Beauty, cleverness, insight into the essence,
An equal regard for everyone—
All these fruits are garnered by those,
Says Nanak, who recite and hear the Name.
7 Few recite this precious treasure within,
They live freely in all ages,
Their speech resounds with the praise of the Name,
As Smritis, Shastras and Vedas have declared.
The Name is the omega of all faiths,
Dwelling in the mind of the faithful.
The company of the faithful dispels countless faults,
Their grace saves us from the snare of death.
Those whose foreheads shine with the divine gift,
Says Nanak, they alone seek the company of the faithful.
8 They who cherish this treasure within,
who hear it lovingly,
They remember the Divine constantly.
Freed from the suffering of life and death,
Their precious body is instantly liberated.
Their fame is unblemished, their words ambrosial,
For the One Name pervades them.
Suffering, sickness, fear and duality depart,
They are known as the faithful, all their actions are good.
They receive the highest glory.
No wonder, says Nanak,
the Name is the pearl of peace—sukhmani.
1 Translated in Hymns of the Sikh Gurus as:‘There is One Being’.
2 Ibid., p. 217.
3 Ibid., p. 127.
4 Ibid., p. 146.
5 Ibid., p. 228.
6 Ibid., p. 132.
7 Guru Granth, p. 103 (not included in this selection; reference is to the page in the original text).
8 Ibid., p. 1002.
9 Ibid., p. 156.
10 Hymns of the Sikh Gurus, p. 158.
11 Ibid., p. 58.
12 Ibid., p. 186.
13 Guru Granth, p. 293.
14 Ibid., p. 353.
15 Hymns of the Sikh Gurus, p. 232.
16 Ibid., p. 81.
17 Ibid., pp. 86–8.
18 Ibid., p. 62.
19 ‘Akal Ustat’ by Guru Gobind Singh.
20 S. Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upanisads. George Allen & Unwin Ltd, London, 1953. p. 139.
21 Guru Granth, p. 62.
22 Hymns of the Sikh Gurus, p. 183.
23 Ibid., p. 183.
24 Ibid., p. 213.
25 Ibid., p. 155.
26 Ibid., p. 117.
27 Ibid., p. 65.
28 Guru Granth, p. 725.
29 Hymns of the Sikh Gurus, p. 66.
30 Ibid.
31 Ibid., p. 63.
32 Ibid., p. 67.
33 Ibid.
34 Ibid.
1 Harbans Singh, Berkeley Lectures on Sikhism. Guru Nanak Foundation, New Delhi, 1983.
2 In the sixteenth century, some time after Guru Nanak’s death, his followers wrote short accounts of his birth and life. These narratives are the first prose works in the Punjabi language of Guru Nanak’s region of India, the Punjab. They are called Janamsakhis from the Punjabi words janam, ‘birth’, and sakhi, ‘story’.
3 Bhai Vir Singh, ed., Puratan Janamsakhi. Khalsa Samachar, Amritsar, 1948, pp. 16-17.
4 Harbans Singh, Guru Nanak and Origins of the Sikh Faith. Publication Bureau, Punjabi University, Patiala, 1994, pp. 215–16.
5 Guru Granth, p. 722.
6 Bhai Vir Singh, Varan Bhai Gurdas. Khalsa Samachar. Amritsar, 1977,
var. 33.4.
7 Guru Granth, p. 966.
8 Bhai Vir Singh, op. cit., var. 1.32.
9 Guru Granth, p. 1243.
10 Harbans Singh, Guru Tegh Bahadur. Sterling, New Delhi, 1982, p. 17.
11 Sujan Rai Bhandari Batalia, Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh. Quoted in Kapur Singh, The Baisakhi of Guru Gobind Singh. Hind Publishers, Jullundur, 1959, pp. 4-5.
12 Harbans Singh, Sri Guru Granth Sahib: Guru Eternal for the Sikhs. Academy of Sikh Religion and Culture, Patiala, 1988, p. 19.
