Sikhism, also known as Sikhi, is an Indian religion and philosophy in particular for the Sikh ethnoreligious group that originated in the Punjab region of India around the end of the 15th century CE. The Sikh scriptures are written in the Gurumukhi script particular to Sikhs. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups and among the largest in the world, with about 25–30 million adherents.
Kabir was a well-known Indian mystic poet and saint. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das, and Kabir Sagar of Dharamdas. Today, Kabir is an important figure in both Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam, especially in Sufism.
A gurdwara or gurudwara is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs but its normal meaning is place of guru or "Home of guru". Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as Gurdwara Sahib. People from all faiths and religions are welcomed in gurdwaras. Each gurdwara has a Darbar Sahib where the Guru Granth Sahib is placed on a takht in a prominent central position. Any congregant may recite, sing, and explain the verses from the Guru Granth Sahib, in the presence of the rest of the congregation.
The Guru Granth Sahib is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth, its first rendition, was compiled by the fifth guru, Guru Arjan (1564–1606). Its compilation was completed on 29 August 1604 and first installed inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar on 1 September 1604. Baba Buddha was appointed the first Granthi of the Golden Temple. Shortly afterwards Guru Hargobind added Ramkali Ki Vaar. Later, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru, added hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur to the Adi Granth and affirmed the text as his successor. This second rendition became known as the Guru Granth Sahib and is also sometimes referred to as the Adi Granth.
Khalsa refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as its faith, as well as a special group of initiated Sikhs. The Khalsa tradition was initiated in 1699 by the Tenth Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh. Its formation was a key event in the history of Sikhism. The founding of Khalsa is celebrated by Sikhs during the festival of Vaisakhi.
The Khoja are a mainly Nizari Isma'ili Shia community of people from the western Indian subcontinent. Khojas predominantly reside in India, Pakistan and eastern Africa.
Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions of the Indian subcontinent. The Naths have been a confederation of devotees who consider Shiva as their first lord or guru, with varying lists of additional gurus. Of these, the 9th or 10th century Matsyendranatha and the ideas and organization mainly developed by Gorakhnath are particularly important. Gorakhnath is considered the originator of the Nath Panth.
Sampradaya, in Indian origin religions, namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, can be translated as 'tradition', 'spiritual lineage', 'sect', or 'religious system'. To ensure continuity and transmission of dharma, various sampradayas have the Guru-shishya parampara in which parampara or lineage of successive gurus (masters) and shishyas (disciples) serves as a spiritual channel and provides a reliable network of relationships that lends stability to a religious identity. Shramana is vedic term for seeker or shishya. Identification with and followership of sampradayas is not static, as sampradayas allows flexibility where one can leave one sampradaya and enter another or practice religious syncretism by simultaneously following more than one sampradaya. Samparda is a punjabi language term, used in Sikhism, for sampradayas.
The Sarbloh Granth or Sarabloh Granth, also called Manglacharan Puran or Sri Manglacharan Ji, is a voluminous scripture, composed of more than 6,500 poetic stanzas. It is traditionally attributed as being the work of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru. Scholars, on the other hand, attribute the work to after the Guru's death, being authored by an unknown poet. The work is mostly revered by the Nihang sect.
Sant Dadu Dayal was a poet-saint from Gujarat, India, a religious reformer who spoke against formalism and priestcraft.
Islam is an Abrahamic religion founded in the Arabian Peninsula, while Sikhism is a religion founded in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Islam means 'submission to god'. The word Sikh is derived from a word meaning 'disciple', or one who learns.
Shastriji Maharaj, born Dungar Patel and ordained Shastri Yagnapurushdas, was a swami of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya and founder of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). Several branches accept him as the third spiritual successor of Swaminarayan in the lineage of Aksharbrahma Gurus through whom Swaminarayan manifests, which began with Gunatitanand Swami. Born in a family of farmers in central Gujarat, India, he became a swami within the Vadtal diocese of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya at the age of 17 where he was given the name Yagnapurushdas Swami. The prefix Shastri was later added in recognition of his eminent scholarship in Sanskrit and the Hindu scriptures. He established BAPS after a doctrinal split from the Vadtal diocese of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.
The Taran Panth, also known as Taran Svami Panth, Taran Samaj or Taranapanthi, is a sect of Digambara Jainism founded by Taran Svami in Bundelkhand in central India in c. 1505 CE.
Ginans are devotional hymns or poems recited by Shia Ismaili Muslims.
Kanji Swami (1890–1980) was a teacher of Jainism. He was deeply influenced by the Samayasāra of Kundakunda in 1932. He lectured on these teachings for 45 years to comprehensively elaborate on the philosophy described by Kundakunda and others. He was given the title of "Koh-i-Noor of Kathiawar" by the people who were influenced by his religious teachings and philosophy.
The Pranami Sampradaya, also known as Pranami or Pranami Panth is a Hindu sect that worships Krishna as the Supreme God. It is based on the teachings of Mahamati Prannath and Devchandra and their holy book, the Tartam Sagar.
The Mamaidev was a philosopher born in India in the 12th century. He was the son of Mataidev, who was the son of Lurangdev, who was the son of Dhani Matang Dev. He preached religion to the Meghwar community of Saurashtra, Kutch of Gujarat and Sindh, in present day Pakistan. He also preached to the poor Sinbhariya Meghwar for Dharma. He described and formulated ancient Barmati Panth. His tomb is located in the Thatta District in the Sindh province of Pakistan.
Jainism is an Indian religion which is traditionally believed to be propagated by twenty-four spiritual teachers known as tirthankara. Broadly, Jainism is divided into two major schools of thought, Digambara and Svetambara. These are further divided into different sub-sects and traditions. While there are differences in practices, the core philosophy and main principles of each sect is the same.
Guru Arjan was the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of the Sikh scripture called the Adi Granth, which later expanded into the Guru Granth Sahib. He is regarded as the first of the two Gurus martyred in the Sikh faith.
Sikh sects, denominations, traditions, movements, sub-traditions, also known as sampardai in the Punjabi language, are sub-traditions within Sikhism that believe in different approaches to practicing the religion. All sampradas believe in the One Creator God typically rejecting both idol worship and caste systems. Different interpretations have emerged over time, some of which have a living teacher as the leader. The major historic traditions in Sikhism, states Harjot Oberoi, have included Udasi, Nirmala, Nanakpanthi, Khalsa, Sahajdhari, Namdhari Kuka, Nirankari and Sarvaria.
