The history of Sikhism in the fifteen the century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent with Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first Guru. Sikh religious practices were formalized in 1699 by Guru Gobind Singh Ji at Anandpur Sahib. Guru Gobind Rai (Guru Gobind Singh after baptization) baptized five persons from different social backgrounds to form Khalsa (ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ). The first five, known as the Pure Ones, then baptized Gobind Singh into the Khalsa fold thus laying down a democratic tradition in any religion. This gives the order of Khalsa, a history of around 300 years.
The history of Sikhism is closely associated with the history of Punjab and the socio-political situation in the 16th-century Northwestern Indian subcontinent ( modern Pakistan and India). During the Mughal rule of India (1556–1707), Sikhism was in conflict with the Mughal empire laws, because they were affecting political successions of Mughals while cherishing saints from Hinduism and Islam. Prominent Sikh Gurus were killed by Islamic rulers for refusing to convert to Islam, and for opposing the persecution of Sikhs and Hindus.
Message of Sikhism:
The Sikh faith is entirely monotheistic, with the belief in one Supreme God. Absolute but all-pervading, the Eternal, the Creator, the Cause of Causes, without malice or hatred, both inside and outside His creation. It is no longer the God of a single nation, but rather the GOD OF GRACE. As a result, He created man not to punish him for his crimes, but to realise his true purpose in the cosmos and to blend in from whence he arose.
‘O my mind, thou art the embodiment of Light; know* thy Essence’
‘O my mind, the Lord is ever with thee; through the Guru’s Word enjoy His Love.’
‘Knowing thy essence thou knowest thy Lord; and knowest thou the mystery of birth and death’.
(Guru Granth Sahib Ji.441)
Conclusively treating the entire human race as one!
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