts to Sikhism from the Hindus and the Muslims. In Kashmir particularly he converted thousands who had gone over to Islam.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Sikhism and Indian Society |date=1967 |publisher=[[Indian Institute of Advanced Study]] |page=197 |language=en |quote=Thus the social barriers between various castes and creeds were broken and intermarriages took place not only between the Sikhs coming from various castes but there were marriages even between Muslim converts to Sikhism with Hindu converts.}}</ref><ref name="Singh1996">{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Darshan |title=Sikhism: Issues and Institutions|date=1996 |publisher=Sehgal Book Distributors |isbn=978-81-86023-03-7 |page=14 |language=en |quote=During the time of Guru Nanak, a number of Hindus, Muslims and Dalits joined the fold of Guru Nanak.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U3rXAAAAMAAJ&q=%22During+the+time+of+Guru+Nanak,+a+number+of+Hindus,+Muslims+and+Dalits+joined+the+fold+of+Guru+Nanak.%22}}</ref> In 1539, Guru Nanak chose his disciple Lahiṇā as a successor to the Guruship rather than either of his sons. Lahiṇā was named [[Guru Angad]] and became the second guru of the Sikhs.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shackle |first1=Christopher |last2=Mandair |first2=Arvind-Pal Singh |date=2005 |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-415-26604-8 |page=xv}}</ref><ref name="Fenech2014p36">{{cite book |first1=Louis E. |last1=Fenech |first2=W. H. |last2=McLeod |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA36 |date=2014 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1 |page=36}}</ref> Nanak conferred his choice at the town of [[Kartarpur (Pakistan)|Kartarpur]] on the banks of the river [[Ravi River|Ravi]]. [[Sri Chand]], Guru Nanak's son was also a religious man, and continued his own commune of Sikhs. His followers came to be known as the [[Udasi]] Sikhs, the first parallel sect of Sikhism that formed in [[Sikh]] history.<ref name="Oberoi1994p78">{{cite book |first=Harjot |last=Oberoi |title=The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1NKC9g2ayJEC&pg=PA78 |date=1994 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-61592-9 |pages=78–80}}</ref> The Udasis believe that the Guruship should have gone to Sri Chand, since he was a man of pious habits in addition to being Nanak's son.<ref name="Oberoi1994p78" />

Guru Angad, before joining Guru Nanak's commune, worked as a ''[[pujari]]'' (priest) and religious teacher centered around Hindu goddess [[Durga]].<ref name="Fenech2014p36" /><ref name="ColeSambhi1995p18" /> On Nanak's advice, Guru Angad moved from Kartarpur to Khadur, where his wife [[Mata Khivi|Khivi]] and children were living, until he was able to bridge the divide between his followers and the Udasis. Guru Angad continued the work started by Guru Nanak and is widely credited for standardising the [[Gurmukhī script]] as used in the sacred scripture of the Sikhs.<ref name="ColeSambhi1995p18">{{cite book |first1=William Owen |last1=Cole |first2=Piara Singh |last2=Sambhi |title=The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zIC_MgJ5RMUC&pg=PA18 |date=1995 |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |isbn=978-1-898723-13-4|pages=18–20}}</ref>

[[Guru Amar Das]] became the third Sikh guru in 1552 at the age of 73. He adhered to the [[Vaishnavism]] tradition of Hinduism for much of his life, before joining the commune of Guru Angad.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p29">{{cite book |first1=Louis E. |last1=Fenech |first2=W. H. |last2=McLeod |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA29 |date=2014 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1 |pages=29–30 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=28 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528215151/https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA29%2F |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Eileen |last=Osborne |title=Founders and Leaders|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=GMnpUthHyvEC&pg=PA24|date=2005|publisher=Dublin: Folens Limited |isbn=978-1-84303-622-7|page=24}}</ref> [[Goindval]] became an important centre for Sikhism during the Guruship of Guru Amar Das. He was a reformer, and discouraged veiling of women's faces (a Muslim custom) as well as [[sati (practice)|sati]] (a Hindu custom).<ref name=eosamardas>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Amar Das, Guru (1479–1574) |last1=Kushwant Singh |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjab University Patiala |access-date=9 April 2016 |archive-date=29 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729230458/http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Nikky-Guninder |last=Kaur Singh |title=Sikhism |date=2004 |publisher=Infobase |isbn=978-1-4381-1779-9|page=120}}</ref> He encouraged the [[Kshatriya]] people to fight in order to protect people and for the sake of justice, stating this is [[Dharma]].<ref name="Sambhi2005p29">{{cite book |first1=W. Owen |last1=Cole |first2=Piara Singh |last2=Sambhi |title=A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism: Sikh Religion and Philosophy|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vcSRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA29 |date=2005 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-135-79760-7|pages=29–30}}</ref> Guru Amar Das started the tradition of appointing [[Manji (Sikhism)|''manji'']] (zones of religious administration with an appointed chief called ''sangatias''),<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p29" /> introduced the ''[[dasvandh]]'' (tithe) system of revenue collection in the name of guru and as pooled community religious resource,<ref name="Farhadian2015p342">{{cite book |first=Charles E. |last=Farhadian |title=Introducing World Religions |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5VV-BAAAQBAJ&pg=PT342 |date=2015|publisher=Baker Academic |isbn=978-1-4412-4650-9|pages=342}}</ref> and the famed ''[[Langar (Sikhism)|langar]]'' tradition of Sikhism where anyone, without discrimination of any kind, could get a free meal in a communal seating. The collection of revenue from Sikhs through regional appointees helped Sikhism grow.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p29" /><ref name="HaarKalsi2009p21">{{cite book |first1=Kristen |last1=Haar |first2=Sewa Singh |last2=Kalsi |title=Sikhism |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YOI1nB_zTyAC&pg=PA21 |date=2009 |publisher=Infobase |isbn=978-1-4381-0647-2 |pages=21–22}}</ref>

Guru Amar Das named his disciple and son-in-law Jēṭhā as the next guru, who came to be known as [[Guru Ram Das]]. The new guru faced hostilities from the sons of Guru Amar Das and therefore shifted his official base to lands identified by Guru Amar Das as Guru-ka-Chak.<ref name="Mandair2013p38">{{cite book |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jn_jBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA38 |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-4411-5366-1 |pages=38–40 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328171957/https://books.google.com/books?id=Jn_jBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA38#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> He moved his commune of Sikhs there and the place then was called Ramdaspur, after him. This city grew and later became [[Amritsar]] – the holiest city of Sikhism.<ref name="McLeod1990p28">{{cite book |first=W. H. |last=McLeod |title=Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7xIT7OMSJ44C&pg=PA28 |date=1990 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-56085-4 |pages=28–29 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328171958/https://books.google.com/books?id=7xIT7OMSJ44C&pg=PA28#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> Guru Ram Das expanded the ''manji'' organisation for clerical appointments in Sikh temples, and for revenue collections to theologically and economically support the Sikh movement.<ref name="Mandair2013p38" />

In 1581, [[Guru Arjan]], the youngest son of Guru Ram Das, became the fifth guru of the Sikhs. The choice of successor, as throughout most of the history of Sikh guru successions, led to disputes and internal divisions among the Sikhs.<ref name="ShackleMandair2013xv">{{cite book |last1=Shackle |first1=Christopher |last2=Mandair |first2=Arvind-Pal Singh |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VvoJV8mw0LwC |date=2013 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-136-45101-0 |pages=xv–xvi |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308155950/https://books.google.com/books?id=VvoJV8mw0LwC |url-status=live }}</ref> The elder son of Guru Ram Das named [[Prithi Chand]] is remembered in the Sikh tradition as vehemently opposing Guru Arjan, creating a faction Sikh community which the Sikhs following Guru Arjan called as ''Minaas'' (literally, "scoundrels").<ref name=fenech39>{{cite book |first1=Louis E. |last1=Fenech |first2=W. H. |last2=McLeod |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ |date=2014 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1 |page=39 |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=17 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817161136/https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="McLeod2009p20">{{cite book |first=W. H. |last=McLeod |title=The A to Z of Sikhism|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vgixwfeCyDAC&pg=PA86 |date=2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-6344-6|page=20}}</ref>

Guru Arjan is remembered among Sikhs for many accomplishments. He built the first [[Harimandir Sahib]] (later to become the [[Golden Temple]]). He was a poet, and he created the first edition of Sikh sacred text known as the [[Adi Granth|Ādi Granth]] (literally "the first book") and included the writings of the first five gurus and other enlightened 13 Hindu and 2 Muslim Sufi saints. In 1606, he was tortured and killed by the [[Mughal emperors|Mughal emperor]] [[Jahangir]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shackle |first1=Christopher |last2=Mandair |first2=Arvind-Pal Singh |date=2005 |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-415-26604-8 |pages=xv–xvi}}</ref> for refusing to convert to Islam.<ref>{{cite book |first=Pashaura |last=Singh |title=Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory, and Biography in the Sikh Tradition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FbPXAAAAMAAJ |date=2006 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-567921-2 |pages=23, 217–218 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328171959/https://books.google.com/books?id=FbPXAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=pashauraarjan/><ref>Louis E. Fenech (2006), Martyrdom in the Sikh Tradition, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-567901-4}}, pp. 118–121</ref> His martyrdom is considered a watershed event in the history of Sikhism.<ref name=pashauraarjan/><ref>{{cite book |first=W. H. |last=McLeod |date=1989 |title=The Sikhs: History, Religion, and Society |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-06815-4 |pages=26–51}}</ref>

===Political advancement===
After the martyrdom of Guru Arjan, his son [[Guru Hargobind]] at age eleven became the sixth guru of the Sikhs, and Sikhism dramatically evolved to become a political movement in addition to being religious.<ref name=pashaura29>{{cite journal |first=Pashaura |last=Singh |year=2005 |url=http://www.global.ucsb.edu/punjab/journal_12_1/3_singh.pdf |title=Understanding the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan |journal=Journal of Punjab Studies |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=29–62 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175032/http://www.global.ucsb.edu/punjab/journal_12_1/3_singh.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Guru Hargobind carried two swords, calling one spiritual and the other for temporal purpose, reflecting the concept of Miri Piri.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mahmood |first=Cynthia |date=2002 |title=A Sea of Orange |publisher=Xlibris |isbn=978-1-4010-2856-5 |page=16}}{{self-published source|date=December 2017}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=December 2017}} According to the Sikh tradition, Guru Arjan asked his son Hargobind to start a military tradition to protect the [[Sikh people]] and always keep himself surrounded by armed Sikhs. The building of an armed Sikh militia began with Guru Hargobind.<ref name="pashaura29" /> Guru Hargobind was soon arrested by the Mughals and kept in jail in Gwalior. It is unclear how many years he served in prison, with different texts stating it to be between 2 and 12.<ref name="mandair48">{{cite book |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BEP0Ty-GuVEC&pg=PA48|publisher=[[A & C Black]] |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-4411-1708-3|page=48}}</ref> He married three women, built a fort to defend Ramdaspur and created a formal court called [[Akal Takht]], now the highest Khalsa Sikh religious authority.<ref name="Phyllis2004">{{cite book |title=Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia |volume=1 |first=Phyllis G. |last=Jestice |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=H5cQH17-HnMC&pg=PA345 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |date=2004 |isbn=978-1-57607-355-1 |pages=345, 346}}</ref>

