Guru Nanak Dev and His Teachings

Preface Life history of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikh Faith was written by Prof Sahib Singh in Punjabi. This has been translated into English by me with minor modifications and comprises Part I of this volume. Earlier, life history of Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth and the last Guru was similarly translated and published. Prof. Sahib Singh has published the life history of the remaining eight Gurus-Angad Dev, Amar Das, Ram Das, Arjun Dev, Hargobind, Hari Rai, Har Krishan and Tegh Bahadur, in Punjabi. These will be translated for publication in due course.

Part II of this volume gives the teachings of Guru Nanak and the successor Gurus and has been contributed by me. Actually if one wishes to comprehend the Sikh teachings from the bottom up, one must read Scriptures in Gurus' own language. However, English translation of Sri Guru Granth Sahib is available and non-Punjabi readers can benefit themselves to a larger extent by reading the translations.

Reams uon reams have been published, and are being published, on Sikh philosophy, but without touching the central point of the teachings. The teachings in bits are compared with the other religious systems and at the most it has been said that Sikhism is the synthesis of the various religious systems already existing and the Gurus put in whatever good was in existence in their own system. This is in contradiction of the repeated assertions made by the Gurus that their system was quite different and distinct from those already in existence.

Introduction What tribute can anyone pay to Guru Nanak Dev? No tribute can be equal to the debt humanity owes to him. He completely changed the Man's outlook. He proclaimed that neither isolationism (running away from the world battlefield) nor hankering after power and money hunting was the answer to the human problem.

The Sikh Scriptures are a treasure of knowledge, thus far unexplored. The Gurus have dealt with the problems of the human race, the individual and the society. These various aspects of the larger human problem cannot be segregated as each view point is complementary and enriches the other. It is therefore the knowledge of Physiology, Genetics, Ethology, Physical Anthropology, Psychology (more particularly the Depth Psychology or the Psychoanalyis), Philosophy, Medicine, Sociology, Social Anthropology, Philology and History is absolutely essential for the understanding of the Sikh Scriptures.

I have started with the factual data of the Sikh thought, but have sought a theoretical frame-work to include the explanations thereto by the Depth Psychologists, particularly those who belong to the School of Professor Sigmund Freud. The approach has been motivated by the desire to find a scientific explanation to the various Truths preached by the Great Gurus, hithertofore untouched and unexplained. In this attempt to construct a new frame-work, which will be capable of further growth and development, it has been necessary to give the explanations provided by the positive contributions of the Psychologists. It is hoped that the scholars will further widen the scope of the study from every possible scientific angle, so that the common denominator in each study will be the basic Truths expounded by the Great Gurus.

**Contents and Sample Pages**