Sikhism in India:
(i) The word Sikh is derived from the Pali word sikha and the Sanskrit word sisya. Both these words mean 'disciple', Sikhs are the disciples of ten gurus (teachers), beginning with Guru Nanak (1469-1539) and ending with Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708). A Sikh is one who believes in the ten gurus and the Guru Granth Sahib, a scripture which their fifth guru, Arjun Dev, compiled in 1604. Sikhism was an offshoot of the bhakti (devotional) cult of Vaishnava Hinduism. Guru Nanak was Punjab's chief spokesman of bhakti tradition.
(ii) Nanak was the son of a revenue official in the village of Talwandi (forty miles from Lahore). He was born in the caste of Khatris, who regarded themselves as Kshatriya. At the age of twenty-nine, he had a mystical experience, as a result of which he pronounced, "There is no Hindu; there is no Muslim. He rejected all social distinctions among his followers. He went on various journeys where in each one he spread the message of human equality. People in the villages of Punjab remember him in the following words; Guru Nanak, the King of religions, to the Hindus, a guru, to the Muslims, a saint.'
(iii) Nanak accepted most of the traditional beliefs of Hinduism, but attacked the practice of untouchability. In his thought, God is the father, lover, master, and the great giver of all gifts. God is formless (nirankara) and without quality (nirguna). He may be known by different names, such as Rahim, Govinda, Murari, and Hari, Nanak first called God Aumkara, but later referred to him as Sat Kartar (the 'true creator') or Sat Nam (the 'true name'). In Sikhism, the symbol of God is Om.
(iv) In order to create equality at the practical level, Guru Nanak established free community kitchens (langar) at which all his believers, irrespective of their caste, ate together. This institution of langur is central to Sikhism. Besides this, the institution of guruship is at the core of Nanak's religious system. No one can achieve salvation without the guru, who must be respected and consulted. But the honour given to the guru does not imply that he should be worshipped. Sikhism makes a clear distinction between God and guru. The latter is a teacher, not an incarnation of God. Nanak called himself a 'slave and servant of god. Beginning with him, there is a chain of the nine other gurus, namely Guru Angad (1504-1552), Amar Das (1479-1574), Ram Das (1534-1581), Guru Arjun (1563-1606). Hargobind (1595-1644), Har Rai (1630-1661), Har Kishan (1656-1664), Teg Bahadur (1621-1675), and Gobind Singh. Each one of them made his own distinct contribution to the development of Sikhism.
(vi) Nanak strongly disapproved of asceticism and putting one's body to pain as a step towards enlightenment. He propagated the vocation (asrama) of the householder (grahasta). One should spend one's time in the company of holy men (sadh sangat). One should repeat the name (name) of God and participate in devotional song singing (kirtan). Through them one would succeed in attaining salvation.
(vii) Almost two percent of India's population belongs to Sikhism, mainly concentrated in the Punjab. As the community of Sikhs has been highly enterprising, its members have been able to control business not only in other parts of India but abroad as well. Sikhs maintain matrimonial ties with Hindus, but assert their independence identity. The institutions of community kitchen and guruship sustain it, as we saw earlier.
(vii) In modern times, Sikhs have also set up political bodies (such as Sri Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, Akali Dal) that perform the function of creating a separate identity for them. The studies of Sikh villages point out that they comprise social units, placed in some kind of ranking, which act like castes. The place of worship (gurudwara) is open to all Sikhs, irrespective of their social standing, but marriages across them are rarely practised.
