A gurdwara or gurudwara is a place of assembly and worship in Sikhism, 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.
The following outline is provides an overview of Sikhism, or Sikhi.
Sukhmani Sahib, known under the title of Gauri Sukhmani in the scripture, is usually translated to mean Prayer of Peace is a set of 192 padas present in the holy Guru Granth Sahib, the main scripture and living Guru of Sikhism from Ang 262 to Ang 296. This Gurbani text was written by the 5th Guru, Guru Arjan (1563–1606) at Amritsar in around 1602. Guru Arjan first recited the bani at Gurdwara Barth Sahib in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab, India.
The principal Sikh scripture is the Adi Granth, more commonly called the Guru Granth Sahib. The second most important scripture of the Sikhs is the Dasam Granth. Both of these consist of text which was written or authorised by the Sikh Gurus.
Guru Nanak founded the Sikh religion in the Punjab region of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent in the 15th century and opposed many traditional practices like fasting, Upanayana, idolatry, caste system, ascetism, azan, economic materialism, and gender discrimination.
Varan Bhai Gurdas, also known as Varan Gyan Ratnavali, is the name given to the 40 vars which is traditionally attributed to Bhai Gurdas.
Suraj Prakash, also called Gurpartāp Sūraj Granth, is a popular and monumental hagiographic text about Sikh Gurus written by Kavi Santokh Singh (1787–1843) and published in 1843 CE. It consists of life legends performed by Sikh Gurus and historic Sikhs such as Baba Banda Bahadur in 51,820 verses. Most modern writing on the Sikh Gurus finds its basis from this text.
The Bhatra Sikhs are a group within the Sikhs who originated from the bards of the time of Guru Nanak.
Guru Maneyo Granth refers to the historic statement of the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708) shortly before his demise on affirming the sacred scripture Adi Granth as his successor, thereby terminating the line of human Gurus. Installed as the Guru Granth Sahib, it is now the central holy scripture of Sikhism, and the eternal living Guru of all Sikhs. It is central to Sikh worship as it is said to imbibe the one light of the creator manifested in the Ten Sikh Gurus‐one spirit in ten forms.
The Singh Sabhā Movement, also known as the Singh Sabhā Lehar, was a Sikh movement that began in Punjab in the 1870s in reaction to the proselytising activities of Christians, Hindu reform movements and Muslims. The movement was founded in an era when the Sikh Empire had been dissolved and annexed by the British, the Khalsa had lost its prestige, and mainstream Sikhs were rapidly converting to other religions. The movement's aims were to "propagate the true Sikh religion and restore Sikhism to its pristine glory; to write and distribute historical and religious books of Sikhs; and to propagate Gurmukhi Punjabi through magazines and media." The movement sought to reform Sikhism and bring back into the Sikh fold the apostates who had converted to other religions; as well as to interest the influential British officials in furthering the Sikh community. At the time of its founding, the Singh Sabha policy was to avoid criticism of other religions and political matters.
Pandit Tara Singh Narotam (1822–1891) or also Pundit Tara Singh Nawtam, was a famous Punjabi scholar who belonged to the Sikh Nirmala Sect.
The Guru Granth Sahib, is the central religious text of Sikhism, considered by Sikhs to be the final sovereign Guru of the religion. It contains 1430 Angs, containing 5,894 hymns of 36 saint mystics which includes Sikh gurus, Bhagats, Bhatts and Gursikhs. It is notable among foundational religious scriptures for including hymns from writers of other religions, namely Hindus and Muslims. It also contains teachings of the Sikh gurus themselves.
Bhatt Gayand was a Brahmin bard in the court of Guru Arjan, whose 13 hymns are present in Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred scripture of the Sikhs.
Bhattan de Savaiye, also known as Bhatt Bani, is a name given to 123 Savaiyas composed by various Bhatts, which are present in Guru Granth Sahib, scripture of Sikhs. According to various scholars, these Savaiyas are eulogies of first five Gurus of Sikhism.
The Mīnās were a heretical sect of Sikhs that followed Prithi Chand, the eldest son of Guru Ram Das, after his younger brother Guru Arjan was selected by the Guru to succeed him. Prithi Chand would vigorously contest this, attracting a portion of Sikhs to his side who followers of Guru Arjan referred to as ਮੀਣੇ mīṇe, meaning "charlatans," "dissemblers," or "scoundrels." They sustained their opposition to the orthodox line of Gurus through the seventeenth century, and upon Guru Gobind Singh's founding of the Khalsa in 1699, they were declared by him, as well as by Khalsa rahitnamas, as one of the Panj Mel, or five reprobate groups, that a Sikh must avoid. They are occasionally referred to in the more neutral terms Sikhān dā chhotā mel or as the Miharvān sampraday in scholarship.
Baba Buddha was a prime figure in early Sikhism.
Brahmin Sikh is a Sikh religious group whose members belong to Brahmin community. They played a key role in the early years of Sikhism. Sometimes they are called Kashmiri Sikhs, for those who are of Kashmiri origin.
A steek or teeka is an exegesis or commentary on a Sikh religious text, usually Gurbani, but can also include other writings like the ghazals of Bhai Nand Lal. An author of a steek or teeka is known as a teekakar. A steek always includes an explanation, or viakhya of the specific religious text, but depending on the complexity of the steek, it can also include footnotes, commentary, and contexts to the specific verses and where they were first written/revealed.
Gatha is a bani by the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev. It appears on ang 1360-1361 of Guru Granth Sahib - the holy scripture and living Guru of Sikhs. Gatha is made of 24 saloks. The main theme of Gatha is the praise of Waheguru and the importance of devotion to Waheguru. Gatha is a Sanskrit word translating to song or verse and refers to any composition out of the Veda. It also means katha (commentary). It is also the name of the language the composition is written in.
