Foreword

Man’s spiritual quest has been an abiding characteristic of his earthly sojourn. The origin of this search may be hidden in the debris of his long and lost history. But the continuous return of man to his spiritual seeking may, in a way, be seen to emanate from his very inner nature itself. We see that this incessant effort to realize his spiritual being has been carried on by him for a very long span of time and over many a land. All this has added to his vast spiritual heritage.

The contribution of Indian spiritual traditions to man’s collective heritage is one of the most significant aspects of its philosophy and theology. In recent years, our Universities, as the new and growing centres or learning, have shown increasing academic interest in promoting research in the areas of religion. The Department of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Studies of the Punjabi University, has made great and very significant contribution in this direction. The present volume, Sikh Gurus and the Indian Spiritual Thought, is a collection of lectures delivered by eminent scholars of our country. I am very happy to be associated with the publication of this volume and sincerely hope that it will be one more fruitful addition to the understanding of man’s spiritual tradition, and also inspire readers to imbibe in their lives the universal teachings of the seers outlined in this book.

Introduction

Sikh Gurus and the Indian Spiritual Thought is a collection of Guru Nanak Commemorative Lectures, delivered annually under the auspices of the Department of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala. The present volume covers the lectures delivered between 1973- 1979.

The authors of the lectures belong to various Indian religious traditions. Their scholarship is evident from the wide expanse of their canvas. The diverse perspectives will enable the reader to view the history and philosophy of Sikhism from different possible standpoints. But this adds to the difficulties of the Editor who may undertake to present a synthesised view of such widely different points of view.

(Late) Dr Taran Singh had conceived the idea of the present volume. The entire credit for the work is due to him. He was an erudite personality of great standing in the domain of writing on religion. The present work is now being presented to the readers after his sad and sudden demise in 1981. The department has lost in him an able scholar and a very devout person. Everyone who knew him bas been engulfed by a sense of vacuum. Unfortunately, the Editor’s introduction was not completed by Or Taran Singh because of his sudden and untimely passing away from amidst us. I had sought to undertake this work on my first assumption of office as the Head of the Department. But I could not complete the work due to various reasons including the brief interlude during which I ceased to be the Head of the Department.

We have now decided to present the work without an elaborate introduction, although we had felt the need for commenting upon various views expressed in the lectures of different scholars. We seek to do the same briefly by observing that the ‘insider’ view of Sikhism may not necessarily agree with the various arguments and views presented in the papers of various scholars. We do not say this to detract anything from the great scholarly merit of their perspectives. We have made the above comment only to underscore the possibility of difference of opinion in respect of the interpretation of the Sikh doctrine, and events relating to the development of the Sikh tradition.

We are grateful to Dr Bhagat Singh, Vice-Chancellor, for his very kindly agreeing to write the foreword to this book. We owe a lot to his kind interest and support in the publication of this work. I must express my gratitude to the academic and office staff of the Department for their very kind co-operation and help in making the publication of this book a reality.

My very special thanks are due to Sardar Balkar Singh who has been associated very closely with the editing of this book. The great pains undertaken by him may find compensation in being associated with the work of the great scholar, Dr Taran Singh, to whose memory we dedicate this book.

Contents