Originally Posted by Narayanjot Kaur

Tejwant ji


The only mind you have is the one you now have, circa 2010 with all the learning and experience gained from the day of your birth. A khalsa in 1699 was in the same shoes, only a few hundred years earlier.

If - to understand gurbani - you must be an historian, a psychologist, a linguist, a sanskrit scholar, a sociologist, a philosopher, any of these alone or in combination, or in combination with life experiences that I have left out - GIVE UP!

Don't even try. There is no point to it. It that is required then the granth has failed as Guru.

Now I come to my main question. When Guru Arjan Dev began the project of compiling the Aad Granth, what was his purpose? Could it have been to compile a book of moral guidance and spiritual inspiration which only a small percentage of the population would benefit from?

What was he up to? Was he on the same path as Lord Rama who would have a Shudra put to death for even listening to the Vedas?

And what was Guru Gobind Singh up to? Could the Guru Granth be understood only by scholars? Or was it eternal guru for the masses of unwashed and illiterate too?

I am trying to imagine a poll to be put before the panth in 1699 - as a kind of thought experiment. Khalsa ji, what knowledge is required to understand gurbani? Check all that apply.

a. Sikh history before 1699
b. Sanskrit language
c. Science, in particular knowledge of joons and their transformations
d. The 6 schools of philosophy
e. Knowledge of other religions
f. The ability to decode metaphors
g. Biographies of Nanaks 1 though 5
h. Familiarity with Hindu myth and legend
i. Other. Please tell the panth about it

My choice is "i" Other



ਤੀਰਥਿ ਨਾਵਾ ਜੇ ਤਿਸੁ ਭਾਵਾ ਵਿਣੁ ਭਾਣੇ ਕਿ ਨਾਇ ਕਰੀ ॥
theerathh naavaa jae this bhaavaa vin bhaanae k naae karee ||
If I am pleasing to Him, then that is my pilgrimage and cleansing bath. Without pleasing Him, what good are ritual cleansings?


ਜੇਤੀ ਸਿਰਠਿ ਉਪਾਈ ਵੇਖਾ ਵਿਣੁ ਕਰਮਾ ਕਿ ਮਿਲੈ ਲਈ ॥
jaethee sirath oupaaee vaekhaa vin karamaa k milai lee ||
I gaze upon all the created beings: without the karma of good actions, what are they given to receive?

ਮਤਿ ਵਿਚਿ ਰਤਨ ਜਵਾਹਰ ਮਾਣਿਕ ਜੇ ਇਕ ਗੁਰ ਕੀ ਸਿਖ ਸੁਣੀ ॥
math vich rathan javaahar maanik jae eik gur kee sikh sunee ||
Within the mind are gems, jewels and rubies, if you listen to the Guru's Teachings, even once.

ਗੁਰਾ ਇਕ ਦੇਹਿ ਬੁਝਾਈ ॥
guraa eik dhaehi bujhaaee ||
The Guru has given me this one understanding:

>ਸਭਨਾ ਜੀਆ ਕਾ ਇਕੁ ਦਾਤਾ ਸੋ ਮੈ ਵਿਸਰਿ ਨ ਜਾਈ ॥੬॥
sabhanaa jeeaa kaa eik dhaathaa so mai visar n jaaee ||6||
>there is only the One, the Giver of all souls. May I never forget Him! ||6|