Sikhism
ਸਿੱਖ ਧਰਮ
Also written: sikhism · guru nanak · guru granth sahib · ik onkar · khalsa · langar · सिख धर्म
Guru Nānak (1469–1539) taught in a Punjab where the bhakti sants and the Sufi teachers were both active, and his teaching carries the imprint of that meeting: one formless reality, the name as the means, the householder's life as the setting, and equality as a practice rather than a sentiment.
The opening statement
ੴ ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ik oaṅkār sat nām kartā purakh nirbhau nirvair akāl mūrat ajūnī saibhaṅ gur prasād
One reality; Truth is its name; the doer, without fear, without enmity, timeless in form, unborn, self-existent, known by the Guru's grace.
The three pillars
| Pillar | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Nām japnā | Remembrance of the divine name |
| Kirat karnī | Earning by honest labour — the householder's life, not renunciation |
| Vaṇḍ chhaknā | Sharing what one earns with others |
The Guru Granth Sahib
Guru Gobind Siṅgh, the tenth Guru, ended the line of living Gurus by installing the scripture itself as the eternal Guru. Remarkably, it contains not only the compositions of the Sikh Gurus but of Hindu and Muslim saints — Kabīr, Ravidās, Nāmdev, Farīd, Bhagat Dhannā and others. It is the only major scripture in the world that includes the words of teachers outside its own tradition as scripture.
Langar
The free community kitchen, in which everyone sits in a single row on the floor and eats the same food regardless of rank, wealth, religion or birth. It was instituted deliberately as an instrument against hierarchy, and it feeds more people daily than any other charitable institution on earth.
The tributaries — traditions born from the same ground
Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, the Nātha and Siddha lines, the bhakti sants and the modern reform movements: what…
Buddhism
The Buddha's teaching, the four noble truths and the eightfold path, anātman and dependent origination, the sc…
Jainism
The twenty-four Tīrthaṅkaras, the eternal soul and karma as matter, the five vows, anekāntavāda, and the most …
The Nātha sampradāya and haṭha yoga
Matsyendranātha and Gorakhnātha, the nine Nāthas and eighty-four Siddhas, the body as the vehicle of liberatio…
The bhakti movement and the sants
A thousand years of reform from inside: the Ālvārs and Nāyanmārs, Basavaṇṇa, Kabīr, Ravidās, Mīrā, Nāmdev, Tuk…
Modern movements and teachers
Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, and the teachers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries who …
Last revised 2026-08-16. Corrections are welcome — see how this site is written.