ADI GRANTH: THE EMBLEM OF ASSIMILATED TRUTH
DR. JERNAIL S. ANAND
Title: Creation of Universe [With Special Ref. to Adi Granth of Sikhs]
Publisher: Earth Vision Publications, Gurugram.
Year: 2022
Price: Rs.250/-
It has been quite an inspiring experience, and revelatory too, to go through Dr. D.S. Grewal’s monumental work: Creation of the Universe: With special reference to Adi Granth of Sikhs. Dr. Grewal is a Sikh scholar with a multi-faceted intellectual base, ranging from Mathematics, English, to Computer Sciences, Engineering and Nanotechnogly. He has been actively associated with high-profile Engineerring Institutes as Director, with the SGPC, and has written extensively on Sikh religion, politics, military strategy, spirituality and philosophy [around 150 books] which together serve to make him an Institution in himself. Dr.Grewal is the face of liberal and unbiased Sikh intellectua. Prior to this work also, Dr. Grewal has written on philosophical issues, but this work has a special significance because it is marked with a great sweep of the religious and philosophical thought down the ages. This is a well-documented book, which can be relied upon for its detailed data on which Dr. Grewal has architected his philosophical thesis that Adi Granth represents the most recent and most scientific commentary on the creation of the Universe. He reaches this conclusion only after studying in detail and comparing the philosophical bases propagated by the major religions of the world like Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, etc. The essential issue centering this work is: whether science and rationality find themselves in conflict with the cosmological descriptions as presented in Adi Granth. Eleven chapters that follow show the great mastery of the author over ideological and philosophical traditions of the East and the West.
The author ventures in this study with the introductory chapter on Theology in relation to Philosophy and Science. Cosmology of Universe as per Philosophy, Science and Religion . Cosmology of Universe and Sikhism and then, God as Creator as per Adi Granth engage him in subsequent chapters 3 and 4. The author digs into the Pre-Creation Stage of the universe – Dark Energy State, followed by Creation of the universe as per Adi Granth [Chapters 5 and 6] followed by detailed discussion on Development of Universe, Development of Matter and Development of Life as per Adi Granth [Chapters 7,8 and 9] Tenth chapter deals with Order Control Systems of the Universe as per Adi Granth and eleventh chapter, with death, transmigration and assimilation. The formal setup of the book makes for a great study of the philosophical basis of Adi Granth as a treatise based on scientificity of outlook.
In mathematics, there is a sign called infinity. In philosophy too, the calculations of human mind reach up to a point, beyond which there is only infinity which can be used to understand the phenomenon. When things enter infinity, they lose the earthly divisions of science and religion, faith and rationality. All such divisions are meant for understanding of complex issues at the base station. Or, we can say, they belong to the mechanics of a particular operation. At higher reaches, as the boundaries of countries submerge, so all religions, all logic, all faiths, all doubts, all divisions, all contradictions dissolve into infinity. The tread from knowledge to realization, from light to enlightenment, from sensory knowledge which often binds and blinds human wisdom, to the supra realms of existence and non existence which are part of the creation – is marked by relinquishing the divisive marks behind. When we are moving towards unification with the super soul, can we think of the identities that cling to us? Unless we dissolve, how can we merge into the supreme being? In this sense, death is the point at which the identity of a man disintegrates back into elements.
The discussion about religion, science and spirituality helps in widening the horizons of textual thought. It is the greatest quality of human intellect and an existential issue also to essentially disagree if not in intent at least in expression. These debates have led to the creation of various faiths who trust themselves so much that they refuse to accept what others say. The fact stands that no other person can perceive Truth in the same way as I can. And that too, at a particular time. That is the moment of super perception. Not available all the time even to Prophets. When the spell is not on, they are ordinary humans, sometimes acting very ordinarily. I have yet to see one person who on the basis of knowledge acquired from books attained to the heights of spiritual glory. These are approximations which befit particular people. In fact, every man has to encounter his own questions and find his own answers. The function of knowledge is simply to sensitize him and touch him with a restless passion. We cannot catch a man's finger and take him along. There is an inner light which guides us through the frosty ranges. Knowledge is artificial intelligence which crowds and then clouds our thinking. Spirituality and God realisation are individual operations. We have to walk alone, and face the dangers alone. And the path is individual, so is the God.
