GURU GRANTH SAHIB (gurU gRMQ swihb)

Introduction

Guru Granth Sahib is the present Guru of the Sikhs. The holy scripture is referred to as the "Shabad Guru". ("Shabad" means  “The Divine Word” and the Guru implies "The spiritual guide or teacher"). The sacred scripture was compiled by the Sikh Gurus themselves. First edition was compiled in August 1604 AD by the 5^th Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji and the second edition was prepared in 1705 AD by the 10^th Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Three days before His heavenly abode in 1708 AD, Guru Gobind Singh Ji instructed  the Sikhs that the succession of  the human Gurus was to end with Him. He ordained the Sikhs to look upon the Granth Sahib as their Guru and constant spiritual guide. Guru Gobind Singh Ji bestowed the Guruship to Shri Guru Granth Sahib.

Uniqueness Of Guru Granth Sahib

• Guru Granth Sahib is composed & compiled by the Sikh Gurus themselves. Therefore, the message contained in it is original & authentic. No mis-interpretation exists.
• Sikh Gurus honoured the saints & divine persons from low classed & untouchable sects belonging to different faiths by including their hymns and utterances in Guru Granth Sahib. Thus putting into practice the message of "the fatherhood of One God and love for the humankind (God's children) irrespective of their cast & creed".
• Guru Granth Sahib contains the Hymns of praise of the Lord Waheguru (the Creator). It further reveals the purpose of human life (i.e. to attain re-union with Waheguru) and advises on how to meet this objective.    
• Guru Granth Sahib emphasizes on the truthful living through exercising virtues like total devotion to the Creator & the creation, kindness, contentment and self-control.
• Guru Granth Sahib totally discards the false rituals, baseless customs & practices those will not help to reunite with God but only the true devotion to Waheguru will help
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• Guru Granth Sahib promotes equality amongst all castes, creeds and genders as all originate from ONE God.
• The fundamental principles and facts about the creation including its origin & progression are given but one is advised not to waste time & effort in impossible task of discovering limits of infinite creation of God.
• Guru Granth Sahib does not contain any autobiography of any of the Gurus or the Sikh history rather contains Hymns to teach one to attain spiritual advancement / perfection.
• All the Hymns are written in poetic form with use of a total of 31 musical melodies i.e. Raags. Reciting Hymns with musical melodies has a soothing effect and helps to develop devotion for Waheguru (God).
• The Hymns are written in a particular order with unique numbering system in order to prevent any additions or subtractions at later date.
• Although, the original copy of Guru Granth Sahib is written in GURMUKHI script, the message reads in the spoken dialect of the region the Sikh Gurus preached. Now a days, copies transcribed & translated in English, Hindi & French are available. The translation in French has been released in year 1999/2000 upon request from the French religious authorities.

• Guru Granth Sahib recognises whole human race as creation of one father God and hence contains message for the whole humanity.

 “Guru” means "Spiritual teacher" who dispels the ignorance.

“Granth” implies a "Scripture containing divine knowledge"

“Sahib” is added as a mark of respect, which literally means "The Master" or “The Lord”.

A “Sikh” simply means a "follower" or a "learner" who searchs for the truth through the teaching of Guru Granth Sahib. 

The Sikh place of worship is called "Gurdwara" (literally means “Gateway to the Guru”) where teachings of Guru Granth Sahib are preached to the devotees via the Kathaa (religious discourses) & Keertan (Singing of Hymns) by the learned persons.

Historic Composition Of Guru Granth Sahib

Guru Nanak Dev Ji, founder of Sikhism, was born in 1469 in the village of Talwandi (in Pakistan since division of India on 15 August 1947). Guru Nanak Dev Ji's mission was to show the humanity a true way of life and teach the oppressed to fight against tyranny and injustice. Guru Nanak Dev Ji traveled around in India and the world (covering Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Lahore, Karachi, Baloochistan, Tibet, Kabul, Kandhar, Baghdad, Mecca, Iran etc.) on foot with his companions Bhai Mardana and Bhai Bala for the benefit of the misled humanity. He made four major journeys and hardly spent time with his own family (wife & two sons). His preaching was based on the Truth as ordained by God, which was conveyed to the people in their local dialect in a poetic form. The preaching was God sent message and therefore, it was termed as “Dhur Ki bani” (Diur kI bwxI) and also Gurbani i.e. Guru’s (God's) message. 

