Author: G S Randhawa
Publisher: Guru Nanak Dev University
Year: 1996
Language: multilingual
Pages: 224
ISBN/UPC (if available): N/A
Description
This work is a translation into English of ‘Japu Ji—the morning prayer of the Sikhs. Individual stanzas of ‘Japu Ji’ are followed by brief annotations, wherever necessary. The Introduction is a perceptive study and an exposition of the basic tenets of Sikhism.
Guru Nanak's primary object was to drive his message home to common folk, who had for centuries been nursed and saturated in the traditional Indian idiom and symbols. He has therefore had to invariably draw heavily on its past folk and literary heritage. This precludes examination of his compositions and individual verses in isolation. Scrupulous care has hence been taken to interpret Japu Ji in close conformity with the broader frame-work of his philosophy. Attempt has also been made to bring out the true spirit of his utterances and yet adhere as close to the original text as possible.
‘Japu Ji’ goads the seeker on to a state of ‘willing surrender to the Divine will’. Invoking the grace of the Almighty, it lays stress on a subjugation and sublimation of man’s morbid ‘ego’, and on persistent endeavor of on individual soul to ‘tear apart’ the veil of ‘untruth’. Through total surrender to the Master’s will and in loving devotion to his Master, man seeks an ever closer proximity to the Divine Soul, which is man’s primal home and his final destination. Unlike the Semetic and many other faiths, Heaven in Sikhism is no distant geographical entity. It is, as Confucius put it, ‘being one with God’.
This revised and improved 4th edition seeks to meet the needs of the second generation of emigrant Sikhs who, having stayed away from their native milieu a bit too long, have by now but only a faint acquaintance with their ancestral language and tradition.
Contents
Foreword
Editorial Note
Key to Transliteration
Introduction
Significance
The Tradition
Structure and Contents
Idiom
Purpose
Areas of Enquiry
The Concept of God: The Mulmantra
Ek Omkar
Other Attributes of God
Guru and Gurprasad
The Universe
Man in the Hierarchy of Creation
Man’s Quest and Aim
Ego (Haumai)
The Divine Order or Will
Free Will & Determinism
Karma, Predestination & Fate
Pursuit of the Quest
The Paths to Salvation
The Yoga
Loving Adoration of God
The Sahaja Marga of the Sikhs
Maya (Illusion)
The Cultivation of Virtue
The Five Realms
Life after Death
Deliverance --- Its Socio-oriented Character
The Doctrine of Grace
The Guru’s Role
Formalism in Religion
Dignity of Human Life
The Ideals High Lighted
Social Dimension of Guru’s Teachings
Cosmological Perceptions
Japu Ji (Text)
Bibliography
Index