Sikhism is a monotheistic religion from South Asia, with its roots fairly new, from the 15th century. The sacred scripture of Sikhism is the Guru Granth Sahib, which is a collection of 6000 line compositions poetically rendered to an ancient North Indian classical form of music.
Sikhism puts importance on faith and meditation on the name of the One Creator. It also stresses the unity of humankind, selfless service, social justice for all, honest conduct and honest livelihood while in a householder’s life. [1] It pays great importance on doing good actions rather than merely carrying out rituals.

Sikhism bases itself on the spiritual teachings of ten human gurus, the first being Guru Nanak. It is believed that the spiritual text of the Guru Granth Sahib, became the literal embodiment of the eternal Guru after the death of the 10th, last human Guru.
There are over 20 million Sikhs in the world, making it the 5th largest religion in the world. Most Sikhs live in the Punjab province of India.

In Sikhism, “simran” is the act of meditating on the words of the Guru Granth Sahib, and it can be expressed musically through kirtan or internally through Nam Japo, as a way to feel God’s presence and assert control over the “Five Thieves”. The Five Thieves are lust, rage, greed, attachment, and conceit.

Sikhs do not believe that any single religion has a monopoly on Absolute Truth. [2]
Sikhs believe in reincarnation and karma, similarly to Hinduism and Buddhism, but more stress is put on attaining salvation through grace in human life, a spiritual union with the infinite.

There is much more to Sikhism than is explained here, and it’s sure to fascinate you. We’ve curated some of the best links, videos and books, below. Feel free to visit them and learn more about this fascinating spiritual path.

  • Wikipedia
  • BBC on Sikhism: a page similar to this one, from the BBC, with a helpful breakdown and a bit more detail.
  • Huffington Post on Sikhism: HuffPo has written a number of interesting articles about Sikhism. Start here and click through related articles to learn loads.
  • Sikhism Guide: a site that like an expanded Wikipedia article about Sikhism, including extra resources like videos and books.
  • Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction: A full Ebook on Google about Sikhism.
  • Justsikh: A fun and interactive website with quick facts and quizzes about Sikhism
  • Sri Guru Granth Sahib: claiming to be “The Largest Sikhism Resource on the Internet”, full of everything on Sikhism, including helpful videos and audio.
  • Sikhs.org: an old website but simple and well-organized for Sikh resources.

Books

As it sounds, this book is highly acclaimed and part of a valuable series on understanding the world’s religions.

Sikhism’s sacred text in English.

Considered by many Sikh’s to be the second sacred text.

Not necessarily a sacred text, but writing professing to be biographies of Nanak.

A detailed overview of Sikh history and tradition that reads like a captivating story.

An exploration of assaults on Sikhs and their lifestyle in India, this book puts the religion into the perspective of modern struggle.

A book of lecture notes by Puran Singh first published in 1928. It served as a wake up call particularly for young Sikhs who had strayed from their faith. It also sought to revitalize and reinvigorate the tradition.

A translation of select Sikh scriptures and a great introduction to scriptures for the non-Sikh.

Published in 1963, a sweeping overview of Sikh history and tradition.

Videos

  • The Beginnings of Sikhism: a 3min 30sec video about the origin of Sikhism.
  • BBC videos on Sikhism: a collection of great videos about Sikhism from the BBC, ranging from 1 to ~6 minutes.
  • sikhvideos.org: another collection of videos. This website has about every form of Sikh video content you can imagine, ranging from short clips to full documentaries and lectures
  • Sikh Turban: Who are the Sikhs? A Great animated introduction to Sikhism. 2min 30sec.
  • What is Sikhism? Another animated intro video, this one a little bit longer. ~ 4 min
  • Sikh Documentary: A beautiful documentary by the BBC. 1 hour long.
  • Islam or Sikhism: an interesting apologetic debate on the street between followers of each religion. These religions have very little in common, and it is a shame that westerners so often confuse them.
  • What is Sikhism? Who are the Sikhs? a 17-minute mini-documentary.

References:

  1. Sewa Singh Kalsi. Sikhism. Chelsea House, Philadelphia. pp. 41–50.
  2. Singh Kalsi, Sewa (2008). Sikhism. London: Kuperard. p. 24