Sikhism

===Guru Granth Sahib===
[[File:Guru Granth Sahib.jpg|thumb|upright|Gurū Granth Sāhib – the primary scripture of Sikhism]]
{{Main|Guru Granth Sahib}}

The Guru Granth Sahib is the holy scripture of the Sikhs, and is regarded as the living Guru.

====Compilation====
The Guru Granth started as a volume of Guru Nanak's poetic compositions. Prior to his death, he passed on his volume to Guru Angad (Guru 1539–1551). The final version of the [[Gurū Granth Sāhib]] was compiled by [[Guru Gobind Singh]] in 1678. It consists of the original Ādi Granth with the addition of [[Guru Tegh Bahadur]]'s hymns. The predominant bulk of Guru Granth Sahib is compositions by seven Sikh Gurus – Guru Nanak, Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das, Guru Arjan, Guru Teg Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh. It also contains the traditions and teachings of thirteen [[Hindu]] Bhakti movement ''sants'' (saints) such as [[Ramananda]], [[Namdev]] among others, and two [[Muslim]] saints namely [[Kabir]] and the Sufi [[Sheikh Farid]].<ref name="p254" /><ref name=shapiro924/>

The text comprises 6,000 ''[[shabhad|śabads]]'' (line compositions),<ref name=shacklexvii/> which are poetically rendered and set to rhythmic ancient north Indian classical music.<ref name=king359>Anna S. King and JL Brockington (2005), The Intimate Other: Love Divine in Indic Religions, Orient Blackswan, {{ISBN|978-81-250-2801-7}}, pp. 359–361</ref> The bulk of the scripture is classified into sixty ''[[raga|rāgas]]'', with each Granth rāga subdivided according to length and author. The hymns in the scripture are arranged primarily by the ''rāgas'' in which they are read.<ref name=shacklexvii/>

====Language and script====
[[File:Guru Har Rai - Mool Mantar.jpg|thumb|[[Mul Mantar]] written by [[Guru Har Rai]], showing the Ik Onkar at top]]
The main language used in the scripture is known as ''[[Sant Bhasha|Sant Bhāṣā]]'', a language related to both [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] and [[Hindi language|Hindi]] and used extensively across medieval northern India by proponents of popular devotional religion ([[bhakti]]).<ref name="parrinderp259">{{cite book |last=Parrinder |first=Geoffrey |author-link=Geoffrey Parrinder |date=1971 |title=World Religions: From Ancient History to the Present|publisher=[[Hamlyn (publisher)|Hamlyn]] |location=London |isbn=978-0-87196-129-7|page=259}}</ref> The text is printed in Gurumukhi script, believed to have been developed by Guru Angad.<ref name=shacklexvii/> The language shares the Indo-European roots found in numerous regional languages of India.<ref>Shackle, Christopher; Mandair, Arvind (2005); ''Teachings of the Sikh Gurus''; Abingdon-on-Thames, England: Routledge; {{ISBN|978-0-415-26604-8}}, pp. xxi–xxxii</ref>

====Teachings====
[[File:Sikh musicians.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A group of [[Sikh music]]ians called Dhadi at the [[Golden Temple]] complex]]

The vision in the Guru Granth Sahib, states Torkel Brekke, is a society based on divine justice without oppression of any kind.<ref name=brekke673/>

The Granth begins with the ''[[Mul Mantra|Mūl Mantra]]'', an iconic verse which received Guru Nanak directly from Akal Purakh (God).{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}} The traditional Mul Mantar goes from Ik Oankar until Nanak Hosee Bhee Sach.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

:One God exists, truth by name, creative power, without fear, without enmity, timeless form, unborn, self-existent, by the Guru's grace.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mandair |first=Arvind |editor-last=Pemberton |editor-first=Kelly |date=2008 |title=Shared Idioms, Sacred Symbols, and the Articulation of Identities in South Asia |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-415-95828-8 |page=61}}</ref>
:({{lang-pa|ੴ ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥ |Ika ōaṅkāra sati nāmu karatā purakhu nirabha'u niravairu akāla mūrati ajūnī saibhaṅ gura prasādi}})

====As guru====
The Tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh ji, named the Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib as his successor, terminating the line of human Gurus and making the scripture the literal embodiment of the eternal, impersonal Guru, where Gods/Gurus word serves as the spiritual guide for Sikhs.<ref name="WH McLeod 2014 page 17" /><ref name="William James 2011 pages 241-242" /><ref name="granthfinalguru" /><ref>Jane Bingham (2007), Sikhism, Atlas of World Faiths, {{ISBN|978-1-59920-059-0}}, pp. 19–20</ref>
:All Sikhs are commanded to take the Granth as Guru{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}
:({{lang-pa|ਸੱਬ ਸਿੱਖਣ ਕੋ ਹੁਕਮ ਹੈ ਗੁਰੂ ਮਾਨਯੋ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ । |Sabb sikkhaṇ kō hukam hai [[Guru Maneyo Granth|gurū mānyō granth]]}})

The Guru Granth Sahib is installed in Sikh ''Gurdwara'' (temple); many Sikhs bow or prostrate before it on entering the temple. The Guru Granth Sahib is installed every morning and put to bed at night in many ''Gurdwaras''.<ref>Cole, William Owen; Sambhi, Piara Singh (1995), ''The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices'', Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1-898723-13-4}}, p. 44</ref> The Granth is revered as eternal ''[[gurbani|gurbānī]]'' and the spiritual authority.<ref>{{cite book |first=Torkel |last=Brekke |date=2014 |title=Religion, War, and Ethics: A Sourcebook of Textual Traditions |editor1-first=Gregory M. |editor1-last=Reichberg |editor2-first=Henrik |editor2-last=Syse |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-45038-6 |page=675}}</ref>

The copies of the Guru Granth Sahib are not regarded as material objects, but as living subjects which are alive.<ref name=Myrvold>Kristina Myrvold (2016). "Making the Scripture a Person: Reinventing Death Rituals of Guru Granth Sahib in Sikhism", pp. 134–136, 142–143, 152–155; In: Kristina Myrvold (2016), ''The Death of Sacred Texts: Ritual Disposal and Renovation of Texts in World Religions'', Abingdon-on-Thames, England: Routledge</ref> According to Myrvold, the Sikh scripture is treated with respect like a living person, in a manner similar to the Gospel in early Christian worship. Old copies of the Sikh scripture are not thrown away, rather funerary services are performed.<ref name=Myrvold/>

In India the Guru Granth Sahib is even officially recognised by the Supreme Court of India as a judicial person which can receive donations and own land.<ref name=Myrvold/> Yet, some Sikhs also warn that, without true comprehension of the text, veneration for the text can lead to [[bibliolatry]], with the concrete form of the teachings becoming the object of worship instead of the teachings themselves.<ref name=Myrvold/>

====Relation to Hinduism and Islam====
{{main|Sikhism and Hinduism|Islam and Sikhism}} 
The Sikh scriptures use [[Hindu]] terminology, with references to the [[Vedas]], and the names of gods and goddesses in Hindu bhakti movement traditions, such as Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Parvati, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Rama, Krishna, but not to worship.<ref name=brekke673>Torkel Brekke (2014), Religion, War, and Ethics: A Sourcebook of Textual Traditions (Editors: Gregory M. Reichberg and Henrik Syse), Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-521-45038-6}}, pp. 673, 675, 672–686</ref><ref>Sinha, A. K. (2013), ''Glimpse of Scriptures of Religions of Indian Origin'', Xlibris, {{ISBN|978-1-4836-6308-1}}, pp. 204–216{{self-published source|date=December 2017}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=December 2017}}<ref>{{Cite book |first1=Christopher |last1=Shackle |first2=Arvind |last2=Mandair |date=2005 |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-415-26604-8 |pages=xxxiv–xli}}</ref> It also refers to the spiritual concepts in Hinduism (''[[Ishvara]], [[Bhagavan]], [[Brahman]]'') and the concept of God in [[Islam]] (''[[Allah]]'') to assert that these are just "alternate names for the Almighty One".<ref>Singh, Nirbhai (1990); [https://archive.org/details/philosophyofsikh0000nirb/page/n134 <!-- pg=115 --> ''Philosophy of Sikhism: Reality and Its Manifestations''], New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers<!--NOT Atlantic Books, of London.-->; pp. 115–122</ref>

While the Guru Granth Sahib acknowledges the [[Vedas]], [[Puranas]] and [[Quran]],<ref>Cole, William Owen; Sambhi, Piara Singh (1995), ''The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices'', Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1-898723-13-4}}, p. 157</ref> it does not imply a [[Syncretic religion|syncretic]] bridge between Hinduism and Islam,<ref>Cole, William Owen; Sambhi, Piara Singh (1995), ''The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices'', Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1-898723-13-4}}, p. 40</ref> but emphasises focusing on [[Nitnem|nitnem banis]] like [[Japji Sahib|Japu]] (repeating [[mantra]] of the divine Name of God – [[Waheguru]]), instead of Muslim practices such as [[circumcision]] or praying by prostrating on the ground to God in a specific direction, or Hindu rituals such as wearing thread.<ref>{{cite book |first1=William Owen |last1=Cole |first2=Piara Singh |last2=Sambhi |date=1995 |title=The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |isbn=978-1-898723-13-4 |pages=155–156}}</ref>