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The Bhagats of the Guru Granth Sahib: Sikh Self-Definition and the Bhagat Bani

Pashaura Singh

This book analyses the key issues concerning the phenomenon of scriptural adaptation in a cross-cultural spirit. Specifically, it seeks to addresses three questions closely related to the process of ... More

This book analyses the key issues concerning the phenomenon of scriptural adaptation in a cross-cultural spirit. Specifically, it seeks to addresses three questions closely related to the process of scriptural adaptation in the Adi Granth: How was the Bhagat Bani collected and canonized in the Adi Granth? Why did certain hymns of the poet-saints of Sant, Sufi, and Bhakti origin receive direct comments from the Sikh Gurus? What is the status of the Bhagat Bani in the Sikh scriptural tradition? The volume explores the interaction between early Sikhism and other religious movements in the Punjab, focusing particularly on those saints from devotional tradition who find a place in the Guru Granth Sahib. It examines Sikh gurus responses to the work of Shaikh Farid; Kabir and Sant tradition of north India; Vaishnava bhakti tradition represented by various bhagats. It offers a new understanding of religious pluralism, stressing the need to enter into dialogue with an ‘open attitude’ by honouring the individual commitments and maintaining differences in mutual respect and dignity.Less

The Cherished Five in Sikh History

Louis E. Fenech

For Sikhs, the two most important delimited groups in the tradition are the Ten Sikh Gurus and the Cherished Five (the Panj Piare). Although there are many scholarly works on the first, the second ... More

For Sikhs, the two most important delimited groups in the tradition are the Ten Sikh Gurus and the Cherished Five (the Panj Piare). Although there are many scholarly works on the first, the second has none to date. The Cherished Five were five disciples brought together by Guru Gobind Singh to form the nucleus of the Sikh Khalsa in 1699, or so tradition claims. The story of the Five’s origin resounds with the most important values of the Sikh tradition: courage, selflessness, love, benevolence, compassion, and trust in the divine; its importance is underscored by the fact that the institution of the Cherished Five is recreated daily as it plays an essential role in the Sikh ritual universe, ushering new initiates into the Khalsa and casting out those who have violated Khalsa precepts. This text provides the first sustained study of the Five by tracing the history and the evolution of this institution from its origin in the later eighteenth century until today. In the process, it challenges much of the traditional narratives and accepted wisdom in regard to the Panj Piare, revolving in part around three elements with which the institution is regularly aligned in early manuscripts: caste, karma, and place.Less

Debating the Dasam Granth

Robin Rinehart

This book explores a Sikh text attributed to Guru Gobind Singh. Controversy has long surrounded substantial portions of the text that relate tales from Hindu mythology and graphic ... More

This book explores a Sikh text attributed to Guru Gobind Singh. Controversy has long surrounded substantial portions of the text that relate tales from Hindu mythology and graphic stories about women who devise elaborate schemes to pursue illicit liaisons with men. Analysis of the Dasam Granth has largely centered on the issue of whether or not Guru Gobind Singh is the author of these controversial compositions, and why stories of conniving women would be included in a religious text. Debating the Dasam Granth explores these controversies about authorship and the stories of women but takes the analysis of the Dasam Granth in a new direction through focusing on three key aspects of the text: the autobiographical narrative of Bachitra Natak, or “The Wondrous Drama”; several compositions that recount the battles of a goddess who slays demons; and the lengthy composition called Charitropakhian that details deceitful women. Rather than adding another entry to the authorship debate, this book situates these compositions in the broader context of Indian literature, explores how the different portions of the Dasam Granth relate to one another, and suggests why such a disparate group of compositions might have been compiled into a single text.Less

The Graṅth of Guru Gobind Singh: Essays, Lectures, and Translations

Kamalroop Singh and Gurinder Singh Mann

The book offers new insights into the secondary scripture of the Sikhs, Dasam Patshah ka Graṅth or the Graṅth of Guru Gobind Singh. The scripture has in recent times adopted the name of Dasam Graṅth ... More

