Sikhs and Sikhism

This volume is an omnibus edition of four classic studies on the history and evolution of Sikhs and Sikhism, by one of the world's leading scholars in this field.Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion examines the life and teachings of Guru Nanak, offering an analytical view of the first Guru of the Sikhs, so essential for an understanding of later Sikh history and contemporary Sikh society. In Early Sikh Tradition, McLeod traces the origins of the janam-sakhistyle, describes the anecdotal and discourse forms used by narrators, and reconstructs a pattern whereby janam-sakhi traditions were assembled and transmitted. The Evolution of the Sikh Community questions the traditional, and rather simplified, view of the Sikh community and its history by probingfurther into the past, to the roots of Nanak's teachings. The last work, Who is a Sikh? offers lucid accounts of key events and phases that led to the development of Sikh identity into its current form. This book seeks to provide an understanding of the Sikh individual, historical community andreligion.