Nanak The Holy Figure
Nanak’s closest associates were, Mardana, an aged Muslim, and Bala, a Hindu peasant. Together the three visited many Hindu and Muslim shrines. Nanak even made the pilgrimage to Mecca. Inspired by his insight into the unity of both religions, Nanak began to preach his message of peace and harmony. He attracted many disciples and followers and soon came to be known as Guru Nanak. A new religious tradition was thus born. The term Sikh is derived from the Sanskrit word shishya (disciple).

Nanak Was A Social Reformer
But more than just forming a new religion, Guru Nanak was a social reformer. He saw the plight of Hindu lower castes and insisted that every person was alike. Nanak stressed that enlightenment could be achieved through devotion to god. To abolish the caste system he named each one of his followers Singh, or lion, and established langars (communal eating places). These langars defied the Hindu norm that a low born person could not eat along with a high born.

Acknowledged As A Guru Nanak
Angad Dev, who started putting together the Guru’s writings, succeeded Guru Nanak as the leader of the Sikhs. He also introduced a script already being used by some Punjabis as the official script of the Sikhs and called it Gurmukhi or the language of the guru.It was the fifth Guru, Arjun Dev, who commenced the building of the Golden Temple at Amritsar. This temple is the holiest shrine of the Sikhs and every Sikh tries to visit it once in his lifetime. Arjun Dev also collected the poems of Nanak, Kabir and other saints and compiled them to form the scripture of the Sikhs, called Adi Granth (‘The First Book’) or Guru Granth Sahib (‘Book of the Lord’).

The Khalsa
The spread of Sikhism so alarmed the Muslims of India that they soon came to be persecuted. The fifth Guru Arjun Dev was put to death by the Mughals on a charge of sedition in 1606. Later, Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed in Delhi by the order of Emperor Aurangzeb. These two executions forced the Sikhs to realize that they needed to organize themselves into a fighting force.

The 10th and last Guru, Govind Singh, summoned a huge assembly of Sikhs on Baisakhi day in 1699. He reminded them of their two martyred gurus and the need to unite and wage a war against the Mughals. He then unsheathed his sword and demanded: "Is there anyone in this Sangat (assembly) who is willing to offer his head for his Guru and Religion?" Everyone stayed silent in fear till the Guru had repeated his demand thrice. Eventually a Hindu stepped forward. The Guru took him into a tent and emerged with a bloody sword. The same thing happened four more times. After the fifith man had volunteered and stepped into the tent, the Guru emerged with all five of them alive. These five men were proclaimed the Panj Pyares (the five beloved ones) by the Guru.The Guru then went on to declare that all members of the Khalsa brotherhood should be fearless and ready to give their lives for their faith.

