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The Gurus
The Sikh faith was founded by Guru Nanak Dev who was born in 1469 in North-western India and lived till 1539. Already as a child he refused to accept blind rituals and superstition that didn’t make sense to him. He would spend a lot of time debating with Muslim and Hindu holy men. Guru Nanak Dev got married in the age of 16 and later became the father of two sons. He would spend a lot of time meditating which in 1499 let to his enlightenment. The legend tells that he went to the river Bain for his bath and disappeared. He didn’t show up until three days later as a changed person with a divine light in his eyes. He explained that he had been in the Devine Court and started sharing his wisdom. He sent his wife and children to live with his parents, quit his job in the administration of Sultanpur and started a phase of extensive travelling in the region. Along with him he had his Muslim childhood friend and musician Mardana. Over the next two decades they visited The Middle East, South India and East India.
After returning from his travels Guru Nanak Dev established a community for his followers in the city of Kartarpur. Before his death Guru Nanak Dev pointed out his devote, Lehina, as his successor, who became known as Guru Angad Dev (1504 to 1552). This tradition continued and the Gurus wrote hymns, guided the Sikhs and developed the religion further.
The tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708), updated the already existing collection of Holy Scriptures, and made the scriptures the future Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Granth Sahib. Besides texts by the Sikh Gurus, Guru Granth Sahib includes texts by other Sikhs, members of the Bhakti movement as well as Sufis, whose ideas were consistent with Sikhism.
The Khalsa brotherhood
Guru Gobind Singh made a remarkable addition to the religion by founding the Khalsa “brotherhood” (for both men and women) in 1699 and hereby giving the Sikhs their separate physical appearance. Sikhs enter this brotherhood through a baptism ritual called Amrit. The legend tells that the Guru had called for a big meeting at the Vaisakhi (harvest festival) in 1699 in Anandpur. He told the audience of his mission, and at the end of his speech he drew his sword and cried, “Is there anyone here who would lay down his life for religion?”. People were shocked but eventually one by one five people volunteered. The Guru dressed the five in handsome clothes and brought them before the assembly. Thereafter he baptised them and changed their surname to Singh meaning lion. Afterwards he took the same baptism from them and got the surname Singh. These volunteers were known as the Dear Five (also usually referred to as the Five Beloved Ones).
The Dear Five were from five different castes. At the time in India people from different castes were not treated equally. With the Khalsa brotherhood and the common surname the Guru signalled that all are equal and all are brothers and sisters.
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