13 See pp. 27–30 for the Khalsa and the significance of this emblem.
14 See pp. 141–5.
1 W.B. Yeats and Shree Purohit Swami. The Ten Principal Upanishads. Macmillan, New York, 1937, reissued 1975, pp. 7-8.
2 Guru Granth, p. 125.
3 Mary Daly, Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women’s Liberation. Beacon Press, Boston, 1973.
4 Guru Granth, p. 464.
5 Ibid., p. 1156.
6 Ibid., p. 885.
7 Hymns of the Sikh Gurus, p. 135.
1 The cycle of existence is represented through the Hindu trinity of the gods of creation, preservation and destruction and their respective consorts, the goddesses of knowledge, prosperity and energy. See Glossary.
2 The original, translated here as ‘saints’, lists siddhas, naths, pirs. a mixture of Hindu and Muslim spiritual achievers. See Glossary.
3 The word here translated as ‘heart’ is man, which signifies both thought (mind) and feeling (heart).
4 A metaphor for the good and bad.
1 The divine representations of masculine and feminine power. See Glossary.
APPENDIX ONE
The Ten Sikh Gurus
First Guru Nanak 1469–1539
Second Guru Angad 1504–52 (Guru 1539–52)
Third Guru Amar Das 1479–1574 (Guru 1552–74)
Fourth Guru Ram Das 1534–81 (Guru 1574–81)
Fifth Guru Arjan 1563–1606 (Guru 1581–1606)
Sixth Guru Hargobind 1595–1644 (Guru 1606–44)
Seventh Guru Har Rai 1630–61 (Guru 1644–61)
Eighth Guru Har Krishan 1656–64 (Guru 1661–4)
Ninth Guru Tegh Bahadur 1621–75 (Guru 1664–75)
Tenth Guru Gobind Singh 1666–1708 (Guru 1675–1708)
APPENDIX TWO
Contributors to the Guru Granth
The Guru Granth was compiled by the Fifth Guru and includes selections of his own and the earlier Sikh Gurus’ works as well as those of Hindu and Muslim saints. The Tenth Guru later added poetry by his father, the Ninth Guru. His own works were compiled separately in the Dasam Granth.
Sikh Gurus
First, Guru Nanak: 974 hymns
Second, Guru Angad: 62 couplets
Third, Guru Amar Das: 907 hymns
Fourth, Guru Ram Das: 679 hymns
Fifth, Guru Arjan: 2218 hymns
Ninth, Guru Tegh Bahadur: 59 hymns and 56 couplers
Bhaktas (Hindu) and Sufis (Muslim)
Kabir: 292 hymns
Farid: 4 hymns and 130 couplets
Namdev: 60 hymns
Ravidas: 41 hymns
Jaidev: 2 hymns
Beni: 3 hymns
Trilochan: 4 hymns
Parmananda: 1 hymn
Sadhana: 1 hymn
Ramananda: 1 hymn
Dhanna: 4 hymns
Pipa: 1 hymn
Sain: 1 hymn
Bhikhan: 2 hymns
Sur Das: 2 hymns
Sundar: 1 hymn
Mardana: 3 couplets
Satta and Balvand: 1 hymn
Bhatts: 123 swaiyyas
Glossary of Terms and Phrases
Bar, the. The region between the Beas and Ravi rivers.
Bhagavat. The ‘Blessed’ or ‘Adored’. It refers to those involved in the popular spiritual practice of adoration of God.
Brahma. In the cosmic cycle of creation, preservation and destruction, Brahma is the creator god. Vishnu and Shiva are respectively the preserver and destroyer gods.
Buddha. In the classical language of India, ‘the Enlightened’. A general term as well as specific reference to Siddhartha Gotama, the historical Buddha.
Chatrik. Also known as the ‘rain bird’ because of its call which heralds the rains.
Dharmaraja. God of Judgement.
Dhru. Indian sage and pole star. Also Dhruva.
Five beloved ones. The first five initiates into the Khalsa. Also
the five Khalsa Sikhs who conduct initiation ceremonies.
Five elements. Water, fire, earth, air and ether.
Forty who obtained liberation. Forty Sikhs who deserted Guru Gobind Singh but later returned, died in battle and were forgiven by the Guru and declared to have attained liberation.
Four and forty. See Four princes and Forty who obtained liberation.
Four elements. Earth, air, fire, water.
Four princes. The four martyred sons of Guru Gobind Singh.
