Sikhism · An Introduction by Cole, Owen -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Title Copyright Dedication Acknowledgements Contents Meet the author Only got a minute? Only got five minutes? 1 Introduction: worship

The content and purpose of Sikh worship The conclusion of diwan Sikh functionaries

2 The beginnings of Sikhism

Was Nanak a Hindu? The place of the guru in Hinduism The North India religious situation as Guru Nanak perceived it Pollution Guru Nanak – mystic, social reformer, or political revolutionary?

3 Initiation

Vaisakhi 1699 The symbolism of the panj kakkar The ethics of the Khalsa A new name The amrit ceremony today The meaning of initiation Gurdwara management

4 The family

Family ceremonies

5 Sikh names and the naming ceremony

Naming a Sikh child Naming converts

6 Marriage (anand karaj)

The wedding ceremony The reception

7 Death

Funeral rites Disposal of the dead

8 The Sikh Gurus

Guru Nanak Guru Angad Guru Amar Das Guru Ram Das Guru Arjan Guru Hargobind, Guru Har Rai and Guru Har Krishan Guru Tegh Bahadur Guru Gobind Singh Sikh attitudes to the Gurus

9 Festivals and their meaning

Gurpurbs Major gurpurbs and melas according to the Nanakshahi calendar Hola Mohalla Vaisakhi Divali

10 Ethics

Seva Rejection of discrimination Woman: male–female equality Sikhs and the use of military force Medical issues

11 The Sikh scriptures

The Guru Granth Sahib The compilation of the Adi Granth The structure of the Adi Granth The Adi Granth becomes the Guru Granth Sahib The bhagat bani The Dasam Granth The writings of Bhai Gurdas and Bhai Nandlal The importance of the Guru Granth Sahib The significance of the Guru Granth Sahib as seen through Sikh practices

12 Sikh teachings about God

God is One God is immanent and all-pervading God as Word God is self-revealing and could not otherwise be known God as sovereign The names of God The nature of God God as creator God as Guru

13 Human nature and spiritual liberation

The malady The remedy: the path to spiritual liberation Five stages of development on the path to enlightenment Jivan mukt

14 Sikhism in the modern period

Religious matters The Nirankari movement Namdharis The Singh Sabha movement The Arya Samaj The Rahit Maryada Jathedars and takhts Defining orthodoxy Khalistan

15 Sikh attitudes to other religions

Jainism An explanation of Guru Nanak’s responses to the forms of religion he encountered Guru Arjan Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh The eighteenth century Independent India Partition and its aftermath Operation Blue Star 1984

16 The Sikh dispersion

Migration to Britain (the United Kingdom) Cultural changes among Sikhs in Britain Changes in religious practice Culture clashes in the dispersion Sikhs in continental Europe Sikhs in North America Why did Sikhs migrate? The future of Sikhs in the dispersion Sikh population

Taking it further Glossary Index