The core beliefs and practices of Sikhism, articulated in the Guru Granth Sahib and other Sikh scriptures, include faith and meditation in the name of the one creator (Ik Onkar), the divine unity and equality of all humankind, engaging in selfless service to others (sevā), striving for justice for the benefit and prosperity of all (sarbat da bhala), and honest conduct and livelihood.

Sikhism emphasizes meditation and remembrance as a means to feel God's presence (simran), which can be expressed musically through kirtan or internally through naam japna (lit.

The persecution of the Sikhs triggered the founding of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 as an order to protect the freedom of conscience and religion, with members expressing the qualities of a sant-sipāhī ("saint-soldier").

The Waheguru is considered to be Nirankar ("shapeless"), Akal ("timeless"), Karta Purakh ("the creator being"), Akaal Purkh ("beyond time and death") and Agam Agochar ("incomprehensible and invisible").

The opening line of the Guru Granth Sahib and each subsequent raga, mentions ik onkar:[27] ੴikk ōankārਸਤਿsat(i)ਨਾਮੁnām(u)ਕਰਤਾkaratāਪੁਰਖੁpurakh(u)ਨਿਰਭਉnirabha'uਨਿਰਵੈਰੁniravair(u)ਅਕਾਲakāl(a)ਮੂਰਤਿmūrat(i)ਅਜੂਨੀajūnīਸੈਭੰsaibhanਗੁਰgur(a)ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ॥prasād(i){ੴ} ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ॥{ikk ōankār} sat(i) nām(u) karatā purakh(u) nirabha'u niravair(u) akāl(a) mūrat(i) ajūnī saibhan gur(a) prasād(i)"There is one supreme being, the eternal reality, the creator, without fear and devoid of enmity, immortal, never incarnated, self-existent, known by grace through the true guru.

[37] Sikhs accept reincarnation and karma concepts found in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism,[iv][v][38] but do not necessarily infer a metaphysical soteriology such as a state of "heaven" or "nirvana.

"[41] To get closer to God, Sikhs: avoid the evils of maya; keep the everlasting truth in mind; practice shabad kirtan (musical recitation of hymns); meditate on naam; and serve humanity.

Sikhs believe that being in the company of the satsang (association with sat, 'true', people) or sadh sangat is one of the key ways to achieve liberation from the cycles of reincarnation.

[69] Sikh gurus have taught that the human's goal is to end all dualities of "self and other, I and not-I", attain the "attendant balance of separation-fusion, self-other, action-inaction, attachment-detachment, in the course of daily life".

[33] The Sikh gurus taught that by constantly remembering the divine name (naam simran) and through selfless service (sēvā) the devotee overcomes egotism (Haumai).

Forgiveness is taught as a virtue in Sikhism, yet it also teaches its faithful to shun those with evil intentions and to pick up the sword to fight injustice and religious persecution.

The Sarbat Ḵẖālsā (a representative portion of the Khalsa Panth) historically gathers at the Akal Takht on special festivals such as Vaisakhi or Hola Mohalla and when there is a need to discuss matters that affect the entire Sikh nation.

An authoritative scripture was created to protect the integrity of hymns and teachings of the Sikh gurus, and thirteen Hindu and two Muslim bhagats of the Bhakti movement sant tradition in medieval India.

[129] While the Guru Granth Sahib acknowledges the Vedas, Puranas and Quran,[130] it does not imply a syncretic bridge between Hinduism and Islam,[131] but emphasises focusing on nitnem banis like Japu (repeating mantra of the divine Name of God – Waheguru), instead of practices such as praying by prostrating on the ground to God towards a specific direction by Muslims, or Hindu rituals such as wearing thread; the former being, though, a disciplinary aspect of worship, given Dhikr (remembrance of Allah) is similarly emphasised in Islam.

The Dasam Granth is largely versions of Hindu mythology from the Puranas, secular stories from a variety of sources called Charitro Pakhyan – tales to protect careless men from perils of lust.

The daily recitation of the divine name of God, Waheguru, and from a memory of specific passages from the Guru Granth Sahib, like the Japu (or Japjī, literally chant) hymns is recommended immediately after rising and bathing.

The five items are: kēs (uncut hair), kaṅghā (small wooden comb), kaṛā (circular steel or iron bracelet), kirpān (sword/dagger), and kacchera (special undergarment).

[176][177] According to the hagiography Puratan Janamsakhi composed more than two centuries after his death and probably based on oral tradition,[178] Nanak as a boy was fascinated by religion and spiritual matters, spending time with wandering ascetics and holy men.

[183] One, according to Cole and Sambhi, is based on hagiographical Janamsakhis,[184] and states that Nanak's teachings and Sikhism were a revelation from God, and not a social protest movement nor any attempt to reconcile Hinduism and Islam in the 15th century.

[187] The term revelation, clarify Cole and Sambhi, in Sikhism is not limited to the teachings of Nanak, but is extended to all Sikh gurus, as well as the words of past, present and future men and women, who possess divine knowledge intuitively through meditation.

[188] The Adi Granth and successive Sikh gurus repeatedly emphasised, states Mandair, that Sikhism is "not about hearing voices from God, but it is about changing the nature of the human mind, and anyone can achieve direct experience and spiritual perfection at any time".

He was a poet and created the first edition of Sikh sacred text known as the Ādi Granth (literally "the first book") and included the writings of the first five gurus and other enlightened 13 Hindu and 2 Muslim Sufi saints.

[220] He married three women, built a fort to defend Ramdaspur and created a formal court called Akal Takht, now the highest Khalsa Sikh religious authority.

[241] Ranjit Singh's most lasting legacy was the restoration and expansion of the Harmandir Sahib, most revered Gurudwara of the Sikhs, with marble and gold, from which the popular name of the "Golden Temple" is derived.

[268][269] When the partition line was formally announced in August 1947, the violence was unprecedented, with Sikhs being one of the most affected religious community both in terms of deaths, as well as property loss, injury, trauma and disruption.

The partition created the "largest foot convoy of refugees recorded in [human] history, stretching over 100 kilometer long", states Banga, with nearly 300,000 people consisting of mostly "distraught, suffering, injured and angry Sikhs".

[272] According to Donald Horowitz, while anti-Sikh riots led to much damage and deaths, many serious provocations by militants also failed to trigger ethnic violence in many cases throughout the 1980s.

Bhai Kahnaiya, a Sikh of the ninth and tenth guru, served as the first head of the order[297] and is renowned for his wartime medical assistance to wounded enemy soldiers.

According to Jodhka, due to economic mobility in contemporary Punjab, castes no longer mean an inherited occupation, nor are work relations tied to a single location.

[352] Smaller populations of Sikhs are found within many countries in Western Europe, especially Italy, as well as other nations such as Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, Fiji, Nepal, China, Afghanistan, and Iran.