Four goals of life. Dharma (morality), artha (material gain), kama (sensual pleasure) and moksha (ultimate release).
Four sources of life. Blood and/or sperm, egg, sweat and earth, traditionally believed to be the progenitors of new life.
Fourteen worlds. One of the Indian cosmologies for referring to the entire universe.
Gopi. Cowherd girl. Usually associated with the Indian god Krishna who danced with and made love to them. The gopis are understood to represent all humanity.
Gunas. See Three gunas.
Gurudwara. Literally, a door, dwara, to ultimate enlightenment, guru. It refers to the building which enshrines the Guru Granth and is also the centre of community life. Also spelt gurdwara. For further details, see ‘From Guru Nanak to the Guru Granth’, pp. 31–3.
Kateb. Scriptures of the Middle East.
Khalsa. The Sikh Order of Purity, open to women and men, constituted by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699; see pp. 28-9.
Khalsaji. Respectful address to the Khalsa.
Koel. Indian cuckoo. Its cry is believed to stimulate tender yearning in the hearer.
Krishna. An avatar of the god Vishnu, and one of the most popular figures in the Indian pantheon. The lover and playmate of humanity.
Laxmi. Goddess of fortune and prosperity and consort of Vishnu, god of preservation.
Nankana Sahib. Birthplace of Guru Nanak, now in Pakistan.
Nath. Member of the ascetic tradition of India which espoused Hatha-yoga, a tantric system of rigorous bodily purification exercises, as the means to spiritual liberation.
Nine treasures. Categorization embracing all the treasures in the world.
Parvati. The mother goddess. Also known as Shakti, Durga and Kali, the latter two with particular reference to the dark, destructive aspect of feminine power. She is the consort of Shiva the destroyer god and, like him, is associated with the Himalayas.
Pir. Muslim holy teacher.
Pundit. Hindu religious scholar.
Puranas. Hindu tales and legends.
Qadi. Judge in Islamic law court.
Qur’an. Sacred text of Islam.
Rag. The different melodic frameworks which are used in Indian music as the basis of improvisation. Different rags are associated with particular times of the day, seasons and moods.
Rahim. The Compassionate One. One of the ninety-nine Names of Allah.
Rama. An avatar of the god Vishnu and one of the great warrior kings of Indian folk history, the hero of the much-loved epic, the Ramayana. Rama represents ideal man in roles such as father, son, brother, husband, king. His wife is Sita, the ideal woman (see below).
Ravana. The demon opponent of Rama in the Ramayana.
Sachi’s husband. Indra, the sky god.
Shakti. Mother goddess, feminine power. See Parvati.
Shastras. Hindu sacred writings.
Shiva. In the cosmic cycle of creation, preservation and destruction, Shiva is the destroyer god. Brahma and Vishnu are respectively the creator and preserver gods.
Siddha. ‘Perfect One’. Specifically a famed group of eighty-four tantric saints but also used as a more general term.
Sita. An avatar of the goddess Laxmi, consort of Vishnu. As Sita she is the wife of Rama and represents the ideal woman in roles such as wife, mother, daughter.
Six doctrines, six philosophies, six traditional schools. Six schools of orthodox Indian thought, recognized by the brahmins as roads to salvation. They respectively espoused: (1) the essential oneness of all existence; (2) Vedic rituals; (3) logic; (4) an atomized universe of soul, mind, time and space; (5) a dualistic atheistic universe in which the spirit is entangled in matter; and (6) a dualistic world in which physical discipline and meditation on an immortal god lead to repatriation in the spiritual realm. In practical terms these schools form a general pool of philosophy which informs a multitude of cults and traditions.
Sixty-eight pilgrimage sites. Categorization used to signify all pilgrimage sites.
Smritis. Hindu sacred writings with particular reference to those that are ‘remembered’ as opposed to ‘heard’ or revealed.
Swayamvara rites. Ceremony in which a girl chooses her husband from a number of assembled suitors.
Takhts. The five seats of Sikh temporal authority. They are the Akal Takht in Amritsar, Patna Sahib in Bihar, Kcshgarh in Anandpur, Hazur Sahib in Nander near Hyderabad, and Damdama Sahib near Bhatinda. Sikhs see them as places from which decisions are made about their faith.
