Sikihism

Sikhism is composed of three major elements. The first element is bhakti, or devotion. Sikihism devotion is to Vishnu, “but while the love of the Vaisnava for Visnu was often directed to one of his avataras or incarnate manifestations…the Sants disciplined themselves to offer love to the supreme lord” (Oxtoby 128). The second element is Yoga. The principal teacher of hatha yoga was Gorakhnath who lived sometime before the 13th century. He used a system of meditation that used postures and breath control to link the body and the universe. The third element is Sufism, or the “Islamic mystical tradition” (Oxtoby 128). This idea expressed that “one can not the suffering felt in separation from one beloved, the notion that selfhood is dissolved in an ultimate union” (Oxtoby 128).

The Guru in Sikhism is a very important figurehead for the religion. Nanak was the first Guru to appear and was the “founder of the lines” of the gurus. A guru to the Sikh religion is someone who had a spiritual lineage and the must serve for life. They were believed to be descendants that were meant to lead the Sikhs with divine guidance. The guru gave many hymns, over 900, to the Sikh scriptures. Nanak’s writings unlike Kabir are much more vague about the writer himself not giving much information on who the author was in the words of their texts.

The Sikhs in India were a “politico-military force.” In the later years after much conquering the King died and the state turned into disorganization and the Punjab state was annexed by Britain.