God does not take human or any other form and hence beyond birth and death. Sikhs do not worship idols. There are o deities in the faith.

Like every component of the universe, every human being has a role to play. This role is the name or identity of every creature. There are laws of nature applicable to different species, like humans and animals to walk on land, fish to swim in water and birds to fly in the air. Unlike Albert Einstein, who thinks God is not concerned with doings of the humans, the Sikh belief is that ‘one reaps what one sows’. It is natural. Hence, one should not ignore that there are consequences of everything done.

The Sikh religion founded in 1469 CE has the fifth largest following in the world ahead of the Jews.

The name ‘Sikh’ means student or learner. The guru is the teacher. The Sikh religion therefore represents the learning divine commands and putting into practice.

This faith is not personality-based. There is no dogma.

What other religions call the ‘place of worship’, is the Gurduara, the guru’s house, the place of learning in Sikh faith. There is no worship, lighting of incense or ringing of bells to propitiate any deity. There is only singing praises of the Almighty. It is also for obtaining awareness of divine commands and learning to obey them. The Creator gives these instructions to the soul before birth on basic role in life, but the humans forget them because of numerous entanglements, and need to be reminded.

The religion was founded by Guru Nanak (1469-1539). He was followed by nine successor gurus until 1708 CE. They guided the Sikhs for about 240 years, which covered nearly all real-life situations.

The tenth Guru Gobind Singh created the Khalsa giving a unique form where men and women maintain their uncut hair. Even a single Sikh stands out in a crowd. It also acts as the conscience-keeper to maintain dignity and avoid wrong-doings. There are no Sikhs as beggars.

The tenth guru also instilled the martial spirit. The Sikhs are ever ready to help people needing protection.

Sacrifice is a tradition in Sikh faith. The fifth guru, Arjun, was tortured to death but he did not give up faith. The ninth Guru Tegh Bahadur made the supreme sacrifice to enable the Hindus to practice their faith. There have been countless sacrifices by the Sikhs since then.

The gurus chose their successors strictly on merit, and compatibility of understanding with the preceding gurus.

The Sikhs have one scripture. It contains discourses of the first five and the ninth gurus. Each of them personally wrote down their discourses, and passed the accumulated discourses to the successor. The first five gurus also collected verses of saints of other faiths and bards. The fifth guru included these while compiling the sacred book. The tenth guru added discourses of the ninth guru and made the final compilation. He bestowed the title of guru and the volume became Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS) before he departed from the world. The Sikhs now treat SGGS as the living guru who also presides over congregations.

SGGS has the following features.

1.      The gurus themselves authenticated all entries.

2.    The numbering system is such as to obviate entries or deletions.

3.    There are no contradictions in its content.

4.    This has enabled preservation of teachings in their pristine form.

5.     Inclusion of verses of people of other faiths shows that fundamental of all religions is faith in One God and ethics, and there should be no cause for conflict.

6.    There is only one approved version of the scripture.

It is because of respect for other faiths that Sikh religion does not proselytize which involves finding fault with other faiths. The latter is the major cause for inter-religion conflicts. Those who wish to join are welcome.

The Sikh faith promotes amity between faiths. The founder, Guru Nanak undertook four long odysseys lasting a total over two decades to share spiritual vision with followers of other faiths. He visited the Hindu holy places in India, the Buddhist Lanka, now called Sri Lanka, the Yogis in the Himalayas, Buddhists in Tibet and Muslims in Arabia and Iraq. The scripture emphasizes this spirit of amity.

All gurus had both Hindu and Muslim followers, the two main religions in India before advent of this new faith. When Guru Nanak passed away, both the Hindus and Muslims built two different monuments in his honor.

The SGGS contents do not glorify any persons, but Sabad, meaning ‘word’ or teachings. They are all about virtues of the Creator and Hukam, meaning will of God which translates into laws of nature. The scripture glorifies the institution of the guru and also the seekers. All authors have displayed humility, which is unique among scriptures of religions.

For example, Guru Nanak says:

 

I am of the lowliest class among the low.

I am happy to be with the lowly; I do not try to copy practices of the great.

O Almighty, You bestow grace where the lowly are looked after, i.e. God blesses the humble.

In Sikh faith woman and man have equal status. How can one who gives birth to kings be called bad, says the guru. Husband and wife are two bodies and one spirit. Sikh teachings emphasize fidelity in marriage by both husband and wife. There is one central organization for

It teaches equality of humankind. All creatures are born from the same Spirit, how can one be good and the other bad? There is no caste system amongst the Sikhs.

The faith rejects the concept of heaven and hell. There are no such places or regions. One, who conforms to laws of nature, achieves objectives and is at peace in life. His/her soul merges with the Spirit on death. This is heaven. One who transgresses, remains restless in life, and is not fit to merge with the Spirit. That soul is reborn repeatedly to learn to fulfil responsibilities. This is hell.

The Sikh religion promotes righteous and productive life as householder enjoying pleasures of life. However, one should not become slave to them. This means remaining unattached to the family like the lotus flower blossoms in water but remains untouched by it.

Charity after earning by unfair means is not virtuous

One should practice the following.

1.      Remember and comply with divine commands on duties in life. Naam Japna.

2.    Earn honestly. Dharam Di Kirat.

3.    Share with the needy.  Vandd Chhakna. Never think you are giving charity. Thank the Almighty who enables to share.

The Sikh religious-cum-social practice has two aspects.

Sangat – congregation.

Pangat – literally meaning sitting in a line. This refers to participation in Lanagr or community meal.

These show equality of status. There are no separate provisions based on class, status or wealth. However males and females sit separately which avoids distractions.

Doing a good deed and being proud or expect rewards negates the good deed. It is like the elephant throwing dust on itself after it is given a bath.