'Pehla Parkash' (The First Illumination)

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

Guru Ji had completed the compilation of the ‘Aadh Granth Sahib’ and assigned ‘Bhai Banno Ji’ with the task of having all the ‘Panne’ (sheets of paper) bind together in the city of ‘Lahore’. ‘Banno’ Ji returned back to Amritsar Sahib with the completed Granth Sahib Ji bound together. Many Sikhs visited Guru Ji after hearing that the compilation process was complete at ‘Ramsar Sahib’. Guru Ji gave many teachings in praise of 'Gurbani' (Guru's words) there and described its relationship to Sikhs with an analogy of functioning like a ship. **

Furthermore, Guru Ji said “The body of the supreme Guru cannot be seen in all places and all times at once. Know the Granth (Sahib) to be the heart of the Guru which is superior because it will remain in all times (forever). It is therefore more superior to my form (body) and knowing it to be the master, it becomes respect worthy . Worship the Granth by grazing sandalwood and saffron, after spreading ‘fragrance’, offer flowers”. Guru Ji emphasised that Gurbani is greater than his body because it is accessible at any time and in any place to provide teachings to the Sikh. That night, all the congregation (as well as Guru Ji) all slept on the floor at ‘Ramsar Sahib’ in respect for the completed ‘Aadh Granth Sahib’ being present.

The next morning, ‘Harmandar Sahib’ was then chosen as the befitting place where the 'Aadh Granth Sahib' would be first opened for all the to see and learn from in a bound form. Guru Ji chose Baba Budha Ji to be the first ever ‘Granthi’ (the one responsible for carrying out the service of the Granth) who at this stage was aged 98 and had served the Guru’s house since he was aged 11 (87 years of service). Guru Ji stated that the ‘Granthi’ position belongs to the servant and because it entails ‘Seva’ (service) at the highest rank, it should be given to the one who has proven himself to be a committed long-term servant. During the ‘Kirtan’ of ‘Raag Aasa’s Vaar’, in the ‘Amrit Vela’ (before sunrise), Guru Ji brought the ‘Aadh Granth Ji’ into ‘Darbar Sahib’ (being held respectfully) on Baba Budha Ji’s head. Guru Ji himself conducted the ‘Chaur’ service during this historical moment. After the ‘Vaar’s’ Kirtan was complete, the ‘Parkash’ process then took place. The word ‘Parkash’ means ‘light’ so when used in the context of opening any Pothi (scripture), the word ‘Parkash’ is used to mean ‘enlighten’. The process when the ‘light’ (wisdom) is opened to enlighten the followers.

Guru Ji instructed: “Budha Ji, open the Granth Sahib, take the sound so that all the followers of the path can listen”. Thus, referring to reciting the ‘Hukam-nama’ which literally means a letter with a command scribed for the recipient. Hence, Sikhs refer to the first ‘Shabad’ that is uttered after opening ‘Guru Granth Sahib’ as a ‘Hukam-nama’ because it involves a teaching for all to follow. The first ever ‘Hukam-nama’ that was recited was the Shabad that starts:

“Soohee, Fifth Form: The Lord Himself has stood up to resolve the affairs of the Saints; He has come to complete their tasks. The land is beautiful, and the pool is beautiful; within it is contained the Ambrosial Water”.

(Raag Soohee - Guru Arjan Dev Ji - Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji - Ang 783)

Guru Ji established the ‘Maryada’ (protocol) for the way in which the Aadh Granth Sahib Ji will be served step by step as time progressed throughout the day. Noteworthy is that even after Sikhs had offered to bring a ‘Manji’ (a small cot type seat) for Guru Ji to sit on in Darbar Sahib, he refused to sit in an elevated position within the ‘Darbar’ (court) of the ‘Granth Sahib Ji’. Instead, he chose to sit amongst the congregation (on the floor) just like everybody else (in humility) to teach us that the utmost respect is given to Gurbani and no other can sit in equal seating to the words of God. ***