The book offers new insights into the secondary scripture of the Sikhs, Dasam Patshah ka Graṅth or the Graṅth of Guru Gobind Singh. The scripture has in recent times adopted the name of Dasam Graṅth (DG) and has traditionally been attributed to Guru Gobind Singh. Many studies have adopted a polemic approach and focused on the authorship of the text. This book takes a multi-disciplinary approach and considers the relationship of the scripture in terms of newly discovered manuscripts, apocryphal translations, and relics. The manuscript tradition shows how the Graṅth was written and compiled during Guru Gobind Singh’s time as well as transmission of the compositions onto material items such as the swords. The book also considers the compositions which were ignored by the Sodhak Committee and, as a result, a thorough examination of these apocryphal texts has been undertaken. This is supplemented with complete translation of these compositions. New narratives are discussed including the relationship of the text to the eighteenth-century Khalsa. This is witnessed through the traditional groups like the Akali Nihangs who venerate the text in its entirety and on par with the primary scripture Ādi Graṅth. A consideration of the practices at the seats of authority or takhts shows the inter- relationship and unity of both Ādi Graṅth and Dasam Graṅth. The book, in essence, takes the reader through the history of the Sikh faith and how the Dasam Graṅth has a central place in this history.Less

The Guru Granth Sahib: Canon, Meaning and Authority

Pashaura Singh

This book examines three closely related questions in the process of canon formation in the Sikh tradition: how the text of the Adi Granth came into being, the meaning of gurbani, and how the Adi ... More

This book examines three closely related questions in the process of canon formation in the Sikh tradition: how the text of the Adi Granth came into being, the meaning of gurbani, and how the Adi Granth became the Guru Granth Sahib. The censure of scholarly research on the Adi Granth was closely related to the complex political situation of Punjab and brought the whole issue of academic freedom into sharper focus. This book addresses some of these issues from an academic perspective. The Adi Granth, the sacred scripture of the Sikhs, means ‘first religious book’ (from the word ‘adi’ which means ‘first’ and ‘granth’ which means ‘religious book’). Sikhs normally refer to the Adi Granth as the Guru Granth Sahib to indicate a confession of faith in the scripture as Guru. The contents of the Adi Granth are commonly known as bani (utterance) or gurbani (the utterance of the Guru). The transcendental origin (or ontological status) of the hymns of the Adi Granth is termed dhur ki bani (utterance from the beginning). This particular understanding of revelation is based upon the doctrine of the sabad, or divine word, defined by Guru Nanak and the succeeding Gurus. This book also explores the revelation of the bani and its verbal expression, devotional music in the Sikh tradition, the role of the scripture in Sikh ceremonies, and the hymns of Guru Nanak and Guru Arjan.Less

A History of the Sikhs: Volume 2: 1839-2004

Khushwant Singh

This second volume of A History of the Sikhs, recounts a variety of issues related to the Sikh, as they struggle to survive as a separate community. It is divided into five parts, which examine a ... More

This second volume of A History of the Sikhs, recounts a variety of issues related to the Sikh, as they struggle to survive as a separate community. It is divided into five parts, which examine a century’s worth of Sikh history. Part I begins with the death of Ranjit Singh and the power struggle among his seven sons, who were all deemed unworthy to inherit the throne. It is followed by an account of the British invasion of the Punjab, as well as a small rebellion in Multan. This rebellion would give the British the perfect excuse to annex all of the Sikh Kingdom, which is discussed in detail in Part II. Part II expands on the events post-mutiny, such as the digging of canals and the creation of Punjabi colonies. Part III looks at social and religious reforms. It identifies the various religious movements present in the Punjabi, and introduces the protest society Singh Sabha. Part IV centres on the national, sectarian, and Marxist political movements, and Part V discusses the events leading up to the incessant demands for an independent and free Sikh homeland.Less

A History of the Sikhs: Volume 1: 1469-1838

Khushwant Singh

The first volume of The History of the Sikh provides a detailed account of the religious, political, and social background that eventually brought about the formation of the Sikh religion during the ... More

The first volume of The History of the Sikh provides a detailed account of the religious, political, and social background that eventually brought about the formation of the Sikh religion during the fifteenth century. It outlines the development of Sikhism and the Punjab monarchy. This volume is divided into three parts. Part I begins with a description of the Sikh homeland, including its climate, available flora and fauna, and landscapes. From here the chapters turn to the founding of Sikhism by Guru Nanak, and the development of this religion through the exploits of his successors. Prominent gurus — such as Arjun, Gobind Singh, and Hargobind — and their achievements and failures are presented. Part II talks about the agrarian uprising, from the rise of Banda Bahadur and the peasant rebellion, to the formation of the misls. Part III captures the history of Ranjit Singh, the esteemed Maharajah of the Punjab. His efforts in creating a unified Punjab are highlighted, as well as his various military exploits against the Afghans and the British. The volume ends with a summary of Singh's achievements and some features of his life.Less

History, Literature, and Identity: Four Centuries of Sikh Tradition

This book presents a comprehensive account of Sikh history and tradition, beginning with the founding of the community to the impact of modernity on Sikh institutions in the Punjab. It discusses ... More

