PATTERNS IN THE LIVES OF TEXTS

What do Sikhs mean when they say that the Guru Granth Sahib lives? Taking a comparative approach, this article compares the lived religious practices and traditions that constitute the lives of three religious texts. Cross-cultural patterns emerge when comparing ritual uses and conceptions of the I-Ching, the Torah and the Guru Granth Sahib. These patterns reveal similar strategies for interpreting and relating to texts understood to be alive. At the same time, the cross-cultural patterns demonstrate the ways in which understanding a text to be alive depends on culturally and religiously specific metaphysics, practices and definitions of life. Going beyond a biological definition of life, these patterns demonstrate the complexities involved in defining what it means to live in a religious community.