In 1644, Guru Hargobind named his grandson [[Guru Har Rai|Har Rai]] as the guru. The Mughal emperor [[Shah Jahan]] attempted political means to undermine the Sikh tradition, by dividing and influencing the succession.<ref name="mandair49" /> The Mughal ruler gave land grants to Dhir Mal, a grandson of Guru Hargobind living in Kartarpur, and attempted to encourage Sikhs to recognise Dhir Mal as the rightful successor to Guru Hargobind.<ref name="mandair49" /> Dhir Mal issued statements in favour of the Mughal state and critical of his grandfather [[Guru Arjan]]. Guru Hargobind rejected Dhir Mal, the latter refused to give up the original version of the Adi Granth he had, and the Sikh community was divided.<ref name="mandair49">{{cite book |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BEP0Ty-GuVEC&pg=PA49 |publisher=[[A & C Black]] |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-4411-1708-3 |pages=48–49}}</ref>

Guru Har Rai is famed to have met Dara Shikoh during a time Dara Shikoh and his younger brother Aurangzeb were in a bitter succession fight. Aurangzeb summoned Guru Har Rai, who refused to go and sent his elder son Ram Rai instead.<ref name="McLeod2014p260" /> The emperor found a verse in the Sikh scripture insulting to Muslims, and Ram Rai agreed it was a mistake then changed it. Ram Rai thus pleased Aurangzeb, but displeased Guru Har Rai who excommunicated his elder son. He nominated his younger son [[Guru Har Krishan]] to succeed him in 1661. Aurangzeb responded by granting Ram Rai a [[jagir]] (land grant). Ram Rai founded a town there and enjoyed Aurangzeb's patronage; the town came to be known as Dehradun, after ''Dehra'' referring to Ram Rai's shrine. [[Sikh]]s who followed Ram Rai came to be known as [[Ramraiya]] Sikhs.<ref name="McLeod2014p260">{{cite book |first1=Louis E. |last1=Fenech |first2=W. H. |last2=McLeod |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ |date=2014 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1 |pages=260–261 |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=17 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817161136/https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Britannica|490354|Rām Rāiyā}}</ref> However, according to rough estimates, there are around 120–150 million (12–15 [[crore]])<ref>[http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx Ram Rai] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729230458/http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |date=29 July 2017 }}, ''Encyclopedia of Sikhism''. Harbans, Singh (ed.). Punjab University.</ref> Guru Har Krishan became the eighth guru at the age of five, and died of smallpox before reaching the age of eight. No hymns composed by these three gurus are included in the Guru Granth Sahib.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shackle |first1=Christopher |last2=Mandair |first2=Arvind-Pal Singh |date=2005 |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-415-26604-8 |page=xvi}}</ref>

[[Guru Tegh Bahadur]], the uncle of Guru Har Krishan, became guru in 1665. Tegh Bahadur resisted the forced conversions of [[Kashmir]]i [[Pandit]]s<ref>{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Louis E. |last2=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |date=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|pages=236–445}}, Quote:"This is the reputed place where several Kashmiri pandits came seeking protection from Auranzeb's army.", Quote:"this second martyrdom helped to make 'human rights and freedom of conscience' central to its identity."</ref> and non-Muslims<ref name="Mandair2013p53">{{cite book |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA53 |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7 |pages=53–54 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=11 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811005234/https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA53 |url-status=live }}, Quote: "The Guru's stance was a clear and unambiguous challenge, not to the sovereignty of the Mughal state, but to the state's policy of not recognizing the sovereign existence of non-Muslims, their traditions and ways of life".</ref> to [[Islam]], and was publicly beheaded in 1675 on the orders of [[Mughal Empire|Mughal emperor]] [[Aurangzeb]] in [[Delhi]] for refusing to convert to Islam.<ref name=cs2013>{{cite book |last=Seiple |first=Chris |title=The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Security |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |date=2013 |isbn=978-0-415-66744-9 |page=96}}</ref><ref name="pashauraarjan" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Pashaura |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |last2=Fenech |first2=Louis E. |date=2014 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=236–238 |access-date=4 July 2017 |archive-date=11 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811005306/https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Fenech |first=Louis E. |year=2001 |title=Martyrdom and the Execution of Guru Arjan in Early Sikh Sources |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=121 |issue=1 |pages=20–31 |doi=10.2307/606726 |jstor=606726|issn=0003-0279}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Fenech |first=Louis E. |year=1997 |title=Martyrdom and the Sikh Tradition |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=117 |issue=4 |pages=623–642 |doi=10.2307/606445 |jstor=606445}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=McLeod |first=Hew |author-link=William Hewat McLeod |year=1999 |title=Sikhs and Muslims in the Punjab |journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies |volume=22 |issue=sup001 |pages=155–165 |doi=10.1080/00856408708723379}}</ref><ref name=fenech4>{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Louis E. |last2=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |date=2014 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=236–238 |access-date=4 July 2017 |archive-date=11 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811005306/https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }};<br />{{cite journal |last=Fenech |first=Louis E. |title=Martyrdom and the Execution of Guru Arjan in Early Sikh Sources |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=121 |issue=1 |year=2001 |doi=10.2307/606726 |pages=20–31 |jstor=606726}};<br />{{cite journal |last=Fenech |first=Louis E. |title=Martyrdom and the Sikh Tradition |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=117 |issue=4 |year=1997 |doi=10.2307/606445 |pages=623–642 |jstor=606445}};<br />{{cite journal |last=McLeod |first=Hew |title=Sikhs and Muslims in the Punjab |journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies |volume=22 |issue=sup001 |year=1999 |issn=0085-6401 |doi=10.1080/00856408708723379 |pages=155–165}}</ref> His beheading traumatised the Sikhs. His body was cremated in Delhi, while the head was carried secretively by Sikhs and cremated in [[Anandpur Sahib|Anandpur]]. He was succeeded by his son, Gobind Rai, who militarised his followers by creating the [[Khalsa]] in 1699, and baptising the ''[[Panj Piare|Pañj Piārē]]''.<ref name="MandairShackle2013p25">{{cite book |first1=Arvind-Pal Singh |last1=Mandair |first2=Christopher |last2=Shackle |first3=Gurharpal |last3=Singh |title=Sikh Religion, Culture and Ethnicity |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=D8xdAgAAQBAJ |date=2013 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-136-84627-4 |pages=25–28}}</ref> From then on, he was known as [[Guru Gobind Singh]], and Sikh identity was redefined into a political force resisting religious persecution.<ref name=ws1981>{{cite book |first=Wilfred |last=Smith |date=1981 |page=191 |title=On Understanding Islam: Selected Studies |publisher=Walter De Gruyter |isbn=978-90-279-3448-2 |url= https://archive.org/details/onunderstandingi0000smit/page/191}}</ref>
<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:Interior-view-Gurudwara-Sis-Ganj-Sahib.jpg|[[Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib]] in Delhi. The long window under the marble platform is the location where [[Guru Tegh Bahadur]] was executed by the Mughals.
File:Bhai Mati Das.jpg|Artistic rendering of the execution of [[Bhai Mati Das]] by the Mughals. This image is from a [[Sikh Ajaibghar]] near the towns of Mohali and Sirhind in Punjab, India. 
</gallery>

====Sikh confederacy and the rise of the Khalsa====
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
Mehdiana 5.jpg|Sculpture at [[Mehdiana Sahib]] of the execution of [[Banda Singh Bahadur]] in 1716 by the Mughals
Bodyguard of Ranjit Singh.jpg|Some bodyguards of [[Ranjit Singh|Maharaja Ranjit Singh]] at the Sikh capital, Lahore, Punjab
</gallery>
[[Guru Gobind Singh]] inaugurated the [[Khalsa]] (the collective body of all [[Amrit Sanskar|initiated Sikhs]]) as the Sikh temporal authority in the year 1699. It created a community that combines its spiritual purpose and goals with political and military duties.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shani |first=Giorgio |title=Sikh Nationalism and Identity in a Global Age |date=2008 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-415-42190-4 |page=24}}</ref><ref name="granthfinalguru" /><ref name="parrinderp259" /> Shortly before his death, Guru Gobind Singh proclaimed the [[Guru Granth Sahib]] to be the ultimate spiritual authority for the Sikhs.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wolfe|first=Alvin|title=Anthropological Contributions to Conflict Resolution|date=1996|publisher=University of Georgia Press |isbn=978-0-8203-1765-6|page=14}}</ref>

After the Guru Gobind's death, [[Banda Singh Bahadur]] became the commander-in-chief of the Khalsa.<ref>{{cite book |title=Indian Armed Forces Year Book|date=1959|publisher=the University of California|page=419}}</ref> He organised the civilian rebellion and abolished or halted the [[Zamindar]]i system in time he was active and gave the farmers [[Self-ownership|proprietorship]] of their own land.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jawandha |first=Nahar |title=Glimpses of Sikhism |date=2010 |publisher=Sanbun Publishers |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-93-80213-25-5 |page=81}}</ref>

The Sikh empire, with its capital in [[Lahore]], spread over almost {{convert|200000|mi2|km2|abbr=off}} comprising what is now northwestern [[Indian subcontinent]]. The Sikh Empire entered into a treaty with the colonial British powers, with each side recognising Sutlej River as the line of control and agreeing not to invade the other side.<ref>{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Khushwant |author-link=Khushwant Singh|date=2006|title=The Illustrated History of the Sikhs |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-0-19-567747-8 |pages=47–53}}</ref> Ranjit Singh's most lasting legacy was the restoration and expansion of the [[Harmandir Sahib]], most revered [[Gurudwara]] of the Sikhs, with marble and gold, from which the popular name of the "[[Golden Temple]]" is derived.<ref>{{cite book |first=Eleanor |last=Nesbitt |title=Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XebnCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 |date=2016 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-874557-0 |pages=64–65 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328172000/https://books.google.com/books?id=XebnCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA64#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> After the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839, the Sikh Empire fell into disorder. Ranjit Singh had failed to establish a lasting structure for Sikh government or stable succession, and the Sikh Empire rapidly declined after his death. Factions divided the Sikhs, and led to [[First Anglo-Sikh War|Anglo-Sikh wars]]. The British defeated the confused and demoralised [[Sikh Khalsa Army|Khalsa forces]], then disbanded them into destitution.<ref name="Oberoi1994p207">{{cite book |first=Harjot |last=Oberoi |title=The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dKl84EYFkTsC |date=1994 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-61593-6 |pages=207–208 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=11 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231111155406/https://books.google.com/books?id=dKl84EYFkTsC |url-status=live }}</ref> The youngest son of Ranjit Singh, named [[Maharaja Duleep Singh|Duleep Singh]], ultimately succeeded, but he was arrested and exiled after the defeat of the Sikhs.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Jind Kaur, Maharani (1817–1863) |last1=Hasrat |first1=B. J. |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=9 April 2016 |archive-date=29 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729230458/http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Singh Sabha movement====
{{Main|Singh Sabha Movement}}
The Singh Sabha movement, a movement to revitalise Sikhism, also saw the resurgence of the [[Khalsa]] after their defeat in wars with the British<ref>{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Louis E. |last2=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28|date=2014|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|page=28}}</ref> – latterly in the [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]] – and the subsequent decline and corruption of Sikh institutions during colonial rule, and the proselytisation of other faith groups in the Punjab.<ref name=barrierssm>{{cite book |last1=Barrier |first1=N. Gerald |last2=Singh |first2=Nazer |editor1-last=Singh |editor1-first=Harbans |title=Singh Sabha Movement |date=1998 |publisher=Punjab University, Patiala, 2002 |location=Patiala, Punjab, India |isbn=978-81-7380-349-9 |pages=44, 50, 110, 121, 126, 212, 349 |edition=4th |url= https://archive.org/details/TheEncyclopediaOfSikhism-VolumeIA-d/page/n3 |access-date=12 November 2019}}</ref><ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica Online">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Singh-Sabha |title=Singh Sabha (Sikhism) |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Online |year=2010 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=26 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226073623/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Singh-Sabha |url-status=live }}</ref> It was started in the 1870s, and after a period of interfactional rivalry, united under the Tat Khalsa to reinvigorate Sikh practice and institutions.<ref name="perplexed84">{{cite book |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA85 |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsburg Academic |isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7 |page=84}}</ref>