Every scholar comes up with a different theory, which implicitly means that all other theories were deficient in one way or the other. However, in case of Prophets, like Christ, Hazrat Mohammad, Buddha and Guru Nanak, it was a matter of a revelation. And revelations cannot be explained. They have expressed their views of the cosmos, its creation and its working, in languages which differ in intent and content too. But all of them were describing the same God and more or less, in the same vein.
Much has been made out how science looks at God and whether science which deals with physical phenomenon, regards God as a tangible entity or not. It needs to be understood that the phenomenon called the cosmos has been created by God or Big Bang. It has been a mystery for mankind, and people from religion have tried to create fear of the mystery among the masses. However, it is science which tries to rationalize how this cosmos came into being, and also throw light on its working, dispelling blind faith
What is essential for us is to understand that everything that has been created has an inbuilt mechanics. Simply put, we see grass. It has a system how it grows up and fades away, how it makes its own food by photosynthesis and how it is eaten away as fodder. Rivers flow by an inbuilt logic. So, does the sun and the moon. Who created them is not under debate. The real debate is whether science can explain them or not. Religion is an attempt to mystify the mystery under the garb of faith, while science tries to demystify it. Religion tries to instil fear of the Invisible in the hearts of the people, whereas the ultimate aim of every religion is to explain the phenomenon. Religions perform this function in such a way that people start thinking in a particular way, and behaving in a set of principles, and finally, who can contest the intention of every religion to better the human stuff so that they can reach God smoothly, by conducting themselves in a particular way? Instead of a rational approach, religions use the force of fear to bring the people under the sway of their cosmological dictation.
Here, I think Dr. Dalvinder Singh Grewal’s great work makes its entry with a bang. He comes up with his thesis that Adi Granth uses the power of reason and rationality to explain the pre-existent phenomenon, and makes us understand its mechanics too. How things work. No doubt, Gurbani makes use of infinity when it comes to the idea of knowing when the world came into existence, and how many worlds are there. Dr. Grewal quotes extensively from Adi Granth to make his point that religion is a faith, but it is not a blind faith. It is a rational faith. And man must use his will to understand the phenomenon. When Adi Granth wants man to go to the Guru and he is to abide by what the Guru says. But it is implicit that the Guru is an enlightened being, who KNOWS and can communicate his knowledge most rationally. The world ‘Sikh’ means someone who has learnt the essentials of life from the Guru. Here is no question of blind followship.
Science has never been in contradiction with God. As mentioned earlier, science means rational understanding of the phenomenon. And, phenomenon is not arbitrary. It has its own principles. Hukam, as Dr. Grewal suggests. It works by primordial principles. Men who manipulate science may falter, but Nature which has been created by God, does not falter from its innate principles. Science is trying to decipher that mechanism of which the cosmic system has been made, how it works, and every day, a new layer of knowledge is revealed. Still, there is a lot to be known. Science knows the physical aspect of human birth, but it has not yet realized the spiritual dimensions of human birth. In the same way, Death remains outside the grip of rational powers of science. Science is working into these areas. Science has been able to fight human battle against disease, and it has also with its rational revelations, freed mankind from so many mental disease like blind faith, but Nature and God stand like a fort which still tempts human imagination and men keep on attempting to know more and more about God and his Creation.
