Spirit Born People’ is comprised of a series of lecture notes compiled by Puran Singh, of which he had intended to use to inspire Sikh youth in Punjab. His goal was to bring the Sikh youth closer to guru by poetically describing their greatness and the greatness of those around them. This topic itself is incredibly relevant today and not only reaches to the Sikh youth of Punjab, but also the Sikh youth in the diaspora. Through this work, Puran Singh touches on elements of Sikh philosophical thought from Guru Nanak up to the present day.
Overall, ‘Spirit Born People’ covers up to 15 chapters, where Puran Singh describes the likes of Bhai Buddha through the lens of discipleship and elements of the spiritual attitude of Bhagat Nam Dev and Bhagat Kabir. Journeying through Sikh philosophical thought, his latter chapters focus on matters such as ‘Internationalism and the Sikhs’ as well as the notion of ‘Guru Prasad’.
Following on from these topics, Puran Singh eloquently describes the beauty and essence of the gurbani of Guru Nanak, Guru Arjan Dev. He discusses the intricacies of Asa-Di-Var, Sukhmani Sahib as well as Japji Sahib. Puran Singh also gives brief translations to these, which is particularly useful to understand Puran Singh’s interpretations and observations of the Gurbani.
There is one key theme that resonates throughout this work and that is ‘all matters of life are meaningless without love for the Guru’. This is particularly emphasised in the chapter titled ‘The Sword of Guru Gobind Singh’, where Puran Singh makes reference to the kirpan. The title of the chapter is no coincidence, for Puran Singh emphasises the importance of the kirpan being a gift from the Guru and that the Guru’s Sikh should wear it with the love for their Guru in their mind.
‘Spirit Born People’ brings together a range of concepts and philosophical thoughts that remain centred around the Guru and induce thought provoking moments for the reader.
Spirit Born People by Puran Singh
Format: Hardback
Publisher: Singh Brothers
Publication Date: 2018