The first to appear in Curzon's well respected 'Popular Dictionary' series.

This new dictionary provides over 350 accessible definitions of the terms that the growing number of students of Sikhism will encounter. It covers beliefs, practices, festivals, sacred sites, and principal languages, as well as the social and religious processes through which Sikhism has evolved. A major focus is the teachings of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, and doctrinal developments under subsequent Gurus. Incorporating the 500-year history of Sikhism, from its birth in northern India to its more recent spread around the world, it covers the interplay between the Sikh tradition and other religious traditions including Hindu and Sufi. It is an invaluable first reference for students and teachers of Sikhism, religious studies, South Asian studies, and philosophy, as well as the related disciplines of history, sociology, and anthropology as well as for all practicing Sikhs and anyone with an interest in Sikh religion and culture.

Sikhism traces its beginnings to Guru Nanak, who was born in 1469 and died in 1538 or 1539. With the life of Guru Nanak the account of the Sikh faith begins, all Sikhs acknowledging him as their founder. Sikhism has long been a little-understood religion and until recently they resided almost exclusively in northwest India. Today the total number of Sikhs is approximately twenty million worldwide. About a million live outside India, constituting a significant minority in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. Many of them are highly visible, particularly the men, who wear beards and turbans, and they naturally attract attention in their new countries of domicile. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Sikhism covers its history through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1000 cross-referenced entries on key persons, organizations, the principles, precepts and practices of the religion as well as the history, culture and social arrangements. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Sikhism.

A comprehensive glossary and reference work with more than a thousand entries on Shinto ranging from brief definitions and Japanese terms to short essays dealing with aspects of Shinto practice, belief and institutions from early times up to the present day.

The Dictionary Of Sikh Names Is An Exhaustive Reference Source That Has Been Compiled To Cater To The Need Of Sikh Families Around The World And Help Them Select The Traditional Names In The Sikh Religion For Their Offspring. The Dictionary Is Also Intended To Meet The Need Of Those Who Want To Find Out The Meanings Of Sikh Names. This Reference Book Would Be A Useful Source Of Information For The People Living In Different Parts Of The Globe, Particularly In Western Countries Where, Because Of Limited Choice, It Is Still A Problem To Select Meaningful And Suitable Names.

"The sources and history of the world's religions, from Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism, to regional studies in Africa, China and Japan; their teaching, practices and popular traditions; diaspora religions in the Western world, in the USA, Canada, Australia and Britain, including a new section on these religious migrations in a comparative international perspective; gender and spirituality and the Black African diaspora; developments that have taken place in the twentieth century; recent scholarship, including new material on China; and public festivals and private devotions." "With charts and diagrams to illustrate and clarify the text, The New Handbook of Living Religions is the definitive guide to understanding the belief systems of the world today."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Historical Dictionary of Hinduism relates the history of Hinduism through a chronology, an introductory essay, photos, an extensive bibliography, and over 1,000 cross referenced dictionary entries on Hindu terminology, names of major historical figures and movements, gods and goddesses, prominent temples, terms for items used in Hindu practice, major texts, philosophical concepts, and more. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Hinduism.

"McLeod is a renowned scholar of Sikhism. . . . [This book] confirms my view that there is nothing about the Sikhs or their religion that McLeod does not know and there is no one who can put it across with as much clarity and brevity as he can. In his latest work he has compressed in under 150 pages the principal sources of the Sikh religion, the Khalsa tradition and the beliefs of breakaway sects like the Nirankaris and Namdharis. . . . As often happens, an outsider has sharper insight into the workings of a community than insiders whose visions are perforce restricted."—Khushwant Singh, Hindustan Times

Contrary to popular opinion, there is more to Sikhism than the distinctive dress. First of all, there is the emergence of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, and the long line of his successors. There are the precepts, many related to liberation through the divine name or nam. There is a particularly turbulent history in which the Sikhs have fought to affirm their beliefs and resist external domination that continues to this day. There is also, more recently, the dispersion from the Punjab throughout the rest of India and on to Europe and the Americas. With this emigration Sikhism has become considerably less exotic, but hardly better known to outsiders. This reference is an excellent place to learn more about the religion. It provides a chronology of events, a brief introduction that gives a general overview of the religion, and a dictionary with several hundred entries, which present the gurus and other leaders, trace the rather complex history, expound some of the precepts and concepts, describe many of the rites and rituals, and explain the meaning of numerous related expressions. All this, along with a bibliography, provides readers with an informative and accessible guide toward understanding Sikhism.

The International Bibliography of Sikh Studies brings together all books, composite works, journal articles, conference proceedings, theses, dissertations, project reports, and electronic resources produced in the field of Sikh Studies until June 2004, making it the most complete and up-to-date reference work in the field today. One of the youngest religions of the world, Sikhism has progressively attracted attention on a global scale in recent decades. An increasing number of scholars is exploring the culture, history, politics, and religion of the Sikhs. The growing interest in Sikh Studies has resulted in an avalanche of literature, which is now for the first time brought together in the International Bibliography of Sikh Studies. This monumental work lists over 10,000 English-language publications under almost 30 subheadings, each representing a subfield in Sikh Studies. The Bibliography contains sections on a wide variety of subjects, such as Sikh gurus, Sikh philosophy, Sikh politics and Sikh religion. Furthermore, the encyclopedia presents an annotated survey of all major scholarly work on Sikhism, and a selective listing of electronic and web-based resources in the field. Author and subject indices are appended for the reader’s convenience.