Sikhism and Other Religions
"Of all the religions, the best religion is to repeat God's Name and to do pious deeds. Of all the religious rites, the best rite is to remove the filth of evil intellect by association with the saints." (Guru Arjan, Ashtpadi, pg. 266)
| Religions of the World | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Religion | Followers |
| 1. | Christianity | 1,830 mil. |
| 2. | Islam | 971 mil. |
| 3. | Hinduism | 732 mil. |
| 4. | Buddhism | 314 mil. |
| 5. | Sikhism | 19 mil. |
| 6. | Judaism | 18 mil. |
| 7. | Shamanists | 10 mil. |
| 8. | Confucianism | 6 mil. |
| 9. | Bahai | 6 mil. |
| 10. | Jainism | 4 mil. |
| 11. | Shinto | 3 mil. |
Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak who shaped a new, unique and distinct religion during his lifetime. Under the stewardship of the Ten Gurus Sikhism was able to gather many followers from other religions. Although the Gurus were critical of other religions they very strongly believed in religious freedom. They also emphasized that the most important thing was not which faith one followed but the remembrance of God at all time and the leading of a decent and honourable life. Due to it's relatively young nature Sikhism is sometimes misunderstood to be only a reform movement or branch of older existing religions. This is certainly not the case, like all religions there are some similarities as well as differences.
Bani Concerning
Religions in General