Political Philosophy of the Sikh Gurus
Political Philosophy of the Sikh Gurus

Author: Kanwarjit Singh

Publisher: Atlantic Publishers & Distri

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13:

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The Sikhs And Their Polity Have Attracted Good Deal Of Attention As A Result Of Recent Developments In Panjab And Some Of The Basic Formulations Are Being Questioned. In A Period Of Turmoil Both The Rulers And The Ruled Seem To Have Forgotten Their Duties. The Author, Who Has Based His Work On Original Sources Such As The Adi Granth, The Dasam Granth, Varan Bhai Gurdas And Other Contemporary Sources, Has Deve¬Loped Answers To Some Of The Problems Relating To Sikh Polity By Quoting The Authority Of The Sikh Gurus Themselves.The Major Focus Of The Present Work Is On The Political Philosophy Of The Sikh Gurus As Conceived By Guru Nanak And Developed By The Successive Gurus. The Author Asserts That Guru Nanak Clearly Understood The Political Milieu And Reacted To The Politics Of Oppression Whether It Was From The Ruling Elite Or Vested Priestly Interests. The Guru Had Clearly Laid The Foundation Of A Viable Political Alternative By Giving A Distinct Political Ideology And Creating A Model Society, In Which There Were Neither The Suppressors Nor The Suppressed. In The Present Context It Will Be Relevant To Point Out That While The Sikh Gurus Clearly Condemned Political Oppression They Also Emphasised The Use Of Moral Force As A Major Weapon To Fight Politi¬Cal Opponents. Paradoxical As It May Sound, Guru Gobind Singh Suggested A Code Of Ethics Even In The Conduct Of Wars.

Religion and the Specter of the West
Religion and the Specter of the West

Author: Arvind-Pal S. Mandair

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2009-10-22

Total Pages: 537

ISBN-13: 023151980X

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Arguing that intellectual movements, such as deconstruction, postsecular theory, and political theology, have different implications for cultures and societies that live with the debilitating effects of past imperialisms, Arvind Mandair unsettles the politics of knowledge construction in which the category of "religion" continues to be central. Through a case study of Sikhism, he launches an extended critique of religion as a cultural universal. At the same time, he presents a portrait of how certain aspects of Sikh tradition were reinvented as "religion" during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. India's imperial elite subtly recast Sikh tradition as a sui generis religion, which robbed its teachings of their political force. In turn, Sikhs began to define themselves as a "nation" and a "world religion" that was separate from, but parallel to, the rise of the Indian state and global Hinduism. Rather than investigate these processes in isolation from Europe, Mandair shifts the focus closer to the political history of ideas, thereby recovering part of Europe's repressed colonial memory. Mandair rethinks the intersection of religion and the secular in discourses such as history of religions, postcolonial theory, and recent continental philosophy. Though seemingly unconnected, these discourses are shown to be linked to a philosophy of "generalized translation" that emerged as a key conceptual matrix in the colonial encounter between India and the West. In this riveting study, Mandair demonstrates how this philosophy of translation continues to influence the repetitions of religion and identity politics in the lives of South Asians, and the way the academy, state, and media have analyzed such phenomena.

Teachings of the Sikh Gurus
Teachings of the Sikh Gurus

Author: Christopher Shackle

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-07-04

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 1136451080

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Recognized masterpieces of Indian literature, the Guru Granth Sahib and the Dasam Granth are fundamental to the Sikh religion, not only in the physical layout of temples and in ceremonies of worship, but as infallible reference texts offering counsel and instruction. Teachings of the Sikh Gurus presents a brand new selection of key passages from these sacred scriptures, translated into modern English by leading experts, Christopher Shackle and Arvind-pal Singh Mandair. Including six longer compositions and many shorter hymns thematically organised by topics such as Time and Impermanence, Self and Mind, Authority, and Ethics, the book’s accessible and carefully chosen extracts distil the essence of Sikhism’s remarkable textual and intellectual legacy, depicting how its message of universal tolerance suits the contemporary world. The detailed introduction and notes to the translations aid readers’ comprehension of the hymns’ form and content, as well as providing some historical context, making it an ideal introduction to Sikh literature.

