Guru Nanak and Sikhism
A teacher in Punjab rejects both ritual systems around him and founds a third path.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 365 days
- Known to
- ± 5 years
- Era
- Post-Classical, Holocene
Guru Nanak begins teaching around 1500 that there is one God accessible to all without priests, ritual or caste, that religious labels are secondary, and that liberation comes through honest work, sharing earnings and remembrance of the divine name. He institutes the communal kitchen where everyone eats together regardless of caste. Nine further gurus follow, and the scripture they compile is itself made the final guru.