The Feminine Principle in the Sikh Vision of the Transcendent
The Feminine Principle in the Sikh Vision of the Transcendent

Author: Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1993-09-24

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 0521432871

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This work is a critical analysis of Sikh literature from a feminist perspective. It begins with Guru Nanak's vision of Transcendent Reality and concludes with the mystical journey of Rani Raj Kaur, the heroine of a modern Punjabi epic. The eight chapters of the book approach the Sikh vision of the Transcendent from historical, scriptural, symbolic, mythological, romantic, existential, ethical and mystical perspectives. Each of these discloses the centrality of the woman, and show convincingly that Sikh Gurus and poets did not want the feminine principle to serve merely as a figure of speech or literary device; it was intended rather to pervade the whole life of the Sikhs. The present work bolsters the claim that literary symbols should be translated into social and political realities, and in so doing puts a valuable feminist interpretation on a religious tradition which has remained relatively unexplored in scholarly literature.

The Birth of the Khalsa
The Birth of the Khalsa

Author: Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 0791482669

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Sikhs trace the genesis of their religious rites, prayers, dress codes, and names to Guru Gobind Singh's creation of the Khalsa in 1699. The Birth of the Khalsa is the first work to explore this pivotal event in Sikh history from a feminist perspective, questioning the ways in which Sikh memories have constructed a hypermasculine Sikh identity. The book argues that Sikh memory needs to acknowledge the vital female dimension grounded in the universal human condition and present at the birth of the Khalsa. Inspired by her own father, the eminent Sikh scholar Harbans Singh, Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh rediscovers the feminine side of the words and actions of the founders of Sikhism. She looks at the basic texts and tenets of Sikh religion and demonstrates the female aspect in the sacred text, daily prayers, dress code, and rituals of the Sikhs. Singh reminds us that Guru Gobind Singh's original vision was an egalitarian one and urges present-day Sikhs to live up to the liberating implications set in motion when he gave birth to the Khalsa.

Religions of India
Religions of India

Author: Sushil Mittal

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-11-28

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13: 1134791933

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India is a highly diverse country, home to a wide array of languages, religions, and cultural traditions. Analyzing the dynamic religious traditions of this democratic nation sheds light on the complex evolution from India’s past to today’s modern culture. Written by leading experts in the field, Religions of India provides students with an introduction to India’s vibrant religious faiths. To understand its heritage and core values, the beginning chapters introduce the indigenous Dharmic traditions of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, while the later chapters examine the outside influences of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These chapters are designed for cross-religious comparison, with the history, practices, values, and worldviews of each belief system explained. The final chapter helps students relate what they have learnt to religious theory, preparing the way for future study. This thoroughly revised second edition combines solid scholarship with clear and lively writing to provide students with an accessible and comprehensive introduction to religion in India. This is the ideal textbook for students approaching religion in Asia, South Asia, or India for the first time. Features to aid study include: discussion questions at the end of each chapter, images, a glossary, suggestions for further reading, and an Companion Website with additional links for students to further their study.

Beacons of Dharma
Beacons of Dharma

Author: Christopher Patrick Miller

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2019-12-02

Total Pages: 335

ISBN-13: 1498564852

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Today’s globalized society faces some of humanity’s most unprecedented social and environmental challenges. Presenting new and insightful approaches to a range of these challenges, the timely volume before you draws upon individual cases of exemplary leadership from the world’s Dharma traditions—Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism. The volume's authors refer to such exemplary leaders as “beacons of Dharma,” highlighting the ways in which each figure, via their inspirational life work, provide us with illuminating perspectives as we continue to confront cases of grave injustice and needless suffering in the world. Taking on difficult contemporary issues such as climate change, racial and gender inequality, industrial agriculture and animal rights, fair access to healthcare and education, and other such pressing concerns, Beacons of Dharma offers a promising and much needed contribution to our global remedial discussions. Seeking to help solve and alleviate such social and environmental issues, each of the chapters in the volume invites contemplation, inspires action, and offers a freshly invigorating source of hope.

Young Sikhs in a Global World
Young Sikhs in a Global World

Author: Knut A. Jacobsen

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-03-09

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 1134790880

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In attempting to carve out a place for themselves in local and global contexts, young Sikhs mobilize efforts to construct, choose, and emphasize different aspects of religious and cultural identification depending on their social setting and context. Young Sikhs in a Global World presents current research on young Sikhs with multicultural and transnational life-styles and considers how they interpret, shape and negotiate religious identities, traditions, and authority on an individual and collective level. With a particular focus on the experiences of second generation Sikhs as they interact with various people in different social fields and cultural contexts, the book is constructed around three parts: 'family and home', 'public display and gender', and 'reflexivity and translations'. New scholarly voices and established academics present qualitative research and ethnographic fieldwork and analyse how young Sikhs try to solve social, intellectual and psychological tensions between the family and the expectations of the majority society, between Punjabi culture and religious values.

