ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>B&#256B&#256 NAUDH SI&#7748GH</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279<i>B&#256B&#256 NAUDH SI&#7748GH</i>, whose full title, "The Redemption of Subh&#257gj&#299 through the Grace of B&#257b&#257 Naudh Si&#7749gh" pronounces the homiletic character of the book at the start, was first published in 1921. Comprising a wide variety of elements ranging from romance to polemics, sermon and theology, it seeks to present the Sikh way and vision of life through incident, example and argument. In a manner, the author, Bh&#257&#299 V&#299r Si&#7749gh, has only extended the form effected by him in his earlier romances, <i>Sundar&#299, Bijay Si&#7749gh</i> and <i>Satvant Kaur</i>. The aim here is to create memorable portraits of the ideal Sikh <i>homo</i> whose spirit never falters or wilts in the midst of life's miseries, confusions and terrors.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The story principally involves the strange and troubled experiences of Jamun&#257, a young Jain widow, who is decoyed into false positions, appellations and conversions in rapid succession before she is ushered into the Sikh faith. <i>En route</i>, she encounters avarice, lust and sin in pious garbs. Each new experience brings home to her men's depravity. Utterly appalled, she seeks refuge in death to avoid harrowing humiliations. But the providential plunge into a nearby stream becomes the very means of her rescue and redemption. A young Sikh saint meditating there saves her and, initiating her into the ordained faith, disappears as suddenly and mysteriously as he had materialized. Quite clearly, he is, in Bh&#257&#299 V&#299r Si&#7749gh's transparent symbology, an emblem of divinity in human form. Jamun&#257 turned &#7692umel&#299 turned <u>Gh</u>ul&#257m F&#257tim&#257 is now rechristened Subh&#257gj&#299 or "the Fortunate one. " The wheel of her trials and tribulations having come full circle, she is forever liberated from the aches and illusions of life. She has entered a commonwealth of shared views and visions. Her advent into B&#257b&#257 Naudh Si&#7749gh's household reveals another set purpose. A simple life of prayer and piety, of service and sacrifice, we learn, is the <i>beau ideal</i> of Sikh ethics. And a rural homestead vibrating to the music of daily life is the happiest habitat for a psyche in quest. Even dissenters, scoffers and tempters of varying persuasions who happen to come to this village are soon won over by the homespun logic of B&#257b&#257 Naudh Si&#7749gh, who is held up as a shining example of virtue in repose and confidence. Under the benign shadow of B&#257b&#257 Naudh Si&#7749gh, Subh&#257gj&#299 learns to live in an atmosphere of peace and bliss, unmindful of worldly temptations and distractions. Nightly, she recites tales of Sikh piety and glory to eager audiences. B&#257b&#257 Naudh Si&#7749gh delivers long talks on all manner of vices and practices such as dirt and drunkenness, untouchability and idol-worship. A barrister and his wife, a doctor, a Brahmo Sam&#257j preacher, turning up in the village, provide him opportunities for instruction in Sikh religion and morals. The daily <i>kath&#257</i> or scriptural commentary and historical narration serve to authenticate the Sikh tradition embodied in the lives of the Gur&#363s and of their disciples. To the extent Bh&#257&#299 V&#299r Si&#7749gh succeeds in creating symbolic archetypes of Sikh virtue and in painting a picture of pastoral country life, he managed to rouse the interest of his contemporaries. Viewed from today's perspective, we find <i>B&#257b&#257 Naudh Si&#7749gh</i> a horizontal study in idealism. It represents a moment in Sikh consciousness around the turn of the present century.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Harbans Singh, <i>Bhai Vir Singh</i>. Delhi, 1972<BR> <li class="C1"> Talib, Gurbachan Singh, and Attar Singh, eds. , <i>Bhai Vir Singh: Life, Time and Works</i>. Chandigarh, 1973<BR> <li class="C1"> Guleria, J. S. , <i>Bhai Vir Singh: A Literary Portrait</i>. Delhi, 1985<BR> <li class="C1"> Kohl&#299, Surindar Si&#7749gh, and Harn&#257m Si&#7749gh Sh&#257n, eds. , <i>Bh&#257&#299 V&#299r Si&#7749gh: J&#299van, Sam&#257&#7749 te Rachn&#257</i>. Chandigarh, 1973<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Darshan Si&#7749gh Main&#299<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>