A History Of Sikhism
Although I was born in England ( United Kingdom ) my roots lie firmly in the country of my parents which is India . My parents came to this country leaving there home of Punjab in Northern India in 1952 following India ’s independence from the British in 1947.
Then the United Kingdom was in much need of re-building in the way of heavy industry with the aftermath of World War 2, so both my parents like so many others from India decided to come to England to start a new life. But they brought with them the culture and the religion of Sikhism, which i have also like so many other British Asians have been taught to adhere to and respect.
So where did the Sikh religion originate from, respectively you need to look into the history of the religion.
The Founder of Sikhism: Guru Nanak: 1469 to 1539
Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak Dev Ji the first prophet in 1469 he was born into a Hindu family but he refused to take part in the initiation ceremony held by the Brahman Priest, he said he was neither a Hindu or a Muslim
As Guru Nanak grew up he worked for a Muslim, therefore he got to know about the Muslim religion as well. Soon afterwards he became a religious teacher, but he used ideas from both Muslim and Hindu faiths and he called this new faith Sikhism.
The ideology is based on that there is one God, and that all humans are equal, as he travelled around the country Guru Nanak continued to teach people about the new religion, sometimes writing hymns about it, one of the best known ones is the “Japji”which sikhs recite each morning.
He preached against such things like the caste system in India , and against animal sacrifice and fasting.His most important teachings are known as Nam Simran,Kirt Karo,and Wand Chako,these teachings are explained below. muug.