Guru Granth Sahib

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Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (Punjabi: ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ) — Granth is Punjabi for book; Sahib is Hindi meaning master, from Arabic, meaning companion, friend, owner, or master — is more than a holy book of the Sikhs. The Sikhs treat this Granth (holy book) as a living Guru. The holy text spans 1430 pages and contains the actual words spoken by the founders of the Sikh religion and various other Saints from other religions including Hinduism and Islam.

The Adi Granth is often — incorrectly — used to refer to the Guru Granth Sahib. The Adi Granth only forms the portion of the Guru Granth Sahib which Guru Arjan compiled in 1604.

The Granth was made a guru by the last of the living Sikh Masters, Guru Gobind Singh in 1708. Guru Gobind Singh said before his demise that the Sikhs were to treat the Granth as their next Guru:

Punjabi: ਸੱਬ ਸਿੱਖਣ ਕੋ ਹੁਕਮ ਹੈ ਗੁਰੂ ਮਾਨਯੋ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ

Transliteration: Sab sikhan kō hukam hai gurū mānyō granth

English: All Sikhs are commanded to take the Granth as Guru

When one visits a Sikh Temple or Gurdwara the Granth forms the main part of the Darbar Sahib or Main Hall. The Holy Book is placed on a dominant platform and covered in very beautiful and attractive coloured fine cloth. The platform is always covered by a canopy, which is also decorated in expensive and very attractive coloured materials. Although the original text is written in Gurmukhi, it contains many languages including Punjabi, Sanskrit and Persian.

The holy text comprises over 5000 Shabhads or hymns which are poetically constructed; are designed for various different musical Ragas; can be set to predetermined musical Talas (rhythmic beats) and have a definite message for the whole of humanity.

Below an extract from page 15 of Guru Granth Sahib:

ਨਾਨਕ ਕਾਗਦ ਲਖ ਮਣਾ ਪੜਿ ਪੜਿ ਕੀਚੈ ਭਾਉ ॥

ਮਸੂ ਤੋਟਿ ਨ ਆਵਈ ਲੇਖਣਿ ਪਉਣੁ ਚਲਾਉ ॥

ਭੀ ਤੇਰੀ ਕੀਮਤਿ ਨਾ ਪਵੈ ਹਉ ਕੇਵਡੁ ਆਖਾ ਨਾਉ ॥੪॥੨॥

nānak kāgad lakh manā pari pari kīcai bhā'u

masū tōti na āva'ī lēkhani pa'unu calā'u

bhī tērī kīmati nā pavai ha'u kēvadu ākhā nā'u ||4||2||

O Nanak, if I had hundreds of thousands of stacks of paper, and if I were to read and recite and embrace love for the Lord,

and if ink were never to fail me, and if my pen were able to move like the wind

-even so, I could not estimate Your Value. How can I describe the Greatness of Your Name? ||4||2||

Image:Dictation of the Guru Granth Saheb.jpg This is what Max Arthur Macauliffe wrote about the authenticity of the Guru's teaching:

The Sikh religion differs as regards the authenticity of its dogmas from most other theological systems. Many of the great teachers the world has known, have not left a line of their own composition and we only know what they taught through tradition or second-hand information. If Pythagoras wrote of his tenets, his writings have not descended to us. We know the teachings of Socrates only through the writings of Plato and Xenophanes. Buddha has left no written memorial of his teaching. Kungfu-tze, known to Europeans as Confuscius, left no documents in which he detailed the principles of his moral and social system. The founder of Christianity did not reduce his doctrines to writing and for them we are obliged to trust to the gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Arabian Prophet did not himself reduce to writing the chapters of the Quran. They were written or compiled by his adherents and followers. But the compositions of the Sikh Gurus are persevered and we know at first hand what they taught.

Image:Khanda.png Topics in Sikhism Image:Khanda.png

Gurus:	Guru Nanak Dev \| Guru Angad Dev \| Guru Amar Das \| Guru Ram Das \| Guru Arjan Dev \| Guru Har Gobind \| Guru Har Rai \| Guru Har Krishan \| Guru Teg Bahadur \| Guru Gobind Singh \| Guru Granth Sahib \| Sikh Bhagats
Philosophy:	Beliefs and principles \| Underlying values \| Prohibitions \| Technique and methods \| Other observations
Practices:	Aardas \| Amrit \| Chardi Kala \| Dasvand \| Five Ks \| Kirat Karni \| Kirtan \| Langar \| Naam \| Simran \| Wand kay Shako
Scripture:	Guru Granth Sahib \| Bani \| Chaupai \| Dasam Granth \| Jaap Sahib \| Japji Sahib \| Mool Mantar \| Rehras \| Sukhmani \| Tav-Prasad Savaiye
More:	Ek Onkar \| Gurdwara \| History \| Khalsa \| Khanda \| Literature \| Music \| Names \| Places \| Politics \| Satguru \| Sikhs \| Waheguru