Sikhism began to emerge in a period of tension between Muslims and Hindus in India in the 6th century AD. The Mughals had conquered India and brought Islam with them, and some people sought to establish harmony between the two. religions based on the concept that God goes beyond all the limitations that any religion imposes on him (Corduan, 2006). It was against this backdrop that Guru Nanak was born in Punjab, a region of India that was half Muslim and half Hindu and through which external powers found their way in and out of India (Fisher, 2014) . Guru Nanak himself had a Hindu father and a Muslim mother, which led him to combine many Hindu and Muslim beliefs and practices, so much so that his slogan became: "There is neither Hindu nor Muslim » (Corduan, 2006). After being immersed in water for three days, during which he was brought into the presence of God, Guru Nanak began traveling through India, the Himalayas, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Arabia, mocking certain religious practices of Hinduism and Islam and encouraging other religious practices. practices of Islam and Hinduism (Fisher, 2014). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay When Guru Nanak died, he designated his servant as his successor, and the community of those who chose to follow Guru Nanak accepted him as their next. guru. Over the next two centuries, many developments shaped the Sikh religion. The Sikh community grew and established its headquarters in Amritsar. The Sikh community experienced a transition between ten gurus, each making important contributions, one of the most important being that of the fifth guru, Guru Arjan Dev, who collected the hymns and chants written by all the gurus, including him -himself, and published them as the “exalted book”, the Adi Granth, or the Guru Granth Sahib (Corduan, 2006). Arjan Dev's son, Hargobind, then began a policy of building a military side of Sikhism, thereby shifting the emphasis from peace to war and battle, which was completed by the tenth guru, Gobind Rai . This policy continued to incite the Sikh community into war, generally working with the British against the Muslim and Hindu majorities. Amidst all this conflict, Punjab came under heavy attack as an intermediate position between two new states, suffering heavy losses for the Sikhs. This led to independence movements working towards the creation of a new state, Khalistan. Through this, during the overthrow of the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated, many Sikhs were killed and greater animosity developed between Hindus and Sikhs (Corduan, 2006) . With all this involvement in the conflict, there are approximately 27 million Sikhs in the world. Of these 27 million, 83% live in India, including around 21 million in Punjab. Outside of India, Sikhs are found essentially all over the world, generally tending to migrate to Southeast Asia and English-speaking countries like the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. Other centers of Sikhism in the world include Italy, Australia, France, Germany, Netherlands, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Fiji, New Zealand and Ireland (Oxford Sikhs, 2008). With constant changes and changes in Sikhism, it is not surprising that there is no priesthood, centralized "church", or associated religious hierarchy. However, in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh chose five Sikhs who had proven themselves loyal to receive his authority and becomeresponsible for conducting initiation ceremonies. Guru Gobind Singh also bestowed his spiritual authority on the scriptures and the community upon his death, which subsequently provided consistent ideals for the evolution of the Sikh community. In 1925, the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee came into existence as an elected body to manage the shrines of Punjab. Because it was a democratic institution, it became the authoritative voice of the Sikh community for religious and political affairs. Sikh community gurdwaras have their own management committees and each congregation is a democratic community. Each gurdwara has an official Granthi who is responsible for conducting its regular rituals, but as there are no priests, lay people volunteer for the various functions (Riggs, 2006). The definition of God can be found in the opening sentence of Guru Granth Sahib. , proclaiming that there is one, peerless God, who is the eternal Truth, the Creator, the omnipresent divine Spirit, without fear, without hatred, immortal entity, unborn, self-existent, self-realized grace, true before creation, true at the beginning of creation, true now and will be true forever. God is hidden in every heart. God is both impersonal and personal. Impersonal God is formless and beyond human reach, but