The Silent Voices and the Creation of a New Universe
The Silent Voices and the Creation of a New Universe

Author: Pratibha Chawla

Publisher: Boydell & Brewer

Published: 2024-09-24

Total Pages: 444

ISBN-13: 1837652392

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Investigates the ideological attitudes of Sikh Gurus toward women and their resulting social impact. This book is an analytical study of the Sikh Gurus' perception of women and their societal roles, with an emphasis on the impact of religious ideology on gender dynamics. Sikhism stands apart in its respectful attitudes towards women. This book explores how these religious perspectives shaped the social relations and evolution of the Sikh community (Sikh Panth), and whether there existed major differences in the views and ideologies of Sikh Gurus, contemporary Bhakti saints and Guru Nanak himself. The book also examines the influence of Sikh Gurus on patriarchal ideology, and whether their normative beliefs were reflected in operative realities. Delving into the Sikh ideological history, so as to fully ascertain and comprehend the nuanced message of the Sikh Gurus who advocated for a more gender sensitive society, this work will help connect past and present, shedding new light on faultlines in our understanding which have occurred over the centuries, and have led us where we are today.

The Penguin Handbook of the World's Living Religions
The Penguin Handbook of the World's Living Religions

Author: John R. Hinnells

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2010-03-25

Total Pages: 988

ISBN-13: 014195504X

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Comprehensive, informative and authoritative, The Penguin Handbook of the World's Living Religions is compiled by a team of leading international scholars, and is the definitive guide to the religious belief systems and practices of the world today. This in-depth survey of active religions has now been fully updated to include modern developments and the most recent scholarship. It explains the sources and history of the world's religions, includes material on the phenomenon of Black African and Asian diaspora religions around the world and explores the role of gender in modern religion.

Religion and the Body
Religion and the Body

Author: Sarah Coakley

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 9780521783866

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A rich source for comparative studies of the 'body', and of its relation to society.

Relation and Resistance
Relation and Resistance

Author: Sailaja Krishnamurti

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 2021-09-30

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 022800974X

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In Canada, women’s bodies are often at the centre of debates about religious pluralism, multiculturalism, and secularism. Women have long played a critical role in building and maintaining diasporic religious communities and networks, and they have also been catalysts for change and transformation within religious groups and the wider community. Relation and Resistance explores the stories and lives of racialized women connected with religious diaspora communities in Canada. Contributors from across disciplines show how women are conceptualizing traditions in transformative ways, challenging prevailing assumptions about diasporic religion as nostalgically entrenched in the past. The collected essays include chapters on feminist and queer women thinking critically about Hindu and Muslim identities and beliefs and challenging anti-Black racism and settler colonialism; Afro-Caribbean and Métis writers using literature to explore religion and belonging; the impact of women’s participation in Japanese, Chinese, and Pakistani transnational religious organizations; and marriage, migration, and gender equality in the Punjabi Sikh and Malayali Christian communities. The volume closes with a chapter exploring Métis diasporic experience and inviting readers to think critically about diasporic religion on Indigenous land. An innovative and timely volume, Relation and Resistance reveals that a deeper understanding of women’s experiences of displacement, migration, race, and gender is critical to the study of religion in Canada.

Religion and Ethnicity in Canada
Religion and Ethnicity in Canada

Author: Paul Bramadat

Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Published: 2009-10-10

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 1442697024

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As the leading book in its field, Religion and Ethnicity in Canada has been embraced by scholars, teachers, students, and policy makers as a breakthrough study of Canadian religio-ethnic diversity and its impact on multiculturalism. A team of established scholars looks at the relationships between religious and ethnic identity in Canada's six largest minority religious communities: Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jews, Muslims and practitioners of Chinese religion. The chapters also highlight the ethnic diversity extant within these traditions in order to offer a more nuanced appreciation of the variety of lived experiences of members of these communities. Together, the contributors develop consistent themes throughout the volume, among them the changing nature of religious practice and ideas, current demographics, racism, and the role of women. Chapters related to the public policy issues of healthcare, education and multiculturalism show how new ethnic and religious diversity are challenging and changing Canadian institutions and society. Comprehensive and insightful, Religion and Ethnicity in Canada makes a unique contribution to the study of world religions in Canada.