The book is a philosophical interpretation of the Sikh perspective on the heroic view of life and death based on the author’s own creative and original reflections. The leitmotiv of the book revolves round the Sikh heroic perspective on life and death in the existential societal situations. It tries to dig out the hidden meanings of the ciphers, locked up in The Sikh Canon – The Guru Granth. The ideal man of the Sikh faith, the gurmukh of the khalsa, is an embodiment of the Akalpurakh. The khalsa is knight of the Akalpurakh always ready to stake his life for eradicating evil in the world.

• Prolegomenon / 13
• Medieval Religio-Philosophical Scenario / 20
• Religious Language, Numinous and World / 27
• Meaning and Communication / 33
• Understanding the Sacred Text / 38
• Heroic Action and Death / 56
• Religious Sacrifices / 69
• Passage from Sacrifice to Martyrdom / 79
• Signification of Will and Action / 84
• Voluntarism and Rationalism / 89
• Dharma in Theory and Praxis / 105
• Hermeneutics of Dharma / 113
• Philosophical Dimensions of Dharma / 117
• Autonomous Will / 127
• The Sikh Voluntarism / 142
• The Sikh Vision of Time / 154
• The Sikh World-view / 159
• Personal Identity of the Gurmukh / 173
• Identity Crisis of Women and Sudras / 186
• Restoration of Personal Identities / 199
• Duty of The Guru / 204
• Passage from Manmukh to Gurmukh / 223
• The Khandas of The Japuji / 230
• The Khalsa Ideology / 239
• Passage from Sacha-Khanda to Khalsa-Panth / 239
• Resume: Excursion To The Leitmotiv / 252
• Select Bibliography / 267
• General Index / 269
• Doctrinal Index / 272