Sikhism - Essay Example

Sikhism originated from the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev who opposed the caste system of Hinduism. The followers essentially believe in a formless God who is universal and both the creator as well as destructive force. The religious essentially is inclined towards protection of human rights and grants freedom to follow any religion as well as reject control by the political governance. Shinto (the way of many gods) is a Japanese religion which beliefs that every object whether living or non-living bears a life and therefore has a soul.

The religion preaches regard towards the spiritual forms, which surround the world. The followers of Shinto believe in possession of the spirit, faith healing and shamanism. The paper here shall focus on one of the distinct religion of the east, originating in the state of Punjab, India, popularized as Sikhism (7 Major Eastern Religions, n.d.). Sikhism was initiated in 1469 in India after Guru Nanak Dev Ji was born. He was the first prophet of the Sikhs and the 10th or last was Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

While Guru Nanak Dev Ji preached against the caste system, animal sacrifice and fasting, the later advocated all Sikhs to be baptized. The Rehatnamas was written by following the teachings of Guru Sahib, which directed the code of conduct of the followers. Guru Angad Dev Ji wrote the Gurmukhi script of the Sikhs. The third Guru created the hymns for funeral ceremony, the fourth Guru wrote hymns to be recited at marriages. The first four Gurus’ hymns were compiled by the fifth Guru to form the Adi Granth.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji who compiled the ninth Guru’s hymns into the Adi Granth completed the Granth Sahib. After their tenth Guru died the Sikhs had their language, holy places and code of conduct and above all, a religion independent of all others. The Sikhs began to rule Punjab from the 1760s. It is the youngest of the four renowned religions of the world centering on worship of one God. The term ‘Sikh’ indicates ‘disciple’, that is disciple of Sikh Gurus. (Guru’s Period, n.d.; Sikh Kingdom Era, n.d.) The Sikhs mainly pursue the preaching of the 10 Gurus scripted in their holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib.

The religion is based upon noble conduct in life entailing truthfulness, equality and rejection of all kinds of superstitions and rituals without any scientific base. The Sikh should ensure a stable and persistent relation with God. According to the beliefs of Sikhism, the followers were supposed to worship one God who is ever existent. The religion preaches against the caste system, untouchability, any kind of occultism or horoscopes, “Shradh, Ancestor worship, Pind, Patal, Fasting, Tilak, Janju, Tulsi, Malla, Gor, Math, Marhi” and idol worship (SGPC, n.d). Yet the religion permits an individual to gain knowledge of other practices by reading.

The Khalsa or the community of Sikhs should pray to God before taking on to any task and should not affect the sentiments of others. A Sikh child needs to be educated in the doctrines of Sikhism right after birth along with other lessons. The hair of the body should not be tampered with and a Sikh should not take any kind of intoxicant. A Sikh woman or man is not supposed to pierce his body (even ears and nose). One is not permitted to steal or get associated with gambling. A woman from the Sikh community is