INTRODUCTION
A "Janam Sakhi" picture of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Jee Maharaj Over twenty million Sikhs follow a revealed, distinct, and unique religion born five centuries ago in the Punjab region of northern India . Between 1469 and 1708, the ten Gurus preached a simple message of truth, devotion to God, and universal equality.
Often mistaken as a combination of Hinduism and Islam, the Sikh religion can be characterized as a completely independent faith. Sikhism recognizes the equality between both genders and all religions, prohibits the abuse of any intoxicants, and encourages an honest, truthful living.
Sikhs have their own holy scripture, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Written, composed, and compiled by the Sikh Gurus themselves, the Guru Granth Sahib serves as the ultimate source of spiritual guidance for Sikhs. The Guru Granth Sahib not only contains writings of the Gurus, but that of other famous Saints of various faiths and backgrounds, such as Sheikh Farid, a muslim saint from Punjab and Bhagat Parmanand, a Brahmin from Maharashtra.
Members of the Sikh community are mainly concentrated in their homeland, Punjab , although substantial Sikh populations exist throughout the rest of India and the world. There is a large number of Sikhs who live in the UK , mainly concentrated in towns and cities such as Bradford , Leeds and Birmingham .
Punjabi, a variant of the Hindi language with some Persian influence, is the spoken and written language of the Sikh people. Male members of the Sikh religion use the name Singh (lion) as their middle or last name, while females use the name Kaur (princess).
Sikhs tend to be industrious and pioneering, which accounts for their general success wherever they live and settle. The hard-working nature of the Sikhs is derived from their religion, which can be best characterized as a faith of unlimited optimism.
The founder of the Sikh religion was Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji and the founder of the Khalsa Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji with the last guru in human form being Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, who then gave the guruship to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib after he departed from this earth.
Sri Guru Gobind Singh Jee Maharaj Next
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