Inferences

 

VIII

Inferences

Though all the Gurus have composed verses for the benefit of entire humanity, but none of them composed it entirely to be included in a Holy Work so as to be preserved for the posterity as it was Guru Arjan Dev Ji , the fifth Guru who had started compiling Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji for the first time that came to be known as Adi Granth and perhaps it was Guru Granth Sahib who with help of others organized this Holy Granth on the basis of various ragas so as to enhance the effectiveness of their message to entire humanity through their compositions. The Tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji is credited for re editing and finalising the Guru Granth Sahib and even included verses of his father the Ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. Not only that he enshrined Guru Granth Sahib ji as Sikhism’s primary holy religious scripture by giving it the exalted status of an Eternal Guru. Though it has been poetically rendered and set to a rhythmic ancient north Indian Classical form of music and the bulk of scripture is divided into 31 ragas but Gurus did not compose their verses keeping any raga or musical form in mind while composing them. Music element was added later on by Guru Arjan Dev Ji and Guru Gobind Singh Ji, who edited and composed Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji as they felt that these ragas facilitated the conveyance of message to the listeners easily, quickly and effectively. So the music was merely considered as vehicle to convey their ideas and messages effectively to readers and listeners.

Before summing up it is essential to give a brief glimpse to the teaching of Gurus enshrined in the Holy Granth through their verses, hymns and other compositions. Their teachings mostly revolve around the core principles of One God, Equality for all and service to the community. Their teachings emphasis Monotheism or as One God, who is Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Immortal, Ageless, Formless, Unknowable, Unattainable, Unfathomable Being who has created everything in the Universe and is present even in the smallest microscopic creatures like amoeba, hydra, ants, flies, and insects to the largest creatures present in the world like elephant, blue whales and the mythological creature Leviathan. Though God is Supreme but still He can be Attained by the few lucky fortunate beings who with His Blessings gets a True Guru, and helps him in realising the Almighty. There are forces of distracting evil that obstruct a man from the path of uniting with God like the five evils present inside him like Ego, Wrath, Avarice, Attachment and Lust. A man can only overcome these foes by uttering and praising the Lord ceaselessly. Teachings of Gurus in Sri Guru Granth Sahib also stress the equality of all human beings regardless of caste, gender of social status. Almighty Creator has power to make ‘King out of a Beggar, and a Beggar out of a King’. Gurus have given the three pronged formula of – ‘Kirat Karo, Vand Shako and Nam Japo’ as infallible formula of emancipation from the cycle of life and death in this world. ‘Kirat Karo’ implies earning an honest living through hard work and ‘Vand Shakna’ emphasises sharing one’s earnings with others, particularly donating your Dasvandh orTethe or one tenth of your income to the deeds of charity as service to others- particularly the poor and marginalised is also one of the way to connect with God and living a meaningful life in the spirit of ‘Nar Sewa, Narayan Sewa. And above all the “Nam Japo” means uttering the Praise of the Glory of Lord ceaselessly and meditate and contemplate on Him for ever.

Guru’s teachings encourage the pursuit of spiritual knowledge under the guidance of a true Guru, who can lead individuals towards enlightenment. They also promote the virtues of truthfulness, compassion, patience, humility and self-control through their verses and hymns.

References

I am deeply indebted to the following authors and works that helped me immensely in comprehending the text as well as translating it properly.

1. Singh, Manmohan (Tr.) Sri Gutu Granth Sahib- English and Punjabi Translation vols 1-8, Amritsar: Golden Offset Press, 1995

2. Singh, Dr. Sahib, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Darpan vol 1-8, Jalandhar: Raj Publishers, 1970

3. Singh, Dr. Gopal, Sri Guru Granth Sahib English Version, Vol 1-4,

New Delhi:Allied Publishers, 2002.

4. Sikhiwiki, www.sikhiwiki.org

5. Sikhnet, www.sikhnet.com