Guru Nanak Dev Ji' s preaching were continued by the 9 successor Gurus who were carefully selected by the predecessor Guru. Despite their different physical appearances, all the ten were in fact "ONE". The Divine Enlightenment, which initially appeared in Guru Nanak Dev Ji, was passed on to the 9 successors regarded as the "Gurus" which means that the guiding, supervising and driving force behind Sikhism was that of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Now this Divine Enlightenment lies within the “Word Guru” Guru Granth Sahib.

All the Gurbani was recorded and was passed on to the successor Gurus who also composed Hymns to address the issues at the time. The Gurbani was compiled in the form of the Holy Granth termed as Guru Granth Sahib. 

Guru Nanak Dev Ji's mission was completed in His tenth physical form as Guru Gobind Singh Ji. It took a total of 230 years when in 1699 He gave final shape to the Sikhs and called them the Khalsa (The Pure i.e. spiritually enlightened ones). Guru Ji defined the code of conduct (Rehat) and outlined the physical appearance through 5K’s as essential part of the uniform for the Sikhs. The guruship was entrusted in 1708 to Guru Granth Sahib Ji  “The Word Guru” and not to the human guru. Khalsa was to lead life like a Saint and a soldier (Sunt – Sipahi).

There Were Following 2 Editions:

First Edition: Fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji compiled the hymns of the previous four Gurus  including his own composition and hymns of other Hindu & Muslim saints. Bhai Gurdas Ji, his Mamma Ji (Uncle), helped in inscribing (with handwriting) the Gurbani. The compilation work was performed on the bank of Ramsar Sarowar (Holy Tank "Ramsar") in Amritsar. The Shabads from other saints were carefully scrutinized for authenticity by Guru Ji for inclusion in the Granth. He himself instilled his knowledge into 2312 verses of Gurbani. The first Granth was named as the Adi Granth (also called ‘Pothi Sahib') in 1604 that took approximately one year to complete. It is remarkable that Guru Arjan Dev Ji paid so much respect to the "Gurbani" (The Divine Word)  in that He always slept on the floor placing the  "Pothi Sahib" on a higher place. Guru Nanak Dev Ji in His fifth form as Guru Arjan Dev Ji re-iterated the message of focusing our life around the WORD ("Divine WORD  or Righteousness"). The Gurbani should be respected as it helps us to realise the Divine Word.. In the picture Guru Arjan Dev Ji (right) is seen narrating the sermons and Bhai Gurdas Ji (above left) is inscribing the sermons. Bhai Bano is seen to be serving the Guru. Guru Arjan Dev Ji paid so much respect to the "Pothi Sahib" in that He always slept on the floor then on

Unapproved Copy:

Guru Arjan Dev Ji sent Pothi Sahib through Bhai Bano for hard binding. He made a copy of Pothi Sahib without permission of Guru Ji for himself . He added his own favourite extra Shabads making a total of 5757 shabads. But, Guru Arjan Dev Ji called it as unapproved version (Khari Birh; KwrI bIV). This copy has non-standard page size and therefore makes upto 467 pages only. This copy is still with Bhai Bano's family. It is important to note that Gurus did not allow unapproved additions so that the authenticity of the message could be maintained. Even, it is a lesson for us all today that we do not change wording of Gurbani Hymns to suit our taste as it will deprive us of Guru's blessing. 

Second And Final Edition:

Guru Gobind Singh set out to prepare the final edition of Granth Sahib in 1705 AD at "Sabo-Ki Talwandi", now known as "Dam Damma Sahib". He asked for the Adi Granth from the Dhir-Maliye (DIr m~lIAY; Gurus own family members) who had the possession. But, they refused to give the Adi Granth to Guru Ji and challenged him re-write it Himself if he was the true Guru. Nothing stopped Guru Gobind Singh Ji, after prayers, He started the work of compilation. As Guru Ji uttered the Hymns through His mental power, Bhai Mani Singh performed the work of inscribing. He also added the Shabads composed by the 9th Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and finally brought it to completion. Upon completion He thanked Waheguru for imparting Him the power to complete it.