The last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, Duleep Singh, converted to Christianity in 1853, a controversial but influential event in Sikh history. Along with his conversion, and after Sikh Empire had been dissolved and the region made a part of the colonial British Empire, [[Proselytism|proselytising]] activities of [[Christians]], [[Brahmo Samaj]]is, [[Arya Samaj]], Muslim Anjuman-i-Islamia and Ahmadiyah sought to convert the Sikhs in northwestern Indian subcontinent into their respective faiths.<ref name=barrierssm/><ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica Online" /> These developments launched the Singh Sabha Movement.<ref name=barrierssm/><ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica Online" />

The first meeting of the movement was in the [[Golden Temple]], Amritsar in 1873, and it was largely launched by the [[Sanatan Sikh]]s, Gianis, priests, and granthis.<ref>Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, Sikh History in 10 Volumes, Sikh University Press, Belgium, published in 2012; vol 4, pp 49–69</ref> Shortly thereafter, Nihang Sikhs began influencing the movement, followed by a sustained campaign by the [[Tat Khalsa]], which had quickly gained dominance by the early 1880s.<ref name="perplexed84" /><ref name="Oberoi1994">{{cite book |first=Harjot |last=Oberoi |title=The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=dKl84EYFkTsC&pg=PA382|date=1994|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-61593-6|pages=382–383}}</ref> The movement became a struggle between Sanatan Sikhs and Tat Khalsa in defining and interpreting Sikhism.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p28" /><ref name="Mandair 2013 85–86">{{cite book |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA85 |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsburg Academic |isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7 |pages=85–86}}</ref><ref name="fenech273" />

Sanatan Sikhs led by [[Khem Singh Bedi]] – who claimed to be a direct descendant of Guru Nanak, Avtar Singh Vahiria and others supported a more inclusive approach which considered Sikhism as a reformed tradition of Hinduism, while Tat Khalsa campaigned for an exclusive approach to the Sikh identity, disagreeing with Sanatan Sikhs and seeking to modernise Sikhism.<ref name="fenech273" /><ref name="Oberoi1994" /><ref name="Mandair2013p82">{{cite book |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 |date=2013|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7|pages=82–90}}</ref> The Sikh Sabha movement expanded in north and northwest Indian subcontinent, leading to more than 100 Singh Sabhas.<ref name="fenech273" /><ref name="SinghFenech2014p28" /> By the early decades of the 20th century, the influence of Tat Khalsa increased in interpreting the nature of Sikhism and their control over the Sikh [[gurdwara]]s.<ref name="fenech273" /><ref name="SinghFenech2014p28">{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Louis E. |last2=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28|date=2014|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|pages=28–29, 73–76}}</ref><ref name="Oberoi1994" /> The Tat Khalsa banished Brahmanical practices including the use of the ''[[yajna|yagna]]'' fire,<ref>{{cite book |first=Gurnam Singh Sidhu |last=Brard |title=East of Indus: My Memories of Old Punjab |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=UUdYFH9skIkC&pg=PA291 |date=2007 |publisher=Hemkunt Press |isbn=978-81-7010-360-8 |pages=291–292}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Michael |last2=Hawley |title=Re-imagining South Asian Religions |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4SLhLakpsNsC&pg=PA30 |date=2012 |publisher=Brill Academic |isbn=978-90-04-24236-4 |pages=30–31}}</ref> replaced by the ''[[Anand Karaj]]'' marriage ceremony in accordance with Sikh scripture, and the idols and the images of Sikh gurus from the Golden Temple in 1905, traditions which had taken root during the administration of the ''[[Singh Sabha Movement#Background|mahants]]'' during the 1800s.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Louis E. |last2=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CzYeAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT542 |date=2014 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-100412-4 |pages=542–543}}</ref> They undertook a sustained campaign to standardise how Sikh gurdwaras looked and ran, while looking to Sikh scriptures and the early Sikh tradition<ref name="perplexed85">{{cite book |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA85 |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsburg Academic |isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7 |page=85}}</ref> to purify the Sikh identity.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Louis E. |last2=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 |date=2014 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=329–330, 351–353}}</ref>

The spiritual successors of the Singh Sabha include the [[Akali movement]] of the 1920s, as well as the modern-day [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee]] (SGPC), a gurdwara administration body, and the [[Akali Dal]] political party.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p30">{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Louis E. |last2=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 |date=2014 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |page=30}}</ref>

====Partition of India====
Sikhs participated and contributed to the decades-long Indian independence movement in the first half of the 20th century. Ultimately when the British Empire recognised independent India, the [[partition of India|land was partitioned]] into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan (East and West) in 1947. According to Banga, the partition was a watershed event in Sikh history.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–100}}<ref name="Shani2007p86">{{cite book |first=Giorgio |last=Shani |title=Sikh Nationalism and Identity in a Global Age |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=HKu66SixH6AC |date=2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-134-10189-4 |pages=86–93}}</ref> The Sikhs had historically lived in northwestern region of Indian subcontinent on both sides of the partition line ("[[Radcliffe Line]]"). According to Banga and other scholars, the Sikhs had strongly opposed the [[All-India Muslim League|Muslim League]] demands and saw it as "perpetuation of Muslim domination" and anti-Sikh policies in what just a hundred years before was a part of the Sikh Empire. As such, Sikh organisations, including the [[Chief Khalsa Diwan|Chief Khalsa Dewan]] and [[Shiromani Akali Dal]] led by [[Master Tara Singh]], condemned the [[Lahore Resolution]] and the movement to create Pakistan, viewing it as inviting possible persecution; the Sikhs largely thus [[opposition to the partition of India|strongly opposed the partition of India]].<ref name="KudaisyaYong2004">{{cite book |last1=Kudaisya |first1=Gyanesh |last2=Yong |first2=Tan Tai |title=The Aftermath of Partition in South Asia |date=2004 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-134-44048-1 |page=100 |quote=No sooner was it made public than the Sikhs launched a virulent campaign against the Lahore Resolution. Pakistan was portrayed as a possible return to an unhappy past when Sikhs were persecuted and Muslims the persecutor. Public speeches by various Sikh political leaders on the subject of Pakistan invariably invoked images of atrocities committed by Muslims against Sikhs and of the martyrdom of their ''gurus'' and heroes. Reactions to the Lahore Resolution were uniformly negative and Sikh leaders of all political persuasions made it clear that Pakistan would be 'wholeheartedly resisted'. The Shiromani Akali Dal, which had a substantial following among rural Sikhs, organized several well-attended conferences in Lahore to condemn the Muslim League. Master Tara Singh, leader of the Akali Dal, declared that his party would fight Pakistan 'tooth and nail'. Not be outdone, other Sikh political organizations, rival to the Akali Dal, namely the Central Khalsa Young Men Union and the moderate and loyalist Chief Khalsa Dewan, declared in equally strong language their unequivocal opposition to the Pakistan scheme.}}</ref> During the discussions with the colonial authorities, Tara Singh emerged as an important leader who campaigned to prevent the partition of colonial India and for the recognition of Sikhs as a third community.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–100}}

When partition was announced, the newly created line divided the Sikh population. Along with Hindus, Sikhs suffered organised violence and riots against them in West Pakistan. As a result, Sikhs moved en masse to the Indian side, leaving behind their property and holy sites.<ref name="Abid2014"/> However, the anti-Sikh violence was not one-sided. As Sikhs moved to the eastern side of the partition line, they engaged in reprisals against Muslims there, forcing them into Pakistan.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–100}}<ref name="Mann2014p81" /> Before the partition, Sikhs constituted about 15% of the population in West Punjab, the majority being Muslims (55%). The Sikhs were the economic elite in West Punjab, however. They had the largest representation in West Punjab's aristocracy, and there were nearly 700 Gurdwaras and 400 educational institutions that served the interests of the Sikhs.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–103}} Prior to the partition, there were a series of disputes between the majority Muslims and minority Sikhs, such as on the matters of [[jhatka]] versus [[halal]] meat, the disputed ownership of [[Shaheed Ganj Mosque|Gurdwara Sahidganj]] in Lahore which Muslims sought as a mosque and Sikhs as a Gurdwara, and the insistence of the provincial Muslim government on switching from Indian [[Gurmukhi]] script to Arabic-Persian [[Nastaliq]] script in schools.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–100}} During and after the [[Simla Conference]] in June 1945, headed by Lord Wavell, the Sikh leaders initially expressed their desire to be recognised as a third community, but ultimately relegated these demands and sought a United India where Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims would live together, under a Swiss-style constitution. The Muslim League rejected this approach, demanding that the entire Punjab should be granted to Pakistan.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–104}} The Sikh leaders then sought the original partition instead, and the Congress Working Committee passed a resolution in support of partitioning Punjab and Bengal.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–104}}<ref name="Mann2014p81">{{cite book |first=Michael |last=Mann |title=South Asia's Modern History: Thematic Perspectives |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=TBscBQAAQBAJ |date=2014 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-317-62446-2 |pages=81–83}}</ref>
[[File:Sikh Light Infantry.jpg|thumb|[[Sikh Light Infantry]] personnel march past during the [[Delhi Republic Day parade|Republic day parade]] in New Delhi, India.]]

