History and Doctrine

Sikh means "learner" in Punjabi and those who joined the Sikh community, or panth ("path"), were those who sought spiritual guidance.

Sikhs claim that their tradition has always been different from Hinduism. Nevertheless, many Western scholars argue that Sikhism in its earliest stages was a movement within the Hindu tradition; Nanak, they point out, was born a Hindu and eventually belonged to the saintly tradition of northern India, a movement associated with the great poet and mystic Kabir (1440-1518). The saints, most of whom were poor, destitute and illiterate, composed hymns of great beauty reflecting their experience of the divine, which they saw in all things. Their tradition drew heavily on Vaishnava Bhakti (the devotional movement within the Hindu tradition that worships the god Vishnu), although there were significant differences between the two. Like the followers of Bhakti, the saints believed that devotion to God was necessary for liberation from the cycle of rebirth in which all humans are trapped; Unlike the followers of Bhakti, however, the saints maintained that God is nirguna (“without”) and not saguna (“with form”). For saints, God can neither be incarnated nor be represented in concrete form.

Some minor influences also worked on the Saint movement. Chief among them was the Nath tradition, which consisted of a group of sects, all claiming descent from the semi-legendary guru Gorakhnath and all promoting hatha yoga as a means of spiritual liberation. Although the saints rejected the physical aspects of hatha yoga in favor of meditative techniques, they accepted the naths' concept of spiritual ascent to ultimate bliss. Some scholars have argued that the saint was influenced by Islam through contact with the Mughal rulers of India from the early 16th century, but there is little evidence of this in fact, although Sufism (Islamic mysticism) may have had a minor influence.