The impulse behind the study in hand was the longing to find adequate answers to certain vital questions—What exactly does Sikhism stand for? Why was it originated and developed by Guru Nanak and his nine successors? How did it strike roots among people? What institutions and structures the Gurus evolved to highlight and escalate it? What type of praxis of man and society Gurus visualized? How was it different from contemporary religious systems—Islam, Hinduism, Sahajyana, Buddhism, Nathism, Bhakti system etc.? Was it a synthesis of different traits of different religions? Was it a syncretism of Hindu and Muslim cultures or was it an independent system? Did Sikhism purport to design to raise itself on premises different from the ones which formed the foundations of Hindu or other societies? Was it merely reformist movement aiming at certain targets within time and space or a distinct spirito-social process to urge the people to march towards integrated development both at micro and macro levels? What was the true nature of Supreme Reality as conceived by the Gurus? How is this related with the universe including man and how does it permeate, pervade and operate the whole universe? What type of society conforms to God’s Will and how was its consummation possible? Which models of polity and social edifice were recommended by the Gurus? Is Sikhism a life-affirming dispensation or life-negating philosophy? Why was structural bonding of religion and politics effected and institutionalised? What is the place of Sikhism in the comity of religions and how it is relevant to challenges of the present-day world? Such questions and a lot more being vital and crucial for the understanding of the role of Gurus and their dispensation, have been fully taken cognizance of in the present study.

Table of Contents:
VOLUME 1 1. Perspective A CREATIVE RESPONSE—EMERGENCE OF SIKHISM 2. Guru Nanak Dev CONSOLIDATION AND EXPANSION 3. Guru Angad Dev 4. Guru Amar Das 5. Guru Ram Das 6. Guru Arjan Dev Appendices I — Date of Birth of Guru Nanak II — Guru Amar Das’s Mother’s Name III — Date of Birth of Guru Amar Das IV — Twenty-two Manjis V — Baba Mohan’s Birth and Death Dates VOLUME 2 PIRI-MIRI—STRUCTURAL BONDING OF SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL CONCERNS 7. Guru Hargobind MASTERLY INACTIVITY—A STRATEGIC RESPONSE TO ISLAMIC IMPERIALISM 8. Guru Har Rai 9. Guru Harkrishan 10. Guru Tegh Bahadur CULMINATION 11. Guru Gobind Singh 12. Manifestation of the Khalsa 13. Khalsa Battles Against Islamic Imperialism and Hindu Conservatism 14. Damdama Period 15. Through Rajasthan, Agra to Nander 16. Guru Granth Sahib—The Eternal Guru 17. Sikh Religious Orders 18. Important Sikh Structures 19. Sikh Polity 20. Sikh Social Ethics 21. Some Eminent Sikhs of the Guru 22. Muslim Devotees of the Gurus Appendices I — Important Places Visited by Guru Har Gobind Sahib II — Martyrs of Chamkaur Sahib III — Poets, Writers and Men of Parts of the Darbar of Guru Gobind Singh IV — Sermon given by Guru Gobind Singh on the Baisakhi of 1699 V — Places Visited by Guru Tegh Bahadur VI — Sikhs of the Gurus as Recorded by Bhai Gurdas Bibliography Index