Between March and August 1947, a series of riots, arson, plunder of Sikh and property, assassination of Sikh leaders, and killings in Jhelum districts, Rawalpindi, Attock and other places led to Tara Singh calling the situation in Punjab a "civil war", while [[Lord Mountbatten]] stated "civil war preparations were going on."<ref name="Abid2014">{{cite web |last1=Abid |first1=Abdul Majeed |title=The forgotten massacre |url=https://nation.com.pk/29-Dec-2014/the-forgotten-massacre |website=The Nation |date=29 December 2014 |quote=On the same dates, Muslim League-led mobs fell with determination and full preparations on the helpless Hindus and Sikhs scattered in the villages of Multan, Rawalpindi, Campbellpur, Jhelum and Sargodha. The murderous mobs were well supplied with arms, such as daggers, swords, spears and fire-arms. (A former civil servant mentioned in his autobiography that weapon supplies had been sent from NWFP and money was supplied by Delhi-based politicians.) They had bands of stabbers and their auxiliaries, who covered the assailant, ambushed the victim and if necessary disposed of his body. These bands were subsidized monetarily by the Muslim League, and cash payments were made to individual assassins based on the numbers of Hindus and Sikhs killed. There were also regular patrolling parties in jeeps which went about sniping and picking off any stray Hindu or Sikh. ... Thousands of non-combatants including women and children were killed or injured by mobs, supported by the All India Muslim League. |access-date=7 December 2020 |archive-date=2 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202231234/https://nation.com.pk/29-Dec-2014/the-forgotten-massacre |url-status=live }}</ref> The riots had triggered the early waves of migration in April, with some 20,000 people leaving northwest Punjab and moving to Patiala.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=104–105}}<ref name="Shani2007p86" /> In Rawalpindi, 40,000 people became homeless. The Sikh leaders made desperate petitions, but all religious communities were suffering in the political turmoil. Sikhs constituted only 4&nbsp;million out of a total of 28&nbsp;million in Punjab, and 6&nbsp;million out of nearly 400&nbsp;million in India; they did not constitute the majority, not even in a single district.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=104–105}}<ref name="Wolpert2010p9">{{cite book |first=Stanley |last=Wolpert |title=India and Pakistan: Continued Conflict or Cooperation?|url= https://archive.org/details/indiapakistancon0000wolp |url-access=registration|date=2010|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-94800-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/indiapakistancon0000wolp/page/n10 9]–12, 16–23}}</ref>

When the partition line was formally announced in August 1947, the violence was unprecedented, with Sikhs being one of the most affected religious community both in terms of deaths, as well as property loss, injury, trauma and disruption.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=108–111}}<ref name="Mann2014p81" /> Sikhs and Muslims were both victims and perpetrators of retaliatory violence against each other. Estimates range between 200,000 and 2&nbsp;million deaths of Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=108–111}}<ref name="Mann2014p81" /> There were numerous rapes of and mass suicides by Sikh women, they being taken captives, their rescues and above all a mass exodus of Sikhs from newly created Pakistan into newly independent India. The partition created the "largest foot convoy of refugees recorded in [human] history, stretching over 100 kilometer long", states Banga, with nearly 300,000 people consisting of mostly "distraught, suffering, injured and angry Sikhs". Sikh and Hindu refugees from Pakistan flooded into India, Muslim refugees from India flooded into Pakistan, each into their new homeland.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=108–111}}<ref name="Wolpert2010p9" />

====Khalistan====
[[File:Thousands-Sikhs-protest-in-London.jpg|thumb|Sikhs in [[London]] protesting against the Indian government]]
In 1940, a few Sikhs such as the victims of [[Komagata Maru incident|Komagata Maru in Canada]] proposed the idea of Khalistan as a buffer state between an independent India and what would become Pakistan.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–103}} These leaders, however, were largely ignored.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–100}}<ref name="Shani2007p86" /> The early 1980s witnessed some Sikh groups seeking an independent state named [[Khalistan]] carved out from India and Pakistan. The [[Golden Temple]] and Akal Takht were occupied by various militant groups in 1982. These included the [[Dharam Yudh Morcha]] led by [[Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale]], the Babbar Khalsa, the AISSF and the National Council of Khalistan.<ref name="Chima2008p85" /> Between 1982 and 1983, there were [[Anandpur Resolution]] demand-related terrorist attacks against civilians in parts of India.<ref name=horowitz482/> By late 1983, the Bhindranwale led group had begun to build bunkers and observations posts in and around the [[Golden Temple]], with militants involved in weapons training.<ref name="Chima2008p85" /> In June 1984, the then [[Prime Minister of India]] [[Indira Gandhi]] ordered Indian Army to begin [[Operation Blue Star]] against the militants.<ref name="Chima2008p85">{{cite book |first=Jugdep S. |last=Chima |title=The Sikh Separatist Insurgency in India: Political Leadership and Ethnonationalist Movements|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qJaHAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA85|date=2008|publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-81-321-0538-1|pages=85–95}}</ref> The fierce engagement took place in the precincts of Darbar Sahib and resulted in many deaths, including Bhindranwale. It also resulted in the destruction of the Sikh Reference Library, which was considered a national treasure that contained over a thousand rare manuscripts<ref name="mann 114">{{cite book |first=Michael |last=Mann |title=South Asia's Modern History: Thematic Perspectives |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=TBscBQAAQBAJ |date=2014 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-317-62446-2 |page=114}}</ref> and the Akal Takht. Numerous soldiers, civilians and militants died in the cross fire. Within days of the Operation Bluestar, some 2,000 Sikh soldiers in India mutinied and attempted to reach Amritsar to liberate the [[Golden Temple]].<ref name="Chima2008p85" /> Within six months, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi's Sikh bodyguards [[Satwant Singh|Satwant]] and [[Beant Singh (assassin)|Beant Singh]] [[Assassination of Indira Gandhi|assassinated her]]. The assassination triggered the [[1984 anti-Sikh riots]].<ref name=horowitz482>{{cite book |last=Horowitz|first=Donald L.|date=2003|title=The Deadly Ethnic Riot|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-23642-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/deadlyethnicriot00horo/page/482 482–485]|url= https://archive.org/details/deadlyethnicriot00horo/page/482}}</ref> According to Donald Horowitz, while anti-Sikh riots led to much damage and deaths, many serious provocations by militants also failed to trigger ethnic violence in many cases throughout the 1980s. The Sikhs and their neighbors, for most part, ignored attempts to provoke riots and communal strife.<ref name=horowitz482/>

==Sikh people==
{{Main|Sikhs}}
{|class="sortable wikitable floatright"
|+ [[Sikhs in India]]<ref name=census2011sikhs/>
! [[States and union territories of India|State/Union Territory]] !! Percentage
|-
|[[Punjab, India|Punjab]]||{{percentage bar|57.7}}
|-
|[[Chandigarh]]||{{percentage bar|13.1}}
|-
|[[Haryana]]||{{percentage bar|4.9}}
|-
|[[Delhi]]||{{percentage bar|3.4}}
|-
|[[Uttarakhand]]||{{percentage bar|2.3}}
|-
|[[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]]||{{percentage bar|1.9}}
|-
|[[Rajasthan]]||{{percentage bar|1.3}}
|-
|[[Himachal Pradesh]]||{{percentage bar|1.2}}
|}
{|class="sortable wikitable floatright"
|+ [[Sikhs in Canada]]<ref name="canadareligion2021">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=26 October 2022 |title=Religion by visible minority and generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810034201 |access-date=26 October 2022 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=5 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305220639/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810034201 |url-status=live }}</ref>
! [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Province/Territory]] !! Percentage
|-
|[[British Columbia]]||{{percentage bar|5.9}}
|-
|[[Manitoba]]||{{percentage bar|2.7}}
|-
|[[Alberta]]||{{percentage bar|2.5}}
|-
|[[Ontario]]||{{percentage bar|2.1}}
|-
|[[Yukon]]||{{percentage bar|1.0}}
|}
{|class="sortable wikitable floatright"
|+ [[Sikhism in England|Sikhs in England]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=TS030 – Religion Edit query|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/asv2htm|access-date=29 November 2022|website=nomisweb.co.uk}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
! [[Regions of England|Region]] !! Percentage
|-
|[[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]]||{{percentage bar|2.9}}
|-
|[[Greater London]]||{{percentage bar|1.6}}
|-
|[[East Midlands (region)|East Midlands]]||{{percentage bar|1.1}}
|}
{|class="sortable wikitable floatright"
|+ [[Sikhs in Australia]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://profile.id.com.au/australia/religion?WebID=110&EndYear=2001&DataType=UR|title=Australia-Community Profile|access-date=3 April 2023|archive-date=23 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123042443/https://profile.id.com.au/australia/religion?WebID=110&EndYear=2001&DataType=UR|url-status=live}}</ref>
! [[States and territories of Australia|State/Territory]] !! Percentage
|-
|[[Victoria (state)|Victoria]]||{{percentage bar|1.4}}
|-
|[[South Australia]]||{{percentage bar|1.0}}
|-
|[[Australian Capital Territory]]||{{percentage bar|1.0}}
|}
{|class="sortable wikitable floatright"
|+ [[Sikhism in New Zealand|Sikhs in New Zealand]]<ref name="figure">{{cite web|title=Religious affiliations in the Bay of Plenty Region, New Zealand|url=https://figure.nz/chart/K5hAmlDDPKAqwyjk|website=Figure NZ Trust|access-date=19 December 2022|archive-date=20 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220043832/https://figure.nz/chart/K5hAmlDDPKAqwyjk|url-status=live}}</ref>
! [[Regions of New Zealand|Region]] !! Percentage
|-
|[[Bay of Plenty Region|Bay of Plenty]]||{{percentage bar|1.6}}
|-
|[[Auckland Region|Auckland]]||{{percentage bar|1.5}}
|}
Estimates {{As of|2019|lc=y}} state that Sikhism has some 25–30&nbsp;million followers worldwide.<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-50374567|title = Sikhs in Wolverhampton celebrate 550 years of Guru Nanak|work = BBC News|date = 12 November 2019|access-date = 21 January 2021|archive-date = 27 January 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210127230917/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-50374567|url-status = live}}</ref> A 2020 estimate by Charles Preston gives a figure of 29,254,000 of Sikhs worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Preston |first=Charles |date=2 July 2024 |title=List of religious populations: Populations of world religions in 2020 |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/List-of-religious-populations |access-date=15 August 2025 |website=Britannica}}</ref> According to [[Pew Research Center|Pew Research]], a think tank and research group based in Washington, DC, over 9-in-10 Sikhs are in [[Sikhism in India|India]], but there are also sizable Sikh communities in the [[Sikhism in the United States|United States]], the [[Sikhism in the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]], and [[Sikhism in Canada|Canada]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-12-18 |title=Other Religions |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-other/ |access-date= |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |language=en-US |archive-date=1 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901021622/https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-other/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Within India, the Sikh population is found in every [[States and union territories of India|state and union territory]], but it is predominantly found in the northwestern and northern states. Only in the state of [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] do Sikhs constitute a majority (58% of the total, per [[2011 Census of India|2011 census]]).<ref name=census2011sikhs/> In addition to Punjab, the states and union territories of India where Sikhs constitute more than 1.5% of its population are [[Chandigarh]], [[Haryana]], [[Delhi]], [[Uttarakhand]], and [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], all of which are in the northern half of India.<ref name=census2011sikhs>[http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/Religion_PCA.html Religion demographics: 2011 Census] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815045141/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/Religion_PCA.html |date=15 August 2018 }}, Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India</ref>

