By Dr. H. S. Shergill
IK Onkar God Is only one Satnam His name is True Karta Purkh He Is the Creator Nirbhau He Is without fear Nirvalr He Is inimical to None Akal Murat He never Dies Ajuni He Is beyond Birth and Deaths. Salbhang He Is self-Illuminated Gur Parsad Hes realized by the Kindness Of the true Guru.
Jap Repeat his name
Thus begins the Guru Granth Sahib the holy book of the Sikhs. Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs completed the first volume of Granth Sahib, in 1604.
He already had hymns of the four Gurus before him, which were passed on from one Guru to another and some hymns of the saints. To this he added his hymns and also the hymns of various Hindu and Muslim saints. He dictated these to Bhai Gurdas Ji, a prominent Sikh scholar, on the edge of RAMSAR SAROVER (Pool) in Amritsar. He edited the work of other Gurus and arranged it in different Ragas (Measures). Once completed it was installed in the newly completed shrine, HARMANDIR SAHIB (Golden Temple) on Aug. 30, 1604. He gave it the utmost respect. But it was never given the status of Guru. At night he used to keep Granth Sahib at a higher place. He himself used to sleep on the ground next to Granth Sahib purely out of devotion. Whole Granth Sahib is written in lyrics. The alphabet used is Gurmukhi but the language is mixed. It contains the hymns from 12th and 13th century onwards. Whole Granth Sahib is written in the praise of Lord, the all mighty. In true sense it has the universal appeal. Man is advised to love mankind and shun away from all the evils, meditate on his name. It tells one can obtain him and be with him by meditation and good deeds.
Since the first manuscript was compiled many others Granth Sahib came into existence. From historical perspective three main are worth mentioning.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 3, 1989
