The Sikh scripture opens with the Mul Mantar (ਮੂਲ ਮੰਤਰ), fundamental prayer about ik onkar (ੴ, 'One God').[၉][၁၀] The core beliefs of Sikhism, articulated in the Guru Granth Sahib, include faith and meditation on the name of the one creator; divine unity and equality of all humankind; engaging in seva ('selfless service'); striving for justice for the benefit and prosperity of all; and honest conduct and livelihood while living a householder's life.[၁၁][၁၂][၁၃] Following this standard, Sikhism rejects claims that any particular religious tradition has a monopoly on Absolute Truth.[lower-roman ၂][၁၄]
Sikhism emphasizes simran (ਸਿਮਰਨ, meditation and remembrance of the words of God),[၁၅] which can be expressed musically through kirtan, or internally through <i id="mweA">naam japna</i> ('meditation on His name') as a means to feel God's presence. It teaches followers to transform the "Five Thieves" (i.e. lust, rage, greed, attachment, and ego).[၁၆]
The religion developed and evolved in times of religious persecution, gaining converts from both Hinduism and Islam.[၁၇] Mughal rulers of India tortured and executed two of the Sikh gurus—Guru Arjan (1563–1605) and Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675)—after they refused to convert to Islam.[၁၈][၁၉][၂၀][၂၁]
The persecution of Sikhs triggered the founding of the Khalsa - by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 - as an order to protect the freedom of conscience and religion,[၂၂] with members expressing the qualities of a Sant-Sipāhī—a 'saint-soldier'.[၂၃][၂၄]
↑"Sikhism rejects the view that any particular religious tradition has a monopoly regarding Absolute Truth. Sikhism rejects the practice of converting people to other religious traditions."
Kalsi, Sewa Singh (2008). Sikhism. London: Kuperard. p. 24. ISBN978-1-85733-436-4.
↑Nayar, Kamala Elizabeth. Socially Involved Renunciate, The: Guru Nanak's Discourse to the Nath Yogis. SUNY Press။
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(2008) Federalism, Nationalism and Development: India and the Punjab Economy (in English). Routledge. ISBN 9781134049455။ “A large number of Hindu and Muslim peasants converted to Sikhism from conviction, fear, economic motives, or a combination of the three (Khushwant Singh 1999: 106; Ganda Singh 1935: 73).”