Ebook - The Sikhs And Their Way Of Life By Gurinder Singh Sacha

[Banda Singh]

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa

Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Dear Sadh Sangat Jee,

We have recently published "The Sikhs and Their Way of Life" by Gurinder Singh Sacha on our website -

The Sikhs and Their Way of Life

Sikhism is a religion of divinity within a human framework, protest against injustice, and confirmation of human brotherhood. Implicit within its precept is a conscious and continuous process of struggle against oppression, and affirmation of traditional values deeply rooted in the hearts of the people of Panjab - the land of five rivers. Sikhism was not only a revolt against the Brahminical caste structure, but also the beginning of a political uprising against Islamic domination and persecution. Guru Nanak laid the foundation of a long ideological war of liberation fought consistently over the lives of the Gurus on: “the doctrine that the lowest is equal to the highest, in race, as in creed, in political rights, as in religious hopes.”

It was a Grand Design, and it was left to Guru Gobind Singh to grasp the full spiritual, political, social and cultural implications and to activate the ideology, and give it form, substance, structure and force to complete the process. The sacramental ceremony for the baptism of the ‘panj piayara’ (five beloved ones), which is a symbolic rite, was introduced by Guru Gobind Singh on the auspicious Vaisakhi in 1699, and acted as the catalyst that dramatically invigorated Sikhism. Out of this historical event emerged a bold ‘community’, a distinct ‘congregation,’ called the ‘Khalsa’, which became the armed representation of Sikhism. This created a lasting tradition of militancy and protest against social injustice, oppression and inequality. The Khalsa acquired the symbolic collective and individual identity with the five K’s as a marker of the ‘panth’ - reflecting and representing the ideology of Sikhism.

This book goes a long way to explain the core of a world religion, and in my view the only way to interpret the contents of this book is that Sikhism stands for divinity, brotherhood, service and protest. Any other interpretation would invalidate the core of a world faith.

Tuku Mukherjee

(Formerly of) Southlands College

Roehampton Institute, London.

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