Saturday, July 01, 2006

Some basic issues: A wonderful discusssion between Bal and Prabhsharanbir Singh

3 comments:

Prabhsharanbir Singh said...

what do u mean by sikh studies. is studies here is used as a verb? o u want to a show a sikh studing? or u want point toward a specific academic discipline called sikh studies. the notin studying implies an objectification of what is being studied. can sikhi be studied objectively.or is it right to make religion an object of study? is it not a repition of orientalist stance?
these questions may seem bitter to u. but it is always necessary deconstruct the hidden assumptions of the activity in which u r going to take part if u really want to advance in that field.studying a religion is very problematic. the question is how do we relate ourselves to sikhi.or how do we engage with it? the most important of all questions is this:
what is the relation of sikh studies to sikh practicing and sikh experiencing?
perhaps this will work as an excellent point of departure for the discussions which u r anticipating.

Prabhsharanbir Singh said...

my intention was only to provide a starting point fot our discussion amd with your remarks that task seems to have been done with some degree of success. i think it is always necessary to break through the encrusted layers of signification of a given tradition o academic discipline in order to achieve real advancement in its understanding. u ve quoted heideger, look at his destruktion of the history of ontology. without accomplishing this task, it would have been impossible for heidegger to advance his own original insights about the nature of Being.
you ve stated that it is also possible to study "with the Name" i. e. non-dualistically and transformatively. but do remember that Name does not reside where ego has its sway.
haumai naavai naal virodh hai, doe na vsaih ik thai.
so egoistic procedures of studying must be destroyed before a transformative and non dual study can begin. sikhi denotes learning which is receptive whereas academic learning process is akin to anatomy. heidegger also substantiate this claim when he says that the task of true thinking lies in attentively listening to the call of Being and not in technologically manipulating the world of beings(entities).

Prabhsharanbir Singh said...

i am also eagerly looking forward to meet you because i am very much inspired by your work on the sikh hermeneutics. although i have not read much of your work.
i have also chosen a related topic for my phd. thesis. it is this:

The Singularity of Sri Guru Granth Sahib: Locating a Hermeneutics.

i have read your article 'questioning hermeneutics with freud' . you have mentioned gallagher's book hermeneutics and education in which varius approaches to hermeneutics are discussed i. e. conservative, moderate, critical and radical. i want to know more about these approaches. i dont have that book but i am trying to get it. meanwhile, can you suggest me anything else in which different approaches to hermeneutics are discussed. or if you have soft copies of related content , can you please e-mail it to me at the following address:
prabhsharanbir@gmail.com