Canada is home to the largest proportion of Sikhs, as a ratio of the country's total population, in the world, at 2.1%.<ref name="canadareligion2021"/> Within Canada, Sikhs form 5.9% of the total population in the western province of [[British Columbia]], representing the third-largest Sikh proportion amongst all global [[administrative divisions]], behind only Punjab and Chandigarh in India. British Columbia, [[Manitoba]], and [[Yukon]] hold the distinction of being three of the only four [[administrative divisions]] in the world with Sikhism as the second-most followed religion among the population.{{refn|Sikhism is the second-largest religion in British Columbia, Manitoba, and Yukon.<ref name="canadareligion2021"/> Per the [[2011 Indian census]], Sikhism is the largest religion in Punjab and second in Chandigarh. These are the only two Indian states/UTs where Sikhism is one of the two most common religions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Population by religion community – 2011 |url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW03C-01%20MDDS.XLS |publisher=The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923230423/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW03C-01%20MDDS.XLS |archive-date=23 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/0401_PART_A_DCHB_CHANDIGARH.pdf |title=Census of India 2011 – Chandigarh |access-date=28 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821191248/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/0401_PART_A_DCHB_CHANDIGARH.pdf |archive-date=21 August 2017 |url-status=live  }}</ref>|name="ProvincePopulation"}}

Prior to the [[Partition of India|1947 partition]] of [[British Raj|British India]], millions of Sikhs lived in what later became [[Punjab, Pakistan|Pakistan]]. Likewise, Sikhism was founded in what is now Pakistan, and some of the gurus were born near [[Lahore]] and in other parts of Pakistan. During the partition, Sikhs and Hindus left the newly created Muslim-majority Pakistan and mostly moved to Hindu-majority India—with some moving to Muslim-majority [[Afghanistan]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Explainer: Who are the Afghan Sikhs? |work=The Conversation |date=20 August 2014 |url=https://theconversation.com/explainer-who-are-the-afghan-sikhs-30699 |access-date=20 May 2020 |archive-date=31 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200331144838/https://theconversation.com/explainer-who-are-the-afghan-sikhs-30699 |url-status=live }}</ref>—while numerous Muslims in India moved to Pakistan.<ref>{{cite book |first1=L. A. |last1=Kosinski |first2=K. M. |last2=Elahi |title=Population Redistribution and Development in South Asia |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=tGiSBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA186 |date=2012 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-94-009-5309-3 |pages=186–203}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Nigel |last1=Eltringham |first2=Pam |last2=Maclean |title=Remembering Genocide |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=6OfpAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT30 |date=2014 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-317-75421-3 |pages=30–32}}</ref> According to 2017 news reports, only about 20,000 [[Sikhism in Pakistan|Sikhs remain in Pakistan]], and their population is dwindling ({{nowrap|0.01%}} of the country's estimated 200&nbsp;million population).<ref>[https://www.dawn.com/news/1176521 Pakistan's dwindling Sikh community wants improved security] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150806075623/http://www.dawn.com/news/1176521 |date=6 August 2015 }}, ''The Dawn'', Pakistan (17 April 2017)</ref><ref>[https://www.dawn.com/news/1321294 Pakistan's Sikh community disappointed at being 'left out' of national census] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026214602/https://www.dawn.com/news/1321294 |date=26 October 2017 }}, Ali Akbar, ''The Dawn'' (March 2017)</ref>

===Sikh sects===
{{main|Sects of Sikhism}}
[[File:Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Bhavan, Birmingham.jpg|left|thumb|[[Ravidassia|Ravidassia Sikh]] Gurdwara, Birmingham]]
Sikh sects are sub-traditions within Sikhism that believe in an alternate lineage of gurus, or have a different interpretation of the Sikh scriptures, or believe in following a living guru, or hold other concepts that differ from the orthodox Khalsa Sikhs.<ref name="Syan2014p170">{{cite book |first=Hardip Singh |last=Syan |editor1-first=Pashaura |editor1-last=Singh |editor2-first=Louis E. |editor2-last=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |date=2014 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|pages=170–180}}</ref><ref name="Takhar2014p350" /> The major historic sects of Sikhism have included Udasi, Nirmala, Nanakpanthi, Khalsa, Sahajdhari, Namdhari Kuka, Nirankari, and Sarvaria.<ref name="Oberoi1994p24">{{cite book |first=Harjot |last=Oberoi |title=The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1NKC9g2ayJEC&pg=PA78 |date=1994 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-61592-9 |pages=24–25}}</ref>

Sikhs originally had only five orders, or [[Sampradaya|sampradas]] (not to be confused as deviant sects). These include:

[[Nihang]]s – the Sikh [[Panth|Panth's]] warriors or armed troops.<ref name=":5" /> There are two main groups within this order: Buddha Dal, or the army of veterans, and Tarna Dal, or the army of youth. There are other smaller sub-orders connected to these two.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Akalis/Nihangs |url=http://www.philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/sikhism/akalis.html |access-date=22 February 2023 |website=philtar.ac.uk}}</ref> The president of Buddha Dal, previously always served as the president of the [[Akal Takht|Akaal Takht]], which has jurisdiction over all things pertaining to the [[Nihang|Akaali Nihang]] order.<ref name=":2a" /> 
[[File:Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa, a white convert to Sikhism, who authored the most widely used translation of the primary Sikh Scripture.jpg|thumb|Sant Singh Khalsa, a white convert to Sikhism, authored the most widely used translation of the Guru Granth Sahib.]]
[[Nirmala (sect)|Nirmalas]] – scholars. Composed texts as well as traditionally studying a wide range of [[Indian religions|Indian]] and some non-Indian literature. They converse with other [[Dharma|Dharmik pathways]] as well.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nirmalas |url=http://www.philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/sikhism/nirmal.html |access-date=22 February 2023 |website=philtar.ac.uk}}</ref> The tenth guru also institutionalised them. Bhai Daya Singh Ji Samparda and Bhai Dharam Singh Ji Samparda, two of the [[Panj Pyare]] or cherished ones of the tenth guru, founded two Nirmala orders.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 June 2006 |title=Nirmal Home |url=http://nirmalashramrishikesh.org/Home.asp?GivePage=reso1024 |access-date=22 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615052041/http://nirmalashramrishikesh.org/Home.asp?GivePage=reso1024 |archive-date=15 June 2006 }}</ref>

[[Udasi]]s – an ascetic group that historically looked after [[Gurdwara]]s and carried out [[missionary]] activity. Although not promoting it to others, certain of their practices depart from the majority of Sikh beliefs.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Udasis |url=http://www.philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/sikhism/udas.html |access-date=22 February 2023 |website=philtar.ac.uk}}</ref> [[Sri Chand|Baba Sri Chand]], the eldest Sahibzada (son) of the first guru, [[Guru Nanak|Guru Nanak Dev]], founded the order.<ref name=":3" /> Their Gurdev is Baba Sri Chand.<ref name=":2a" />

[[Sevapanthi (Sikh Order)|Sevapanthis]] – philanthropists who engage in charitable work/seva, or selfless service, without expecting payment.<ref name=":4">Shriniwas, Geeta. "sevapanthi sampradaya itihash aur vikas."</ref> They also work on academic projects. Bhai Kahnaiya, a Sikh of the ninth and tenth guru, served as the first head of the order<ref>Mahal, Ramandeep. "Bhai Kanhaiya ji: A Humanitarian Soul."</ref> and is renowned for his wartime medical assistance to wounded enemy soldiers.<ref name=":4" /> Very few of them exist today. The environment in which they lived and with which they interacted was a predominantly Muslim one.<ref name=":4" />

[[Damdami Taksal|Gyaaniyan Samparda]] – the university of Sikhi, whilst technically not an order, it essentially serves as one.<ref name="Nirbhai Singh 1990 1–3">{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Nirbhai |url=https://archive.org/details/philosophyofsikh0000nirb/page/n26 |title=Philosophy of Sikhi: Reality and Its Manifestations |date=1990 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers<!--NOT Atlantic Books, of London--> |location=New Delhi |pages=1–3 |url-access=limited}}</ref> Made up from individuals belonging to all of the above sects. Many branches within this order.[[File:Ustad Baljit Singh Luxmi Namdhari and Fateh Singh.jpg|left|thumb|[[Namdhari|Namdhari Sikhs]], also called the ''Kuka'' Sikhs are a sect of Sikhism known for their crisp white dress and horizontal ''pagari'' (turban).<ref name=britsikhssects>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sikhism/Sects-and-other-groups "Sects and other groups: Sikhism"], ''[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]] Online''.</ref><ref name="HaarKalsi2009p10">{{cite book |first1=Kristen |last1=Haar |first2=Sewa Singh |last2=Kalsi |title=Sikhism |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YOI1nB_zTyAC |date=2009 |publisher=Infobase |isbn=978-1-4381-0647-2 |pages=10–11}}</ref> Above: Namdhari singer and musicians.]]

The early Sikh sects were [[Udasi]]s and [[Mina (Sikhism)|Minas]] founded by Baba [[Sri Chand]] – the elder son of [[Guru Nanak]], and [[Prithi Chand]] – the elder son of [[Guru Ram Das]] respectively, in parallel to the official succession of the Sikh gurus. Later on [[Ramraiya]] sect, founded by [[Baba Ram Rai|Ram Rai]], grew in [[Dehradun]] with the patronage of Aurangzeb.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p260" /> Many splintered Sikh communities formed during the [[Mughal Empire]] era. Some of these sects were financially and administratively supported by the Mughal rulers in the hopes of gaining a more favorable and compliant citizenry.<ref name="Takhar2014p350">{{cite book |first1=Opinderjit Kaur |last1=Takhar |editor1-first=Pashaura |editor1-last=Singh |editor2-first=Louis E. |editor2-last=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |date=2014|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|pages=350–359}}</ref><ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p260">{{cite book |first1=Louis E. |last1=Fenech |first2=W. H. |last2=McLeod |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA260|date=2014|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1|pages=260–261}}</ref>

After the collapse of Mughal Empire, and particularly during the rule of Ranjit Singh, Udasi Sikhs protected Sikh shrines, preserved the Sikh scripture and rebuilt those that were desecrated or destroyed during the Muslim–Sikh wars. However, Udasi Sikhs kept idols and images inside these Sikh temples.<ref name="Oberoi1994p78" /><ref name="Fenech2014p375">{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Louis E. |last2=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |date=2014|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|pages=375–377}}</ref> In the 19th century, [[Namdhari]]s and [[Nirankari]]s sects were formed in Sikhism, seeking to reform and return to what each believed was the pure form of Sikhism.<ref name="fenech273">{{cite book |first1=Louis E. |last1=Fenech |first2=W. H. |last2=McLeod |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA273|date=2014|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1|pages=151, 273}}</ref><ref name="SinghFenech2014p28" /><ref name="Mandair 2013 85–86"/>

