The feminine principle in the Sikh vision of the transcendent

"This study explores the presence of the feminine in the Sikh conception and perception of Transcendent Reality. Sikh scriptures, transitional writings of the Sikhs, and their modern secular literature constitute the sources transitional writings of the Sikhs, and their for the investigation. Within these extensive parameters, Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh closely analyzes feminine imagery, tone, and symbolism, and in so doing recovers a holistic pattern of imagining and experiencing the sacred which can serve as a mode of empowerment for women. The book is divided into eight chapters which approach the Sikh vision of the Transcendent from historical, scriptural, symbolic, mythological, romantic, existential, ethical and mystical perspectives. Each of these discloses the centrality of the woman, and enables the author to reverse what she regards as the one-sided androcentric hermeneutics which has prevailed in Sikh scholarship. The author maintains that the Sikh Gurus and poets did not want the feminine principle to serve just as a figure of speech or literary device; it was rather intended to pervade the whole life of the Sikhs. Her work bolsters the claim that literary symbols should be translated into social and political realities, and gives expression, too, to a powerful new voice in religious studies, whose fresh treatment of a religious tradition that has been relatively neglected in scholarly literature will give new direction and authenticity to feminists worldwide."--BOOK JACKET.