The Philosophical Perspective on Sikh View of Martyrdom

The book, The Philosophical Perspective on Sikh View of Martydom is the first Philosophical interpretation of the concept of martyrdom based on the primary sacred scriptures of the Sikhs and authenticated from the supreme sacrifices of the Gurus and the Sikh martyrs. The concept is traced from the Greek and the Islamic traditions and developed its sui generic character.  The cultural interpretation of the Sikh concept of martyrdom is the fruit of the author’s creative and original reflections. The book will cleanse dross of misunderstandings of the concept. It is an analytical interpretation in the coeval context. It is an endeavour to churn out the hidden meanings of the ciphers, which are locked up in The Guru Granth. Objectives, critical and comprehensive tools of interpretation are used for understanding the philosophical import of Sikhism. It resuscitates the revealed illuminations of the Gurus and the Bhakats. The ecstasies of the contributors are reinterpreted within the context of The Gurus Granth in the modern philosophical terms. It is a synthesis of medievalism and the present without digressing from the spirit of the Sikh faith. The interpretations are in conformity with the medieval and the coeval cultural contexts. No doubt, the methodology has the impact of the Western critical and hermeneutical techniques, but the paradigm of the interpretations is cast in the dynamic philosophical model of Sikhism.  It ensconces eternity and temporality, and restores historicity of human action and societal realities which were lost in the medieval religious dogmas and bigotry.  The ideal man of the Sikh faith, the martyr (marjivada), is an embodiment of the Akalpurakh. The khalsa of Guru Gobind Singh is always ready to stake his life for eradicating evil in the world.