Highlighting Guru Nanak's quest for equality, tolerance and compassion in his creation of a synthesis of Hinduism and Islam, this fascinating biography tells the story of a unique spiritual leader who showed a gentle, peaceful path to realizing God.
The Sikh Heritage: Beyond Borders dedicates one chapter each to the 84 sites that it documents, transporting readers to the past by narrating the detailed history of each marvel that the author and his team photographed throughout Pakistan. This book is the culmination of decade-long fieldwork of finding and exploring the heritage sites, alongside analyzing multiple Janamsakhis (hagiography accounts). The author's process of doing extensive analysis and cross-referencing with other sources enables readers to comprehend Sikh history, by posing inquiries, applying critical thinking, and investigating hundreds of sources. He includes a multitude of primary sources and Gurmukhi inscriptions, translated into English, to increase local and international heritage-lovers' understanding of these sites and to help preserve their beauty and histories through his writing.
The Janamsakhi Literature Relates Exclusively To The Life And Teachings Of Guru Nanak And Is The Primary Source Of Information For All The Writings On The Guru. This Study Analyses The Janamsakhi Material Extensively And Deciphers The Historical Cotents In This Tradition And Pleads For Its Study Carefully And Intensively. The Study Has 4 Chapters Followed By 2 Appendices.
The Adi Granth - the primary scripture of the Sikhs - comprises approximately 3000 hymns. This work attempts to construct a comprehensive picture of the making of Sikh "canon", drawing on the recently discovered early manuscripts as well as the extensive secondary literature on the topic.
Janamsakhis, as the name suggests, are stories that claim to reveal the life of the first Guru, Nanak Dev, in a chronological manner. The earliest known Janamsakhi dates back to 1658, nearly 120 years after the death of Guru Nanak in 1539. None of the Janamsakhis can claim to be the most authentic or authoritative version as, through the years, each chronicler of the Guru’s life has added and altered the narrative according to the need of the times. In this volume, Dr Harish Dhillon has chosen the twenty most inspiring and interesting stories about the life and times of Guru Nanak. While the language may be contemporary, at its core this narrative has the same venerable feel that marked the tone of Janamsakhis written centuries ago. Through this work, the author has tried to make the life of the Guru more accessible to the current generation. This book enlightens as much as it informs, while focussing on the Guru’s teachings as well as the various udasis (travels) he undertook to spread the message of brotherhood, equality and love. This book will be of immense value to anyone with a particular interest in religious studies, Indian history or in simply learning more about the life of Guru Nanak.
This is an English translation of Guru Nanak's beautiful Sri Japji Sahib. Designed and formatted with an exquisite background for the reader's enjoyment.
This volume describes Sikhism, the youngest member of the Indic religious traditions. It looks at the striking features of this tradition and describes its birth in the fifteenth century and its continual evolution between the sixteenth and late twentieth centuries into an independent formation often described as the “world’s fifth largest religion”. The volume explains how Sikhism arose at a time of religious and political ferment, a fact which left its mark on its interactions with other traditions, notably Islam, Christianity and Hinduism. The volume illustrates that Sikhism’s political aspirations may not have been fully met by the establishment of the nation state of India in 1947, as indicated by the demand by its adherents for greater autonomy which occasionally has spilled over into claims for independence. It pays attention to the fact that Sikhism is isomorphic with Buddhism and Jainism inasmuch as the demographically minority status of all of these religious traditions conceals the vast influence they have exerted on the Indian landscape. In addition the volume analyses the relationship between complex themes such as violence and mysticism, politics and religion, tradition and modernity, as they have manifested themselves in the historical evolution of the Sikh community. It provides a useful introduction to the lives of its founders, their philosophical and ethical teachings and to Sikh responses and interactions with the world’s major religious traditions in an increasingly pluralistic world.