In fact, according to Dr. Grewal, all religions have sought to be scientific in their approach to ensure that the religion of the future will be based on scientific facts through observation, inquiry and experiences; its cosmology is based not on fables but on physics. The religion of the future will dispense with the primitive notion of a personal God and will lead to the scientific insight into the nature of the cosmos. The religion of this type will have harmonious relationships of both the spiritual and the natural. When dogmas, superstitions, and unintelligent tradition are removed from religions, these become a great unifying and cleansing force in the world which will sweep before it all wars, disagreements, discords and struggle and then will mankind be united in the power of love.
Dr Grewal is of the firm opinion that Science and religion, in spite of being autonomous undertakings, are like complementary forces that operate in tandem. Sikhism is based on reason and truth and provides acceptable guidelines to science. Adi Granth has brought the domain of morality and spirituality into the domain of science and has laid the foundation for bringing all technical and nontechnical fields and science into the same domain.
Dr. Grewal concludes the debate most amicably when he says: the Faith has led till the science has taken the lead. Earlier the faith through scientific approach provided the real direction; now the science with faith is advancing.
Dr Grewal believes that religion must be used as the most powerful means of mobilizing the human conscience to face the calamity and this only can serve the common good. The author believes that science and faith, though they appear to be contradictory, yet, act in tandem, and factually, as Sikhism, the newest religion, has shown, the world was created by God, and man has been credited with wisdom to know how the schemata works, and ensure his own welfare. Sikhism rejects the physical rites, fanaticism, superstition, and even contempt for science in the name of religion, which create a wedge between the seeker and the truth, rather, believes in relieving human mind of all misconceptions, and turn crystal clear, and see reason.
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate Dr. D.S. Grewal for this work of great sociological, literary, philosophical and spiritual relevance. It is a great service to the Sikh religion which he has done, by conducting a deep enquiry to prove that Adi Granth is not only a sacred text, but also a text which is most scientific, and its philosophical content is commensurate with scientific discoveries which makes it a lasting contribution of Sikh religion to the understanding of the phenomenon in the coming times.
Dr. Jernail Singh Anand,
Professor Emeritus in Indian Literature,
The European Institute of the Roma Studies and Research,
Belgrade, Serbia.
India/Email: anandJs55@yahoo.com
DR. JERNAIL S. ANAND
Title: Creation of Universe [With Special Ref. to Adi Granth of Sikhs]
Publisher: Earth Vision Publications, Gurugram.
Year: 2022
Price: Rs.250/-
It has been quite an inspiring experience, and revelatory too, to go through Dr. D.S. Grewal’s monumental work: Creation of the Universe: With special reference to Adi Granth of Sikhs. Dr. Grewal is a Sikh scholar with a multi-faceted intellectual base, ranging from Mathematics, English, to Computer Sciences, Engineering and Nanotechnogly. He has been actively associated with high-profile Engineerring Institutes as Director, with the SGPC, and has written extensively on Sikh religion, politics, military strategy, spirituality and philosophy [around 150 books] which together serve to make him an Institution in himself. Dr.Grewal is the face of liberal and unbiased Sikh intellectua. Prior to this work also, Dr. Grewal has written on philosophical issues, but this work has a special significance because it is marked with a great sweep of the religious and philosophical thought down the ages. This is a well-documented book, which can be relied upon for its detailed data on which Dr. Grewal has architected his philosophical thesis that Adi Granth represents the most recent and most scientific commentary on the creation of the Universe. He reaches this conclusion only after studying in detail and comparing the philosophical bases propagated by the major religions of the world like Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, etc. The essential issue centering this work is: whether science and rationality find themselves in conflict with the cosmological descriptions as presented in Adi Granth. Eleven chapters that follow show the great mastery of the author over ideological and philosophical traditions of the East and the West.