The final version, which is the authorised version in use at present, has 1430 pages & contains a total of 5867 shabads in 31 Raags. Extra Raag called "Jaijawanti" (jYjwvMqI) composed by Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji was added.

Guruship To Shabad Guru

Three days before his heavenly abode in 1708 at Hazoor Sahib, Guru Gobind Singh Ji told the Sikhs that the succession of the human Gurus was to end with him. He ordained the Sikhs to look upon the Adi granth (The WORD i.e. Divine Hymns") as their Guru and constant spiritual guide. Guru Gobind Singh Ji bestowed the Guruship on the Pothi Sahib and named it Shri Guru Granth Sahib. Following command was issued for the Sikhs:

AwigAw BeI Akwl kI qbY clwieau pMQ ] sB isKn ko hukm hY gurU mwnXo gRMQ ]

gurU gRMQ jI mwnXo pRgt gurwN kI dyh ] jo pRB ko imlbo chy Koj Sbd mih lyh ]

Which means that "The Khalsa Panth has been founded through Akal Purakh's (Immortal God's) order and all the Sikhs should follow and practice teachings of Guru Granth Sahib Ji. The Divine Light, which was sparkled into Guru Nanak Dev Ji, resides in the Shabad Guru, Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Anyone who has desire to reunite with Waheguru, should seek guidance from the WORD contained in “Guru Granth Sahib Ji".

The concept of Only ONE Guru i.e. "Shabad Guru" was preached by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, who upon questioning who His Guru was, quoted that the Divine WORD ("Shabad") is my Guru and my conscious is the disciple (not my body). The WORD is the "Will of Waheguru" or "Waheguru's conscious or righteousness".

"Shabad Guru surat dhun chelaa .....    (Guru Granth Sahib Page 943)

Although, all the ten Gurus appeared to have different physical appearance but all of them preached through One Waheguru's consciousness. In the end ordained the Sikh to follow the Divine Word / righteousness.

Authors Of Guru Granth Sahib:

It is the only scripture that contains within its sacred covers, the hymns and utterances of the Sikh Gurus and wide variety of saints, scholars and poets from different religions, low classed, untouchable. This proves fatherhood of God and equality amongst the humankind i.e. no distinction between low or high, and touchable or untouchable. The number of Shabads and other compositions contributed by them is as follows:  

Language Of Guru Granth Sahib

Guru Granth Sahib represents devotional poetry of the highest order. The language principally employed was the language understood by the people. The written language is GURMUKHI script developed by 2^nd Guru which is similar to Punjabi but has unique grammar designed understanding of the words used.

Devotional Poetry Of Guru Granth Sahib

The Gurbani is composed in total of classical 31 Raags (melodies) as follows. Each of the raags is sung at certain time of the day. The Gurbani when sung in raags gives a very soothing effect and helps the listener to concentrate and develop devotion for the Waheguru :

Gateway To Waheguru (God)

It is worth while mentioning here that the Gurbani is not only for the benefit of the Sikhs but also for the Humankind. Its language is people’s own, its truth is eternal and will be true for all ages like the almighty Akal Purakh Waheguru.

When Sikhs visit Gurdwara, they bow to Guru Granth Sahib to show utter respect and express commitment to practice the message contained therein to attain the blessing & Divine knowledge. 

Waheguru has no form, outline & colour and cannot be perceived through 5 senses (see, smell, hear, taste & touch). The Words of Guru Granth Sahib provide guidance on how to form relationship with the un-perceivable God and finally merge with Infinite Lord.  This is the only objective of human life. Guru Granth Sahib teaches one to  pray humbly to Waheguru, just like a child, for freedom from the worldly bonds which keep us away from Waheguru. With merciful glace of the Lord Waheguru, one attains the union & permanent peace finally by taking guidance from the Divine WORD that is realised through Gurbani.

We should take out as much time as possible from your daily routine and enlighten ourselves with the teachings of Guru Granth Sahib. Try to understand and practice the Gurbani rather than reading the Gurbani as formality.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

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