Ever since the humans started keeping historical records, hair has been evoking considerable interest in its symbolic and evocative properties. It has been an object of beliefs indicating established tradition, which may or may not have appealed to certain individuals. In many cases, it has also been the means of projecting self-image in the society. In certain societies of the world it has been the subject of art, language, poetry and folklore for ages.

Today different religions, which at one time could have looked at other faiths with aloof superiority, have been thrown together in a way that demands dialogue and peaceful co-existence. Whatever our religion, we live in a world in which family breakdown, escalating crime, stress and depression go hand in hand with a naïve pursuit of happiness through material prosperity. Many feel that it is a society powered by greed that has lost its sense of direction.

It has always been the responsibility of our different religions to give moral direction and remind us of ethical imperatives for sane, balanced and responsible living. Never before has the need been greater; nor the opportunities. Wider educational opportunities and near instant communications can clearly help our individual faiths to provide sound guidance for the young. More importantly, they can enable different faiths that find themselves in close physical proximity, as in Britain today, to work together for the common good. Interfaith dialogue has never been more important. It is only through understanding our neighbor’s faith that we can learn about and rejoice in the values we hold in common, whilst at the same time respecting sensitive differences.

There is however a real difficulty in dialogue. Some religions, notably, Christianity and Islam, have missionary zeal, which some see as a missionary imperative to convert others to their religion; to the ‘one true faith’. This can make dialogue, at best difficult and at worst impossible. In contradistinction, the Sikh Gurus taught that God is not interested in religious labels and that no one religion has a monopoly of truth

The faith of modern man has been violently shaken by the quick and continuous advances of science and technology in all areas of life. As a consequence some members of the modern society have started questioning the need for religion in the modern scientific age. The influence of communism has further spurred such questioning and criticism. This has resulted in the rapid erosion or in many cases rejection of spiritual values and has triggered its transplantation with agnosticism and atheism. For some people the idea of God is futile, superstitious and redundant. For some others religion is an outdated commodity, which has outlived its utility and has no relevance in the 21st century. They think it is unsuited to afford guidance in human affairs and therefore, they reject everything religious as unreliable, unless proven correct through science.

More is known about the Sikhs and Sikhism worldwide today than ever before in the short but eventful history of the Sikh nation. Indeed, as a complete theo-political philosophy which anticipates the “confluence of the world-cultures into a universal culture of mankind” (Sardar Kapur Singh), Sikhism, unshackled from the strong Vedic influences in India, is emerging in its true form as the way of life which embraces the plurality of religions and social systems. Sikhism therefore has no difficulty in agreeing with other world religions like Christianity regarding what is “Good” and what is “Evil” in relation to the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of mankind.

This small volume, apart from having a brief introduction on the methodology of comparative study of religion, comprises an essay on a comparison of Sikhism, Vaisnavism, Nathism and Sant Tradition (Radical Bhagats). Parts of this essay include contents of lectures delivered at the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, the Punjabi University, Patiala, and the Guru Nanak Foundation, New Delhi. 

Despite a large body of recent literature on the lives of the Gurus, Gurbani and other aspects of the Sikh Religion and history, there still persists, in some quarters, ignorance or misunderstanding about the essentials of Sikh Religion and the message of the Sikh Gurus. It is still not uncommon for persons, even from among scholars, to say that Sikhism is a part and parcel of the Indian Bhakti movement; or that its doctrines are very much akin to those of the Nath Yogis, or the Radical Bhagats. While it is true that hymns of some of the Bhagats expressing devotion to God have been included in the Guru Granth Sahib, it should not be taken to mean that the Sikh ideology is a part or the product of the Bhakti movement.