Sikhism is the fourth most popular religion in India — after Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity — comprising just two percent of the population:
The founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, was born in 1469 to a Khatri family in central Punjab (now in Pakistan). After four epic journeys (north to Tibet, south to Sri Lanka, east to Bengal and west to Mecca and Baghdad) Guru Nanak preached to Hindus and others, and in the process attracted a following of “Sikhs,” or disciples. Religion, he taught, was a way to unite people, but in practice he found that it set men against one another. He particularly regretted the antagonism between Hindus and Muslims as well as certain ritualistic practices that distracted people from focusing on God. He wanted to go beyond what was being practised by either religion and hence a well-known saying of Guru Nanak is, “There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim.” Guru Gobind Singh reinforced these words by saying, “Regard the whole human race as equal”.
Of course, Sikhs seem like a much larger portion of the Indian populace because they’re quite distinctive — they wear the famous turban and the less famous Five Ks (required by the tenth and last Sikh guru):
- Kesh (uncut hair)
- Kanga (small comb)
- Kara (circular heavy metal bracelet)
- Kirpan (ceremonial short sword)
- Kacha (long underwear)
Those ritualistic practices seem odd given the stated goals of the original guru.