All these sects differ from Khalsa orthodox Sikhs in their beliefs and practices, such as continuing to solemnise their weddings around fire and being strictly vegetarian.<ref name=britsikhssects/><ref name="HaarKalsi2009p10" /> Many accept the concept of living gurus such as Guru [[Baba Dyal Singh]]. The Nirankari sect, though unorthodox, was influential in shaping the views of Tat Khalsa and the contemporary-era Sikh beliefs and practices.<ref name=britsikhsects>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sikhism/Sects-and-other-groups "Sects in Sikhism"], ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' Online. Retrieved 7 August 2018.</ref><ref>{{cite book |page=141 |title=The Culture of India |first=Kathleen |last=Kuiper |publisher=Rosen}}</ref> Another significant Sikh sect of the 19th century was the [[Radhasoami]] movement in Punjab led by Baba Shiv Dyal.<ref name="HaarKalsi2009p9">{{cite book |first1=Kristen |last1=Haar |first2=Sewa Singh |last2=Kalsi |title=Sikhism |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YOI1nB_zTyAC&pg=PA9 |date=2009 |publisher=Infobase |isbn=978-1-4381-0647-2 |pages=9–14}}</ref> Other contemporary era Sikhs sects include the [[3HO]], formed in 1971, which exists outside India, particularly in North America and Europe.<ref name="HaarKalsi2009p9" /><ref name=verne560>{{cite book |first=Verne |last=Dusenbery |editor1-first=Pashaura |editor1-last=Singh |editor2-first=Louis E. |editor2-last=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |date=2014 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=560–570}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Mooney |first=Nicola |title=Reading Weber Among the Sikhs: Asceticism and Capitalism in the 3HO/Sikh Dharma |journal=Sikh Formations |volume=8 |issue=3 |year=2012 |issn=1744-8727 |doi=10.1080/17448727.2012.745305 |pages=417–436 |s2cid=145775040}}</ref>

===Sikh castes===
{{Further|Sikhism and caste}}[[File:Gurdwara Guru Ravidass, Nasinu, Fiji.jpg|thumb|[[Ravidassia|Ravidassia Sikh]] Gurdwara, Nasinu, Fiji Established in 1939]]
[[File:Nagar Kirtan.jpg|thumb|[[Nagar Kirtan]] in [[Bangalore]]]]
According to Surinder Jodhka, the state of Punjab with a Sikh majority has the "largest proportion of [[Dalit|scheduled caste]] population in India". Although decried by Sikhism, Sikhs have practiced a caste system. The system, along with [[untouchability]], has been more common in rural parts of Punjab. The landowning dominant Sikh castes, states Jodhka, "have not shed all their prejudices against the lower castes or [[dalits]]; while dalits would be allowed entry into the village gurdwaras they would not be permitted to cook or serve langar." The Sikh dalits of Punjab have tried to build their own gurdwara, other local level institutions and sought better material circumstances and dignity. According to Jodhka, due to economic mobility in contemporary Punjab, castes no longer mean an inherited occupation, nor are work relations tied to a single location.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jodhka|first1=Surinder S|title=Caste and Untouchability in Rural Punjab |journal=Economic and Political Weekly|date=11–17 May 2002|volume=37|issue=19|pages=1813–1823|jstor=4412102}}</ref>
In 1953, the government of India acceded to the demands of the Sikh leader, [[Tara Singh (activist)|Master Tara Singh]], to include Sikh Dalit castes in the list of scheduled castes.<ref name="Harish K. Puri 2004">{{cite book |title=Dalits in Regional Context |first=Harish K. |last=Puri |isbn=978-81-7033-871-0|date=2004|publisher=Rawat Publications }}</ref> In the [[Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee]], 20 of the 140 seats are reserved for low-caste Sikhs.<ref name="Harish K. Puri 2004" />

Over 60% of Sikhs belong to the [[Jat Sikh|Jat]] caste,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rawat |first1=Ramnarayan S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=alrgCwAAQBAJ&dq=Dalit+Studies&pg=PA9 |title=Dalit Studies |last2=Satyanarayana |first2=K. |date=2016-04-07 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-7431-2 |page=251 |language=en |type= |ol=27435967M |quote=They feared that the formation of a Sikh-majority province would further consolidate the power of the already dominant landowning Jat Sikhs, which would make their position in the rural society of Punjab even more vulnerable. After the 1966 reorganization of Punjab, the Jat Sikhs constituted nearly 60 percent of the population and the Hindus around 38 percent. |url-access=registration |ol-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ram |first=Ronki |date=2004 |title=Untouchability in India with a Difference: Ad Dharm, Dalit Assertion, and Caste Conflicts in Punjab |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/as.2004.44.6.895 |journal=Asian Survey |volume=44 |issue=6 |pages=897 |doi=10.1525/as.2004.44.6.895 |jstor=10.1525/as.2004.44.6.895 |issn=0004-4687 |quote=Tradiyionally the majority of their followers have come from the Jat-Sikhs. According to an 1881 census, 66% of Sikhs were Jats, followed by Ramgarhia (carpenter) Sikhs (6.5%), and Chamar (cobbler and weaver) Sikhs (5.6%). The Khatris' share was only 2.2%.' Although Sikhs are prominently identified by a set of diacritical features, which they are supposed to follow according to the Rahatnama (the Sikh code of conduct), the Jat-Sikhs do not always observe them strictly.|url-access=subscription }}</ref> which is an agrarian caste. Despite being very small in numbers, the mercantile [[Khatri]] and [[Arora]] castes wield considerable influence within the Sikh community. Other common Sikh castes include [[Saini]]s, [[Ramgarhia]]s (artisans), [[Brahmins]], [[Ahluwalia (caste)|Ahluwalias]] (formerly brewers), [[Rajput]]s,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Refugees |first=United Nations High Commissioner for |title=Refworld {{!}} India: Rajput Sikh religion |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be4214.html |access-date=4 April 2023 |website=Refworld |language=en}}</ref> [[Rai Sikh]] (Rai), [[Kamboj]]s (rural caste), [[Labana]]s, [[Kumhar]]s and the two Dalit castes, known in Sikh terminology as the [[Mazhabi]]s (the Chuhras) and the [[Ravidasia]]s (the Chamars).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Sikhism (religion)|url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/543916/Sikhism/253170/The-rejection-of-caste |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Online |access-date=25 November 2014}}</ref>

===Sikh diaspora===
{{Further|Sikhism in India|Sikh diaspora|Sikhism by country}}
[[File:Sikhs on the move!.jpg|thumb|Sikhs celebrating [[Vaisakhi]] in [[Toronto, Canada]]]]
Worldwide, there are 30&nbsp;million Sikhs,<ref name="Britannica">McLeod, William Hewat. 2019 [1998]. {{cite encyclopedia |title=Sikhism |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Online |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sikhism |access-date=7 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=12 November 2019 |title=Sikhs in Wolverhampton celebrate 550 years of Guru Nanak |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-50374567}}</ref> which makes up 0.4% of the world's population. Approximately 75% of Sikhs live in [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], where they constitute 57.7% of the state's population. Large communities of Sikhs migrate to the neighboring states such as Indian State of Haryana which is home to the second largest Sikh population in India with 1.1&nbsp;million Sikhs as per 2001 census, and large immigrant communities of Sikhs can be found across India. However, Sikhs only comprise about 1.7% of the Indian population.<ref name="Singh Kalsi 2007 12">{{cite book |title=Sikhism |last=Singh Kalsi |first=Sewa |date=2007 |publisher=Bravo Ltd |location=London |isbn=978-1-85733-436-4 |page=12}}</ref>