Violence and the Sikhs
Violence and the Sikhs

Author: Arvind-Pal S. Mandair

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2022-04-21

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 1108759394

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Violence and the Sikhs interrogates conventional typologies of violence and non-violence in Sikhism by rethinking the dominant narrative of Sikhism as a deviation from the ostensibly original pacifist-religious intentions and practices of its founders. This Element highlights competing logics of violence drawn from primary sources of Sikh literature, thereby complicating our understanding of the relationship between spirituality and violence, connecting it to issues of sovereignty and the relationship between Sikhism and the State during the five centuries of its history. By cultivating a non-oppositional understanding of violence and spirituality, this Element provides an innovative method for interpreting events of 'religious violence'. In doing so it provides a novel perspective on familiar themes such as martyrdom, Martial Race theory, warfare and (post)colonial conflicts in the Sikh context.

Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed
Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed

Author: Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2013-06-06

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1441153667

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Sikhism's short but relatively eventful history provides a fascinating insight into the working of misunderstood and seemingly contradictory themes such as politics and religion, violence and mysticism, culture and spirituality, orality and textuality, public sphere versus private sphere, tradition and modernity. This book presents students with a careful analysis of these complex themes as they have manifested themselves in the historical evolution of the Sikh traditions and the encounter of Sikhs with modernity and the West, in the philosophical teachings of its founders and their interpretation by Sikh exegetes, and in Sikh ethical and intellectual responses to contemporary issues in an increasingly secular and pluralistic world. Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed serves as an ideal guide to Sikhism, and also for students of Asian studies, Sociology of Religion and World Religions.

History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1469-1606 C.E
History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1469-1606 C.E

Author: Surjit Singh Gandhi

Publisher: Atlantic Publishers & Dist

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 506

ISBN-13: 9788126908578

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The Impulse Behind The Study In Hand Was The Longing To Find Adequate Answers To Certain Vital Questions What Exactly Does Sikhism Stand For? Why Was It Originated And Developed By Guru Nanak And His Nine Successors? How Did It Strike Roots Among People? What Institutions And Structures The Gurus Evolved To Highlight And Escalate It? What Type Of Praxis Of Man And Society Gurus Visualized? How Was It Different From Contemporary Religious Systems Islam, Hinduism, Sahajyana, Buddhism, Nathism, Bhakti System Etc.? Was It A Synthesis Of Different Traits Of Different Religions? Was It A Syncretism Of Hindu And Muslim Cultures Or Was It An Independent System? Did Sikhism Purport To Design To Raise Itself On Premises Different From The Ones Which Formed The Foundations Of Hindu Or Other Societies? Was It Merely Reformist Movement Aiming At Certain Targets Within Time And Space Or A Distinct Spirito-Social Process To Urge The People To March Towards Integrated Development Both At Micro And Macro Levels? What Was The True Nature Of Supreme Reality As Conceived By The Gurus? How Is This Related With The Universe Including Man And How Does It Permeate, Pervade And Operate The Whole Universe? What Type Of Society Conforms To God S Will And How Was Its Consummation Possible? Which Models Of Polity And Social Edifice Were Recommended By The Gurus? Is Sikhism A Life-Affirming Dispensation Or Life-Negating Philosophy? Why Was Structural Bonding Of Religion And Politics Effected And Institutionalised? What Is The Place Of Sikhism In The Comity Of Religions And How It Is Relevant To Challenges Of The Present-Day World? Such Questions And A Lot More Being Vital And Crucial For The Understanding Of The Role Of Gurus And Their Dispensation, Have Been Fully Taken Cognizance Of In The Present Study.

The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies
The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies

Author: Pashaura Singh

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2014-03-27

Total Pages: 673

ISBN-13: 0191004111

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The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies innovatively combines the ways in which scholars from fields as diverse as philosophy, psychology, religious studies, literary studies, history, sociology, anthropology, political science, and economics have integrated the study of Sikhism within a wide range of critical and postcolonial perspectives on the nature of religion, violence, gender, ethno-nationalism, and revisionist historiography. A number of essays within this collection also provide a more practical dimension, written by artists and practitioners of the tradition. The handbook is divided into eight thematic sections that explore different 'expressions' of Sikhism. Historical, literary, ideological, institutional, and artistic expressions are considered in turn, followed by discussion of Sikhs in the Diaspora, and of caste and gender in the Panth. Each section begins with an essay by a prominent scholar in the field, providing an overview of the topic. Further essays provide detail and further treat the fluid, multivocal nature of both the Sikh past and the present. The handbook concludes with a section considering future directions in Sikh Studies.