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Ten Essential Books To Help You Explore The Sikh Faith:
The Roundtable Open Forum #155

THE HUFFINGTON POST

 

 

 

 

 

If you are seeking to go deeper into your faith's traditions, or explore a new tradition you’ve been curious about, HuffPost Religion’s new series ‘Religion Reads’ features essential books to learn more about a certain religion or faith tradition, as recommended by practitioners and religion scholars. The list may include works of fiction, non-fiction, religious texts, poetry and more. We hope the selected texts will offer insight, wisdom and personal reflection along the way.

The following list highlights the Sikh faith. Thanks to Simran Jeet Singh, Sumeet Kaur, Navdeep Singh, Sona S. Kaur, Sahaj Kohli, Jasneet Aulakh and Angad Singh for their recommendations. Here are 10 essential books that they recommend should be on your shelf if you want to dive into the Sikh Faith.

[Antonia Blumberg, Associate Religion Editor; and Carol Kuruvilla, Religion Associate Editor - The Huffington Post]





I   Translations of GURU GRANTH SAHIB

The Adi Granth, later known as the Guru Granth Sahib, is the central religious text of the Sikh Faith. It is comprised of hymns describing the qualities of God, composed by the Sikh gurus.

A number of good English translations are available.


II   THE SIKHS

‘The Sikhs’ by Patwant Singh is a detailed overview of Sikh history and tradition that reads like a captivating story. As Navdeep Singh said: "Singh’s work remains one of the most accessible and researched books on the history and evolution of the Sikh community. He was writing a counter-narrative to balance depictions of Sikhs as a feared other and provided a more holistic and balanced discussion and representation of the community."


III    LOST IN HISTORY: 1984 RECONSTRUCTED

‘Lost In History: 1984 Reconstructed’ by Gunisha Kaur, investigates a period of attacks on Sikh houses of worship throughout India that included pogroms, police brutality and other assaults on Sikhs in the country. "Dr. Gunisha Kaur explores the problems that set off this horrific part of modern day Indian history and how the world’s largest democracy responded to it," said Sumeet Kaur.


IV   JASMIN’S SUMMER WISH

‘Jasmin's Summer Wish’ is a picture book by Liz Glines that tells the story of a group of children living in New York City and grappling with the realities of climate change. It features Sikh characters in an urban setting.


V   GARLAND AROUND MY NECK

‘Garland Around My Neck’ by Patwant Singh and Harinder Kaur Sekhon tells the story of remarkable humanitarian, Puran Singh. The book "emphasizes his work with the disabled, destitute, and lower sections of society in the Amritsar area," and provides an "excellent [resource] on Sikh service and philanthropy,"


VI   SPIRIT BORN PEOPLE

‘Spirit Born People’ is a book of lecture notes by Puran Singh first published in 1928. It served as a wake-up call, particularly for young Sikhs who had strayed from their faith. It also sought to revitalize and reinvigorate the tradition.

 
VII  THE WORLD ACCORDING TO SIKHI

‘The World According To Sikhi’ by I.J. Singh, "examines the Sikh philosophy and applies it to the challenges of modern day society," said Sumeet Kaur. "While taking a closer look at these issues, Dr. Singh offers unique ways for Sikhs and non-Sikhs to find answers to life’s questions."


VIII   THE NAME OF MY BELOVED

‘The Name Of My Beloved’ is a translation of selections from the Sikh Scripture by Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh. "This is a great introduction for a non-Sikh looking to begin a study of Sikh scripture," said Sona S. Kaur.


IX   MAKING ETHNIC CHOICES: CALIFORNIA’S PUNJABI MEXICAN AMERICANS

‘Making Ethnic Choices’ by Karen Leonard, explores the hardships faced by early Sikh and Punjabi migrants to the United States at the turn of the 20th century. "Using written sources and numerous interviews, [Leonard] invokes gender, generation, class, religion, language, and the dramatic political changes of the 1940s in South Asia and the United States to show how individual and group perceptions of ethnic identity have changed among Punjabi Mexican Americans in rural California."


X   A HISTORY OF THE SIKHS

‘A History Of The Sikhs’ by Khushwant Singh, in two volumes, fulfills the promise of its title. First published in 1963, the text provides a sweeping overview of Sikh history and tradition.

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THE ROUNDTABLE OPEN FORUM # 155

We ask our readers to tell us about their own favourite books that they feel would be good additions to this list.



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[Courtesy: The Huffington Post. Edited for sikhchic.com]
October 5, 2015
 

Conversation about this article

1: Kamal Singh (Mumbai, India), October 05, 2015, 10:08 AM.

I would also recommend 'Rajni' by Gurutej Singh Khalsa, and the comic books by Daljeet Singh Sidhu.

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The Roundtable Open Forum #155"









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