Book Description
This unique and insightful book skillfully combines recent research in the area of Sikh studies to provide an accurate and comprehensive overview of Sikh history and religiosity against the backdrop of other major religious traditions of the world. Considers the Sikhs today, with focused discussion on the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib, the Guru Panth, the Darbar Sahib, and Amritsar. Examines the founding of the Sikh community, the Guru Nanak, the Sikh doctrine, and the guiding ethics of the religion, and delves into the development of the community, including the influences of the Guru Gobind Singh, the establishment of Sikh Kingdom in the Punjab, and Sikhs move into the modern world. Explores Sikh beliefs, practices, family life and festivals, and concludes a thought-provoking chapter on the future of the Sikh religion—meeting spiritual needs away from the Punjab; replanting the Sikh institution in an alien soil, and moving toward a membership of the global community. For readers interested in World Religions.

From the Back Cover
This series provides succinct and balanced overviews of the religions of the world. Written in an accessible and informative style, and assuming little or no prior knowledge on the part of the reader, each book gives a basic introduction to the faith—its history, beliefs, and practices—and emphasizes modern developments and the role and impact of the religion in today's world. Sikhism is a concise and readable survey of the history of Sikhism, from its founding in the Punjab in the sixteenth century to its spread across the globe today. Focusing particularly on the modern period, it provides a valuable introduction to contemporary Sikh beliefs, devotional activity, and sacred space. Sikhism looks at the ways in which this regional religious tradition has become a global religion and how it continues to adapt and meet the challenges of the modern world.

About the Author
Gurinder Singh Mann is Kundan Kaur Kapany Professor of Sikh Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Ninian Smart (deceased) was J. F. Rowny Professor of Comparative Religions at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Richard D. Hecht is Professor of Religion at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Over the past fifteen years, a large number of undergraduate students who took my courses on Sikhism contributed to the evolution of ideas that appear in this book. These thoughts also served as subject for discussions with a whole generation of researchers, of whom Paul Arney, Anna Bigelow, Will Glover, Edward Maldonado, Dan Michon, Farina Mir, Anne Murphy, Krishna Myrvold, Caroline Sawyer, Gibb Schreffler, Ami Shah, Gurdit Singly and Varun Soni deserve special mention. They have taught me more about the Sikhs and the Punjab than they could have imagined. My heartfelt thanks go to them all. My gratitude goes to Ainslie T. Embree, J.S. Grewal, John S. Hawley, Mark Juergensmeyer, and W.H. McLeod for their continued support. J.S. Grewal and W.H. McLeod read an earlier version of this text and helped me refine the details of the narrative. I am indebted to Richard Hecht for his insights, Shinder Thandi for his critique, and the anonymous reviewers for their detailed comments. My thanks to Mohan Singh for creating the maps, Chris Gregory for giving them a finished form, Melanie White for her sympathetic overseeing of the project, and Samantha Gray for her helpful editorial assistance. My warm thanks go to my family, Rita, Mana, and Raj, for their love and unstinting support. Ninian Smart, who invited me to write this book, did not live to see the finished product, but his mystic presence continues to soar above the place where it was written. It is an honor to dedicate this book to his memory. Gurinder Singh Mann June 22, 2003

FROM THE PUBLISHER