Why should we read Guru Granth Sahib, when we cannot understand a single word?

Well said. Since we need to incorporate the teachings of GGS in our life, I don't think it serves any purpose to just go through the motions of reading it if you aren't able to understand it.

 
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Eropa 234 ji,

Guru Fateh and thanks for the response.
Thanks for sharing this treasure finder with us.

I am glad you agree that retention is not instant or immediate. Gurbani acts like a Goldsmith rather than a Blacksmith upon our psyche. A goldsmith needs soft multiple hammerings to shape gold into a beautiful ornament where as a blacksmith does it in just a few of them to make what ever he is making.


What you mentioned above is a true life of a Sikh and many of us, including myself would love to emulate you.

Now coming back to the story. It sounds more a fictional parable from the old ages. The author used Kentucky because of its coal mines, nothing more in my opinion. As you may be aware that in the olden days the elders were respected and never questioned due to the patriarchal hierarchical system in the culture. Especially between a first generation and the third one because all the teachings of the young children were outsourced to the elders, so mothers could, cook, sow and perform other chores.

So, this story/parable is between a granddad and his grandson where grandchildren due to the cultural values were not allowed to question their grandparents and had total faith in them which may have been derived from the gumbo of awe, love, respect and fear. In olden Indian culture the lessons were taught indirectly like in this case. Yes, if this had happened today, grandpa would have simply asked the grandson to clean the basket in the river water. But that is not the idea behind the parable.

It shows that things take time to sink in especially Gurbani which is all poetic not in prose and with age and our persistence, we discover new things about ourselves daily. Sikhi is about learning, unlearning and relearning daily. That is why we do Nitnem everyday so that we can discover something new about ourselves otherwise we become mere parrots and make it a meaningless mechanical ritual.

One can create water retention in one's body by eating salty things and drinking water. This can happen quite fast. But retention of something that molds are body, mind and spirit is a different affair.

The beautiful thing about Gurbani is that it is a never ending ore, and we as miners keep on discovering new gems daily in it. It is a unique scripture. Most of the other scriptures are written in prose which is easy to interpret. There is not much difference in the Bible, or the Koran and the Torah which are translated into different languages, whereas poetic interpretation varies from person to person and also varies with time from the same person. That is why we call ourselves Sikhs.

Thanks and regards

Tejwant Singh

This is so true. Surface reading alone is only a start one must dive deep to find the treasure. Understanding is utterly important. It is good for a young kid to go through the experience of reading Guru Bani. Understanding has a direct relationship with trial and turbulence of life as an adult. The knowledge does not lie in a book it lies in the mind Gurubani is a rope that connects senses to the Sat (the truth) that lies in the same body.

" Aik Drist kar sum sar Janey, Jogi Kahiay soi" on the surface I can make a principle that all people are equal, and close the book, but I will never be able to put it into practice until I " See It" my self. I can make a powerful case that all are not the equal as many who read this stanza do. They claim that we/I are different than others based on religion, culture, nationality, color and gender. Ones who "see" do not not say that, they truly know who they are. There lies the difference between a "seer" and "believer".

Eropa ji,

Guru Fateh.

What we "See" is very subjective whereas Sat is objective.
Gurbani reminds of an old saying:
" When we change the way we look at things, then the things we look at change".

Regards

Tejwant Singh

I may be able to add something to this discussion.

Imagine we never get to hear about the good; is it not likely then that our lives would be dominated by evil? If we never hear about the Truth, would we not live in total ignorance?

The self enlightened person is very rare, but even he would have heard much in previous lives. But also in that particular lifetime he would need some signs and support with regard to other levels of goodness. Indeed to become enlightened is said to be the result of “much hearing”.

So there is no doubt about the importance of hearing and discussions with reference to all kinds of good. And we often take for granted this, but the fact is that more precious than anything else is this opportunity to hear and discuss the Truth and related to this, being born a human at a time where such teachings are available.

However the truth being not in the books there is also this that the person who reads them, must have the capacity to understand. And also this capacity to understand is not the only determining factor, but also what is conveyed must suit the individual accumulations. One person may like poetic expressions and another not. One parable may work for one and not for another. For the same person, one moment there can be understanding of a certain phrase and another moment one feels too dense to understand anything. A child would need to be given examples which he at his age can relate or in terms of stories that are interesting.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/inspirational-stories/32363-why-should-we-read-guru-granth.html

All this again, can’t be taken as a general rule applicable to all. There is another important factor to consider, which is that what we hear and when depends on karma and merit accumulated in the past. The meeting of the teacher, one who can guide or at least initially express just the right words for us, is a result of past good deeds and our accumulated tendency to understand. The continued interest, besides depending on our own capacity is also on the opportunity to associate with like minded people on a regular basis. None of these is within anyone’s ability to control and determine, and to think otherwise will only result in going off the path.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=32363

In the same vein is this matter about reading texts. As skeptic.freethinker1 said:
Quote:
“ I don't think it serves any purpose to just go through the motions of reading it if you aren't able to understand it.”

Actually I think in fact that it can be very harmful if one is not lead to reading with wholesome interest. If we read out of attachment and fear, then clearly more of these will accumulate. What’s worse is that it can be encouraging of the inclination to rite and ritual, which comes down to a mistaken reading of cause and effect. So better that the interest in this be from a necessary minimal and allowed to grow naturally to what then may become a daily routine so to speak. In this case, although one may often be disheartened by the attachments, aversions and ignorance which must necessarily still be very much there, at least one does not end up encouraging the worse of all the evils, namely this blind following of “going through the motions of this or that activity”. After all, wasn’t the warning against these things the highlight of Guru Nanak’s teachings?

It can be seen that coming out of such blindness of wrong understanding about cause and effect is mischief of all sorts. One wrong encourages wrong in other areas. Evil will be mistaken for good and one ends up like a man lost in the dark forest without any sense of direction, dying and being reborn again there over and over again.

What is the Guru Granth Sahib? It is a Guru or Teacher?

How do we normally try and understand a teacher? Listen learn and put into practice (where possible as its a bit difficult with nuclear fission)

The problem I have is with the one line or one word merchants. I mean in a Physics lesson you would not remember only one part of Hooks Law, you would try and learn all of it.

Also when a teacher teaches, he/she usually gives examples for people to understand a concept. The examples are not meant to be taken literally. The same principle applies to Bani.