Relevance of Guru Granth Sahib (In the Modern Context)

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About the Book This treatise is an exclusive analytical and comprehensive study of the relevance of Guru Granth Sahib in the modern context. It expatiates the emerging trends, social and global issues to highlight the response and recommendations of Guru Granth Sahib for their solution. This study delineates the holistic, integrative and cosmopolitan spirit of the Holy Scripture along with its distinct culture of self-transcendence, exploring the transcendental foundation of phenomenal existence and recommending the moderate way of living by providing possibilities for human creativity. The present work analyses the current issues such as religious pluralism, inter-faith dialogue, subaltern revival, gender equality, applied ethics, world peace and ecological concerns etc. in the context of Guru Granth Sahib and points out that the perennial philosophy of the Holy Scripture, based on divine revelation, transcending the limits of time and space, has universal appeal for the whole humanity and stands for universal values required to be followed to maintain harmony at the cosmic level.

The present study, well-documented and duly authenticated, will be a useful addition to the existing sources and will prove helpful for the research scholars working in the field of Sikh Studies.

About the Author The author Dr. Shashi Bala, M.A. (English & Philosophy), Ph.D., is Reader in the Department of Guru Nanak Studies, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. Her publications include four books: The Concept of Monotheism: A Comparative Study of Major Religious Scriptures; Man: Being and Meaning - A Comparative Study; Sikh Metaphysics and Sidh Gosht : A Multidimensional Study (ed.). She has contributed about five dozen articles on Sikh philosophy of religion and comparative religion in various journals of national and international repute.

Preface Guru Granth Sahib, a perennial source of inspiration and guidance for the whole humanity, stresses on the integration of precept and practice, contemplation and action by preaching the concepts of Oneness of God, sanctity of whole existence and by promulgating the dignity of labour. It enunciates the values of human life such as truthfulness, honesty, mutual trust, altruism, integrity of conduct and authentic living. It emphatically announces, Truth is higher than everything but higher still is truthful living. Guru Granth Sahib propagates the humanitarian aspect of religion. stressing upon family life and social obligations. The solution of the modern crisis and key to happiness and peaceful co-existence lies in realising and understanding the teachings of the Holy Scripture.

The present treatise is an exclusive study of the philosophy of Guru Granth Sahib and its relevance in the modern context. It is divided in nine chapters beginning with the brief introduction of the origin and development of Sikh religion, highlighting the cosmopolitan spirit of the Scripture, its distinctive culture of life, philosophy of world-affirmation and philosophy of action, it analyses the modern social issues; applied ethics as well as modern global issues and their solution as is recommended in Guru Granth Sahib.

The first chapter 'Sikh Religion-An Overview' is an introduction of Sikh religion since its origin with the advent of Guru Nanak and expatiates its growth to the turn of the millennium by stating a brief resume about the Gurus and their unique works for the consolidation of Sikh religion.

Introduction Sikh Religion: An Overview

Guru Granth Sahib is the Holy Scripture of the Sikh religion which no doubt is the youngest religion of the world religions but is recognized as one among the major world religions. It is a revolutionary prophetic religion which emerged over five hundred years ago and is spread over a period of four centuries. The Sikh religion originated with the advent of Guru Nanak (1469-1539) and reached its culmination in the creation of Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh (1699-1708). To study the scripture in the context of modern issues, it is indispensable to highlight the growth of Sikhism from its origin to the turn of the millennium by illustrating briefly the founder and other Gurus, the Scriptures, theological aspects, cultic or liturgical aspects, social-political movements and the future of Sikhism in the present scenario.

i) Founder and other Gurus.

Guru Nanak (1469-1539), the founder of Sikh religion was born at village Talwandi, now known as Nankana Sahib in Pakistan and belonged to Bedi gorra. According to the popular legends, Guru Nanak had divine knowledge from the time of his birth and got revelation in Vein River near Sultanpur in 1499. After that he started his peregrination towards east, south, north and west and in 1522 settled at Kartarpur where he stayed for 17 years.

**Contents and Sample Pages**