Installation of Sriptures as Guru Granth: Sikhs celebrate final faith guide

October 20, 2014 by Leave a Comment

MONDAY, OCTOBER 20: In the line of esteemed Sikh faith leaders (gurus), the final guru continues to lead the Sikh people today—some four centuries after conception. Today, Sikhs celebrate the Installation of the Scriptures as Guru Granth. On this day in 1708 CE, the 10th Sikh guru announced that following his death, Sikhs should look to the sacred text known as Granth Sahib for guidance. The sacred compilation, which contains words from Sikh, Hindu and Muslim leaders alike, is placed at the center of worship in every Sikh gurdwara (place of worship). The faithful believe the Guru Granth Sahib to be the final and sovereign guru.

With the succession of Sikh gurus in history, it was the fifth—Guru Arjan (1563-1606 CE)—who began compiling writings of the previous gurus and of other great saints of the time. This first edition was known as the Adi Granth. As the years passed, the words of the other gurus were recorded, until the 10th guru added the words of his predecessor and compiled a work known as the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Today, the Guru Granth Sahib can be seen in every Sikh gurdwara on a revered platform, covered with ornate and delicate fabric.

The Guru Granth Sahib consists of 1,430 pages. (Wikipedia has details.) Among the hymns in this sacred text are descriptions of the qualities of God, the necessity for meditation on God’s name, and the need to live in God’s will.

IN THE NEWS:
PRINTING PRESSES FOR GURU GRANTH
TO OPEN IN NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE

The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee recently made the decision to install printing presses in Europe, Canada and the United States, to aid Sikhs in these areas who need greater ability to reproduce copies of the Guru Granth Sahib. (Learn more from the Times of India and Sikh24.) As the Granth Sahib must be printed and delivered according to per rehat maryada (the Sikh code of religious conduct), the process is carried out with elaborate, traditional measures.

Installation of Scriptures as Granth Sahib: Sikhs hail text as everlasting guru

October 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20: Today, the world’s 24 million Sikhs celebrate a book held so sacred that it sits upon a throne while adherents sit on the floor; it is the omnipresent leader of a religion, and today, devotees commemorate the Guru Granth Sahib. While Sikhs reject idol worship, they hold the deepest respect for the poetry, hymns and passages of wisdom found within their holy book. Historically, Sikhs look to 10 human gurus of the faith for direction and example; it was the 10th guru, Gobind Singh, who designated the holy scriptures as the final and everlasting guru. (Learn more from AllAboutSikhs.com.) It was on this date in 1708 that Guru Gobind Singh brought the Sikhs’ sanctified collection of writings—the Adi Granth—to the level of Guru Granth Sahib.

Compilation of the Adi Granth began with the fifth Sikh guru, Arjan, during the 16th century. During the lifetime of Guru Arjan, fear circulated that the hymns of the first gurus would be lost; some inaccurate and even forged writings were found to be circulating. Guru Arjan gained permission to access existing documents, sent disciples out far and wide in search of any lingering writings and even contacted members of other religions with an invitation to submit a few words to the Adi Granth (the current Granth Sahib contains writings by Hindus and Muslims). The writings were set to 30 musical ragas, or musical patterns. While several translations of the Granth Sahib do exist—in recent news, one man released a noted English translation, after 17 years of work on the book—many Sikhs attempt to learn the Punjabi script used in the original text, known as Gurmukhi.

REVERENCE FOR THE HOLY SCRIPTURES

The completion of the Granth Sahib was, understandably, met with much exhilaration, and Sikhs today maintain the same excitement. New Strait Times recently reported that more than 300 members of the Sikh community gathered at a temple in Jalan Menon to welcome three new copies of the Guru Granth Sahib, which were decorated with flowers and ornaments and carried in three separate cars.

Each time Sikhs gather in a gurdwara, or place of worship, the Granth Sahib is placed at the center, on a raised platform known as a Takht (throne). Congregation members remove their shoes and cover their heads in its presence, sitting upon the floor to hear it contents read. A caretaker known as a Granthi is responsible for the ceremonial care of the holy scriptures.

GURU GRANTH SAHIB GOES DIGITAL

Described as a book for all people and applicable to any religion, the Granth Sahib stresses a meditation on the True God, supplemented with moral and ethical rules for the maturity of the soul. Scriptures call for unity with God, unity with one another and equality for all.

The one publisher of the Guru Granth Sahib is the official religious body of Sikhs in Amritsar. The Punjab Digital Library and Nanakshai Trust began digitizing the scriptures in 2003, and today, Sikh apps assist adherents around the world in better understanding of the Guru Granth Sahib. (The Detroit News reported on religion and technology, including Sikh media.)