This book presents a comprehensive account of Sikh history and tradition, beginning with the founding of the community to the impact of modernity on Sikh institutions in the Punjab. It discusses issues like conscious conceptualization of a new dispensation, process of community formation, social transformation and politicization leading to the emergence of a new political order. It brings out the cumulative implications of these processes on the evolution of Sikh identity. Fourteen essays cover Sikh literature from the early sixteenth century to the early twentieth century and reflect identity consciousness in Mughal, Sikh, and colonial rule in Punjab. The book looks at the compositions of five Gurus: Guru Nanak, Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das, and Guru Arjan along with other Sikh theologians and historians to reflect upon the changing socio-political context. Highlighting the intricate connections between literature and historical processes, it also presents the life of Guru Tegh Bahadur and explores Sikh nationality, Sikh faith, and the Khalsa.Less

Life and Work of Guru Arjan

Pashaura Singh

This book presents a scholarly treatment of the life and work of Guru Arjan (1563–1606), the fifth Guru of the Sikhs. First, it discusses the theoretical framework of a religious biography, and ... More

This book presents a scholarly treatment of the life and work of Guru Arjan (1563–1606), the fifth Guru of the Sikhs. First, it discusses the theoretical framework of a religious biography, and follows a multidisciplinary paradigm to reconstruct Guru Arjan's life based upon history, tradition, memory, and mythic representation. In constructing the historical setting of Guru Arjan's times, the book focuses on major influences in the formation of his thought before he became a Guru, and discusses his role as the leader of the growing Sikh Panth. It also explores the major institutional developments as well as the formation of the Sikh canon during his reign, his teachings, and the social and political context of his life that contributed to his rise to cultural pre-eminence as one of the world's great religious leaders. Moreover, it examines the various causes that led to Guru Arjan's execution at the hands of the Mughals, and how his martyrdom influenced the crystallisation of the Sikh Panth.Less

The Making of Sikh Scripture

Gurinder Singh Mann

At present numbering twenty million adherents and spread the world over, the Sikhs represent a monotheistic tradition founded by Guru Nanak (1469–1539) in the Punjab, a region that served as a ... More

At present numbering twenty million adherents and spread the world over, the Sikhs represent a monotheistic tradition founded by Guru Nanak (1469–1539) in the Punjab, a region that served as a cultural bridge between the Middle East and South Asia. The Sikhs are fortunate to have in their possession a large number of early sacred manuscripts, including sixteenth‐ and seventeenth‐century protoscriptural texts. This unique context makes it possible for scholars to trace the history of Sikh canon formation with a degree of accuracy unimaginable in other major religious traditions. On the basis of a close examination of the extant manuscripts and other early Sikh sources in private custody of families in the Punjab, the author presents a detailed reconstruction of the making of the Adi Granth (“original book”) – the primary Sikh scripture, which comprises about 3,000 hymns. In the process, he traces its origin, expansion, canonization, and place within the institutional development of the Sikh community. His findings on many key issues differ from the traditional Sikh position, as well as from the hypotheses of other twentieth‐century scholars; they also raise some entirely fresh questions. The revised and expanded picture of the history of the text and institution of Sikh scripture will be of interest not only to scholars of Sikhism and Sikh religionists, but to scholars of comparative canon formation.Less

The Materiality of the Past: History and Representation in the Sikh Tradition

Anne Murphy

This book offers an exploration of the material aspects of Sikh identity, showing how material objects, as well as holy sites, and texts, embody and represent the Sikh community as an evolving ... More

This book offers an exploration of the material aspects of Sikh identity, showing how material objects, as well as holy sites, and texts, embody and represent the Sikh community as an evolving historical and social construction. Widening traditional scholarly emphasis on holy sites and texts alone to include consideration of iconic objects, such as garments and weaponry, the book moves further and examines the parallel relationships among sites, texts, and objects. It reveals that objects have played dramatically different roles across regimes—signifers of authority in one, mere possessions in another—and like Sikh texts, which have long been a resource for the construction of Sikh identity, material objects have served as a means of imagining and representing the past.Less

Religious Pluralism, Globalization, and World Politics

Thomas Banchoff (ed.)

