Prof
Devinder Singh Chahal, PhD
4418
Martin-Plouffe, Laval, QC, Canada
ABSTRACT
poQI
prmysr kw Qwnu ] Guru Arjan
The
Aad Guru Granth Sahib (AGGS) [1] is the most respected and sacred Granth of the
Sikhs. Some fallacies and facts around its compilation; its salient features;
and the language used for writing the Bani in the Holy Granth have been
discussed. It has also been tried to resolve two important issues: 1. How to
address the Holy Granth of the Sikhs? 2. How to refer the Bani from the Holy
Granth?
INTRODUCTION
The Aad Guru
Granth Sahib (AGGS) [1] is the most respected and sacred Granth of the Sikhs. Sikhi
(Sikhism) is based on Nanakian Philosophy embodied in the Gurbani, which is
incorporated in the AGGS. And the religious and social lives of Sikhs also
revolve around it. Sikhism is a scientific and logical religion of the world
but it is being represented as mythical and ritualistic religion. It is so
because of philosophy embodied in the Bani of the AGGS has not been
comprehended in its real perspective. Moreover misinterpretation of Gurbani and
misrepresentation of Sikhism found in the old as well as in the current
literature have further complicated the case. One of the reasons has been
explained by Dr Gopal Singh [22] that due to improper
understanding of ‘Sabd’ (Guru's Word) the Granth started to be
worshipped more than read, uttered as a magical formula or a Mantram for secular benefits. Now in almost all the
Gurdwaras in the world, whether they are under the Shiromani Gurdwara
Parbandhak Committee (SGPC),
The irony is that the Sikhs are following the
historical information in which the ‘Sabd Guru’ has been successively changed
to ‘Granth Guru’ to ‘Visible Body of the Guru’ to ‘Darshan
Guru’ [10, 14, 20]. Consequently, the Sikhs
started to pay more and more attention to ritualistic aspects to the ‘Granth Guru’ than on the deliberation on the
philosophy given in the ‘Sabd Guru’.
It happened so due
to the fact that a very few Sikhs understand the philosophy given in the AGGS.
Guru Nanak had already pointed out this fact in his Bani:
bwxI
ibrlau bIcwrsI jy ko gurmuiK
hoie ]
ieh
bwxI mhw purK kI inj
Gir vwsw hoie ]
AGGS, M 1, p 935. [1]
Only rare Guru-oriented will deliberate/contemplate on
the Bani (word).
This Bani (Word) is of the pre-eminent preceptor,
That is to be imbibed in one's own mind (only through
its deliberation one becomes Gurmukh).
The above verse clearly indicates that Guru Nanak’s observation
that there would be a very few Sikhs, who will deliberate on the Bani/Sabd to
be called as Gurmukh, is so true today as it was then at the time of Guru
Nanak. There are many (apparent) Gurmukhs, but rare
are those who understand the Bani in its real perspective. Therefore, Guru
Nanak thought it necessary to emphasize the importance of listening,
understanding, practicing the philosophy embodied in the Bani (Stanzas # 8-15
of JAP. See Ref. 9).
Guru Amardas also noticed that many Sikhs used to come
to have his darshan (just to visit the Guru to
see/meet him) but were not interested to listen to his philosophy:
siqgur1
no sBu ko vyKdw jyqw jgqu
sMswru ]
ifTY
mukiq n hoveI ijcru sbid n kry
vIcwru ]
AGGS. M 3, p 594.
All the humans of the world desire to behold the True
Guru1. One does not get salvation by merely seeing (the True Guru1),
Unless one deliberates/contemplates on his Sabd
(Word).
Guru Amardas clearly means that it is the ‘Sabd’ that
is the ‘Guru’ not the human body as the ‘Guru’.
The same situation is seen in these days that most of the Sikhs visit
the Gurdwara just at the time of Bhog and
paying their respect to the Aad Guru Granth Sahib for a few minutes then go to Langar Hall.
Since the Granth has been declared as Guru more and
more attention is being paid to treat it as an idol and to have its Darshan (seeing). Moreover, continuous recitation of
the AGGS (Akhand Paath) is considred
as a mantram for their worldly benefits
as pointed out by Dr Gopal Singh [22] or it has
become a fashion to entertain relatives
and friends but never for deliberation of Sabd to understand the wisdom given
in the Sabd Guru [6, 18]. (Also see articles of Mr Gurcharan
Singh Bhatia and Mr Harcharan Singh)
Let us resolve today to deliberate/contemplate the
Sabd and stop treating the Granth Guru as an idol for Darshan
and for mere recitation of Akhand Paaths. (Also see ‘Resolution’ passed at the
Seminar at page 76.)
However, we should also not forget the fact that the
Granth is ‘Guru’ ipso facto that the ‘Sabd Guru’ is enshrined in it. And the
Granth commands all respects being the Guru.
The Sikhs have just finished celebration
of the Quadricentennial of Compilation and Installation (Parkash
Divas) of their Holy Granth. Even after 400 years of its compilation
they still do not have a standardized title for it. Every Sikh and non-Sikh is
addressing the Holy Granth with different name of his/her choice.
It is
not clear from the review of the history of the Holy Granth if Guru Arjan has
assigned any title to the Granth at the time of its compilation [14-17, 20, 22,
24, 26, 29, 32, 34, 36, 38, 39, 42]. However, Bhai Jodh Singh [29] reported a letter of Bhai Kahn Singh in
which Bhai Kahn Singh has shown that two titles, Pothi (book,
Granth) and Guru Baba (Guru Father) were used at the end
of the Table of Contents of the Kartarpuri Bir. The exact
wordings reported by Bhai Kahn Singh are as follows: sMmq 1661 imqI BwdoN vdI
1 poQI ilK
phuMcy ] swry pqry gurU bwby dy 974 ] (Samat 1661 dated Badhon
1 of second half, writing of Pothi was achieved. Total
folios of Guru Baba are 974).
But Bhai Jodh Singh has given an entirely a
different version, when he examined the Kartarpuri
Bir. His version is as follows: sMmq 1661 imqI Bwdoau vdI iekm
1 poQI iliK phucy (there are differences in some spelling also)] (Samat 1661
dated Badhon first 1 of the second
half, writing of Pothi achieved). He further says that these words were
in the beginning of the Table of Contents rather than at the end as reported by
Bhai Kahn Singh. Moreover, he [29] categorically refuted Bhai Kahn Singh’s
statement "Total folios of Guru Baba are 974" by saying that
these words were not found written in the Table of Contents or anywhere else in
the Kartarpuri Bir.
