The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. by W.

Owen Cole; Piara Singh Sambhi

Review by: Mark Juergensmeyer
The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 38, No. 4 (Aug., 1979), pp. 793-795
Published by: Association for Asian Studies
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2053944 .
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BOOK REVIEWS-SOUTH ASIA 793

ing the developmentof Indian thought.His definition of the vaidikaas "classical"

and the tdntrikaas "popular" is somewhatproblematic.Neevel recognizesthat it
would be inappropriateto speakof the integration oftheVedantaand Paficaratra as
a process of "Sanskritization,"since both traditionsare carriedin Sanskrit.Yet,
consideringthis factand the apparentantiquityand relativelygreaterpowerof the
Paficaratra,it would seem that the latteris just as "classical" as the Vedanta.
Further,the Paficaratrais a multileveled,long-termdevelopment;no matterhow
wide its supportduringYamuna's time, can the ratherhighlysophisticatedsystem
with which Yamuna is dealing be accuratelydescribedas "popular"?We need to
know more about the sddhana(spiritualpractice)prescribedin the Panicaratra that
Yamuna was seeking to integrate-was that sddhanasignificantly different from
that prescribedin the Vedanta, as we know it was in the Paficaratra dealt with by
the considerablylaterdchdryas, Pillai Lokacharyaand Vedanta Desika? Ramanuja,
who recognizesinspirationfromYamuna, has verylittleto sayaboutthePaficaratra,
and thenonlyto briefly arguethelack ofphilosophicalcontradiction betweenit and
theVedanta.
Sri Vaisnavismeventuallyintegratesthreegreat traditions:the Vedanta, the
Paficaratra,and theNdldyiraDivya Prabandham, carriedin thehymnsoftheAlvars.
Neevel has shownYaimuna'sphilosophicalpostureon the Panicaratra. It is not yet
clearwhatelse Panicaratra meantto Yamuna. While Neevel rejectsthetraditionthat
Nathamuni rediscoveredand collatedthe "lost" hymnsof theAlvars,he somewhat
uncriticallyfailsto questionthetraditionthatYamuna was substantially inspiredby
Alvar devotion. One suspectsthat the earlydevelopmentof Sri Vaisnavismwas
much morehaphazardthantraditionindicatesand, specifically, thatthedevotionof
theAlvarsand the "popular"Panicaratra werenotintegrated untilafterRamanuja.
Neevel's workshouldoccasiona good deal ofdiscussionand further studyon the
developmentof Sri Vaisnavism.This readerhopesthatNeevel himselfwill keep his
tools sharpand makefurther contributions.
ROBERT C. LESTER
ofColorado
University

The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. By W. OWEN COLE and
PIARA SINGH SAMBHI. Londonand Boston:Routledge& Kegan Paul, Libraryof
Beliefsand Practices,I978. XXViii, 2 IO pp. PrimarySourcesand Additional
Bibliography. $i6. 50 (cloth); $8.50 (paper).
There has been somethingof a revolutionin the studyofSikh religioushistory
a concernwith
book to reflect
in the past ten years,and thisis the firstintroductory
those scholarlyissues in a positive way. Most of the otherprimerson Sikhism
available in the West are hopelesslyout ofdate. Those fromIndia are too conscious
of theirreligiouscontextsto be useful;theytend to be eitherpious or apologetic.
This book is neither.While clearlyrespectful ofthetradition,theauthorsarecareful
to reportwith qualificationsthe popularstoriesabout its gurusand customs.They
have wiselyprefacedtheentirebook witha discussionofthescholarlyissuesregard-
ing its interpretation,and theissuesarelivelyonesindeed.
Controversy has followedthe rapidexpansionofSikh scholarshipin India. After
the triumphof the new Sikh-majority Punjab statein I966, threenew universities
in the Punjab vied witheach otherforprominencein thefieldofSikhstudies.In the
midst of the enthusiasm,and perhapsdespiteit, someexcellentcriticalscholarship

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794 JOURNAL OF ASIAN STUDIES