Most Sikhs outside India live in the [[core Anglosphere]], with 771,790 in [[Sikhism in Canada|Canada]] (2.1% Sikh),<ref name="canadareligion2021"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=26 October 2022 |title=The Daily — The Canadian census: A rich portrait of the country's religious and ethnocultural diversity |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221026/dq221026b-eng.htm |access-date=26 October 2022 |website=www150.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref> 524,140 in the [[Sikhism in the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]] (0.9% Sikh),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Religion, England and Wales – Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/bulletins/religionenglandandwales/census2021 |access-date=29 November 2022 |website=ons.gov.uk}}</ref> 280,000 in the [[Sikhism in the United States|United States]] (0.1% Sikh),{{refn|While the [[U.S. Census]] does not ask about religion,<ref>{{cite web|title=
Does the Census Bureau have data for religion?
|url=https://ask.census.gov/prweb/PRServletCustom/app/ECORRAsk2_/YACFBFye-rFIz_FoGtyvDRUGg1Uzu5Mn*/!STANDARD?pzuiactionzzz=CXtpbn0rTEpMcGRYOG1vS0tqTFAwaENUZWpvM1NNWEMzZ3p5aFpnWUxzVmw0TjJndno5ZkJPc24xNWYvcCtNbVVjWk5Z*|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=18 March 2023}}</ref> 70,697 Americans (or {{Percentage|70,697|331,449,281|2}} of the total population) declared Sikh as their ethnicity in the [[2020 U.S. census|2020 census]].<ref>{{cite web|title=
Asian Indian Was The Largest Asian Alone Population Group in 2020|url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2023/09/2020-census-dhc-a-asian-population.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=23 September 2023}}</ref> In the [[2021 Canadian census]], 194,640 Canadians declared Sikh as their ethnicity while 771,790 Canadians declared Sikh as their religion, indicating that the Sikh American population may be around 280,329, or {{Percentage|280,329|331,449,281|2}} of the total population.<ref>{{cite web|title=
Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population| date=9 February 2022 |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&DGUIDList=2021A000011124&GENDERList=1,2,3&STATISTICList=1,4&HEADERList=0&SearchText=Canada|publisher=[[Statistics Canada]]|access-date=23 September 2023}}</ref> The [[U.S. Census Bureau]] estimated the adult Sikh American population at 78,000 in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|title=Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012 - Section 1: Population - Table 75: Self-Described Religious Identification of Adult Population: 1990, 2001, and 2008 (page 61)|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2011/compendia/statab/131ed/2012-statab.pdf|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=14 April 2023}}</ref> The [[Pew Research Center]] estimated the Sikh American adult population to be 140,000 and the total population at 200,000 in 2012 while the World Religion Database at Boston University estimated the American Sikh population to be at 280,000 in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012 - Section 1: Population - Table 75: Self-Described Religious Identification of Adult Population: 1990, 2001, and 2008 (page 61)|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2011/compendia/statab/131ed/2012-statab.pdf|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=14 April 2023}}</ref><ref name="How Many U.S. Sikhs">{{cite web|title=How Many U.S. Sikhs?|date=6 August 2012 |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/2012/08/06/ask-the-expert-how-many-us-sikhs/|publisher=[[Pew Research Center]]|access-date=18 March 2023}}</ref> Sikh organizations like the [[Sikh Coalition]] and [[American Sikh Congressional Caucus]] estimate the Sikh American population to be as high as 1,000,000, but do not provide any sources for these figures;<ref>{{cite web|title=About Sikhs|url=https://www.sikhcoalition.org/about-sikhs/|publisher=[[Sikh Coalition]]|access-date=14 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=H. RES. 275 - 118th Congress (2023-2024)| date=10 April 2023 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-resolution/275/text?s=1&r=1/|publisher=[[United States Congress]]|access-date=14 April 2023}}</ref><ref name="How Many U.S. Sikhs"/> 500,000 nevertheless remains the most cited Sikh American population size in news media.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sikhism Reporter's Guide|url=https://www.sikhcoalition.org/resources/sikhism-reporters-guide/|publisher=[[Sikh Coalition]]|access-date=23 July 2023|archive-date=23 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723043536/https://www.sikhcoalition.org/resources/sikhism-reporters-guide/|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{refn|<ref>{{cite web|title=The Sikh Community Today |url=https://pluralism.org/the-sikh-community-today|publisher=[[Harvard University]]|access-date=28 March 2023|quote="Today there are well over 500,000 Sikhs in the United States."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=American Sikhs are targets of bigotry, often due to cultural ignorance |date=10 August 2022 |url=https://religionnews.com/2022/08/10/american-sikhs-are-targets-of-bigotry-often-due-to-cultural-ignorance/|publisher=[[Religion News Service]]|access-date=28 March 2023|quote="Scholars and government officials estimate the Sikh American population to number around 500,000."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Sikhs in America:A History of Hate |date=4 August 2017 |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/sikhs-in-america-hate-crime-victims-and-bias|publisher=[[ProPublica]]|access-date=28 March 2023|quote="There are an estimated 500,000 Sikhs living in the U.S., many in New York and California."
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=April 2022: Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month |url=https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/news/proclamations/2022/04/01/april-2022-sikh-awareness-and-appreciation-month|publisher=State of Michigan Office of the Governor|access-date=28 March 2023|quote="Sikhism is the fifth largest religion in the world, and, today, there are more than 30 million Sikhs worldwide and an estimated 500,000 Sikh Americans;"}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Want to know about Sikhism?|date=23 May 2022 |url=https://www.wuwm.com/2022-05-23/want-to-know-about-sikhism-head-to-new-book-collection-in-oak-creek|publisher=[[WUWM]]|access-date=28 March 2023|quote="There are more than 500,000 Sikhs in the United States."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=A Brief Introduction to Sikhism|date=5 May 2021 |url=https://interactive.wttw.com/playlist/2021/05/05/sikhism-chicago|publisher=[[WTTW]]|access-date=28 March 2023|quote="Despite its relatively recent arrival in Chicago, Sikhism is the world’s fifth-largest religion, with 25 to 30 million adherents around the globe and an estimated 500,000 in America today."}}</ref>}} With 1% of [[Asian Americans#Religion|Asian Americans]] being Sikh, and 90.7% of Sikh Americans being Asian American, the American Sikh population can be estimated around 280,000 in 2021.<ref>{{cite web|title=Asian Americans: A Mosaic of Faiths|date=19 July 2012 |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/07/19/asian-americans-a-mosaic-of-faiths-overview/|publisher=[[Pew Research Center]]|access-date=14 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=2020 National Sikh American Survey: Key Findings|date=23 October 2020|url=https://issuu.com/saldefmedia/docs/2020_national_sikh_american_survey|publisher=[[Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund]]|access-date=14 April 2023|archive-date=14 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414220224/https://issuu.com/saldefmedia/docs/2020_national_sikh_american_survey|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=DP05ACS DEMOGRAPHIC AND HOUSING ESTIMATES|url=https://data.census.gov/table?tid=ACSDP1Y2021.DP05|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=14 April 2023}}</ref>}} 210,400 in [[Sikhism in Australia|Australia]] (0.8% Sikh),<ref>{{cite web |author=Glenn |url=http://blog.id.com.au/2012/australian-census-2011/2011-australian-census-fastest-growing-religions/ |title=2011 Australian Census – Fastest Growing Religions |publisher=Blog.id.com.au |date=6 September 2012 |access-date=2 September 2022 |archive-date=19 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419034240/http://blog.id.com.au/2012/australian-census-2011/2011-australian-census-fastest-growing-religions/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | url = https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0~2016~Main%20Features~Religion%20Article~80
 | title = 2071.0 – Census of Population and Housing: Reflecting Australia – Stories from the Census, 2016  
 | publisher = Australian Bureau of Statistics
 | date = 28 June 2017
| access-date = 14 August 2021
}}</ref> and 40,908 in [[Sikhism in New Zealand|New Zealand]] (0.9% Sikh).<ref name="New Zealand Sikh population">{{cite web | url=https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/losing-our-religion |title = Losing our religion &#124; Stats NZ}}</ref>{{When|date=May 2023}} While these communities are over 125 years old, most Sikhs in the West are first, second, or third-generation immigrants. {{As of|2021|alt=As of}} the [[2021 Canadian Census]], more than half of Canada's Sikhs can be found in one of four cities: [[Brampton, Ontario|Brampton]] (163,260),<ref name="bramptoncity2021">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=26 October 2022 
|title= Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table Brampton, City (CY) Ontario [Census subdivision] Total – Religion for the population in private households – 25% sample data |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A00053521010&HEADERlist=32&SearchText=brampton |access-date=31 October 2022 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref> [[Surrey, BC|Surrey]] (154,415),<ref name="surreycity2021">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=26 October 2022 
|title= Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table Surrey, City (CY) British Columbia [Census subdivision] Total – Religion for the population in private households – 25% sample data |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A00055915004&HEADERlist=32&SearchText=surrey |access-date=31 October 2022 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref> [[Calgary]] (49,465),<ref name="calgarycity2021">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=26 October 2022 
|title= Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table Calgary, City (CY) Alberta [Census subdivision] Total – Religion for the population in private households – 25% sample data |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A00054806016&HEADERlist=32&SearchText=calgary |access-date=31 October 2022 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref> and [[Abbotsford, BC|Abbotsford]] (38,395).<ref name="abbotsfordcity2021">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=26 October 2022 
|title= Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table Abbotsford, City (CY) British Columbia [Census subdivision] Total – Religion for the population in private households – 25% sample data |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A00055909052&HEADERlist=32&SearchText=abbotsford |access-date=31 October 2022 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>

Sikhs also migrated to East Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. These communities developed as Sikhs migrated out of Punjab to fill in gaps in imperial labour markets.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ballantyne|first=Tony|date=2006|title=Between Colonialism and Diaspora: Sikh Cultural Formations in an Imperial World|publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-3824-6|pages=69–74}}</ref>

