BTTRCDUOTTON IHK jmSTQSB m > PX.AH 0? THl! BTfSBt lRlZrod£C^,J.SSarla It is a hlBtorloal faCt that wiienerer dharma deos^B and adharma flourl8h«t» great leaders of thought and aCtion appear on the horizon In reeponce to the demande of time In order to re-establieh the rule of dharma* t India's oonfrontation with Islam began some­ time^ in the tenth Century. By the beginning of thirteenth century Islam started asserting itself as an aCtive soCio-religious creed baCked by politiCal authority and military forCe and by beginning of fifteenth century it had already made in-roads into Class struCtured and caste-ridden Hindu soCiety. The elenents which were foreign to Indian faith had node ingress into Hindus belonging to lower Castes* Conversion to Islam of indigenous population under Coercion and ruthless poliCies of the oonquerors was a normal feature. So muCh sot that they tTanted to administer all human affairs under the religious Codes and laws based on bigotry and prejudiCe. They sentenced qaints of the other persuation to death in the name of divine religious laws. They Came« not as Conquerors but enemies and the faCe of Indian history was narred (11) with theee euppreeslve forCesf for it wae not the pollCiee but the institution^ which were nathlesely oppreeeed, Man lived in a system without taking part in its deCisions and soCiety itself gave In because there was inner deCay, for reasons more than one* evidenCe being soCiety itself. Subjugation to invaders, deaoralisation owing to absence of soCial justiCe, praCtiCe of Inequality, disCrimination on grounds of religion, laCk of value for human difpiity and absence of reverence for human personality Created a deterior­ ated and divided soCiety. The invaders took full advantage of the divided scene and tried, not only to banish idolatry froa the land but also to convert the •infidels* to Islam, The awe and terror of the eword was so great that^ both Culture and religion^ reached ebyemaX depths. True religion had been Choked by selfishness of priests end indifferenCe of the people. The highly spiritual Ch^aCter of Hinduism had been replaCed by formalin and was Confined to peCuliar foms of eating and drinking, rituals and rites, saCrifiCes and superstitions and other suCh mechanical observations. This was the Condition of the indigenous population in the fifteenth Century. (lii) The Bituatlon demanded enengetio aCtion, eenee of Belf-reppeot^ and unity, rererenCe and reepeCt for human personality, belief in equality and fraternity of mankind, and eooial JustiCe* Belief in one formleBB Ood and dignity of mankind on the bseie of laan ae manifestation and abode of Cod were the Crying need of the time. Only a epiritaal revolution could survive in BuCh a suffering Country; only a epiritually mighty forCe could effeCtively CheCk proeelytissation, and perhaps restore, what wao otherwise a Culture, ethiCally and spiritually of the highest order. Sikhism and Sikh soCiety emerged froa the soCial and spiritual transfomation effeCted Toy Guru i^anak and his nine suCCe&eors. This was the most signifiCant and Creative response to the Challenge thrown by the dominating and despotiC ruling authority to the Contem- prorary Indian soCiety* The tenth (Juru - Guru Oobind Singh •> brought a signifiCant metamorphosis in Sikhs by Creating the order of Khalsa, a eoCio-religious militant forCe* The order of Khalsa was a personified answer to that Challenge to the human dignity and -»v\ freedo^ of one’s faith and one’s way of life. The Cikhe, under Guru Gobind Singh, emerged as a well organised soCio-religious and politiCo-military forCe and were prepared to fight the despotism, tyranny ( i v ) and injuBtioe of Mughal rulere. The seCular and eplritual ende of the ooramunity were merged in one militant forCe to fight oppreaeion and evil# It is needless to Bay that this traneforraation of eooiety brought about by the tenth Guru, was nothin" abort of a miracle* Statement of the problem and need for the study How eaCh a metamorphoeis was broufjht about in a eoCietyi ishioh had reached suCh a low level of degen­ eration and deterioration* ie not only a matter for Coneideration for history, soCiology and soCial psychology but also a matter for the philosophyi of values. The* faCt that suCh a transformation toolC place in the way of life and institutions of the Sikhs shows that they reCognised Certain soCio-religious values. What these values were and what efforts were made by the Sikhs to attain these values is a matter of interest froa the point of view of philosophy of values. It will, therefore* be useful to determine the philosoph­ iCal foundations of the Sikh Value System, which beCame operative in the Sikh soCiety and soCial institutions, • The philosophy of the Sikhs is embodied in Adi Granth in the form of compositions of Sikh Ourus and Saints of India. My claim that there is a need to carry out such a study and researCh is supported by the views of ir) . K.L* Seshaglri, Profeeeor of Comparative religion, ■ Punjabi