has emerged.The bestand mostcontroversial of the new scholarship,however,has

been thatof a New Zealand scholar,W. H. McLeod, who taughtforsomeyearsin
the Punjab; his Guru Nanak and theSikh Religion(I968) takesa hard look at the
historicalauthenticityof the storiesabout the Guru, and his Evolution oftheSikh
Community (1976) providesa revisedassessmentofits laterhistory,its texts,and its
social institutions.He analysesthetraditioncontextually, as an interaction
withthe
medievalsants,the Nath yogis,the mountainsakticults,and Jatfolktraditions,as
well as with the Mughals and the British.Scholarsof Sikh studieswithinIndia,
while appreciativeof McLeod's advancesin the state of theirart, were carefulto
locate themselvesat some distancefromwhatwas regardedas an extremeposition.
Even Sikh scholarslocated in the West have been reluctantto followhis critical
stance; a few of the more courageousscholarsdefendedand emulatedMcLeod's
approach,but weremorehesitantabouthis conclusions.
The Cole and Sambhi book, therefore, is a welcomesurprisefortheenthusiasm
with which it embracesand uses the workofMcLeod and otherrecentscholarship.
Yet the styleof the book is warmand sympathetic towardthe Sikh tradition,and
the authorschoose to avoid offendingreligioussentimentswhenevertheycan. So
despite its hospitalityto criticalscholarship,the book will be acceptable,most
likely, withinthe Sikh communityitself.In fact,scholarshipaside, theconcernsof
the book aretheusual onesofthetradition.
There is an inordinatelylong chapter(thirty-seven pages) on the lives of the
gurus at the beginningof the book; and a disturbingly shortone (sixteenpages) at
the end forthe restofSikh history.The latterchapteris quite good; forexample,it
containssome admirablylucid and accuratediscussionsof the modernSikh reform
movements, including the Namdhari, Nirankari,and Singh Sabha. The early
chapteris also to be commendedforplacing Nanak firmlyin thesanttraditionof
medieval Hinduism, ratherthan portrayinghis teachingsas sui generisor as the
resultof some Muslim/Hindusynthesis,as has oftenbeen done. Yet, despitetheir
sophistication,thefocusand theperceptualstanceofthehistoricalchaptersarequite
traditional.
Much the same can be said ofthebook's analysisofSikh religiousconcepts.It is
usefulto have an enlighteneddescriptionof theAdi Granthand othertexts,satsang
worship,practicesofwearingthe "fivek's," theologicaland ethicalconceptsof nam
simranand seva (and it is especiallyhelpfulto have translationsappendedof Sikh
liturgyand officialproclamations).Yet it would also have been helpfulto examine
these elementsof the traditionin context.One wondershow theydifferfromthe
conceptsand practicesof othersanttraditionpanthikmovements,whethertheyare
more normativeforthe dominantJatcaste thanforothercastes,and whetherthey
have changedsubstantially overtime.
One mightrespondthatthis book is an introduction to thecontemporary Sikh
tradition,afterall, and thatcomparativeand contextualconcernsare bestleftto the
specialists.Yet thereis a vital issue here:the way thatone conceivesof a religious
tradition.The demand fora neat, orderlypresentation of "the worldreligions,"as
theyusuallyare called, slightstheorganiccharacterofthetraditions -the waythey
grow, change,evolvetheiridentities,definetheircharacter,and interactwiththeir
surroundingsover time. One might argue that thereis no such thingas a Sikh
religion,only the fluidand meanderingreligioustraditionofa people called Sikhs.
Such a view of Sikh religioustraditionlies behind the work of scholarssuch as
McLeod and his progressivecolleaguesin India; but this is a perspectivethe book,
despiteits accuracyand timeliness,chooseslargelyto avoid.

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BOOK REVIEWS-SOUTH ASIA 795

Thus the book, perhapslike most introductory works,is somethingof a com-

promise. It recognizesthe importanceof new scholarshipand incorporatesits
insightswithoutviolatingthebasicperspectiveoftheSikhcommunity.In that,the
book is somethinglike the Sikh traditionitself,whichover time has integrateda
varied assortmentof alien conceptsinto a centralhomogeneoustradition.For this
reason, both Sikhs and non-Sikhswill findin this book a sensibleand enlightened
presentationofthebasicfacetsofthetradition.
MARK JUERGENSMEYER
Unionand
GraduateTheological
ofCalifornia,Berkeley
University

The Inner World: A Psycho-analyticStudyof Childhood and Societyin India.

By SUDHIR KAKAR. Delhi: OxfordUniversityPress, I978. i88 pp. Notes
and References,Bibliography,Index. $9. 50.
It has been said thatmythis thedream-thinking ofa people, in muchthe same
way that the dream is a mythof an individual.There is realityand distortionin
both. Mythsare most frequently tackledby social anthropologists, and dreamsare
the "soul-stuff"ofpsychoanalyticallyorientedpsychiatrists Sudhir
and psychologists.
Kakar, a psychoanalytically trainedpsychologist,uses the mythsof Hinduism to
characterizethe "innerworld" of the Indian people. In essencehe is portraying the
typicalpersonalityoftheHindu male and, to someextent,thetypicalpersonality of
the Hindu female.
The books consistsof fourchapters,an introduction,and a conclusion.The
chapter "Hindu World Image" deals succinctlyand clearlywith the conceptsof
dharma,moksha,and karmaand how thesethreeinteract.This is a strongchapter,in
which Kakar uses mythsto demonstratebasic points. One fable illustratesthe
natureof karmaand conceptsassociatedwith it: a holy man named Yajnavalkya
founda femalemouse thathe transformed and raisedas his daughter.The daughter
grew and had the choice of manyhusbands(the sun-god,the cloud-god,and the
mountain-god).But she was takenwitha mouse. "Althoughthesun, cloud, and the
mountainstood beforeher as suitors,the mouse-girlneeded to become a mouse
again. Her innatenaturecould notbe denied"(pp. 49-50).
The next two chapters,"Mothersand Infants"and "Families and Children,"
offerKakar's analysisofthecentralpsychologicalforcesin Indiandevelopment.The
firstof two issues dealt with in "Mothers and Infants" is the psychological
developmentof the Hindu female.Sita, theheroineoftheRamayana,is picturedas
the major identification figureforthe Indianwoman.The Sita mythprovidesa role
model, a mechanismforhandlingsexual impulses,and a basis forcontinuityin the
life of a woman when she leaves her parentsto join her husband'sfamily.This
portrayalofHindu femaledevelopmentmaybe themostuniquecontribution in the
with Indian women. In the
book, since thereis little researchdealing specifically
notesand references theauthorsynthesizes theliteraturewhichprovidesthebasisfor
his position.
After characterizingthe basis of female development,Kakar confrontsthe
second issue- the mother-infant dyad. This bond is consideredcentral to a
mother'sexistenceand to her role in society. The protractedintimacybetween
motherand infantprovidesthe basis of the child's ego development.The contra-
dictoryaspectsof the maternalpresenceare presentedin termsof the child's image

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