By Our Special Correspondent NEW YORK, NY: A function was held at the Sikh Cultural Society Richmond Hill on September 3 to commemorate the bestowing of Guruship to the Guru Granth Sahib by Guru Gobind Singh Ji the tenth Guru.
The tenth Guru had, in 1708, declared “Accept the Holy Granth as the Guru which is the visible personification of the Gurus. Whoever wants to meet God may find Him through its Word.”
The Guru Granth Sahib contains compositions by the Sikh Gurus as well as 15 Hindu and Muslim reformers. It was compiled by Guru Anjan Dev Ji, the fifth Guru in 1604 AD.
The Ragi jatha of Bhai Avtar Singh, Bhai Gurcharan Singh and Bhai Swaran Singh of New Delhi, Recited the holy kirtan in the original ragas in which the shabads are composed in.
Satnam Singh of Bakersfield California gave a scintillating performance of Rag Aher Kauns on the Santur (A traditional stringed instrument with 100 cords). He was accompanied on the tabla by Kenier Sen.
Ramandeep Kaur, Ravinder Kaur, Mohinder Kaur, Navdeep Singh and Bhupinder Singh, all young children, also rendered kirtan at the function which lasted well into the evening.
Speaking on the occasion, Amajit Singh Rana recounted the names of all the non-Sikh reformers whose works are enshrined in the Guru Granth Sahib. They are, Jaidev, Namdey, Trilochan, Permanand, Sadhna, Beni, Ramanand, Dhanna, Pipa, Sain, Ravidas, Surdas, Seikh Farid, Bhikham and Kabir.
Addressing the congregation BaIdev Singh said that Guru Granth Sahib was the only authentic text of any religion which contained the teaching of the prophets. The Ramayana, the Gita, the Tohrah and the Bible were all written after the prophets, he said.
He said Guru Granth Sahib, was the repository of the Sikh heritage, adding, “Till we have Khalistan, we will not be able to safeguard our arts, culture and heritage.”
Article extracted from this publication >> September 8, 1989
