This book is a study of a debate between the founder of Sikhism and a group of Siddhas. Gurū Nānak's Siddh Goṣṭ is a seventy-three-stanza composition that is part of the Gurū Granth Sāhib. The authors seek to place this Sikh text about renunciation in the context of the larger ongoing discourse regarding renunciation in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. The book is geared primarily toward use in introductory Indian religion courses, and the authors rightfully note that there is a great need for more sources on Sikhism for this purpose.
Part I of the book is a general survey of “the quest for liberation” in Indian religions, presenting a typology of attitudes about renunciation in the religions originating in India. The authors introduce the role of the householder living in society, the householder living in the larger context of eventual withdrawal from society, the renunciate who is involved in...