Globalization has spawned more active transnational religious communities, creating a powerful force in world affairs. This book explores the patterns of cooperation and conflict that mark this new ... More

Globalization has spawned more active transnational religious communities, creating a powerful force in world affairs. This book explores the patterns of cooperation and conflict that mark this new religious pluralism. Shifting religious identities have encouraged interreligious dialogue and greater political engagement around global challenges, including international development, conflict resolution, transitional justice, and bioethics. At the same time, interreligious competition has contributed to political conflict and running controversy over the meaning and scope of religious freedom. In this volume, leading scholars from a variety of disciplines examine how the forces of religious pluralism and globalization are playing out on the world stage.Less

Relocating Gender in Sikh History

Doris Jakobsch

This book charts the history of gender construction in Sikhism by focusing on the Singh Sabha Reform Movement spearheaded by British educated Sikhs in the late nineteenth and early twentieth ... More

This book charts the history of gender construction in Sikhism by focusing on the Singh Sabha Reform Movement spearheaded by British educated Sikhs in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The volume is based on a theoretical analysis of gender construction as a variable in social organization, and the time period examined is the colonial milieu following the annexation of Punjab by the British East India Company in 1849. Gender construction as a theoretical framework is combined with an investigation of two critical phases of Sikh history: the guru period, and the Singh Sabha Reform Movement that took place under the watchful eye of the British. The book also addresses how gender constructs in England during the Victorian era informed newly articulated Sikh educational and religious reform initiatives among the Sikh elite wanting recognition by the British administration. The book tries to fill the gap created by a dearth of writing on women in Sikhism and the absence gender analysis within Sikh studies. While touching on the roles of specific players, this book deals with other political, social, and religious structures of colonial Punjab from the perspective of gender construction.Less

The Sikh Ẓafar-nāmah of Guru Gobind Singh: A Discursive Blade in the Heart of the Mughal Empire

Louis E. Fenech

This book deals with one of the only Persian compositions attributed to the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708), the Ẓafar-nāmah or “Epistle of Victory.” Written as a masnavi or Persian ... More

This book deals with one of the only Persian compositions attributed to the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708), the Ẓafar-nāmah or “Epistle of Victory.” Written as a masnavi or Persian poem this letter was originally sent to the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (d. 1707) rebuking his most unbecoming conduct. Yet the missive does far more than censure. By teasing out the letter’s direct and subtle references to the Iranian national epic, the Shāh-nāmah, the epistle’s mythic template, and to Shaikh Sadi’s thirteenth-century Būstān, from which the letter’s most popular couplet derives, the book demonstrates how this letter served as a form of Indo-Islamic verbal warfare, ensuring the tenth Guru’s moral and symbolic victory over the legendary and powerful Mughal empire. In the process of analyzing the Ẓafar-nāmah, this book resurrects one of the key components of the Sikh tradition, its Islamicate aspect.Less

Sikhism in Global Context

Pashaura Singh (ed.)

The Sikh community has made its presence felt throughout the world. Focusing on globalization, this book presents Sikh history, politics, identity, music, ethics, material culture, the worldwide Sikh ... More

The Sikh community has made its presence felt throughout the world. Focusing on globalization, this book presents Sikh history, politics, identity, music, ethics, material culture, the worldwide Sikh diaspora, and the history and current state of scholarship in the field of Sikh Studies. The book describes the internal differences of caste, community, and gender within Sikhism, as well as the use of modern media to disseminate and construct the frameworks of Sikhism. It also stresses the importance of internal dynamics within the Sikh community and external factors (such as local experiences in different countries) for comprehending the processes of change visible among Sikhs from the global point of view. The essays question the conventional premises of Sikh studies by breaking away from an emphasis on history and text, and look at Sikh practices from the ‘lived religion perspective.’ The place of the Guru Granth Sahib as a perennial source of human understanding, non-violent movements in Sikh history, Sikh music, and Sikh miracles are also discussed.Less

When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799

Purnima Dhavan

This study interrogates the dominant historiography about the origins and early history of the Sikh warrior community, the Khalsa. Contrary to the commonly accepted belief that the distinctive ... More

This study interrogates the dominant historiography about the origins and early history of the Sikh warrior community, the Khalsa. Contrary to the commonly accepted belief that the distinctive rituals, ceremonies, and cultural practices associated with the Khalsa were formed during the lifetime of the Tenth and last Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh, this study reveals how such markers of Khalsa identity evolved slowly over the course of the eighteenth century. By placing the experience of peasant communities at the heart of its historical analysis, this book traces the multiple perspectives and debates that eventually coalesced to create a composite Khalsa culture by 1799. This approach incorporates and analyzes Sikh normative religious literature, including rahitnamas and gurbilas texts, created during this period by reading it in the larger context of sources such as news reports, court histories and other primary sources that show how actual practices were shaped in response to religious reforms. Recovering the agency of the peasants who dominated this community, this study demonstrates how a dynamic process of debates, collaboration, and conflict among Sikh peasants, scholars, and chiefs transformed Sikh practices and shaped a new martial community.Less