We all seek internal happiness and mental peace, but quite often in vain. We look for peace in idleness. We look for peace in quiet corners. We travel to distant places, go on pilgrimages but it still eludes us. But people who constantly accept themselves as they are, cultivate their self-awareness, and increase self-knowledge, lead a spiritual life, progress further and gain internal strength. "Achieving Inner Peace is a wonderful book which will change the lives of individuals who read it. The book should become a Social Policy document for the Home Office. At a time when youth violence is increasing, this book offers values by which to live."-Rev. Diana Macnaughton.

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.

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.

Comparative study of writings of Guru Nanak, 1469-1538 and Bhagavadgita.

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.

About the Book This volume illustrates, compares and discusses as to how Guru Nānak with his transcendental exposition, sharp skill, argumentative capability and common poetic language further enriched, explained, simplified, modernized and expressed various theological and philosophical concepts elucidated in Upaniṣads for the understanding and adaptation of a common man. Upaniṣads are “breath of eternal” and hymns of Guru Nānak are “a divine song of life”. Guru Nānak’s exuberance of love and search for God and godly people was not confined to any religion or religious institution. He revolted against the ritualistic mind of a brāhmaṇa. He was essentially a man of God whose love and quest for search for the Ultimate Truth knew no limits. In the pursuit of this search he enjoyed a reach to the state of void meaning a state where there is no distinction between the object and the subject – the knower and the known. He was a protagonist of Bhakti tradition and stressed more on bhakti or devotion to God. He taught the Sahaja-Patha or Sūrata Śabada Yoga that easily takes one straight to the Lord by spontaneous concentration of mind. Both hymns of Guru Nānak and Upaniṣads explain that the real aim of human life is to attain liberation from the repeated coming and going in incarnations, which can be attained by adequate karma, knowledge and disciplined meditation. About the Author Born in a small town of Chamkaur Sahib, Kanta Arora, MA, LLB, PhD, spent her childhood within the premises of Ghari, where Sri Guru Gobind Singh had sacrificed his two sons. This had left a profound influence of Guru Nānak’s teaching on her. Having done graduation and post-graduation from the Punjab University, she joined Govt of India and held various positions in Finance and Accounts Dept of different ministries. After superannuation, she became a regular student of theology and made a comparative study of religions and consciousness studies and got her PhD for the thesis “Philosophy of Life: A Study in the Light of Bani (Hymns) of Guru Nanak and Upanishads” from the Department of Sanskrit of Dayalbagh Educational Institute (Deemed University). She has participated in many national seminars, and international conferences organized by the Center for Conscious Studies, University of Arizona, USA.