The Ten Gurus of Sikhism

• Guru Nanak Dev Ji
  Nanak Dev, founder of the Sikh religion was born in 1469, in Rai Bhoi di Talvandi (now Nankana Sahib), 65 kilometres from Lahore (now in Pakistan). He began intermingling with holy men of both Hindu and Islamic beliefs at a very early age. Thus, he was influenced by both religions in his formulation of Sikhism. For some time, Nanak worked as an accountant of Nawab Daulat Khan Lodhi, the Afghan chief at Sultanpur. There he started associating with Mardana, a Muslim family servant. Mardana was a rebec player. Nanak started composing hymns and Mardana gave them the soul of music and the two started community hymn singing. They organised a kitchen wherein both Hindus and Muslims ate together as if belonging to the same community.
• Guru Angad Ji
  Guru Nanak Dev at the time of his death nominated Angad as the second Guru of the Sikhs. He remained the religious head for thirteen years from 1539 to 1552. On the advice of Nanak, Angad left Kartarpur and lit the Guru's lamp in Khadur. Angad spread the message of Guru Nanak. He started a regular system of collecting offerings to meet their expenses including that of ' Langar ' (distribution of food). He made copies of the Guru Nanak's hymns and distributed one to each centre. These scripts had no precise alphabets of their own. Angad took the 35 letters of the poems and hymns composed by Nanak, selected the appropriate letters from other scripts of northern India and invented the Gurumukhi (from the mouth of the Guru) script. Angad's compilations became the centrepoint of the sacred writings of the Sikhs. He was a keen admirer of physical fitness. He ordered his disciples to take part in drill and competitive games after the morning service. At the time of his demise, he nominated a seventy-three year old disciple, Amar Dass, to succeed him as the third Guru.
• Guru Amar Dass Ji
  Amar Dass was born in 1479 and belonged to the Bhalla sub-caste. A Khatri, he showed great enthusiasm in spreading the work of Nanak and Angad. He made ' Langar ' an integral institution of the Sikh church by insisting that anyone who wanted to meet him should first accept his hospitality by eating with all the disciples. He made more copies of the works of Nanak and Angad and added his own hymns and that of other Hindu Bhaktas whose teachings were in conformity with the Guru's words. He lived to the age of 95 and chose his son-in-law, Ram Dass to succeed him as the fourth Guru.
• Guru Ram Dass Ji
  Soon after his nomination as the fourth Guru, Ram Dass established a religious capital of the Sikhs known as Guru-ka-Chak or Chak-Ram-Dass . He encouraged tradesmen and merchants to set up business in the town and with revenues thus collected, spread his activities to different parts of the country. One of the most distinguished disciples of Ram Dass was Bhai (brother) Gurdas, who preached for some years in Agra.
• Guru Arjun Dev Ji
  Born in 1563, the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev, was made a Guru, by Guru Ramdas Ji in 1581. Guru Arjan was a saint and scholar of the highest order. He compiled the hymns and compositions of Guru Nanak, and his predecessors selected the sacred scriptures of some Hindu and Muslim saints, composed his own hymns and thus compiled the Adi Granth4. The achievements and the works of Guru Arjan upset the reigning Emperor, Jahangir who implicated him and tortured him. The Guru suffered quietly and bravely and set to the whole world an example of self-sacrifice and peaceful suffering. Despite being made to sit in boiling water, and on a red hot iron plate while burning sand was poured over his body, he chanted cheerfully and softly "Sweet is Thy Will, My Lord; Thy grace alone I Beseech". He breathed his last in 1606.
• Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji
  The sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind Sahib, was born in 1595. He became Guru in 1606. He built many religious shrines and was responsible for imparting the spirit of warriorship to the Sikhs. He urged them to be well versed in the art of using sword and other arms for self-defence and self-preservation. He himself wore two swords, Miri , representing political sovereignty and Piri, signifying spiritual sovereignty; a balance of material and spiritual life in the world.
• Guru Har Rai Ji
  The seventh Guru, Siri Har Rai, born in 1630, spent most of his life in devotional meditation and preaching the teachings of Guru Nanak. He also continued the imposing task of nation-building initiated by Guru Hargobind.
• Guru Harkrishan Sahib Ji
  The eighth Guru, Siri Har Krishan, was born in 1656. He got enlightenment in 1661. He personified service, purity and truth. The Guru gave his life while serving and healing the epidemic-stricken people in Delhi. Anyone who invokes Him with a pure heart has no difficulties whatsoever in life.
• Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji
  The ninth Guru, Siri Guru Tegh Bahadur, was born in 1621 in Amritsar. He became Guru in 1664. He established the town of Anandpur. The Guru laid down his life for the protection of Tilak (devotional mark painted on the forehead) and their sacred thread of Hindus. He advocated the right to the freedom of worship. He gave up his life for the cause of down-trodden Hindus.
• Guru Gobind Singh Ji
  The tenth Guru, Siri Guru Gobind Singh, was born in 1666 and became Guru after the martyrdom of his father Guru Tegh Bahadur. He created the Khalsa (The Pure Ones) in 1699, changing the Sikhs into a saint-soldier order with special symbols and sacraments for protecting themselves. He fought many wars against oppression. His four sons also gave their lives in defence of their faith. He died in 1708.Guru Gobind Singh, at the time of his death invested the 'Guru Granth Sahib' as the supreme head of the Sikhs, thus bringing the practice of nominating a religious head to a grinding halt. He proclaimed this in his 'Dasam Granth'. His military career could not attain any glorious heights. In fact, he lost all four of his sons in a clash with the Mughals. After his death Mughal governors constantly persecuted the Sikhs. The invasion of Persian and Afghan rulers brought them some relief as the Mughals thus had to defend their empires, and the Sikhs organised themselves under twelve different Misls or militias.
  
  Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) consolidated all the misl s (groups) and established a homeland of the Sikhs after numerous bloody battles. The Sikhs were often under attack by various invaders which they successfully repulsed and relinquished control of the Punjab only to the British after Ranjit Singh's death.

Teachings & Beliefs
As we have said before, Sikhism takes the best from both Hinduism and Islam. Sikhs believe in one God. Rituals and idol worship are not part of this faith. Sikhs should earn their living by honest means and hard work. People should share what they earn with the poor. Sikhism has no place for the caste system. All Sikhs are equal: the men add Singh (lion) to their names while the women add Kaur (princess).

The Five ‘Ks’
There are five religious signs that are the mark of a devout Sikh. The names of all five begin with the letter ‘K’ which is why they are often referred to as the five ‘Ks’.

• Kesh (hair)
  Sikhs believe that the course of nature should not be disturbed as far as possible which is why they refrain from cutting their hair.
• Kanga (comb)
  A wooden comb is necessary to keep long hair tidy and this is why Sikhs are supposed to carry a kanga at all times.
• Kara (steel bangle)
  The steel bangle is regarded as a symbol of strength and is worn on the right wrist by both men and women.
• Kirpan (dagger)
  The kirpan is a small sword and is a symbol of self-defense and the fight against evil and injustice.
• Kachha
  The kachha is a pair of shorts made to a specific design. It formed part of the military uniform in Guru Gobind Singh’s day and also signifies sexual restraint.

Festivals

Gurupurab
The birthday of Guru Nanak is celebrated soon after the Hindu festival of Diwali. Sikhs decorate their home with lamps and lights and special services are held at gurudwaras (sikh temples).

Maghi
Celebrated in January, Maghi honours Guru Gobind Singh who was besieged by the Mughal army at Anandpur in the 17th century.

Lohri
This festival marks the end of winter and is celebrated in January. It is especially dear to unmarried women who pray that they will find good husbands and make an excellent marriage.

Baisakhi
The start of the Punjabi New Year, Baisakhi is always celebrated on April 13. It coincides with the harvest and is especially dear to the Sikhs because the Khalsa was created on Baisakhi day in 1699.