It is
strange that two well-known scholars made two different observations in the
Table of Contents of the same Bir. Who is
right? Just possible both may be right and they might have examined two
different Birs offered by the
custodians of the Kartarpuri Bir since they may have more than one copy of the Holy
Granth.
Anyhow,
not going into further discussion on this entry and date of compilation, it
will suffice to say that there were at least two titles, e.g. Pothi,
and Guru Baba, of the Granth in its Table of Contents at least in
one of the Birs at Kartarpur. The use of
titles 'Pothi' and ‘Guru Baba’ are justified on the
bases of the declaration, poQI prmysr kw Qwnu ] (AGGS, M 5, P 1226) by Guru Arjan in 1604, in which ‘pothi’ and ‘Parmeshar’
have been used where ‘Pothi’ means
‘Granth’ and ‘Parmeshar’ has
been used as a metaphor for ‘Guru’
as Enlightener.
However,
Professor Sahib Singh [39] gave another title, 'Aad Bir',
to this Pothi when he wrote a book, Aad Bir
Baray. I
cannot figure out in what context Prof Sahib Singh has used the adjective ‘Aad’
for the ‘Bir’ compiled by Guru Arjan. Since
then almost all the scholars have taken ‘Aad Bir’
as the ‘First Bir’ prepared by Guru Arjan.
Although
the titles, Pothi and Guru Baba, are found in the Table of
Contents of Kartarpuri Bir(s),
but some Sikh scholars have assigned their own titles. Now the most prevalent
titles found in the old and contemporary Sikh literature are as follows:
1. “Pothi” and “Guru Baba” in the
Table of Contents in one of the Birs at Kartarpur.
2. Some Sikhs use titles like, Baba Ji, Guru Baba Ji, Baba Ji Di Bir,
Guru Babay Di Bir, verbally.
3. Professor Sahib Singh was the first who used a
new title, Aad Bir, for Kartpuri
Bir.
4. Some scholars translated the Aad Bir into Adi Granth
in English.
5. Then some scholars dropped the adjective Aad
(Adi) and replaced it with Guru and named
it Guru Granth for the Bir, which was
sanctified as Guru, by Guru Gobind Singh in 1708.
6. Then some devout scholars started adding
prefixes and suffixes in the title of the ‘Granth’ as follows:
a. Guru Granth
b. Guru Granth Sahib,
c. Sri Guru Granth,
d. Sri Guru Granth Sahib,
e. Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji
f. Aad Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (This title is being used for the last 28
years for all the Granths printed by Shiromani
Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar and by all other printers),
g. The Institute for Understanding
Sikhism has adopted the title ‘Aad Guru Granth Sahib’ by dropping ‘Sri’
and ‘Ji’ from the title used by the SGPC, to
be used in articles in its periodical, UNDERSTANDING SIKHISM – The Research
Journal, its books, and other articles for other journals. Dropping of
‘Sri’ and ‘Ji’ from the SGPC’s
title is well explained in details in Ref # [4].
Recently
when I used ‘Aad Guru Granth Sahib’ in my missives for the Sikh Diaspora
(SD) Discussion Group on Internet, there was a great hue and cry from some
members against the use of ‘Aad’. The irony is that none of the critics
even cared to look into the title of the Holy Granth published by the SGPC,
“The
volume compiled by Guru Arjan may be called the first resenscion*,
or Aad(i) Granth or the Pothee Sahib, and some few people do so. (To me the word Aad(i) literally means the first.) Most Sikhs do not distinguish this volume
from the definitive Guru Granth that came later. I think the distinction is important because
the two versions are not identical; the Guru Granth has significant additional
entries in it, specifically the writings of Guru Tegh
Bahadur. I think my argument would carry
weight even if there were minimal difference between the two. This does not
mean that Sikhs should have less reverence for one than the other. Keep in mind that better than 90 percent of
the Guru Granth is in the Aad(i)
Granth. I know that the Guru Granth
published by the Shiromini Gurdwara Parbandhak
Committee (SGPC) carries this moniker, and I would argue that it is imprecise
and even misleading to use the term "Aad(i) Granth" for the Guru Granth Sahib. Why? Because this implies a second revision, yet to come. Even to think of a second revised version of
the Guru Granth would indeed be heresy.”
*resenscion = I
think he means ‘recension’.
(Later this has also
appeared in The Sikh Review. August, 2004 and this view was accepted by Gurmit Singh of
It has
been discussed [10] in details that addition of the Bani of Guru Teg Bahadur
does not change the Nanakian Philosophy embodies in the Bani of Guru Nanak.
Moreover, the Bani of Guru Teg Bahadur is interpreting and strengthening the
Nanakian Philosophy as indicated by Dr Taran Singh
[40] that the Bani of the Sikh Gurus, who succeeded to the ‘House of Nanak’, is
the interpretation of Nanakian Philosophy, embodied in the Bani of Guru Nanak.
Since the addition
of Bani of Guru Teg Bahadur does not change the basic Nanakian Philosophy,
therefore, the ‘Aad Granth’ remains the ‘Aad Granth’. Moreover, it is
wrong to interpret ‘Aad’ as ‘First’ when the ‘Dadda’
in ‘Aad’ (Awid) is with siari, which means ‘Eternal’
as is explained in details in ref. [10].
INHERITED
TREASURE
There are many
fallacies about the procurement of Gurbani (Bani of the Sikh Gurus) by Guru
Arjan. Prof. Sahib Singh [39] in his book, 'Aad Bir
Baray' and Principal Harbhajan
Singh [26] in his booklet, Guru Maneo Granth
reported that such fallacies have been written by Santokh
Singh in his book, Gurpratap Suraj; by Swarup Das Bhalla in his book, Mehma
Prakash; by Giani Gian Singh in his book, Twarikh
Guru Khalsa and same fallacies are found in Gurbilas
Patshai Chhevin, anonymous.
According to these scholars, before Guru Arjan no Guru had written his Bani.
The idea of writing Bani and compilation of Bani of other Gurus into a Granth
came to Guru Arjan Only. This has been
compounded by Dr Pashaura Singh in his PhD thesis
[35]. Thus, Guru Arjan had to procure the Bani of his predecessors from other
Sikhs who had written the Bani by their own hands for their own purpose. The
later view is also held by Kohli [15], a reputed Sikh
scholar.
On the other hand
Dr Dhillon [13] says that Guru Nanak was writing his
religious experience himself in a Pothi. Nevertheless, he has also
mentioned that his Bani was written by his devout
associates:
“We are told that
some devout Sikhs accompanied him had also taken upon themselves to commit the
Bani into writing on its revelation. For example, Majh
ki Var and Sidh Goshti had been recorded
by Saido Gheeho, who was
with Guru Nanak on his tour to
There is no such
instance as reported by Dr Dhillon above in the
findings of Prof Sahib Singh [39] and Principal Harbhajan
Singh [26].