when He reveals Himself through creation, He becomes personal. God is beyond all description and understanding and radiates from Himself, radiant with His own splendor (Sikh Missionary Center, 1990). God permeates his creation and is timeless. He is without fear or enmity, does not come into the womb, blameless, flawless, light, good, holy, beautiful, almighty, omnipresent, omniscient, the first cause, the essence, beyond knowledge , above all, omnipresent, eternal. , and the parent or father of all (Kohli, 1976). God is understood as the one who “protects his saints and devotees from dangers, unless he wishes their suffering and martyrdom to serve a higher purpose” (Sikh Missionary Center, 1990). . Many saints prayed for help in the midst of danger and received help from God. Guru Nanak explains that a sinner without any protection can surrender to God and become pure, being blessed by His grace, this act of redemption of repentant sinners being a huge characteristic of God. The Sikh Missionary Center explains the aim of human life very succinctly: The aim of human life in Sikhism is not to reach heaven or the Swarga of the popular Hindu conception, but to seek God and unite to Him. The ultimate goal of the Sikh religion is to merge with the supreme soul and then enjoy uninterrupted happiness forever. A Sikh longs for spiritual union with the Lord – a state of bliss. Human life is an opportunity to achieve this goal; if it is missed, the person falls back into the cycle of births and rebirths. (1990) The Sikh Missionary Center also does much to explain what Guru Nanak had to say about what it takes to achieve salvation. Guru Nanak explains that because human life is attained only after passing through many lives, it gathers the impurities of each life it has passed through. Therefore, the human spirit cannot merge with God, who is absolutely pure, while it is impure. Thus, as the mind becomes pure through praise and prayer to God, the soul will merge with God (Sikh Missionary Center, 1990). The Adi Granth is the authoritative scripture of Sikhism. It was compiled and edited by the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan and has 1,430 pages in Gurumukhi script, containing chants of the Sikh Gurus and 36 Hindu and Muslim saints (Kohli, 1976). It is divided into three main sections:three liturgical prayers, 31 major ragas or Indian musical models, and an epilogue composed of miscellaneous works that could not be placed in the central section (Riggs, 2006). The language of this script is Sant-Bhasa, which was used by medieval saints throughout India, but which varies from region to region due to different dialects. One can also find songs in “Marathi, Persian and a mixture of Sanskrit, Prakrit and Aphabhramsa called Sahaskriti” (Kohli, 1976). Within the Adi Granth, we can find Sikh beliefs concerning the conception of God, the attributes of God. , the unity of God, the name of God, creation, soul, body, mind and intellect, the need for a true Guru and the doctrines of karma, grace, transmigration , devotion, nirvana, satsang and spiritual stages (Kohli, 1976). Other sacred collections, considered true but not as authoritative as the Adi Granth, include the Dasam Granth, the works of Bhai Gurdas and Bhai Nand Lal Goya, and a final category, which consists of three distinct genres : the janam-sakhis, the rahit-namas and the gur-bilas. The Dasam Granth, or the Book of the 10th Guru, includes the writings of the 10th Guru and some writings of other gurus. It is made up of four main types of compositions: devotional texts, autobiographical works, miscellaneous writings and a collection of mythical stories and popular anecdotes. . Bhai Gurdas and Bhai Nand Lal Goya were two of the early Sikhs who compiled works approved in the Sikh Code of Conduct for singing in gurdwaras. The janam-sakhis are the birth stories and contain accounts of the life of Guru Nanak. The rahit-namas are the code of conduct manuals and provide insight into the evolving nature of the Khalsa code. The final genre is gur-bilas, which is Guru's pleasure and focuses primarily on the powerful deeds of two warrior gurus, Guru Hargobind and Guru Gobind Singh (Riggs, 2006). Many celebrations take place in the Sikh religion. There is a celebration for the birth, the day of becoming a guru and the day of death of each of the ten gurus, as well as the first installation of the Adi Granth, his recognition as a guru and, most importantly, the creation of the Khalsa (Corduan, 2006). Besides this, other festivals celebrated by Sikhs include Divali and Hola Mahalla. The inauguration of the Khalsa, or Baisakhi, is celebrated as New Year's Day in India, the festival of grain harvest by Punjabis and the community's birthday (Riggs, 2006). Baisakhi is celebrated by continuous