Furthermore, Guru Ji instructed for ‘Kirtan’ to be sang in the presence of the ‘Granth Sahib Ji’ all day and certain ‘Chounkis’ (four allocated slots) were set for certain Shabads to be sung at fixed times daily. Fascinating here is that the present 24 hour set up at Darbar Sahib has been kept in the same way that Guru Ji initiated it 420 years ago. Time has surely passed but Guru Ji’s teachings are still preserved respectfully. Once the day came to an end, Guru Ji instructed for the Granth Sahib to be closed and taken to the ‘Kotha Sahib’ which was the room where Guru Ji used to rest at night (now situated next to the ‘Akaal Taktht Sahib’). Guru Ji reserved a ‘Plangh’ (a bed) to place the Granth Sahib on during the nights whilst he himself would sleep on the floor nearby. Once again, Guru Ji refused to sleep on another bed that would elevate his position in the presence of the Granth Sahib. ****

Baba Budha Ji has been cited in history to mention that after being chosen as the first ‘Granthi’, through his experience of witnessing, learning from and serving the previous six Gurus, the ‘Shabad’ was always given the ‘Guru’ status by every Guru. Thus, Guru Arjan Dev Ji finalised this teaching by establishing Gurbani as the true ‘Guru’ in his presence. Guru Gobind Singh Ji then made this official and sealed the Guruship forever within the word of God at Abchal Nagar Hazoor Sahib in 1708. 

In conclusion, the original manuscript that was prepared by Guru Arjan Dev Ji is still very well looked after by the custodians who are from Guru Hargobind Ji’s family lineage and existent in ‘Kartarpur Sahib’ (a town, near the city of Jalandhar in the Jalandhar district of the 'Doaba' region, Punjab, India) within the house that Guru Arjan Dev Ji once lived in after establishing the city. This ‘Aadh Granth Sahib’ was first opened on the 1st ‘Thith’ of the month ‘Bhadron’ in 1604. Sikhs celebrate this day annually as the ‘Pehla Parkash’ (first illumination), the day that the fifth Guru set the standard for Guru Granth Sahib Ji to enlighten minds worldwide as a complete scripture. Overall, these last four articles were dedicated to this auspicious day in history.

** An Interesting fact in relation this is that when Guru Arjan Dev Ji was a young child nearly 40 years before the compilation was complete, he received a blessing from his maternal grandfather Guru Amar Das Ji. The third Guru was sitting in his room at ‘Goindval Sahib’ when Sri Arjan Dev Ji (whilst playing) came into the room to greet him. He went inside the room and bowed before Guru Amar Das Ji, before standing with his hands clasped together in respect. The third Guru then lifted Sri Arjan Ji with his arms whilst weighing him and feeling his heavy weight. Guru Amar Das Ji uttered “Grandson! The Ship of Gurbani”. This blessing was a prophecy of how 40 years into the future, Sri Arjan Dev Ji will prepare ‘a ship of Gurbani’. The word ‘Bohith’ (ship) was used metaphorically, just as a ship is the medium to travel across the ocean, the compiled ‘Granth Sahib Ji’ will serve as the medium to help one travel across this ocean of the world (i.e. liberate them).

*** This whole episode of history is a great benchmark for spiritual leaders to follow as it teaches just how much humility Guru Arjan Dev Ji displayed. If he never sat on any separate seating to the congregation in the presence of Gurbani, then no human thereafter had the authority of doing so either. The Gurus in history have been recorded to sit amongst the ‘Pangat’ (row of people seated together) and eat ‘Langar’ amongst the common man. This begs the question as to why spiritual ‘leaders’ today may have started to have their own VIP spaces where they would eat separately and have a separate spreading for them to sit on (in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib Ji and amongst the congregation).

**** Important to answer here is the question that “does Guru Granth Sahib sleep at night and wake up like us?” The answer is simply no! Guru Ji taught us to respect Gurbani as the embodiment of God due to Gurbani being attributed to ‘coming’ from God and treated God’s word as if they would God himself. Any belief that a Sikh may have can be their own, but nowhere in history did Guru Ji state that the Aadh Granth Sahib Ji slept at night. This doubt should have eradicated when Guru Sahib had ‘Akhand Paats’ conducted in which a continuous reading of Guru Granth Sahib Ji would run for a number of days. If it was the case that Guru Granth Sahib Ji needed sleep, Guru Ji would have disallowed this practise with the justification that Guru Granth Sahib Ji needs rest and prolonged readings are unjust. However, this was never the case.

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

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