Memoir of author's journey to his ancestral home in English and it's Shahmukhi Panjabi translation.

This book is not merely meant to present a study of the architectural genius of the followers of Sikhism which has its roots in the areas comprising West Pakistan. The author traverses a long distance in between GURU NANAK, the founder of Sikhism and GURU GOVIND SINGH, the last Guru of Sikh community. The author clarifies to the complete satisfaction of the reader how Sikhism like Buddhism, Jainism and the other religions which spring in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent became the product of the reaction against the dominant Brahmanism and its rigid caste system. The book draws a clear picture of the positive influence of Islam on Sikhism which had spread to Iraq, Turkistan, Persia and Afghanistan and came into contact with Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and above all neo-Platonic philosophy by the time of the inception of the Sikh religion. A minutely narrated description on Sikh community s friendly association with Mughal empire and how it turned out to be a bitter political conflicts between the both makes the book more meaningful.

Without Dustjacket.

Sikhism traces its beginnings to Guru Nanak, who was born in 1469 and died in 1538 or 1539. With the life of Guru Nanak the account of the Sikh faith begins, all Sikhs acknowledging him as their founder. Sikhism has long been a little-understood religion and until recently they resided almost exclusively in northwest India. Today the total number of Sikhs is approximately twenty million worldwide. About a million live outside India, constituting a significant minority in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. Many of them are highly visible, particularly the men, who wear beards and turbans, and they naturally attract attention in their new countries of domicile. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Sikhism covers its history through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1000 cross-referenced entries on key persons, organizations, the principles, precepts and practices of the religion as well as the history, culture and social arrangements. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Sikhism.

Contrary to popular opinion, there is more to Sikhism than the distinctive dress. First of all, there is the emergence of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, and the long line of his successors. There are the precepts, many related to liberation through the divine name or nam. There is a particularly turbulent history in which the Sikhs have fought to affirm their beliefs and resist external domination that continues to this day. There is also, more recently, the dispersion from the Punjab throughout the rest of India and on to Europe and the Americas. With this emigration Sikhism has become considerably less exotic, but hardly better known to outsiders. This reference is an excellent place to learn more about the religion. It provides a chronology of events, a brief introduction that gives a general overview of the religion, and a dictionary with several hundred entries, which present the gurus and other leaders, trace the rather complex history, expound some of the precepts and concepts, describe many of the rites and rituals, and explain the meaning of numerous related expressions. All this, along with a bibliography, provides readers with an informative and accessible guide toward understanding Sikhism.