reading of the Guru Granth Sahib, community prayer, kirtan, special langar, martial arts demonstrations, adept sword play and initiation of new members of the Khalsa (Fisher, 2014) . Celebrations of the births and deaths of the Gurus, also called Gurpurbs, are celebrated with "uninterrupted reading" of Sikh scriptures by a relay of readers for approximately 48 hours. Divali is celebrated to mark the release of Guru Hargobind, who had been imprisoned under the Mughal emperor Jahangir, by illuminating the Darbar Sahib in Amritsar. Hola Mahalla was introduced by Guru Gobind Singh for the purpose of military exercises and organizing sports and literary competitions (Riggs, 2006). Besides larger temples, such as the Golden Temple in Amritsar and the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in Delhi, Sikh temples, or gurdwaras, are generally simple buildings inside and out. They will usually have a domed roof and the Sikh insignia proudly displayed. Larger gurdwaras will also have shallow pools containing water of purifying value. They simply consist of a carpeted floor, an altar on which the Adi Granth rests during the day under a canopy and abed for the Adi Granth at night. Gurdwaras will usually have a kitchen and dining room and some North American gurdwaras will have tables and chairs, although the typical tradition is to sit on the floor (Corduan, 2006). In the Sikh faith, there are two major symbols that encompass ideals. of faith. The first symbol is the khanda. This represents the Sikh faith towards the outside world. At the center of the symbol is the true khanda, or double-edged sword, surrounded by the chakkar, or circular throwing weapon, and two kirpans, or ceremonial swords, on either side, representing the spiritual and political dimensions of the Sikh community . The second symbol refers to the unity of God, with one symbol resembling the Western number 9, meaning 1, and another symbol meaning "the only one". Literally understood, this symbol means that God is “the one and only” or “Ekankar” in Punjabi (Corduan, 2006). Other major symbols, found in the Sikh Rahit Maryada, or Sikh Code of Conduct, are the five Ks, or Panj Kakke, which must be worn. Riggs explains the five Ks of being: unshorn hair, symbolizing spirituality and holiness; a wooden comb, signifying order and discipline in life; a sword, symbolizing divine grace, dignity and courage; a steel “wrist ring,” signifying responsibility and allegiance to the Guru; and short pants, symbolizing moral restraint. (Riggs, 2006). These are the outward symbols of the divine word, thus making them clothed with the word of God. This means that their minds are purified and their bodies are ready to fight temptations (Riggs, 2006). The sacred practices of Sikhism include “hours of daily prayer, continuous inner repetition of the name of God, and detachment from negative and worldly states of mind. » (Fisher, 2014). Apart from this, Sikhs also enjoy coming together for worship, engaging in community, camaraderie and affirming one another. Prayer services are held several times a day, beginning very early in the morning, consisting mainly of the chanting of passages from the Adi Granth with various instruments playing in the background, accompanied by a prominent member of the community behind the altar, waving in the distance. physical and spiritual impurities of the Adi Granth, and ending with everyone receiving a sweet made from nuts and honey. All this ends with a common meal shared with everyone, regardless of their social or economic status (Corduan, 2006). world” (Fisher, 2014). For this reason, Sikhism does not claim to have the only path to God and does not attempt to convert others to its path. Sikhism is committed to protecting the freedom of all religions, but opposing meaningless rituals. All men must be treated equally since the light of God dwells in everyone. Sikhism also believes in a series of lives, with karma governing the transmigration of the soul into new bodies (Fisher, 2014). Other major beliefs of Sikhism include grace, karma, transmigration, bhakti, nirvana, satsung and spiritual stages. Although the emphasis is on karma, Sikhs recognize that final union with God can only be achieved through His grace. Karma is both good and bad, with good karma occurring by doing good works and bringing appreciation in this world and in the presence of the Lord and bad karma leading to misery. Both types of karma are done according to the will of God and each is destined from the beginning for certain karmas. Whatever one did in a previous life constitutes one's current life because the soul is bound by karmas (Kohli, 1967). This leads to the idea of ​​transmigration, the cycle of births and deaths, which is caused by the influence of the ego and does not..