![]() Legends reveal that Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism received the summon of the supreme Lord and was bestowed the responsibility of establishing and spreading a new religious order which would facilitate the creation of the 'ideal man' and a society that assisted the spread of equality and purity and obedience to God. Endowed with this task, Guru Nanak embarked on a journey across extensive areas in order to spread the word of God. According to the 'Puratan Janam Sakhis' who provide one of the earliest accounts of his travels, Guru Nanak undertook five major journeys, known as 'Udasis'. While in India he traversed far and wide from Assam and Bengal to Tamil Nadu in the south and Kashmir in the north, he also undertook journeys to Mecca and Medina and Baghdad in the Arabian Peninsula, Tibet and Ceylon. In Baghdad, a memorial discovered in 1916, bears testimony to Nanak's visit with his name inscribed on it dated around the 1520s. In course of these journeys, Guru Nanak's prime concern was instilling a sense of universal love, devotion and equality among the people. Sikhism, it can be noted, opines that all human beings are equal in the eyes of the Divine Lord, who is omnipresent and eternal. The Sikh religious Gurus strongly condemned social hierarchies and the practice of sacrifices and rigid rituals for attaining salvation. According to the tenets of Sikhism, a complete union with God was possible only through sincere devotion and prayers. Nanak imbibed these ideologies among the inhabitants of the territories they travelled primarily through musical verses or hymns. Evidences reveal that Guru Nanak would meditate during dawn or late into the night and then would sing the devotional hymns accompanied by a stringed instrument played by his companion Mardana called 'Rebab'. A notable contribution to the spread of Sikhism was also made by Guru Nanak's sister Bibi Nanaki. Historical sources reveal that it was Bibi Nanaki who had actually realised Nanak's religious and intellectual bent of mind at an early age and encouraged him in his pursuits. It was under her support that the idea of singing hymns in devotion to God was adopted within the purview of Nanak's teachings. In fact, Bibi Nanaki bought the 'rebab' to provide the accompanying musical strains to these hymns which attracted followers all over. The course of Nanak's journey reveals that he visited the sites of pilgrimage of the major religions in order to establish the foundation of Sikhism. To facilitate the spread of Sikhism, Nanak set up 'Gurudwaras', the place of worship for the Sikhs and encouraged the participation of people from all religious faiths for worship. The 'Langars' or the concept of community kitchens was also introduced by Guru Nanak to ensure that people from all walks of life, irrespective of caste and creed could assimilate and enjoy meals without any discrimination. Such practices gradually entailed the development of a sense of unity and harmony within the social sphere, one of the grounding ideologies of Sikhism. For about thirty years, Guru Nanak's journey continued extensively and he finally returned to Punjab to undertake the last of his 'Udasis'. He founded a town in Punjab named Kartarpur, meaning, 'the dwelling of God'. By then his teachings and fame had spread far and wide. The secularist nature of Sikhism attracted devotees from all quarters. Scores of his disciples or the Sikhs settled in this township to receive his sermons and participate in collective devotion to the supreme God along with the Guru. It is notable that his followers were often Hindus or Muslims and they all assembled under his umbrella and dedicated themselves to the service of God. ![]() After the death of the Gurus and the recognition of the Guru Granth Sahib as the last Guru, the spread of Sikhism was primarily facilitated as a martial culture. The growing spread and popularity of Sikhism was a cause of great worry to the ruling Mughals and the eras that followed reflect a history of severe religious persecution against the Sikhs and bloodbath. The establishment of the first Sikh empire under the leadership of Banda Singh, a disciple of Guru Gobind Singh aided considerably in the spread of Sikhism within the conquered territories. However he was executed in 1716 and therein followed intense slaughter which has been marked in the pages of history as the 'holocaust days'. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that certain stability was established under the rule of Ranjit Singh who was instrumental in establishing a strong Sikh kingdom in the face of the formidable British and other European powers. Under his rule, the Sikhs prospered greatly and Sikhism was able to re-establish its dominance in different parts of the nation. After Ranjit Singh's death in 1839, the Sikhs were primarily venerated as a martial race and the glory of their physical prowess was famed worldwide. They participated in various significant military struggles like the world wars and predominantly during the Struggle for Indian Independence. However, the Partition of India in 1947 triggered widespread riots and the Sikhs were once again victims of this crossfire. Since the late 19th century, a sizeable section of the Sikhs had immigrated to the western countries, primarily, the United States, Canada and Australia. Various gurudwaras were established and the Sikh faith ascertained itself as a dominant religious belief. At present, Sikhism has over twenty million followers all over the world and its wings have extended beyond the geographical boundaries of the Indian subcontinent. |
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