Main aspects, leaders, and moral sources in Sikhism

Sikhism is a progressive religion that was well earlier than its time when it was established over five hundred years ago. The Sikh religion today has over twenty million followers worldwide and is ranked as the worlds 5th largest religion. Sikhism advocates a message of Devotion and commemoration of God at all times, honest living, equality of mankind and condemns superstitions and blind ceremonies. "Sikhism is open to all by way of the teachings of its 10 Gurus preserved in the Sikh Holy Book and Living Guru, Sri Guru Granth Sahib" (Sikhism, 2011).

"The word Sikh in the Punjabi language means disciple, Sikhs are the disciples of God who follow the writings and teachings of the Ten Sikh Gurus. The knowledge of these teachings in Sri Guru Granth Sahib is sensible and worldwide in their petition to all mankind. The creator of the Sikh religion was Guru Nanak who was born in 1469" (Sikhism, 2011). He advocated a message of love and understanding and disapproved of the unsighted rituals of the Hindus and Muslims. Guru Nanak passed down his progressive leadership of this new religion to nine succeeding Gurus. The last living Guru, Guru Gobind Singh died in 1708.

Throughout his life Guru Gobind Singh set up the Khalsa order of soldier-saints. The Khalsa support the highest Sikh qualities of obligation, devotion and a social awareness. The Khalsa are those who have gone through the Sikh baptism ceremony and who firmly pursue the Sikh Code of Conduct and Conventions and wear the approved physical pieces of the faith. One of the more obvious is the uncut hair which is mandatory to be enclosed with a turban for men and the Kirpan or ceremonial sword. Prior to his death in 1708 Guru Gobind Singh affirmed that the Sikhs no longer required a living Guru and elected his spiritual successor as Sri Guru Granth Sahib, his physical successor as the Khalsa. Guru Gobind Singh felt that all the appreciative needed by Sikhs for spiritual guidance in their every day lives could be found in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Eternal Guru of the Sikhs. Sri Guru Granth Sahib is exclusive in the world of religious scriptures for the reason that not only is it accorded the location of being the spiritual head of the Sikh religion, but in addition the verse of the Gurus, it also comprises the writings of saints of other faiths whose feelings were reliable with those of the Sikh Gurus (Sikhism, 2011).

Sikhism does not have priests, which were done away with by Guru Gobind Singh. The Guru felt that they had become dishonest and full of personality. "Sikhs only have custodians of the Guru Granth Sahib (granthi), and any Sikh is free to read the Guru Granth Sahib in the Gurdwara (a Sikh temple) or in their home. All people of all religions are welcome to the Gurdwara" (Sikhism, 2011). A free neighborhood kitchen can be found at every Gurdwara. This kitchen serves food to all people of all faiths. Guru Nanak first began this organization which delineates the basic Sikh principles of service, humbleness and fairness. "The most important historical religious center for the Sikhs is Harmiandir Sahib or The Golden Temple at Amritsar in the state of Punjab in northern India. It is the motivating and historical center of Sikhism but is not an obligatory place of pilgrimage or worship. All places where Sri Guru Granth Sahib is set up are measured equally holy for Sikhs" (Singh, 2011).

Sikhs center their lives on their connection with God, and being a part of the Sikh society. The Sikh ideal joins action and belief. To live a good life a person should do good deeds as well as contemplating on God (Singh, 2011). Sikhs believe that human beings spend their time in a sequence of birth, life, and rebirth. They share this conviction with followers of other Indian religious traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The excellence of each particular life depends on the law of Karma. Karma sets the excellence of a life according to how well or badly a person acted in their preceding life. The only way out of this sequence, which all faiths regard as painful, is to attain a total knowledge of and unification with God (Sikh Beliefs, 2009).

There are very few documented ceremonies in Sikhism. The Sikh ceremonies mark the seriousness of religious occurrences which are not of ritualistic environment. The Sikhs give more significance to the cultivation of moral values and spiritual growth. Sikhism is against blind practices, ceremonies, customs or traditions. Some of the ceremonies are distinguished by the Sikhs in one or the other form. The good sign is that almost all the Sikh ceremonies are to take place in the presence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The Sikhs believe that religion is not a matter of individual concern. There is need of standardized discipline to spread religious teachings (The Sikh Ceremonies, 2011).