Patiala, Punjab: New book Book “Beyond otherness : Sikhism New Mystical Experience and Interfaith Dialogue” released on Amazon
Beyond Otherness
Author of book Dr. Gurmeet Singh Sidhu Associate professor Department of Religious Studies, Punjabi University Patiala said that Sikhism has a rich legacy of interfaith dialogue however, general survey of Sikh literature shows that intensive studies on interfaith dialogue are very few. In fact, Sikhism has been ignored in the studies of religion. Now situation is changing, people from different traditions are eager to know about others. Moreover, in contemporary thought thinkers are recognizing the multiplicity of the truth. The scholars from different traditions are trying to reinterpret the religious thoughts for current needs of society.
Besides, in present world, it is not imaginable for any faith tradition to claim that they have only real or original spirit. Now it is not possible for one religion to stay alive in sealed structure. In this emerging pluralistic world, human beings are attaining knowledge from different faiths and testing various means for their peace of mind. People are becoming passionate to learn more and more about the religion. In addition to this, present world conditions necessitate for interfaith dialogue, for this flexible pluralistic approach is becoming a need of the day, because pluralistic perspective recognizes multifarious views for the truth.
In this book he notes that Generally, an interfaith dialogue is supposed to be a co-operative interaction among the faiths. The most important aspect of Sikhism towards an interfaith interaction is that Guru Nanak talked with people of various faiths but he never encouraged them for conversion. He always suggested to people that they should remain committed to their respective faiths, however, at all times he also advised everybody to become real seekers of truth.
This work is an attempt to understand the theory of interfaith dialogue and its significance in general and inclusively the new mystical experience from Sikhism. In the wider context this book deals with the interfaith perspectives of Sikhism and its relevance to the contemporary world. It is an academic work based on Sikh scripture which examines the current issues of interfaith studies. The work has five main chapters. A brief description of important concepts of Sikhism and its institutions is given in an appendix which is useful to non-Sikh readers.
Source: PunjabUpdate.com