Sikhism

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Sikhism: The world's fifth largest religion.
History, beliefs, and practices, etc.
Sikh Origins:
No consensus exists on the origins of this religion.
Historians and specialists in Eastern religions generally believe that Sikhism is a syncretistic religion, related to the Bhakti movement within Hinduism and the Sufi branch of Islam, to which many independent beliefs and practices were added.
Many Sikhs disagree; they believe that their religion is a direct revealed from God - a religion that was not derived from either Hinduism or Islam.
Sikhism does contain many unique postulates and principles that are quite different from both Hinduism and Islam. Joseph D. Cunningham (1812-1851), the author of "A History of the Sikhs" (1848), observed: "It has been usual to regard the Sikhs as essentially Hindu... yet in religious faith and worldly aspiration, they are wholly different from other Indians, and they are bound together by an objective unknown elsewhere."

Sikh History:
The name of the religion means learner. It is often mispronounced 'seek' It should be pronounced 'se-ikh', with the final 'kh' sound like the 'kh' in Mikhail Gorbachev. Its founder was Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, (1469-1538) who was born in the Punjab area of what is now Pakistan. At Sultanpur, he received a vision to preach the way to enlightenment and God. He is responsible for the saying "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim" which has since become one of the pillars of Sikhism. Guru Nanak and Panth (his followers) later built the first Sikh temple at Katarpur.
A succession of nine Gurus (regarded as reincarnations of Guru Nanak) led the movement during the period from Guru Nanak's death until 1708. At that time, the functions of the Guru passed to the Pa nth and to the holy text, considered the 11th Guru.
Mogul emperors ruled a large area of South Asia from the 16th century until the end of the 18th century. They attempted to convert the Sikhs to Islam, but we...