==Prohibitions in Sikhism==
{{further|Prohibitions in Sikhism|Diet in Sikhism}}Four major transgressions:<ref>Sikh Rehat Maryada: [https://old.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_four.html Section Four, Chapter X, Article XVI, i.]; [https://old.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_six.html Section Six, Chapter XIII, Article XXIV, p. 1.-4.]</ref>
* [[Hair]] removal – Hair [[cutting]], trimming, removing, [[shaving]], [[Plucking (hair removal)|plucking]], [[Threading (epilation)|threading]], [[Dyeing hair|dyeing]], or any other alteration from any body part is strictly forbidden.<ref>Sikh Rehat Maryada: [https://old.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_four.html Section Four, Chapter X, Article XVI, i.]; [https://old.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_six.html Section Six, Chapter XIII, Article XXIV, p. 1. & q. 3.]</ref>
* Eating [[Kutha meat|Kutha]] meat.<ref>[https://old.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_six.html Sikh Rehat Maryada: Section Six, Chapter XIII, Article XXIV, p. 2.]</ref> This is the absolute minimum required by all [[Khalsa|initiated Sikhs]]. Many Sikhs refrain from eating [[non-vegetarian]] food, and believe all should follow this diet. This is due to various social, cultural, political, and familial aspects. As such, there has always been major disagreement among Sikhs over the issue of eating [[non-vegetarian]] food. Sikhs following the rahit (code of conduct) of the [[Damdami Taksal]] and [[Akhand Kirtani Jatha|AKJ]] also subscribe to this view. The [[Nihang|Akali Nihangs]] have traditionally eaten meat and are famous for performing [[Jhatka]].<ref>{{cite web |quote=A Nihang carries out 'Chatka' on a 'Chatanga' (a specially selected goat for sacrifice) |title=The Multifarious Faces of Sikhism throughout Sikh History |url=http://www.sarbloh.info/htmls/article_samparda_kartar17.html |website=sarbloh.info |access-date=18 August 2010 |archive-date=18 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718132057/http://www.sarbloh.info/htmls/article_samparda_kartar17.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Mahaprashad">''"The most special occasion of the Chhauni is the festival of Diwali which is celebrated for ten days. This is the only Sikh shrine at Amritsar where Maha Prasad (meat) is served on special occasions in Langar"'', The Sikh review, Volume 35, Issue 409 – Volume 36, Issue 420, Sikh Cultural Centre., 1988</ref><ref name="Sikh Goat Sacrifice">''"The tradition traces back to the time of Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji who started the tradition of hunting for Sikhs ... The tradition of ritually sacrificing goats and consuming Mahaparshad remains alive not only with the Nihang Singh Dals, but also at Sachkhand Sri Hazoor Sahib and Sachkhand Sri Patna Sahib (two of the Sikhs holiest shrines)."'' [http://www.nihangsingh.org/website/trad-jhatka.html Panth Akali Budha Dal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523054532/http://www.nihangsingh.org/website/trad-jhatka.html |date=23 May 2010 }}</ref><ref name="Sikh Goat Sacrifice2">''"Another noteworthy practice performed here is that a goat is sacrificed on Dussehra night every year. This ceremony was performed on Diwali day this year (Oct 28, 2008). The fresh blood of the sacrificed goat is used for tilak on the Guru's weapons."'', SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS OF THE SIKH COMMUNITY, Dr Madanjit Kaur, Institute of Sikh Studies [http://sikhinstitute.org/apr_2009/10-madakaur.html Institute of Sikh Studies, Madan Kaur] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612142006/http://sikhinstitute.org/apr_2009/10-madakaur.html |date=12 June 2010 }}</ref> Thus, there is a wide range of views that exist on the issue of a proper "Sikh diet" in the [[Panth]]. Nonetheless, all Sikhs agree with the minimum consensus that meat slaughtered via the Muslim ([[Halal]]) or Jewish ([[Shechita]]) methods is strictly against Sikh dogma and principles.<ref>"Sikhism, A Complete Introduction" by H.S. Singha & Satwant Kaur Hemkunt, Hemkunt Press, New Delhi, 1994, {{ISBN|81-7010-245-6}}</ref><ref>"Sikh Identity: An Exploration of Groups Among Sikhs" by Opinderjit Kaur Takhar, pg. 51, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, 2005, {{ISBN|0-7546-5202-5}}</ref> The [[Akal Takht]] represents the final authority on controversial issues concerning the Sikh [[Panth]] (community or collective). The [[Hukamnama]] (edict or clarification), issued by [[Akal Takht]] [[Jathedar]] [[Jathedar Sadhu Singh Bhaura|Sadhu Singh Bhaura]] dated 15 February 1980, states that eating meat does not go against the code of conduct of the Sikhs. [[Khalsa|Amritdhari]] Sikhs can eat meat as long as it is [[Jhatka]] meat.<ref name="Singh 2001 89">{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Dharam|title=Perspectives on Sikhism: Papers Presented at the International Seminar on Sikhism: a Religion for the Third Millennium Held at Punjabi University, Patiala on 27–29 March 2000|year=2001|publisher=Publication Bureau, Punjabi University|isbn=9788173807367|page=89}}</ref>
* [[Adultery]]: Cohabiting with a person other than one's spouse (sexual relations with anyone who you are not married to).<ref>{{cite book |last=Jakobsh |first=Doris R. |title=Relocating Gender in Sikh History: Transformation, Meaning and Identity |location=New Delhi |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |date=2003 |pages=39–40}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=McLeod |first=W. H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vgixwfeCyDAC&pg=PA119 |title=The A to Z of Sikhism |date=24 July 2009 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-6344-6 |pages=119 |language=en |author-link=W. H. McLeod}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fenech |first1=Louis E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA214 |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |last2=McLeod |first2=W. H. |date=11 June 2014 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1 |pages=214 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Grewal |first=J. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YDLNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT95 |title=Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708): Master of the White Hawk |date=25 July 2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-099038-1 |pages=95 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Beckerlegge |first=Gwilym |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pgmNpPoYabwC&pg=PA456 |title=World Religions Reader |date=2001 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-24748-1 |pages=456 |language=en}}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|reason=Not an [[WP:EXTRAORDINARY]] claim, no need to [[WP:REFBOMB]]|date=May 2023}}
* [[Intoxications|Intoxication]] – Consumption of [[tobacco]] and [[intoxicants]] ([[hemp]], [[opium]], [[liquor]], [[narcotic]]s, [[cocaine]], etc.) is not allowed.<ref>Sikh Rehat Maryada: [https://old.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_four.html Section Four, Chapter X, Article XVI, j.]</ref><ref>Sikh Rehat Maryada: [https://old.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_six.html Section Six, Chapter XIII, Article XXIV, p. 4. & q. 1., q. 5.]</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Macauliffe |first=Max Athur |author-link=Max Arthur Macauliffe |date=1909 |title=The Sikh Religion, its gurus, sacred writings and authors |volume=1 |page=[[s:Page:The Sikh Religion, its gurus, sacred writings and authors Vol 1.djvu/27|xxi]]}}</ref> [[Cannabis and Sikhism|Cannabis is generally prohibited]], but ritually consumed in edible form by some Sikhs.<ref name="SinghFenech2014">{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Louis E. |last2=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA378 |date=March 2014 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|pages=378–}}</ref><ref name="SinghHawley2012">{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Michael |last2=Hawley |title=Re-imagining South Asian Religions: Essays in Honour of Professors Harold G. Coward and Ronald W. Neufeldt |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4SLhLakpsNsC&pg=PA34 |date=7 December 2012 |publisher=Brill Academic |isbn=978-90-04-24236-4|pages=34–}}</ref> Some Sikh groups, like the [[Damdami Taksal]], are even opposed to drinking [[caffeine]] in [[Tea|Indian tea]]. Indian tea is almost always served in Sikh [[Gurdwara|Gurudwaras]] around the world. Some [[Nihang|Akali Nihang]] groups consume [[Cannabis (drug)|cannabis-containing]] shaheedi degh ({{lang|pa|ਭੰਗ}}), purportedly to help in [[meditation]].<ref>{{cite book
  | last = Richard Beck
  | first =  David Worden
  | title = Gcse Religious Studies for Aqa
  | year = 2002
  |page= 64
  | publisher = Heinemann
 | isbn = 0-435-30692-8}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110811031946/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2003-03-19/chandigarh/27281595_1_bhang-united-colours-procession Hola Mohalla: United colours of celebrations],</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040103/asp/opinion/story_2735311.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040112104613/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040103/asp/opinion/story_2735311.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 January 2004 |title=Mad About Words |work=The Telegraph (India) |date=3 January 2004 |access-date=4 January 2014}}</ref> ''Sūkha parshaad'' ({{lang|pa|ਸੁੱਖਾ ਪ੍ਰਰਸਾਦ}}), "Dry-sweet", is the term Akali Nihangs use to refer to it. It was traditionally crushed and consumed as a liquid, especially during festivals like [[Hola Mohalla]]. It is never smoked, as this practice is forbidden in Sikhism.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/sikhism/akalis.html |title=UCSM.ac.uk |publisher=Philtar.ucsm.ac.uk |access-date=4 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101016012718/http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/sikhism/akalis.html |archive-date=16 October 2010 }}</ref> In 2001, [[Jathedar Santa Singh]], the leader of [[Budha Dal]], along with 20 chiefs of [[Nihang]] sects, refused to accept the ban on consumption of'' shaheedi degh'' by the apex Sikh clergy of [[Akal Takht]] – in order to preserve their traditional practices.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010326/punjab1.htm#3 Nihangs 'not to accept' ban on shaheedi degh]. [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]. 26 March 2001.</ref> According to a 2011 [[BBC]] article, "Traditionally they also drank shaheedi degh, an infusion of cannabis, to become closer with God".<ref>{{cite web|last=Hegarty |first=Stephanie |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15480741 |title=The only living master of a dying martial art |publisher=BBC |date=29 October 2011 |access-date=4 January 2014}}</ref> Baba Santa Singh was excommunicated and replaced with Baba Balbir Singh, who agreed to shun the consumption of [[bhang]].<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010310/main7.htm#2 No 'bhang' at Hola Mohalla]. [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]. 10 March 2001.</ref>

Other mentioned practices to be avoided, as per the Sikh Rehat Maryada:
* Piercing of the nose or ears for wearing ornaments is forbidden for Sikh men and women.<ref>Sikh Rehat Maryada: [https://old.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_four.html Section Four, Chapter X, Article XVI, k.]</ref> However, this is a point of contention as it was common for Sikh men and women to wear during the [[Sikh Misl]] period.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Today, the idea of religious Sikh men wearing earrings would be ridiculous – and in many puritan circles, the idea of any form of piercing for all Sikhs, including women and their jewelry, would be off-limits. Yet the historical record tells us a different story... |url=https://twitter.com/YungBhujang/status/1276634524340776961 |via=Twitter}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=September 2023}}
* [[Female infanticide]]: A Sikh should not kill their daughter; nor should they maintain any relationship with a killer of a daughter.<ref>Sikh Rehat Maryada: [https://old.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_four.html Section Four, Chapter X, Article XVI, l.]</ref>
* A Sikh shall not [[Theft|steal]], form dubious associations or engage in [[gambling]].<ref>Sikh Rehat Maryada: [https://old.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_four.html Section Four, Chapter X, Article XVI, o.]</ref>
* It is not proper for a Sikh woman to wear a [[veil]], or keep her face hidden.<ref>Sikh Rehat Maryada: [https://old.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_four.html Section Four, Chapter X, Article XVI, s.]</ref>
* Sikhs cannot wear any token of any other faith, nor participate in idol worship ([[idolatry]]) according to the Guru Granth Sahib. Sikhs must not have their head bare or wear [[cap]]s. They also cannot wear any [[Ornament (art)|ornament]]s piercing through any part of the body.<ref>Sikh Rehat Maryada: [https://old.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_four.html Section Four, Chapter X, Article XVI, i.]; [https://old.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_six.html Section Six, Chapter XIII, Article XXIV, d.]</ref>
* Hereditary priest – Sikhism does not have priests, as they were abolished by Guru Gobind Singh.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web |url= http://www.sikhs.org/summary.htm |title=Sikhism Religion of the Sikh People |publisher=sikhs.org}}</ref> The only position he left was a [[Granthi]] to look after the Guru Granth Sahib; any Sikh is free to become Granthi or read from the Guru Granth Sahib.<ref name=autogenerated2 />

==See also==
{{Portal|Sikhism}}<!-- Please add related topics to the Outline of Sikhism and Index of Sikhism-related articles -->
{{div col |colwidth=22em}}
* [[Indian religions]]
* [[Five Virtues]]
* [[Panjab Digital Library]]
* [[Turban training centre]]
* [[Women in the Guru Granth Sahib]]
* [[Idolatry in Sikhism]]
* [[Khalsa]]
* [[History of Sikhism]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=lower-roman}}
{{reflist|group=nb}}

==References==
{{reflist|group=general references}}
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|title=Brill's Encyclopedia of Sikhism|publisher=Brill Academic|first=Indu|last=Banga|display-editors=etal|editor-first=Knut A.|editor-last=Jacobsen|date=2017|isbn=978-90-04-29745-6}}
* Dilgeer, Harjinder Singh (1997), ''The Sikh Reference Book''; Sikh University Press / Singh Brothers Amritsar, 1997.
* Dilgeer, Harjinder Singh (2005), ''Dictionary of Sikh Philosophy''; Sikh University Press / Singh Brothers Amritsar, 2005.
* Dilgeer, Harjinder Singh (2008), ''Sikh Twareekh''; Sikh University Press / Singh Brothers Amritsar, 2008.
* Dilgeer, Harjinder Singh (2012), ''Sikh History'' (in 10 volumes); Sikh University Press / Singh Brothers Amritsar, 2010–2012.
* {{cite book|last=Duggal|first=Kartar Singh|date=1988|title=Philosophy and Faith of Sikhism|publisher=Himalayan Institute Press|isbn=978-0-89389-109-1}}
* Kaur, Surjit; ''Amongst the Sikhs: Reaching for the Stars''; New Delhi: Roli Books, 2003, {{ISBN|81-7436-267-3}}
* Khalsa, Guru Fatha Singh; ''Five Paragons of Peace: Magic and Magnificence in the Guru's Way'', Toronto: Monkey Minds Press, 2010, {{ISBN|0-9682658-2-0}}, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110711135252/http://www.gurufathasingh.com/five-paragons-of-peace.html GuruFathaSingh.com]
* Khalsa, Shanti Kaur; ''The History of Sikh Dharma of the Western Hemisphere''; Espanola, New Mexico, US: Sikh Dharma; 1995 {{ISBN|0-9639847-4-8}}
* {{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Khushwant |title=A History of the Sikhs: Volume 1: 1469-1839 |date=2004 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-567308-1 |edition=2nd|author-link=Khushwant Singh}}
* {{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Khushwant |title=A History of the Sikhs: Volume 2: 1839-2004 |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-567309-8 |edition=2nd}}
* {{cite book|last=Singh|first=Khushwant|date=2006|title=The Illustrated History of the Sikhs|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-567747-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Singh|first=Patwant|date=1999|title=The Sikhs|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-0-385-50206-1|author-link=Patwant Singh}}
* Takhar, Opinderjit Kaur, ''Sikh Identity: An Exploration of Groups Among Sikhs''. Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate; 2005 {{ISBN|0-7546-5202-5}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|d=Q9316|n=no|c=Category:Sikhism|s=Portal:Sikhism|v=no}}

* [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sikhism "Sikhism"]. ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Online''.

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