Compiling Guru Granth Sahib Ji

The pure belongs to the 'Wonderous Enlightener'. The victory belongs to the 'Wonderous Enlightener'.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji commenced his journey back to Amritsar Sahib, walking bare footed whilst doing the ‘Chaur’ service over the volumes of Gurbani that were placed in the ‘Palki’ (palanquin)**. The Sikhs requested Guru Ji to sit within another ‘Palki’ but Guru Ji refused to do so out of reverence. Guru Ji stated that he could not be seated equally to the status of Gurbani (the words of God) regardless of whether he sat in another palanquin or travelled on horseback. Hence, Guru Ji walked the distance in service of the volumes . Upon reaching Darbar Sahib, the ‘Palki’ (Palanquin) was placed on the ‘Atsat Ghat’ and Baba Budha Ji was instructed to overlook the volumes whilst the Sikh congregation sang ‘Kirtan’ (God’s praises) all night in the presence of the volumes. In the present day, this spot is marked by a fixed palanquin made of marble on top of the ‘Atsat Ghat. This is located next to the ‘Dukh Bhanjani’ tree within the Darbar Sahib complex and was named after Guru Arjan Dev Ji recited a Shabad including the following verse there:

“That is the sixty-eight sacred shrines of pilgrimage, where the pure place their feet, and that is heaven, where the 'Naam' (name of God) is chanted. All bliss comes, when one obtains the Blessed Vision of the Lord. I continuously sing the Glorious Praises of the Lord. ||3||”

(Raag Raamkalee - Guru Arjan Dev Ji - Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji - Ang 890)

In this case ‘Att’ means 8 and ‘Satt’ means 60, combining to total 68. ‘Ghat’ means the bank next to a source of water. Thus, the bank where Guru Ji recited this particular Shabad.

After the congregation spent the 'Rein-Sabaiee' (whole night) singing God’s praises (‘Rein’ meaning night and ‘Sbaiee’ meaning all), Guru Ji opened the Gurbani volumes to read them. It was at this stage that upon seeing the revelations of the previous four Gurus, Guru Ji had revealed another Shabad:

“Saarang, Fifth Form: This 'Pothi' (scripture) is the place where the Lord is obtained. Singing the glorious praises of the Lord in the company of the Holy, one gains the wisdom of God. ||1||Pause|| The Siddhs, seekers and all the silent sages long for the Lord, but those who can grasp him (in focus) are rare. That person, unto whom my master is merciful, all his tasks are perfectly accomplished. ||1|| One whose heart is filled with the 'destroyer of fear' (God), is known by the whole world. May I never forget you, even for an instant, O my creator Lord; Nanak begs for this blessing. ||2||90||113||”

(Raag Saarang - Guru Arjan Dev Ji - Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji - Ang 1226)

Now that all accounts of Gurbani had been analysed and verified by Guru Ji, the compilation process was all set to start. The location for this task was chosen less than a mile away from 'Darbar Sahib' next to a pond. This pond was transformed into more of a constructed ‘Sarovar’ to make it adequate for use and named ‘Ramsar’ by the fifth Guru. In this case ‘Ram’ referring to God who is ‘Ramiya Hoya’ (omnipresent) and ‘Sar’ meaning pool of water. A tent was built on the banks of this pool in which the compilation process commenced. Bhai Gurdas Ji was selected to be the scribe for this task, (who was a great scholar of the scriptures) a great Sikh that had much literature attributed towards himself. It was also here that Guru Ji had revealed another Shabad after reading through the revelations of the previous Gurus:

“Gauree Guaarayree, Fifth Form: I am prosperous and fortunate, for I have received the true name (of God). I naturally sing the glorious praises of the Lord with intuitive ease. ||1||Pause|| When I opened up and gazed upon the treasure (divine wisdom) of my father (Guru Ram Das Ji) and grandfather (Guru Amardas Ji), my mind discovered the true wealth. ||1|| The treasury is inexhaustible and immeasurable, overflowing with priceless jewels and rubies. ||2|| The siblings meet together to consume it and spend it, but they do not diminish; they continue to increase. ||3|| Says Nanak, one who has such destiny written on his forehead, merges his mind into these treasures. ||4||31||100||”

(Raag Gauree - Guru Arjan Dev Ji - Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji - Ang 185)

Hearing of the task that Guru Sahib was undergoing, four spiritual practitioners: Kana, Chajoo, Peelu and Shah Hussain visited Guru Ji from Lahore to have their teachings scribed. They argued that their words should have been primarily considered instead of the 15 ‘Bhagats’ (whose hyms were chosen) because they were no longer alive. Out of respect, Guru Ji gave these four guests a chance to express their divine knowledge (according to their spiritual experience). However, they only exposed a lack of understanding in divine philosophy and proved that they were not yet divine beings. Thus, there proposals were refused by Guru Ji because this was not an auditioning process where word was to spread and people were supposed to present their poetry. This was a task to compile a scripture of ‘Shabads’ that divine beings had revealed for the betterment of humanity.

In conclusion, Guru Granth Sahib Ji is one of the only scriptures in the world that was scribed and compiled in the presence of the faith’s ‘prophet’. In terms of authenticity, not many religions can make this claim. For example, Islam’s prophet Muhammad may have had many parts of the Quran scribed in his presence, but even then; he never managed to compile the Quran in one finalised binding within his life time and so the fourth ‘Caliph’ Umar had to standardise it (but he was not a prophet and nor could the final version be authenticated by a prophet thereafter). Guru Granth Sahib Ji has been verified, authenticated and sealed twice in Sikh history, first by Guru Arjan Dev Ji and then by the Guru Gobind Singh Ji in their respected presence (both authorised personnel to do so by God).

To be continued...

The pure belongs to the 'Wonderous Enlightener'. The victory belongs to the 'Wonderous Enlightener'.

** The ‘Chaur’ can be translated to be a ‘royal whisk’ that would traditionally be waved over Kings or Emperors in India (as a status symbol of their power). Guru Ji has taught us through Gurbani that God is the true emperor of this creation and so as Sikhs, God’s words (Gurbani) is respected in the same way as if God would be in a visible form. Simply put, God and his word is one and so is the respect attributed to them through three symbols of royalty: a ‘Chaur’ (royal whisk), a ‘Chattar’ (canopy) and a ‘Takht’ (a raised platform of authority). Hence, one will always see Guru Granth Sahib Ji with these three possessions at all times. Important to note here is that no other Religion in the world today displays such levels of respect to their scripture of religious guidance like the Sikhs do and that is because of the high benchmark that our Guru has taught us in history. Sikhs do not worship idols but worship God through his name and respect his teachings (Gurbani) as the embodiment of God, through obedience and service.

References: 1. Guru Granth Sahib Ji 2. Sant Gurbachan Singh - 'Pehla Parkash' Katha 3. Jatha Randhawa - Gurbani Arth Bhandar 4. Baba Hari Singh - Katha 'Pehla Parkash' 5. Giani Pinderpal Singh - Katha 'Pehla Parkash' 6. Kavi Santokh Singh - Gurpartap Sooraj 7. Kahn Singh Nabha - Mahan Kosh 8. S.G.P.C - History displayed at historical Gurdwaras 9. S.H.A.R.E - Sikhi to the Max 10. Alphabet Inc. - Google