PREM SUMARAG, lit. the true way to love (/w?w=love; 5M=good or true; warag^path) is an anonymous work in old Punjabi evoking a model of Sikh way of life and of Sikh society. Written probably in the eighteenth century, it is a kind of rahitndmd attempting to prescribe norms of behaviour,

All that is known about Pilu is that he was a contemporary of Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru. Two compositions of a very different kind are attributed to him: one, a collection of songs in a melancholy tone like that of a recluse or a hermit; and

RANA SURAT SINGH, an epiclike poem by Bhai Vir Singh published in 1905. This poem of more than fourteen thousand lines is written in blank verse, tried for the first time in Punjabi. With all its protracted search and pang, it is ultimately a poem of complete spiritual certitude, of

RENUNCIATION means the giving up of the style of living dominated by worldly ambition and craving and discarding the love of possessions for the sake of achieving the ultimate goal of religious life. The theistic traditions hold that when one is united with God, all else loses its significance. In

SAHIB SINGH MRIGIND, BHAI (c. 1804-1876), poet and author, served in the princely court of Jind under Raja Sarup Singh (d. 1864) and Raja Raghbir Singh (1834-1887). His father, Divan Singh, was a granthi in the employ of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He was a Kamboj by caste and belonged

SHARDHA or Sardha (Skt. sraddha), a conscious positive mental attitude towards a person owing to some special development of a virtue or power in him, is closely connected with faith or bhakti, i.e. loving devotion to God. Etymologically speaking, it is a compound word formed by a combination of

SIR! RAGA KI VAR, by Guru Ram Das, is one of the twenty-two vars entered in (lie Guru Granth Sahib. It occurs in Sin raga from which it derives its title. This raga, known for its musical grace and delicacy, is sung both in winter (January/February) and in summer

SLOKAS OF SHAIKH FARID. Baba Shaikh Farid GanjiShakar (1173-1264), the famous Sufi saint born in the Punjab, some of whose compositions are included in the Guru Granth Sahib, was a poet whose Punjabi verses form the first recorded poetry in the Punjabi language. Guru Nanak himself seems to have

AHIMSA. The term ahimsa is formed by adding the negative prefix a to the word himsa which is derived from the Sanskrit root \'han\', i.e. \'to kill\', \'to harm\', or \'to injure\', and means not killing, not harming, not injuring. The commonly used English equivalent \'non-violence\' is inadequate as it

SUDAMA The Lord met Sudama after removing his poverty. He was emancipated through the devotion of love. Waru M. 4, p. 995) Sudama had been a class fellow of Krishna and studied under the same teacher in the early years of their lives. When Krishna was the king of

BHAGU, BHAI, of the village of Dalla. now in Kapurthala district of the Punjab, was a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Amar Das. Bhai Gurdas in one of his couplets praises him as "a devotee who to the Lord`s love is dedicated." See SAHARU, BHAI

Pritam Singh Safir was born at Malikpur in Rawalpindi district, now in Pakistan. Safir\'s father, Sardar Mehtab Singh, who served as headmaster of Shri Guru Arjan Dev Khalsa High School, Tarn Taran, was one of the leading Sikh political activists. After graduation from Khalsa College, Amritsar, Safir qualified for