The author ventures in this study with the introductory chapter on Theology in relation to Philosophy and Science. Cosmology of Universe as per Philosophy, Science and Religion . Cosmology of Universe and Sikhism and then, God as Creator as per Adi Granth engage him in subsequent chapters 3 and 4. The author digs into the Pre-Creation Stage of the universe – Dark Energy State, followed by Creation of the universe as per Adi Granth [Chapters 5 and 6] followed by detailed discussion on Development of Universe, Development of Matter and Development of Life as per Adi Granth [Chapters 7,8 and 9] Tenth chapter deals with Order Control Systems of the Universe as per Adi Granth and eleventh chapter, with death, transmigration and assimilation. The formal setup of the book makes for a great study of the philosophical basis of Adi Granth as a treatise based on scientificity of outlook.
In mathematics, there is a sign called infinity. In philosophy too, the calculations of human mind reach up to a point, beyond which there is only infinity which can be used to understand the phenomenon. When things enter infinity, they lose the earthly divisions of science and religion, faith and rationality. All such divisions are meant for understanding of complex issues at the base station. Or, we can say, they belong to the mechanics of a particular operation. At higher reaches, as the boundaries of countries submerge, so all religions, all logic, all faiths, all doubts, all divisions, all contradictions dissolve into infinity. The tread from knowledge to realization, from light to enlightenment, from sensory knowledge which often binds and blinds human wisdom, to the supra realms of existence and non existence which are part of the creation – is marked by relinquishing the divisive marks behind. When we are moving towards unification with the super soul, can we think of the identities that cling to us? Unless we dissolve, how can we merge into the supreme being? In this sense, death is the point at which the identity of a man disintegrates back into elements.
The discussion about religion, science and spirituality helps in widening the horizons of textual thought. It is the greatest quality of human intellect and an existential issue also to essentially disagree if not in intent at least in expression. These debates have led to the creation of various faiths who trust themselves so much that they refuse to accept what others say. The fact stands that no other person can perceive Truth in the same way as I can. And that too, at a particular time. That is the moment of super perception. Not available all the time even to Prophets. When the spell is not on, they are ordinary humans, sometimes acting very ordinarily. I have yet to see one person who on the basis of knowledge acquired from books attained to the heights of spiritual glory. These are approximations which befit particular people. In fact, every man has to encounter his own questions and find his own answers. The function of knowledge is simply to sensitize him and touch him with a restless passion. We cannot catch a man's finger and take him along. There is an inner light which guides us through the frosty ranges. Knowledge is artificial intelligence which crowds and then clouds our thinking. Spirituality and God realisation are individual operations. We have to walk alone, and face the dangers alone. And the path is individual, so is the God.
Every scholar comes up with a different theory, which implicitly means that all other theories were deficient in one way or the other. However, in case of Prophets, like Christ, Hazrat Mohammad, Buddha and Guru Nanak, it was a matter of a revelation. And revelations cannot be explained. They have expressed their views of the cosmos, its creation and its working, in languages which differ in intent and content too. But all of them were describing the same God and more or less, in the same vein.
Much has been made out how science looks at God and whether science which deals with physical phenomenon, regards God as a tangible entity or not. It needs to be understood that the phenomenon called the cosmos has been created by God or Big Bang. It has been a mystery for mankind, and people from religion have tried to create fear of the mystery among the masses. However, it is science which tries to rationalize how this cosmos came into being, and also throw light on its working, dispelling blind faith
What is essential for us is to understand that everything that has been created has an inbuilt mechanics. Simply put, we see grass. It has a system how it grows up and fades away, how it makes its own food by photosynthesis and how it is eaten away as fodder. Rivers flow by an inbuilt logic. So, does the sun and the moon. Who created them is not under debate. The real debate is whether science can explain them or not. Religion is an attempt to mystify the mystery under the garb of faith, while science tries to demystify it. Religion tries to instil fear of the Invisible in the hearts of the people, whereas the ultimate aim of every religion is to explain the phenomenon. Religions perform this function in such a way that people start thinking in a particular way, and behaving in a set of principles, and finally, who can contest the intention of every religion to better the human stuff so that they can reach God smoothly, by conducting themselves in a particular way? Instead of a rational approach, religions use the force of fear to bring the people under the sway of their cosmological dictation.
