Table Of Contents For 'The Sikh Heritage - A Search of Totality' Book By Dr. Daljeet

Introduction To Book  'The Sikh Heritage - A Search of Totality' Book By Dr. Daljeet

The Sikh Heritage is a unique guide to the lives and thought of the ten Sikh Gurus, their work, philosophy and achievements in history. Enhanced throughout with works of art and superb colour photoraphy, this narrative of divinity and scholarship is a fascinating guide to the thought of the ten Gurus and the paths they laid down.

A comparatively new religion sikhism developed and flourished over the last 500 years, but remains little-known outside the faith. A religion of equality, Sikhism's great Gurus developed a creed of unity and social cohesion. Dr Daljeet explores the significance of these doctrines in practices such as the Guru Ka Langer, in which the devout and the hungry are fed as an act of worship, and the famous Sikh commitment to caring for the wounded in war. For while the ten divine masters taught a deeply spiritual path, their commitment to the good of the community has made Sikhism a religion of Earthly works.

In The Sikh Heritage, Dr Daljeet explores both the teachings of the masters and the immense cultural riches of Sikh society. She narrates the great life of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, one of the pivotal Sikh leaders, and sheds light on the many artistic and sacred aspects of Sikhism. From the Shabads (hymns) to the Adi Granth, the book of learning that defines the Sikh way of living without images of God,  to the architectural traditions that reach perfection in the Golden Temple of Amritsar, she guides the reader through a sophisticated and highly accomplished culture. With chapters on numismatics, Phlukari and shawls contributed by experts in the field, and a wealth of rare paintings and photographs of relics, this visually stunning work is a comprehensive and accessible guide to the Sikh  way of life and worship.

Preface To Book  'The Sikh Heritage - A Search of Totality' Book By Dr. Daljeet

'The Sikh heritage: A Search for Totality' is an attempt at transcribing my vision of Punjab. To me what defines Punjab is not a piece of a land, a geography or the creation of an Act of Parliament. The Punjab of my vision is a living entity, which has its own life -  way and a long tradition of faith, thought and culture and if at all a land, its own colours, horizons, skies, dimensions and character. As acclaims geology, the plains of Punjab grew particle by particle and layer to layer out of the substance brought down to it by its five Himalayan rivers, that is, the plain land of Punjab has its soil endowed with the magnificence of Himalayan heights which its inflowing currents infused into it.So evolved out of its great past, with one of the earliest human civilizations characterizing it, the life in Punjab, its thought, modes, dreams, realities,beliefs, vision , colours, costumes, taboos, sanctions, arts, crafts, tales, songs, symphonies, dance, drama, theologies, rituals, myths, legends, festivals, feats, smiles, tears, pleasure, pains, jubilations and pathos. Different from most lands, Punjab, is the focal point of this study. Far above a catalogue of Heritage objects it investigates summarily Punjab's entire past from Indus days to now but more minutely its five hundred years after the birth of Guru Nanak.

It was during my deputation to Anandpur Sahib that I encountered this unique Punjab. In 1999 the nation, the Sikhs and Sikh land in particular, celebrated 300 years of the birth of Khalsa. Anandpur Sahib, the seat of the Tenth Sikh Guru Sri Guru Gobind Singh who fathered Khalsa, was the venue of the inaugural function for the year long chain of celebrations. The programme schedule included the creation of a Sikh Heritage Museum at Anandpur Sahib and an exhibition of the Sikh Heritage on the occasion of inaugural ceremony. The Punjab Government and the Anandpur Sahib foundation were jointly holding and hosting these celebrations.

My services were assigned to the Punjab Government for setting up this museum and exhibition. The construction of Khalsa complex, which had to house the museum, had yet not begun. The exhibition, too , was just an idea, a thing to be created almost out of nothing-no appropriate building, no exhibits, and no personnel to man it. Prospective venues were surveyed. The hall of the Khalsa College building under construction, which could be suitably finished, was the option.Workers team was collected from different departments of Punjab Government and the National Museum, New Delhi and put to work. I then toured Punjab from this corner to that collecting objects relevant to Sikhism, Sikh art, thought, culture, or things wherein reflected the Sikh Heritage and the essential of Punjab. I was amazed and moved to discover that the faithful ones had been preserving for centuries now the relics, which they believed had once belonged to their Gurus.

It was almost a personal endeavour. I was, however, able to collect and put to display some 300 exhibits that defined the growth of Sikhs' life-way and their struggle and sacrifice for their ideals and identity and wherein reflected the legacy of Sikh Gurus. What struck me most was their unique capacity to reveal the unity and a sense of continuity of life, thought and culture which neither time had eroded nor various pressures or the oppressive hands of tyrants. In a record period the exhibition was set up which everyone said was magnificent. It was inaugurated on 8th April 1999 by the Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The exhibition was on display just for three weeks but visited by not less than half a million people, evert viewing eye admiring it and every head bowing in reverence to the holy relics. I was asked to do a catalogue, which was in great demand, but in a hectic and tight schedule with barely two months in hand and a lot to be done it could not be taken up. And, I am happy for this failure, for a catalogue in that frame of time and mind with other priorities dominating, could only be a compilation of hearsay things. Besides, I could not claim to have seen what I had collected for the material vision of an object was not always its underlying inherent truth and this truth I had to apperceive yet.

After I was back, I began recollecting in tranquility, as said William Wordsworth, the known romantic English poet, the 'spontaneous overflow of 'the 'powerful feeling' which had burst into me when one after the other I mounted on the walls these objects revealing the great Punjab,a legacy of the Divines and the face of a living tradition. I began by tracing it across the ages but essentially through these objects or such others, which manifested the Divine benevolence and the efforts of the non-Divine ones wherein divinity sought to discover itself and which sustained and broadened the great tradition. What emerged was beyond the concept of a catalogue and is before you embodying my vision of Punjab best defined as a totality of life on time scale and amidst multi-dimensions and diversities orchestrating them all into a harmony and celestial chorus.

No book is conceived or written in vacuum, and a book like this certainly not. Many institutions and individuals filled this vacuum by their multifarious assistance and I am indebted to them all. I am as much grateful to various collectors, listed on the acknowledgement page, for their invaluable cooperation. For a fuller view of Punjab some subject experts too had contributed to this volume, though all of their articles could not be used. I, however, feel as much grateful to them all. I express my thanks to all others who were always ready to help me, especially my sister Ma  Prem Bharti, brother-in-law Atul, Dr.Vijay Mathur, Dr. Maheep Singh, Shri K.K.Gupta and Shri Rajbir Singh. I thank Shri J.S.Anand of Bhai Veer Singh library whose library, a sanctuary for rare books and ready reference, was always open for me. I am also thankful to Yogesh and Suraksha, the designer couple, who while designing the book maintained, besides its visual aspect, the spiritual aura of Sikh Heritage and for excellent working relationship I enjoyed when working with them. I am deeply indebted to Smt. and Shri Ashwani Sabarwal of Prakash Books, without whose enterprise the book could not be probably brought out.

My gratitude is due to my loving mother Ma Anand Bharti whose benign smiles and blessings always enthused me to work and made my throny path smooth. I thank ProfP.C.Jain who strengthened my writing and broadened conception while I was working with him. When editing the book his perseverance, tenability and penetrating skills gave new dimensions to this volume. And, finally I am indebted to Great Gurus whose grace breathed life into these lifeless pieces of paper.

Dr. Daljeet