Sikhism

A tradition originating in the Punjab in the late medieval period, emphasizing devotion, ethical living in the world, and social equality.

scholarship. Modern scholarship — academic/historical analysis.
Tradition: sikhism Period: medieval-to-early-modern Theme: devotion Theme: ethics Theme: social-equality Theme: scripture Theme: tradition

Sikhism is a tradition that originated in the Punjab in the late medieval period, associated in its founding with Guru Nanak and known for an emphasis on devotion, ethical living in the world, and social equality. It is the most recent of the major traditions the archive currently covers, and a good demonstration that its methods apply as readily to the early-modern world as to antiquity.

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Related in the archive

Concept

Dharma

A cluster of ideas around duty, order, and right conduct that is understood differently across Indian traditions.

Concept

Moksha

Liberation or release, framed as the ultimate aim in several Indian traditions — with each defining what it means differently.

Person

Guru Nanak

The founding figure of the Sikh tradition, a teacher and poet whose work emphasized devotion, ethical living, and social equality.

Note

Keeping Mythology and History Apart

A working note on the editorial line this archive draws between story, tradition, archaeology, and history.

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Next → Samkhya A dualist philosophical system distinguishing pure consciousness from the material world it observes, offering a genuinely different metaphysics from Vedantic non-dualism.