Ten directions. The eight compass points plus up and down.
Ten gifts. Categorization used to signify the divine gifts of existence.
Three gunas. The three natures or qualities of which all existence partakes to varying degrees: sattva, peace and light, represented by white; rajas, activity and passion, represented by red; and tamas, inertia and ignorance, represented by black. The ways in which these combine determines a person’s personality.
Three strands. See Three gunas.
Three worlds. Heaven, earth and underworld.
Vaishnavite. Followers of the god Vishnu, one of the most popular Hindu traditions.
Vishnu. In the cosmic cycle of creation, preservation and destruction, Vishnu is the preserver god. Brahma and Shiva are respectively the creator and destroyer gods.
Vedas. The ancient and foundational scriptures of Hinduism.
Yogi. Spiritual practitioner. Related to the English word ‘yoke’, with connotations of both work and union.
Select Bibliography
Readers wishing to further their understanding of Sikh beliefs, values, practices and history may find the following books useful.
Overview and History
Cole, W. Owen and Sambhi, Piara Singh, The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Sussex Academic Press, Brighton, 1995.
Grewal, J.S., The Sikhs of the Punjab. Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Macauliffe, M.A., The Sikh Religion. Oxford University Press, India, 1909. Reprint 1985 in three volumes.
Sikhism: Its Ideals and Institutions. Orient Longman, Calcutta, 1964.
Singh, Gopal, A History of the Sikh People 1468-1988. World Book Centre, New Delhi, 1990.
Singh, Harbans, Guru Nanak and Origins of the Sikh Faith. Publication Bureau, Punjabi University, Patiala, 1994.
Singh, Harbans, The Heritage of the Sikhs. Manohar, India, 1994.
Singh, Khushwant, History of the Sikhs (2 vols). Oxford University Press, 1991.
Textual
McLeod W. H., Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism. Manchester University Press. Reprint Chicago, 1990.
Sikhs in the West
Barrier, N.G. and V.A. Dusenbury (eds), The Sikh Diaspora. Chanakya Publications, Delhi, 1989.
Singh, Darshan, Western Perspective on the Sikh Tradition. Sehgal, New Delhi, 1991.
Sikhism and Feminism
Singh, Nikky-Guninder Kaur, The Feminine Principle in the Sikh Vision of the Transcendent. Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Directories
Shergill, N.S., International Directory of Gurdwaras and Sikh
Organisations. 1986. Available from Virdee Brothers, 102 The Green, Southall, Middlesex, UB2 4BQ, England.
Religions in the UK: A Multifaith Directory. 1993. Published by and available from the University of Derby, Mickleover, Derby, DE3 5EX, England.
The Golden Temple
Singh, Patwant, The Golden Temple. ET Publishing Limited, Hong Kong, 1988.
Acknowledgements
I will always be indebted to my friend Kerry Brown for ushering me into the fascinating world of translation. She initially invited me to do an English version of Sikh scripture for the International Sacred Literature Trust published by HarperCollins, USA. I thank all my readers for their warm reception, and especially my students at Colby College who have intimately linked themselves with the temporally and spatially distant verses of the Sikh Gurus. During her world travels, my student Heather Miles even carried the book in her handbag, and during his graduation ceremonies, the College’s valedictorian student, Will Polkinghorn, read Guru Nanak’s ‘Arati’ in the Colby Chapel. It has been wonderful to communicate and share the divine passion of the Sikh Gurus with my Western readership. My special thanks to Uncle Kapany of the Sikh Foundation in California, T. Sher Singh of the Centennial Foundation in Canada, and my childhood friend, Preety, in Chicago, for promoting my work in their own and special ways.
Since its first publication by HarperCollins, I have lost my father. Without parents, and without a home in Patiala, India seems even farther away. I miss the place where I first heard the verses of the Sikh Gurus. Their rhythm and power, stored in the deepest recesses of my psyche, resonate ever more strongly. I want to stay in touch with the soil and spirit in which I was born and nurtured.
I thank Penguin India for making my wish come true.
Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh
Colby College, Waterville,
Maine 04901, USA.
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