Sikh history, fully sourced. Open to all
Sikh history, fully sourced. Open to all
Sikh history, fully sourced. Open to all
Sikhism (Sikhi) is one of the youngest of the world's major organized religions, founded in the Punjab region of South Asia by Guru Nanak in 1469. Over the next two and a half centuries, nine further Gurus developed and consolidated its teachings, ceremonies, and community structures, until Guru Gobind Singh — the tenth Guru — declared in 1708 that the line of living Gurus was complete and that the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scripture, would serve as the eternal Guru thereafter. Today Sikhism is generally counted as the world's fifth-largest organized religion, with an estimated 25–30 million adherents worldwide, the large majority in Punjab and a substantial diaspora across the UK, Canada, the United States, and Australia.
This page is a starting point, not the full account — for that, see the History section, which walks through six eras from Guru Nanak to the present. What follows here is a quick orientation to the faith itself: its basic facts, and a guide to the pages on this site that go deeper into specific aspects of belief and practice.
The core ideas — Ik Onkar, the Three Pillars, Miri-Piri, Sarbat da Bhala, and the Five Thieves and Five Virtues — laid out on their own terms.
The Sikh scripture and eternal Guru: its compilation, structure, and role in Sikh life and worship.
The calendar of Sikh observances, from Gurpurabs marking the Gurus' births and martyrdoms to Vaisakhi and other major dates.
The ceremonies that mark a Sikh life — naming, Amrit Sanchar (initiation), marriage (Anand Karaj), and funeral rites.
The Sikh code of conduct: the formal guidance governing personal discipline, Gurdwara practice, and ceremonies.
The founding principle of gender equality, its historical record, and how it has played out in practice across Sikh history.