University Patiala* He bcqtb, "Bubetantial etudiee have been made regarding the ooCial, politiCal and Cultural impliCatione of the teaohinge contained in the Gurbani. It hae been and Continuee to be pervaeivoly used for personal and Communal edifiCation* but the works that foCus on the philosophy of Gurbani are few and far between. It is a field riCh with potentialities for researCh* There is need for sustained study of the basiC conCents of Gurbani and ® systematic exposition of its philosopl^". Purnose of the Study The purpose of the present work is to bring out and to systenatiee the values implied in the Sikh view of life as found in Adi Granth, and to determine the extent to whiCh they are operative in the Sikh way of life and the Sikh soCial institutions* Bince this neCesoitates determination of the philoCophiCal found­ ations of the £ikh value systera, an attempt is also taodo in the thesis to formulate such philosophiCal foundations* PlaP. of the Worj£ The present study is suitably divided into seven chapters* The order in which these Chapters are arranged faCilitates the development of Content and thought in (vi) Buoh a way that It flret builds the value C^jretCaa implied in the Sikh view of life bb found in Adi Oranthf and then conBidere how f a r these values are operative in the Sikh way of life and soCial inetitutlone. In the first Chapter, the ConCepiB of value and values in general are set forth* 5?he contents of this Chaptcr cover disouesione oft the ConCept, ClassifiCation and hierarChy of values, The chapter ends with the disCuaoion of the path-waye for the attainment of the ideal. This Chapter, thus brings out the various aspects of the Conception Caid attainment of values. Without the understanding and knowled??e of the nature of value, the developaent of a philosoTJhlCal study like the present one is inConCeivable. Chapter two deals vdth the epistesioloclcal dimension of the theory of value in general and Sikh valua in partiCular. This involves the disCussion of the various means of knowledge with a view to deterralnine their relative importanCe as found in the Sikh thought* In chapter three are disCuesed the metaphysical views of the Sikhi?* It deals with the CCaiCeption of Ultimate Reality* The disCussion also covCrs the SlWh conoeptione of ’levels of reality', Creation of the phenomenal world and its nature and purpose, nature of (vll) the oelf and its relation with the phen<»nenal world and God* Chapter four »etB forth the philosophiCal found­ ation of the SiiCh value system or viftiat may he Called the Sikh view of life* The disouBsion of the Sikh view of life as underlying their value system ConsietB of the disCussion of the Ultimate Value» ae also of the spiritual9 soCial and survival values and Mlsvalues** The chapter ends by giving a syot^atised schematic diagram of the Sikh valjie system as derived from the texts of Adi Granth* In Chapter five the way to God Realisation is disCuBEed* This also Covere the ConCepts of Kam (Word), Gureabad, Gurmantra and Kam-Toga* Chapter six deals with the values as operative in the Sikh way of life* In faCt the pumose of the chapter is to expound the philosophy behind Sikh socio- religious value system and expliCate the soCial and spiritual values as operative in the Sikh way of life and the Sikh soCial Inst it ut ions* Chapter seven summarises, in a way, the vAiole thesle and establishes that the values implied in the Sikh view of life as found in Adi Granth are operatiye in the Sikh way of life and the Sikh soCial institutions, fhe concluding remarks suggest that the value systeo (▼Ill) given in Adi Oranth would eerre ae an ideal blueprint for realieation of God both at indlTidual and eooial planes* In Bhort, the SilCh Y d ue theory ie an axiolop-ioal abeolutiem in ivhlCh Ood is the Supreme Value and the ideal is to realise God on the individual and soCial planes* As the present study makes referenCes to various SilCh historiCal inCidents and various sCriptures, inCluding Adi Granth, it is considered indispensable to give here a vexy brief account of the soCial situation prevailing at the times of Gurus and the values advocated by them aS also the details regarding the various sCriptureSt partiCularly Adi Granth (Guru Granth Sahib). 2 SIKHISM t SAIEHT FRATUKRS The Sikh Religion, a monotheistic religion, is the most modem of all the world's religion* Guru Ilanak (U69-1539 A*D), the founder of the Sikh Religion Came on the earthly scene when the soCio-politiCal Conditiom in India were in a miserable state* India in H 6 9 was under Muslim donination and had suffered invasions of foreigners for about four hundred years before the birth of Guru Uanak* People of India had for^^otten their ( 13 C ) eplrltual treasure» were divided into caetee and olasees at war with one another and had oonseCiuently lost the power of united aCtion to defend themselyes and their motherland*^ 7he Moh^amedanfi ruled India} no woman*B honour and no man's Belf->reBpeot wae eafei Hinduiem meant politiCal elayery.