Here, I think Dr. Dalvinder Singh Grewal’s great work makes its entry with a bang. He comes up with his thesis that Adi Granth uses the power of reason and rationality to explain the pre-existent phenomenon, and makes us understand its mechanics too. How things work. No doubt, Gurbani makes use of infinity when it comes to the idea of knowing when the world came into existence, and how many worlds are there. Dr. Grewal quotes extensively from Adi Granth to make his point that religion is a faith, but it is not a blind faith. It is a rational faith. And man must use his will to understand the phenomenon. When Adi Granth wants man to go to the Guru and he is to abide by what the Guru says. But it is implicit that the Guru is an enlightened being, who KNOWS and can communicate his knowledge most rationally. The world ‘Sikh’ means someone who has learnt the essentials of life from the Guru. Here is no question of blind followship.
Science has never been in contradiction with God. As mentioned earlier, science means rational understanding of the phenomenon. And, phenomenon is not arbitrary. It has its own principles. Hukam, as Dr. Grewal suggests. It works by primordial principles. Men who manipulate science may falter, but Nature which has been created by God, does not falter from its innate principles. Science is trying to decipher that mechanism of which the cosmic system has been made, how it works, and every day, a new layer of knowledge is revealed. Still, there is a lot to be known. Science knows the physical aspect of human birth, but it has not yet realized the spiritual dimensions of human birth. In the same way, Death remains outside the grip of rational powers of science. Science is working into these areas. Science has been able to fight human battle against disease, and it has also with its rational revelations, freed mankind from so many mental disease like blind faith, but Nature and God stand like a fort which still tempts human imagination and men keep on attempting to know more and more about God and his Creation.
In fact, according to Dr. Grewal, all religions have sought to be scientific in their approach to ensure that the religion of the future will be based on scientific facts through observation, inquiry and experiences; its cosmology is based not on fables but on physics. The religion of the future will dispense with the primitive notion of a personal God and will lead to the scientific insight into the nature of the cosmos. The religion of this type will have harmonious relationships of both the spiritual and the natural. When dogmas, superstitions, and unintelligent tradition are removed from religions, these become a great unifying and cleansing force in the world which will sweep before it all wars, disagreements, discords and struggle and then will mankind be united in the power of love.
Dr Grewal is of the firm opinion that Science and religion, in spite of being autonomous undertakings, are like complementary forces that operate in tandem. Sikhism is based on reason and truth and provides acceptable guidelines to science. Adi Granth has brought the domain of morality and spirituality into the domain of science and has laid the foundation for bringing all technical and nontechnical fields and science into the same domain.
Dr. Grewal concludes the debate most amicably when he says: the Faith has led till the science has taken the lead. Earlier the faith through scientific approach provided the real direction; now the science with faith is advancing.
Dr Grewal believes that religion must be used as the most powerful means of mobilizing the human conscience to face the calamity and this only can serve the common good. The author believes that science and faith, though they appear to be contradictory, yet, act in tandem, and factually, as Sikhism, the newest religion, has shown, the world was created by God, and man has been credited with wisdom to know how the schemata works, and ensure his own welfare. Sikhism rejects the physical rites, fanaticism, superstition, and even contempt for science in the name of religion, which create a wedge between the seeker and the truth, rather, believes in relieving human mind of all misconceptions, and turn crystal clear, and see reason.
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate Dr. D.S. Grewal for this work of great sociological, literary, philosophical and spiritual relevance. It is a great service to the Sikh religion which he has done, by conducting a deep enquiry to prove that Adi Granth is not only a sacred text, but also a text which is most scientific, and its philosophical content is commensurate with scientific discoveries which makes it a lasting contribution of Sikh religion to the understanding of the phenomenon in the coming times.
Dr. Jernail Singh Anand,
Professor Emeritus in Indian Literature,
The European Institute of the Roma Studies and Research,
Belgrade, Serbia.
India/Email: anandJs55@yahoo.com
