About Siri Guru Granth Sahib |
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Here is the most excellent description of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, as given by Kiran Rana at the House of Commons: As you might have gathered, we’re here to celebrate the 300th Anniversary of the installation of the Granth Sahib as the last and present Guru, or spiritual leader, of the Sikhs. The Guru Granth Sahib is an integral part of Sikh life, referring to it as we do, in times both triumph and tragedy. It is at the core of ceremonies marking birth, marriage, death and all the events in between. It began life as the Adi Granth, compiled by Guru Arjan Dev in order to enshrine his own verse and ideas, as well as those of his predecessors – and to finally set in stone the precepts of the religion. Uniquely, for a religious canon, it also included the teachings of mystics and sages from diverse cultural and religious traditions. At a time when religious differences were rife and the caste system was oppressively enforced, the Adi Granth not only encouraged the principle of equality but perfectly exhibited it. It brought together the ideas of Hindus & Muslims, scholars & saints, people of all castes and ethnicities. This is reflected in the many languages included in the Granth Sahib, such as: Hindi, Marathi, Persian and Arabic. All of these were transcribed in Gurmukhi. This script was developed in an attempt to make religion accessible to all – a reaction against the prevailing religions of the time, which insisted on prayers being conducted in arcane languages, understood by few. The Adi Granth is a work of great academic learning, drawing on philosophical and poetic contributions from figures as diverse as the 12thCentury Muslim saint Sheikh Farid, the 13thCentury Hindu sage Namdev and the great mystic Kabir. By including the writings of others besides the Sikh gurus, Guru Arjan Dev gave a clear signal: anyone who exhibited compassion would be honoured by the Sikhs. Drawing from both Sufi and Hindu traditions, the Granth Sahib was completed with musical instruction. The compositions correspond to the time of day and different moods and occasions. The Guru Granth Sahib begins with Ek Onkar, Guru Nanak’s definition of God, as one creator. Although the Granth Sahib is inevitably punctuated by numerous names for God, including Ram and Allah, Sikhs believe that all of these allude to the same entity. From this belief, Sikhs derive their respect for all religions and their conviction in the principle of equality. It was with these concepts in mind that Guru Gobind Singh created the Khalsa; in order to fight tyranny; uphold justice; and to protect the oppressed regardless of their caste or creed. However Sikhs were only to revert to physical action when all other options had been exhausted. With apologies to Tennyson, ours was to reason why and only then to do and die. As it states in the guru Granth Sahib, slok 16: ‘The truly enlightened ones are those who neither incite fear in others Given the divisive times we live in, the Guru Granth Sahib serves as a poignant reminder of the need to not only tolerate, but attempt to understand other religions and benefit from wisdom – regardless of its source. As Guru Gobind Singh noted, we must ‘recognise all mankind as one.’ The Adi Granth was completed by Guru Gobind Singh when he added his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur’s compositions. In 1708, he pronounced this version the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. This was to be both his legacy – and crucially – his successor. The Guru Granth Sahib is now revered by Sikhs for its philosophical guidance. Although it’s now considered the spiritual leader of the religion, it’s a work of enlightened reflection rather than revelation. As such, it demonstrates the accessibility of spiritual attainment. As Guru Gobind Singh declared: ‘Those with disciplined minds Kiran Rana |