Guru Nanak taught that rituals, religious ceremonies, and idol worship are of little use and they are discouraged from fasting or going on pilgrimages. But during the period of the later gurus, and owing to an increase in institutionalization of the religion, some ceremonies and rites did arise.
Sikhism is not a proselyting religion and most Sikhs generally do not make active attempts to gain converts. However, converts to Sikhism are all welcomed, although there is no formal conversion ceremony. Morning and evening prayers take around two hours a day, starting in the very early morning hours.
The first prayer in the morning is Guru Nanak’s Jap Ji. Jap, meaning “recitation”, refers to the using sound, as the best way to approach the divine. Like combing hair, hearing and reciting the sacred word is used as a way to comb all of one’s negative thoughts out of the mind. The morning prayer in the morning is Guru Gobind Singh’s universal Jaap Sahib. The Guru addresses God to have no form, no country, and no religion but as the seed of seeds, sun of suns, and the song of songs.