There is another
fallacy about the procurement of some Bani, compiled into booklets (Goindval pothian or
Baba Mohan valian pothian),
from Baba Mohan (for details see references # 16, 26, 35, 39). This story has
been fabricated by early scholars and it has been corroborated by citing Sabds
from the AGGS. It is a long story where it has been mentioned that when Guru
Arjan failed to procure the 'pothian' through
Bhai Gurdas and Baba Budha Jee, then Guru Arjan went himself to Baba Mohan as directed
by the spirit of Guru Amardas. The spirit appeared before Guru Arjan when he
was bathing at "Baoli Sahib" at Goindval. The appearance of the spirit of Guru Amardas
before Guru Arjan and guiding him for the procurement of pothis,
most probably, has been added by these scholars to create belief in miracles in
Sikhism.
The appearance of
the spirit of Guru Amardas is not possible according to Gurbani and science.
Similarly, to advise Guru Arjan to be humble to Baba Mohan is also not logical.
Because the Bani of Guru Arjan shows that humility was always his mace:
grIbI gdw hmwrI
]
AGGS, M 5, P 628.
Humility is my mace (spiked club).
It is further said
in the above story that Guru Arjan, while seated in the street in front of the
house of Baba Mohan, recited the following Sabd:
mohn qyry aUcy mMdr mhl Awpwrw
]
mohn qyry sohin duAwr jIau sMq
Drm swlw ]
AGGS,
M 5, p 248.
(Dr Gopal Singh [22] has given a note under this Sabd that the
second, third and fourth verses are for the praise of Baba Mohan to persuade
him to procure the pothis.)
If we keep in view
the allegories, metaphors, and similes used in this verse then its
interpretation will be as follows:
"Hey! The
Almighty, You abide in a heavenly home (temple) of infinite glory and boundary.
Hey! The Almighty,
Your abode is beauteous, the sanctuary of the saints."
The above
interpretation does not give any indication that Guru Arjan is addressing Baba
Mohan. All the above fallacies have been refuted by Principal Harbhajan Singh [26] and by Professor Sahib Singh
[39]. In spite of the refutation of the
above fallacies, these are still in vogue after 400 years with scholars and
preachers that not only degrade the reality and entirety of the Gurbani but
also make Sikhism a religion of myths and miracles.
On the other hand Harinder Singh Mehboob [17]
pointed out in his book, Sehje Rachio Khalsa (in note # 2 on page 1124) that there
is no proof of hand written Gurbani of Sikh Gurus so far. Most probably the theory of Mehboob is based on the information given by the early
scholars like Santokh Singh, Swarup
Das Bhalla and Giani Gian Singh mentioned earlier. He has also mentioned that
the draft of Granth prepared by Guru Arjan and the original Gurbani of Guru Teg
Bahadur are not available. He tried to explain that the Gurbani was passed on
from one Guru to the successive Gurus
through transcendental power (Gurliv), and
Guru Arjan dictated the Granth through this transcendental power. Similarly,
Guru Gobind Singh dictated the whole Granth and added the Gurbani of Guru Teg
Bahadur at appropriate places in the AGGS through transcendental power or
through the power of clairvoyance.
There is no doubt
in the mind of anybody or of any Sikh that Gurus could remember their own Bani
and that of the predecessors by heart, and Guru Arjan and Guru Gobind Singh
could dictate the whole Granth by heart. But it is not logical at all that the
Gurus did not write their Bani and did not preserve it to be used by the
successive Gurus and their Sikhs.
Dr Mann [16] has
again confirmed all the fallacies about the compilation of the AGGS. He has
tried to justify again that the emergence of the present form of the AGGS was a
continuous process and Goindval Pothis or Baba Mohan Vali Pothis are the earliest Sikh canons in this process. He
justified that either the Pothis were given to
Baba Mohan to be kept in Goindwal, the place of Guru
Amardas or it was a part of scheme to forgive Baba Mohan for having shown
disrespect to his brother-in-law, Guru Ramdas.
He based all his
findings on the information given in the following books: Mehma
Prakash of Sarupdas Bhalla; Sikhan di Bhagatmala, annonymous; Sri Gurbilas Patshai 6 of Nirmala
scholars; Sri Gur Pratap
Suraj Granth of Bhai Santokh
Singh; and Tvarikh Guru Khalsa of Giani Gian Singh. The information
about the compilation of the AGGS, given in these books, was already declared
illogical by Prof Sahib Singh and others. When I examined a few stories and
events in a book, Sodhi Chamatkar, interpreted by Sodi Teja Singh [41], which is
based on the books of Bhai Santokh Singh and Giani Gian Singh, I found many of
them to be unscientific, illogical and contrary to Gurbani.
Moreover, it is
hard to accept that Guru Amardas would bestow the Guru-ship onto Guru Ramdas
but he would not consider Guru Ramdas worth for keeping the Gurbani of the
preceding Gurus for preaching the philosophy of Guru Nanak and would give the pothis to Baba Mohan instead. If we consider
the research of Prof Sahib Singh [39] and Principal Harbhajan
Singh [26] it is evident that Goindval Pothis or Baba Mohan Vali Pothis have no
connections with the inherited treasure (Gurbani) received by Guru Arjan from
his father, Guru Ramdas.
The most authentic
information about the procurement of Gurbani is given by Prof. Sahib Singh
[39], in his book, Aad Bir Baray,
that the Gurbani written by the Gurus themselves was passed on to the
successive Gurus until it reached Guru Arjan as an inherited treasure. He also
mentioned that Guru Nanak had collected appropriate Bani of Bhagats and saints
that were also passed on to the successive Gurus. All the Bani were already
written under different ragas (musical modes). Thus, Guru Arjan
re-arranged the Bani systematically under different ragas according to the
succession of the Sikh Gurus and then of his own and finally of the Bhagats and
the saints. When this arrangement was ready, it was given to Bhai Gurdas for copying it into a Granth. The above views have
been endorsed by Principal Harbhajan Singh [26].
The contemporary scholars from Western world as well
as at home (Punjab, India) are formulating different types of theories based on
information available in such literature on this issue without testing with
Gurbani, science and logic – the touchstones of truth. Dhillon
[13] has summarized their views of some scholars on this issue as follows:
1. The history of the text of the Adi
Granth, as it stands today, is quite obscure.
2. Before taking the scribal form the hymns of the Sikh Gurus have
been in circulation through oral or musical tradition.
3. The text of the Adi Granth
that we have in its present form lacks in originality.
4. The Bani of Guru Nanak Dev and his immediate successors has been
revised in the final version.
5. Guru Arjan Dev has frequently modified his own hymns.
6. The Mul-Mantra found in its
present form has undergone a series of changes.
7. A considerable number of genuine hymns of the Sikh Gurus have been
left outside the Adi Granth.
8. The writings of the Bhagats have been in and out of the Sikh
scriptures due to secular motives.
On the other hand some scholars have written a lot to
disagree with the above views, which are still not acceptable by the scholars
who raised the above issues.
It is quite apparent that a lot of research is still
necessary to discover the true history of compilation of the AGGS by the
scrupulous scholars, having babaek budhi (discriminating intellect). The irony is that the
so-called authority on Sikhism, Gurdwara Management Committees, Sikh Institutes
and Sikh scholars in general remained busy during this year 2004 in celebration of
Quadricentennial of Compilation and Installation (Parkas Divas) of the
Aad Guru Granth Sahib (AGGS) all over the world but none of them had done any
research on this issue.
It is a pity that
scholars working on this issue did not care to look into the AGGS, their Guru,
to find the right answer to the above question about the procurement of
Gurbani. There is solid evidence in the
AGGS that the inherited treasure (Gurbani) of predecessors was received by Guru
Arjan from his father, Guru Ramdas, who received it from Guru Amardas, and Guru
Amardas received it from his predecessors, Guru Angad, and Guru Angad received
it from Guru Nanak. The following verse of Guru Arjan explains this fact very
clearly:
pIau dwdy kw Koil ifTw Kjwnw
]
qw myrY min BieAw inDwnw ]1]
rqn lwl jw kw kCU n molu
]
Bry BMfwr AKt Aqol ]2]
Kwvih Krcih ril imil BweI ]
qoit n Awvy vDdo jweI ]3]
khu nwnk ijsu msqik lyKu ilKwie
]
su eyqu Kjwny lieAw rlwie ]4].
AGGS,
M 5, p 186.
"As the
inherited treasure (Gurbani) of ancestors (Gurus) was opened and viewed, then
my mind was illumined with Treasure (Gurbani). Compared with this treasure the
jewels and rubies have no value.
The chest is full
of inexhaustible and immeasurable treasure (Gurbani). Let us utilize it
together, and dispense (disseminate) it among others, O'Brothers.
The Treasure (Gurbani) will not be exhausted instead it would multiply
manifold.
Nanak says:
Whosoever has the desire in his mind to have it, can be a shareholder of this
Treasure (Gurbani)."
Although the AGGS
was compiled in 1604 CE, about 400 years ago, the style of writing of the AGGS
by Guru Arjan is comparable to the modern writing of a thesis or a dissertation
embodying results of original research or substantiating specific views under
the following major headings:
1. Commencing Verse
2. Summary
3. Main Text
4. Conclusions
5. Acknowledgments
1.
Commencing Verse
The AGGS commences
with a special verse. This verse is commonly known as Moolmantra (the
first mystical formula of invocation or incantation as in Hinduism), even there
is no such title for it in the AGGS. The critical interpretation of the
Commencing Verse of the AGGS will clearly indicate that it is not a mantra or
Moolmantra in any respect but a precise and concise definition of the Almighty.
The ‘definition’ of the isht of a poet is called Manglacharan in
Punjabi.
The Commencing V erse of the AGGS is as follows:
< 1
siq nwmu krqw purKu inrBau inrvYru Akwl mUriq AjUnI sYBM 2
gur
pRswid 3 ]
AGGS,
Commencing Verse (Manglacharan) p 1.
The One and Only, Oh, the Infinite1;
Exists;
Creator;
Without fear
(Not governed by any other – Not under any Law of
Universe);
Without enmity;
Timeless (Without effect of time and space);
Neither takes birth nor dies;
(Never comes into any anthropomorphic form)
Created by Itself 2;
Enlightener; and Bounteous 3.
This Manglacharan
is also repeated
in the beginning of every major section and then in various abbreviated forms
at every sub-section of the AGGS to remind the readers about the salient
characteristics of the Eternal Entity. This was considered necessary to caution
the readers not to be confused with the specific names (Kirtam
Naam) as Ram, Gobind, Gosain, Allah, Madho, etc. as the real names of the Eternal Entity, since
these are the metaphoric names commonly used by the people for the God.
However, no specific name has been coined by Guru Nanak for the Eternal Entity.
For more details about the Commencing Verse see ref # [5] and the book on JAP
[9].
2.
Summary
It is generally
accepted that the essence or summary of the Gurbani is compiled in a verse that
is entitled as JAP. The JAP begins with a Sloka and ends with a Sloka
and contains the essence of whole Nanakian Philosophy embodied in the Bani of
Guru Nanak in the main text of the JAP [9].
The first Sloka
again describes the main characteristics of God as the Eternal Entity:
Awid1
scuuuu2 jugwid3 scu ]
hY4
BI scu nwnk hosI BI5 scu ] 1 ]
AGGS, Jap, p 1.
It is important to understand the meanings of scu (sach). scu (sach) and siq (sat) are
commonly used in the Gurbani and both means 'true’ or ‘truth' and/or 'exist’ or
‘existence' depending on the context these words have been used. Here the word 'sach' means 'exists'. Dr Sahib Singh [38] and Giani Harbans Singh [23] also
interpreted 'sach' as 'exists'. This ‘sach’ represents that Entity, which has no
descriptive/specific name, but exists. Therefore, it is interpreted as follows:
Was in existence2 before the beginning of
the time and space1;
Was in existence in the past3; Is in existence in the present4;
Will remain in existence forever5
(in the future)."
[9]
The beauty of Nanakian Philosophy is that Guru Nanak
has not coined any specific name for God. In this Sloka he even did not mention
any other commonly used metaphoric name for God [9].
The concluding Sloka
of JAP explains that the earth and its all resources are open to be
shared by the whole humanity of the world. Moreover, it is only the good deeds
that will bring a person close to or keep away from the contemplation of the
Almighty:
pvxu gurU pwxI
ipqw mwqw Driq mhqu ]
idvsu rwiq duie dweI dwieAw
KylY sgl jgqu ]
cMigAweIAw buirAweIAw vwcY Drmu hdUir
]
krmI Awpo AwpxI ky nyVY
ky dUir ]
ijnI nwmu iDAwieAw
gey mskiq Gwil ]
nwnk qy muK
aujly kyqI CutI nwil ]]
AGGS, Jap, p 8.
“The air is as the
Guru, water as the father, the great earth as the mother.
Days and nights are
as the nurses in whose laps the whole humanity lives (play).
Our good and bad
deeds are evaluated according to the Laws of the Nature.
It is only your
deeds on which bases you will be judged to be near to or far from the Almighty.
Those, who
comprehend / contemplate on the Almighty get rid of their difficulties.” [9]
3. Main Text
The main text contains three sections:
i) Bani of the Sikh Gurus
ii) Bani of Bhagats, Sants
(saints), and Sufis
ii) Bani of Bhatts
i) Bani of the Sikh Gurus
Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, promulgated
a philosophy and that was preached and strengthened by the next nine Sikh
Gurus, who succeeded to the ‘House of Nanak’. This philosophy or the Bani of Guru Nanak and
that of the other Sikh Gurus that has been incorporated in the AGGS is called Gurbani. Gurbani has also
been defined by Bhai Kahn Singh as follows [31]: The Bani, uttered by the
mouth of Satguru Nanak and his successor Gurus through the inspiration of the
Almighty, is called Gurbani. Although Bhai Gurdas
used this term, Gurbani, for the Bani of others also, but
according to Bhai Kahn Singh [31] this term is specially
reserved for the Bani of the Sikh Gurus. The philosophy promulgated by
Guru Nanak in his Bani, which was preached and strengthened by the other Sikh
Gurus, who succeeded to the ‘House of Nanak’, is termed as Nanakian
Philosophy, an Anglicized term for the philosophy of Guru Nanak in his Bani
[7].
This section is composed of the Bani of Guru Nanak (1469-1539), Guru Angad (1504-1552), Guru Amardas
(1479-1574), Guru Ramdas (1534-1581), Guru Arjan (1563-1606) and Guru Teg
Bahadur (1621-1675). Almost every verse of Bani of each Sikh Guru ends
with the pen name of ‘Nanak’ as the author, whether it was composed by
Guru Nanak himself or by the other Sikh Gurus who succeeded to the House of
Nanak. This is a unique system, designed by Guru Arjan, for presenting
oneness in the authorship of all the Sikh Gurus and oneness in the whole
philosophy of Guru Nanak under the pen name of ‘Nanak’. Nevertheless,
the identity of the contributing Guru is specified under their succession
number to the House of Nanak. The ‘House of Nanak’ has been represented as Mahla by Guru Arjan. Thus, the contribution of Guru
Nanak is identified as Mahla 1 as he is
the founder of Sikhism; the verse of the Second Guru, Angad, is identified as Mahla 2 as he is the second in succession to
the House of Nanak; the verse of the Third Guru, Amardas, is identified as Mahla 3; and so on. This system has been
followed consistently throughout the main text of the AGGS.
ii) Bani of Bhagats
This section contains the Bani of 13 Bhagats
(devotees) namely Kabir, Farid,
Namdev, Ravidas, Trilochan,
These Bhagats were involved in the Bhagati
Movement in the medieval
First 13 pages of
the AGGS contain the Bani of Sikh Gurus, which are not under the major sections
of Raga System, although Raga Asa and Raga Gauri have been used for some verses. Then major portion of
the Bani is categorized under different Ragas. First Raga is ‘Sri’. As a
general rule the Bani of Guru Nanak has been incorporated first, which is
followed by that of other Sikh Gurus in succession. Each verse of every Guru is
ending with a pen name, ‘NANAK’, whether the author of the Bani is Guru
Nanak or any other Sikh Guru. However, their Bani was
identified by the Mahla and his succession number to
the House of Nanak as explained above.
Thereafter, a new
section is started by identifying the Bani under the names of the Bhagats, as
on page 91 it says Sri Raga, Kabir Jio Ka., on page 92 as Sri Raga Trilochan
Ka, etc. Then on page 323 under Raga Gauri the Bani
of Bhagats has been identified clearly as “Raga Gauri,
Bhagatan Ki Bani” “Gauri Guarari, Sri Kabir Jio Kay Caupadhay”,
and so on under every Raga.
ii-a) Controversy on Bhagat Bani
Dr
Sahib Singh [38] has pointed out that some scholars think that the philosophy
of the Bhagat is different than those of the Sikh
Gurus. However, he is a strong protagonist of the general accepted concept that
Bhagat Bani and Gurus’ Bani have the same philosophy
and many accept his views. However, a few conscientious scholars have pointed
out some variances between Gurbani and Bhagat Bani:
1. Daljit Singh and Kharak Singh
[19]: Undeniably, the world-view of Bhagats is different from that of the
Gurus. They also say that references of myths and stories
mentioned in the Guru Granth Sahib are mostly symbolic, idiomatic or
allegorical, and involves no acceptance of their historical reality.
2. Harchand Singh [27]: Bhagat
writings, at places are at variance with those of the Sikh Gurus and when such
variances do occur, the Sikhs have to follow the writings of their Gurus.
3. Puran Singh [37], a spiritual person says that the Third
Guru, Amardas, and the Fifth Guru, Arjan, take the Slokas
of Farid which are full of intellectual pessimism and
corrected the outlook of his poetry by inserting the messages of joy, of
beauty, of glory, of pleasure, of hope (page 306). Same types of corrections
and suggestions have been given by the Sikh Gurus in some verses of Kabir and other Bhagats.
4. Sikh Rehit Maryada (SRM), published by
the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar says at the end of
instruction, How to take a Hukm (Waak
Lena) as follows: Chapter VI,
Article VII, e.: For taking the command (Hukm), the hymn that is
continuing on the top of the left hand must be read from the beginning. If the
hymn begins on the previous page, turn over the page and read the whole hymn
from the beginning to the end. If the scriptural composition that is continuing
on the top of the left hand page is a var
(ode) then start fromfirst of the slokas
preceding the pauri and read up to the end of
the pauri. Conclude the reading at the end
of the Hymn with the line in which the name 'Nanak' occurs. The name "Nanak" only
appears at the end of the sabd of Sikh Gurus, i.e., Gurbani, This name is not
found in Bhagat Bani or Bhattan
de Swayiae. It clearly indicates that the SGPC recognizes the distinction
between Gurbani and Bhagat Bani. However, at Darbar
Sahib sometimes the Waak is also taken from the Bhagat Bani, which is a direct violation of Chapter VI,
article VII, e of SRM.
5. The observations of Cunningham [12 – p 34] about the contributions of
Bhagats and those of Guru Nanak are also worth noting: “They (Bhagats) aimed
chiefly at emancipation from priestcraft, or from the
grossness of idolatry and polytheism. They formed pious associations of
contented Quietists, or they gave themselves up to the contemplation of
futurity in the hope of approaching bliss, rather than called upon their fellow
creatures to throw aside every social as well as religious trammel, and to
arise a new people freed from the debasing corruption of ages. They perfected
forms of dissent rather than planted the germs of nations, and their sects
remain to this day as they left them. It was reserved for NANAK to perceive
the true principles of reform, and to lay those broad foundations which enabled
his successor GOBIND to fire the minds of his countrymen with new nationality,
and to give practical effect to the doctrine that the lowest is equal with the
highest, in race as in creed, in political rights as in religious hopes.”
iii) Bani of Bhatts (Swayiae)
Bani of Bhatts (Swayiae) contains
panegyrics / eulogies / praises of first five Sikh Gurus. They
are about 19 in number namely Kal, Kalsahar, Tal, Jalap, Jal, Kirat, Sal, Bhal, Nal, Bhikha,
Jalan, Das, Gayand, Sewak,
In addition to the Swayiae of Bhatts,
the AGGS also contains the Swayiae Sri Mukh Baak Mahla 5 (AGGS, pp
1385-1389). The Swayiae on pages 1385-1387 clearly explain that Nanak is the ‘Guru’.
I have noticed that this was the most important advice by Guru Arjan for the
Sikhs that has been ignored by most of the Sikh and non-Sikh scholars, and by
the Sikhs at large. Similar type of information is also available in the
Sri Gur Sobha [21]
where it is mentioned that Nanak is the ‘Guru’ and other Sikh Gurus, who
succeeded to the House of Nanak, are following and preaching the philosophy of
Guru Nanak.
3.
Conclusion
Mundavani (Seal or Conclusion)
At the end of the AGGS Guru Arjan has clearly
mentioned allegorically in the conclusion (Mundavani)
that there are three things, truth, contentment, and philosophy; and the elixir
from the Almighty is found by deliberating (Khavay)
and practicing (Punchay) the Nanakian
Philosophy incorporated in the AGGS:
muMdwvxI mhlw 5 ]
Qwl ivc iqMin vsqU peIE
squ sMqoKu vicwro ]
AMimRq nwmu Twkru kw pieE
ijs kw sBsu
ADwro ]
jy ko KwvY jo ko BuMcY
iqs kw hoie
auDwro ]
eyh vsqu qjI nh jweI inq
inq rKu auuir
Dwro ]
qm sMswr crn lig qrIAY sBu
nwnk bRhm pswro ]
AGGS,
M 5, p 1429.
“In the platter
(the Granth) are found three subject matters -
Truth,
contentment and the vichaar (philosophy).
Threfore, the elixir (Amrit)
from the Almighty is also there,
For which everybody
has the desire to have it.
Whosoever adopts (khavay) it and practices (bhunchay
– digests) it, gets salvation.
These subject matters
in no way can be ignored or discarded,
Keep them all the
time in mind.
The sea of darkness
can be crossed by following
The instructions (charan lag) (recorded in the Granth).
Nanak says: The
Almighty pervades everywhere.”
4.
Acknowledgments
Finally, the acknowledgments
are recorded under the heading of a Sloka. This is the end
of the whole text of the AGGS. Guru Arjan has thanked the Almighty for enabling
him to complete this big task of compilation of the divine wisdom into a
Granth:
slok mhlw 5 ]
qyrw kIqw jwqo
nwhI mYno jogu kIqoeI ]
mY inrguixAwry ko guxu nwhI
Awpy qrsu pieEeI ]
qrsu pieAw imhrwmiq
hoeI siqguru sjxu imilAw ]
nwnk nwmu imlY
qW jIvW qnu
mnu QIvY hirAw ]]
AGGS,
M 5, p 1429.
(to
complete this big task of compilation of the Divine Wisdom into a Granth).
I am without any
merit and have no ability but
You took pity on me
(to do the above task).
By Your Mercy and
Blessings I met Friendly (Buddy) True Guru.
On meeting the Almighty
my body and mind bloom into great pleasure.”
Ragas (Musical
Modes)
There are 31 Ragas
(musical modes) under which most of the Gurbani and Bani of
Bhagats have been incorporated in the AGGS. These Ragas are: Sri, Majh, Gouri, Asa,
Gujri, Devgandhari, Bihagra, Vadhans, Sorath, Dhanasri, Jaitsri, Todi, Bairari, Tilang, Suhi, Bilawal, Gound, Ramkali,
First 13 pages of
the AGGS contain the Bani of Sikh Gurus, which are not under the major sections
of Raga System, although Raga Asa and Raga Gauri have been used for some verses. Then major portion of
the Bani is categorized under different Ragas. Similarly, the Bani on pages
from 1352 to 1430 is also without any Raga. This
portion contains the Additional Bani of the Sikh Gurus; Swayiae Sri Mukh Baak Mahla
5, that means Swayiae written by Guru Arjan; and Bani of Bhatts under the headings of Swayiae of the first five
Gurus as “Swayiae Mahla
Pehlae kae, Swayiae Mahla Dujae Kae,
and so on.
Music forms the basis of the classification of the
hymns. Under each Raga, the hymns are arranged in the following order:
1. Chaupadas: hymns of four verses.
2. Ashtapadas: hymns of
eight verses.
3. Long hymns.
4. Chhants: Verses of six lines.
5. Short hymns.
6. Vaars: consisting of two or more Slokas
and a Pauri.
7. Hymns of Bhagats are also in the same
order.
The hymns are further classified according to the
musical clef (ghar) in which each is to be
sung. Although according to the index of Ragas in Raag
Maala, the total number of Ragas and Raginis is 84, the Guru has used only 31. So the Granth is
arranged firstly according to the Ragas, secondly, according to the nature or
meter of the hymns, thirdly authorship, and fourthly the clef.
The verses of Sikh
Gurus are arranged according to their succession number of each Guru to the
House of Nanak as Mahla 1, Mahla
2, Mahla 3, and so on
followed by the verses of Bhagats. The Swayiae of Bhatts
are grouped together under one section in the AGGS.
The number of verses contributed by the Sikh Gurus, by the Bhagats, and Swayiae
of Bhatts recorded in the AGGS are as follows:
Mahla 1 (Guru Nanak) =
947
Mahla 2 (Guru Angad) =
63
Mahla 3 (Guru Amardas) =
869
Mahla 4 (Guru Ramdas) =
638
Mahla 5 (Guru Arjan) =
2312
Mahla 9 (Guru Teg
Bahadur) = 115
Kabir = 534
Farid = 123
Sundar = 6
Sadhna = 1
Surdas = 2
Sain = 1
Jaidev = 2
Trilochan = 5
Dhanna = 4
Namdev = 62
Parmanand = 1
Pipa = 1
Bhikhan = 2
Mardana = 2 (these verses
belong to Guru
Nanak addressed to Mardana. But these are erroneously
assigned to the authorship of Mardana by some
scholars.)
Ravidas = 40
Ramanand = 1
Bhatts = 123
After the Sloka
(acknowledgments) there is a small script called Raag
Maala (Musical modes). There is a lot of
controversy about the authenticity of Raag Maala being a part of AGGS. As it is written after Mundanvani and the Sloka, which suggests the
end of AGGS, therefore, it cannot be considered as a part of AGGS under any
circumstances. But according to the "Sikh Rehit
Maryada" published by the Shiromani Gurdwara
Prabandhak Committee (SGPC),
(*Singh,
Giani Gurdit. 2004. Ithas Guru Granth Sahib: Mundawani.
(Punjabi). Publishers: Sahitya Prakashan, 56 Sector 4,
In fact the
scholars who are involved in this controversy have failed to understand the
Nanakian Philosophy before drawing their conclusions. It is generally accepted
that Guru Nanak collected the Bani of medieval and contemporary Bhagats and it
was passed on to Guru Angad along with his own Bani and then to the next Guru
to the House of Nanak till it was received by Guru Arjan. Now some researcher
will raise a question. Why did Guru Arjan incorporated
the Bhagat Bani in the AGGS? The answer lies in the
fact that Nanakian Philosophy encourages for understanding and sharing the
philosophy of the other faiths or religions as is indicated in the following
verse of Guru Nanak:
guxw kw hovY vwsulw kiF vwis
leIjY ]
jy gux hovin swjnw imil swJ
krIjAY ]
swJ krIjY gux kyrI Coif Avgx clIeY ]
AGGS, M 1, p 765
“If you have a box
full of virtues,
Open it so that
everybody can share your virtues.
(Similarly) If your
friends have virtues,
Share with them
together.
Share only the
virtues,
Abandon the vices.”
Keeping in view the
above philosophy of Guru Nanak, Guru Arjan added the Bani of Bhagats to make
the Sikhs aware of the Bhagati Movement
started during the medieval period against the malpractices among the Indian
religions to understand their philosophy. Gurbani, incorporated in the AGGS,
itself contains interfaith dialogues of Sikh Gurus with Kabir,
Farid, Sidhs,
Yogis, Pundits, Muslim clergy, and common human.
Unfortunately this
open mindedness of Guru Nanak and Guru Arjan to include the Bhagat
Bani in the AGGS has been misinterpreted by some scholars to declare that
Sikhism is a syncretism, which is a combination of Hinduism and Islam.
Nevertheless, the critical analysis of the AGGS will clearly indicate that the
Nanakian Philosophy is unique and independent of all the other philosophies or
schools of other thoughts whether included in the AGGS or found in other
scriptures.
There are some verses (AGGS, M 1 & 5, p 1353)
compiled under the heading of Sahskriti
Sloks. According to Dr Gopal Singh [22], Dr Sahib
Singh [38], and Talib [42] Sahskriti
Sloks are not in Sanskrit but in a language that is between Prakrit and
Sanskrit. However, according to Bhai Kahn Singh [30] Sahskrit
is a language that originated from Pali, Prakrit and
Sanskrit. Further analysis of the language used in the AGGS clearly suggests
that, there is not even a single verse in the AGGS that can be identified as
pure Sanskrit. But there is an extensive use of Persian and Sanskrit vocabulary
in many verses. Nevertheless, there is a very interesting observation that the
language used by some Bhagats, who lived in North-eastern, Central, and
South-western regions of
The language spoken today in the
It is a pity that the Sikh scholars have not yet
decided a uniform system of referencing Bani from the AGGS. The system of
citation varies tremendously from one author to that of the others. So much so
that even same author uses different systems of citation in his same book or in
his same article. This is common with almost all the authors. For example, Dr Gurbachan Singh Talib [43] has
used at least four different systems for referencing Bani from the AGGS in his
book entitled, An Introduction to Sri Guru Granth Sahib, published by the
It clearly indicates that there is no consistency in
referencing Bani from AGGS for research papers, books or popular articles. The
new system of referencing Bani from the AGGS has been devised by Chahal [4],
which is explained briefly as follows:
As a rule the citation should be as short as possible
but must be complete in its information. Therefore, it is suggested to cite the
Bani of the Sikh Gurus as follows:
AGGS, M 5, p 103.
It means this citation is from the Aad Guru Granth
Sahib, abbreviated as AGGS, which has been published by the SGPC; M 5 means
that the author is Fifth Guru to the House of Nanak, i.
e. Guru Arjan; and this quote of Bani appears on page 103 of the above source,
i.e. AGGS.
Similarly, the Bani of a Bhagat,
a Saint or a Bhatt should be cited as follows:
AGGS, Kabir, p 323.
That means the citation is from the AGGS; the author
is Bhagat Kabir; and the
page 323 is of the source, i.e. AGGS.
With the above information one can easily find the
quoted verse in the AGGS. But there is only one difficulty in the use of the
above system of citation when the citation is from Jap because no athorship in the form of M has been used for this Bani. Therefore, under these conditions the verse from Jap
should be cited as follows:
AGGS, (Jap with verse number), (page
number of the AGGS).
This is the only exception in the proposed citation
system described above. Thus, the verse (pauri)
number 5, "Thapia na
jai kita na hoi...."
of Jap at page 2 of the AGGS should be cited as follows:
AGGS, Jap 5, p 2.
The first verse (Sloka) of Jap, i.e., Aad sach jugad such..., and the
second verse, Soche soch
no hovi...
on page 1, carry the same numerical, i.e., 1. Thus, both verses could be
cited as:
AGGS, Jap 1, p 1.
Similarly, there is another difficulty in citing the
first verse, i. e. before Jap written in the
beginning of the AGGS. The first verse is commonly named as
"Moolmantra" by many scholars, although there is no such title in the
AGGS. But it cannot be cited as Moolmantra under any circumstances as discussed
earlier. As the AGGS begins or commences with this verse, thus, this verse
could be cited under the heading of Commencing Verse. Therefore, the
first verse of the AGGS could be cited as follows:
AGGS, Commencing Verse, p 1.
OR
As the first verse is a definition of the Almighty and
definition means Manglacharan in Punjabi, therefore, this verse can more
appropriately be cited as follows:
AGGS, Manglacharan, p 1.
There is also no standardized system to write the
reference of the AGGS in the list of "Literature Cited" or in the
list of "References" given at the end of the article or the book. As
we know its title, the names of the editors, the years of editing and the
publishers, thus, the AGGS could be referred to by three different styles as
follow:
Aad Guru Granth Sahib. 1983 (Reprint). Pp 1430.
Publishers: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee
(SGPC),
OR
Guru Arjan (1604) and Guru
Gobind Singh (1705) Eds.
Aad Guru Granth Sahib. 1983
(Reprint). Pp 1430
Publishers: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee
(SGPC),
OR
Arjan, Guru (1604) and Singh,
Guru Gobind (1705) Eds.
Aad Guru Granth Sahib. 1983
(Reprint). Pp 1430
Publishers: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee
(SGPC),
The first system is the most suitable than the other
two. It is easy to refer to as AGGS in the text. In the next two styles one has
to refer to it as Guru Arjan and Guru Gobind Singh (1604 and 1705) or as Arjan
and Singh (1604 and 1705) which is not desirable because there is no such
authorship or editorship assigned by either Guru Arjan or Guru Gobind Singh in
the AGGS. We should respect their decision.
I would like to make it clear here that: these are
suggestions to be followed by scholars for uniformity in referencing Bani from
the AGGS. The Institute for Understanding Sikhism (IUS) has adopted this system
for all its publication and I use the same system in all my publications. I am
pleased to report here that Dr Balwant Dhillon, Head, Department of Guru Nanak Studies, Guru Nanak
Dev University, Amritsar has used this system in his book, Early Scriptural
Tradition – Myth and Reality, except that he spells ‘Aad’ as ‘Adi’ in the Aad Guru Granth Sahib [13]; and many other
scholars are also using this system as devised by Chahal [4]
1.
AGGS = Aad Guru
Granth Sahib. 1983 (reprint). Publishers:
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee,
2.
Annonymous. 1990. Sikh Religion.
3.
Chahal, D. S. 1996. Aad Guru Granth Sahib: Fallacies
and Facts. Pp 371-392. In: Current Thoughts on Sikhism. Ed. Kharak
Singh.
4.
Chahal, D. S.
1999. System for referencing Bani from the Granth: The Sikh Holy Scriptures.
Understanding Sikhism Res. J. 1 (1): 9-15.
5.
Chahal, D. S.
2000. The Commencing Verse of the Aad Guru Granth Sahib. Understanding Sikhism
Res. J. 2 (1): 8-19 & 29.
6. Chahal, D. S. 2001. Akhand Paath
in Sikhism. Understanding Sikhism, Res. J. 3 (1): 34-35.
7.
Chahal, D. S.
2002. Nanakian Philosophy – The Term Defined. Understanding Sikhism Res. J. 4
(2): 17-22
8.
Chahal, D. S. 2003. Language and script of the Aad
Guru Granth Sahib. Understanding Sikhism
Res. J. 5 (2): 7-12. (Plus more views on this topic on pp12-15 & 28.)
9. Chahal, D. S. 2003. JAP: The Essence of Nanakian
Philosophy. Publishers: Institute for Understanding Sikhism,
10. Chahal, D. S. 2004. Sabd Guru to Granth Guru – An
In-depth Study. Publishers: Institute for Understanding Sikhism,
11. Crystal, David. 1993. The
12. Cunningham, J. D.
1981 (1849). A History of the Sikhs. S. Chand &
Company Ltd.
13. Dhillon, B. S. 1999. Early Sikh Scriptural Tradition – Myth
and Reality. (Punjabi). Singh Brothers,
14. Kaur, Madanjit. 1988. The
Guru-ship and Succession of Guru Granth Sahib. P 121. In: Advanced Studies in
Sikhism. Eds. J.S. Mann and H. S. Saraon. Sikh
Community of
15. Kohli, Surinder Singh (Dr). 1990. Sikhism and Guru Granth Sahib.
National Book Shop,
16. Mann, Gurinder Singh. 1996. The Goindval
Pothi. The Earliest Extent Source of the Sikh Canon.
17. Mehboob, Harinder Singh (Prof). 1986. Sehjae
Rachio Khalsa (Punjabi). Published by the author,
Khalsa College Garhdiwal, Hoshiarpur.
18. Sidhu, Sarjeet. 1999. Is there
any place of ritualism and idolism in Sikhism? Understanding Sikhism Res. J. 1
(2): 37-41 & 17.
19. Singh, Daljit and Singh, Kharak. 1993.
Guru and Bani: The basic message. The Sikh Review. 40(Jan.): 11-19.
20. Singh, Ganda. 1986. Guru
Gobind Singh designated Guru Granth Sahib to be the Guru. In: Perspectives on
the Sikh Tradition. Ed. Gurdev Singh. Sidharth Publication for Academy of the Sikh Religion and
Culture,
21. Singh, Ganda (ed.).1996 (1st
ed. 1967). Sri Gur Sobha by
Sainapat (Punjabi).
22. Singh, Gopal (Dr). 1987.
Sri Guru Granth Sahib (English Version). Vols
4. World Sikh Centre Inc.
23. Singh, (Giani) Harbans. 1988. Aad Sri
Guru Granth Sahib Jee Darshan
Nirney Steek (Punjabi).
Gurbani Seva Parkashan,
24. Singh, Harbans. 1986. The
Guru Granth Sahib: Guru Eternal for the Sikhs.
In: Perspectives on the Sikh Tradition. Ed. Gurdev
Singh. Sidharth Publication for Academy of the Sikh
Religion and Culture,
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26. Singh, Harbhajan. 1991. Guru Maneo
Granth (Punjabi).
27. Singh, Harchand. 1993. Understanding Gurbani: A question of approach
and methodology. The Sikh Review. 40 (June): 17-23.
28. Singh, Jodh. 1990. A Few Sikh Doctrines Reconsidered. National
Book Shop,
29. Singh, (Bhai) Jodh. 1968. Kartar Puri Bir day Darshan
(Punjabi).
30. Singh, Kahn (Bhai).
1981. Mahan Kosh (Punjabi). Bhasha Vibhag,
31. Singh, Kahn (Bhai).
1996. Gurmat Martand
(Punjabi). Language Department
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Singh Ashok)
33. Singh, Manmohan. 1972. Hymns
of Guru Nanak. Language department
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(English & Punjabi Translation). 8 vols. Publishers: Shiromani Gurdwara
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38. Singh, Sahib (Dr).
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Vols 10. Raj Publishers (Reg.), Jallandhar.
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