Introduction To 'Semitic Religious Thought And Sikhism' By Bhagat Singh Hira

VALUABLE TREATISE

After going through the 'Semitic Religious Thought And sikhism', I safely say that this book (author has called it thesis) of revered principal Bhagat Singh 'Hira' is of its own kind. It is satisfying to see that earnest effort has been made by the renowned sikh scholar, perhaps for the first time to understand the semitic religions, for those who have me affinities with sikhism. Thus, it is first systematic & elaborate tempt in this direction. I am confident it will serve as a compact & elementary work of reference for those who are relatively new comers the comparative study of religion.

This book is natural sequal to his earlier, well received work 'Indian religious thought & Sikhism'. I may mention that like other fields of study comparative religion has an extensive technical vocabulary & one need to know this vocabulary before or she can proceed to the more dvanced literature. After putting life long labour, Principal Bhagat Singh 'Hira' has made the task easy for those who desire to know something about semitic religious thought. He has taken much pains to efine major terms together with a number of key concepts found in all semitic religions. He himself has written that the object of writing this book is to highlight that the religion of humanity is one and that is to old firm the truth:

It is true that only truth can liberate the mind from its ideation. To see the truth the mind must realise that so long as it is agitated it can have no understanding.

In this book basic beliefs of Zoroastriaism, Judaism, Chritianity, Islam and Sufism have been explained and their nearness to the sikhism is revealed but at the sametime the uniqueness of the sikhism is stressed. In the chapter of Sufism, the learned author has correctly stated about Sufism that sufis consider that the pleasures of paradise are nothing compared to the ever-lasting ecstasy of this union. The torment of hell is nothing compared to the torture of separation from God. Now read how pangs of separation are felt by the enlightened soul. If Thou met me not for a moment, the dark age dawned for me: