Dear Tony Ji,
The Sikh scholars have a fear of their job or being excummunicated from the faith by SGPC-so they get scared in coldly disssecting the questions being raised.
Two years ago I visited a friend in Halifax, England where he requested me to speak. There I met a Giani Ji who wrote me the whole poem of Bhagat Surdas;
“Cwf mn hir ibmuKn ko sMg”
Chaad mun Har bemukhan ko sung.
It means, “O ‘my mind, get rid of the company of non-believers of God.”
I just can't put my hands on it. Guru Arjan took only that line and responds to it. It is not one line as a complete poem of his.
The riddle I posted was delt by Professor Pashara Singh, being a friend of mine did not coldlt dissect it;
GURU ARJAN'S RAMAKALI HYMN (Raag Ramkali, AGGS, Page, 927)
Dr. Pashaura Singh
One of the main issues that have drawn scholarly attention in Kartarpur-Banno debate is related to a hymn by Guru Arjan in Ramkali mode. A single couplet stands recorded in the version of the Adi Granth after chhant 4, before Guru Composition on the six seasons (ਰੁਤੀ) of the Indian calendar. 1n order to address the incomplete nature of this hymn, W.H. McLeod argues that there should apparently be a complete hymn in section assigned to the longer chhant compositions. The organization of hymns in this section indicates that the couplet must be either the first two lines of a chhant, or a Sloke introducing a chhanD. The academic issue raised by McLeod drew a great many polemic responses from Sikh scholars, which generated more heat than light on the Kartarpur-Banno debate.124
It is important to note that only two lines of this hymn are to note that two lines of this hymn are to be found in the manuscripts of both the Kartarpur and the Lahore traditions.125 Even in the Kanpur manuscript (1642), which claimed to be the first copy of the Adi Bir prepared by Bhai Banno (and hence popularly known as Banno Bir), the additional twenty two lines of the hymn were added later in a smaller hand.126
One can argue that the scribe had originally written a single couplet since the remainder of the hymn was not available at that time. When ¬additional portion became available, he completed the hymn in Banno version of the Adi Granth. This explanation may be supported by the scribal practice of writing the opening verse first completing the text later. But this simple explanation does not solve the textual puzzle. I shall argue that the completion of this hymn page 115 was intentionally done at a time when the volume was converted into the Banno text.
In order to understand the problem of the Banno recension, we must examine Guru Arjan's Ramkali hymn in its original context. In folio 703/1 of the Kartarpur' manuscript the two lines read as follows:
Raga Ramkali Mahala 5
ਰਣ ਝੁੰਝਨੜਾ ਗਾਉ ਸਖੀ ਹਰਿ ਏਕੁ ਧਿਆਵਹੁ ॥ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁ ਤੁਮ ਸੇਵਿ ਸਖੀ ਮਨਿ ਚਿੰਦਿਅੜਾ ਫਲੁ ਪਾਵਹੁ ॥
Raṇ jẖunjẖnaṛā gā­o sakẖī har ėk ḏẖi­āvahu. Saṯgur ṯum sėv sakẖī man cẖinḏi­aṛā fal pāvhu.
Sing the melodious harmonies, O my companions, and meditate on the One Lord. Serve your True Guru, O my companions, and you shall obtain the fruits of your mind's desires.
Sing the trilling tunes in the [dance]-field, my sister-friends, by meditating on the one lord. By serving the true Guru, my sister-friends, accomplish your heart's desires.
The opening words, ran jẖunjẖnaṛā (trilling tunes [sung in the dance]-field), indicate a wedding scene at which Punjabi girls were accustomed to gather together in a circle to sing wedding songs. Guru Arjan may have uttered these aphoristic sayings on the happy occasion of a marriage, intending that these be developed into a complete hymn later. As the opportunity for its completion never came, only two lines, followed by a blank space, stand recorded in the Kartarpur manuscript. Because there is no mention of this hymn in the index of this volume, and because the entry of the couplet (though made by the same scribe) was done with a different pen, we may conclude that the couplet was introduced some time after the compilation of the Adi Granth in 1604 and before Guru Arjan's death in 1606. This is also confirmed by the fact that this couplet (or complete hymn) is not to be found in an earlier Sikh scriptural tradition, popularly known as MS 1245 preserved at the Guru Nanak Dev University library. 127.
The complete hymn, along with the additional lines, is to be found in the Banno version of the Adi Granth. It reads as follows:
Page 116,
The lord Says Nanak, the journey [of life] has borne fruit through contemplation of the person of the true Guru. (1) By collecting the nectar like food the whole family was called [into the Guru's presence) - Let immortal divine Name be distributed (ਵੰਡਿਆਹੁ) to all so that every one is completely satisfied. The true Guru made the distribution [of the divine name] to everyone while sitting [on the throne] and all were blessed with the gift of love. Everyone received a share (ਵੰਡਿ) according to his destiny, and no one went empty-handed [from the house of the Guru]. The whole Sikh Sangat gathered together [in the Guru's presence] and each person was absorbed in great joy. Says Nanak, 'by seeking the lord's protection I have attained all comforts: (2) all the rites (riti) were performed by meditating deeply on the lord. The tonsure ceremony (bhaddanu unet) was conducted by repeating the divine knowledge of the Guru. Repeating the Guru’s knowledge provided all comforts, and thus the boy was sent to school. The child received a perfect education by obeying the lord in his heart. All were feasted (Uevanavaru) lavishly at the time of the name-giving ceremony [of the child], and no one went away empty-handed. Nanak the humble servant of God pleads: 'My lord is [my] friend at death (3). The saintly people who gathered together [in the Guru's presence] sum that the boy should now be betrothed (mangeva) by good fortune. Those of rectitude and wisdom were found as parents of the bride. Let the gift of Amrit (divine name) be distributed among all. The mystical state of union with the immortal name was attained when the Guru established the divine knowledge (in the man) and removed all kinds of suffering. The auspicious moment, which was written [by destiny] from the very beginning.. (And the marriage was affirmed by the parents of the bride. The lord arranged the marriage-party in such a way that all kinds of sages, devotees and godly men participated in it. Says Nanak, the task of [marriage] was accomplished and the unstruck music sounded forth. (4) 128
Evidently, the hymn describes the rituals in the life-cycle of individual in Punjabi society in the seventeenth century which included the birth of a male child, the name-giving ceremony, and the puberty rite, the first admission in a school, the betrothal rite and the marriage ceremony. A further symbolic meaning gets attached to these rituals since they are used as occasions for the distribution of the gift of Amrit (the divine name) among the devotees of the Guru.
The real issue, however, is related to the authorship of the Banno hymn. Did Guru Arjan compose the Ramkali hymn? If he did do so, who else could have been responsible for completing hymn, and why? To find answers to these questions, we must examine117 the poetic style of this hymn and other linguistic features with reference to other works of Guru Arjan. This method of enquiry reveals the following significant points.
The fourth line in the first stanza (sat guru sachai bheji dia char jivan vaddu pu_nnia, the true Guru has sent the long-lived child to enjoy great fortune) alludes to the opening lines of Guru Arjan's hymn in Asa raga, which he composed to celebrate the birth of his only child, Har Gobind, the sixth Guru: The true Guru has sent the child. The long lived child has been born by destiny (sat guru sachai dia bheji// chir jivan upajia sanjogi).129 This allusion has been largely responsible for the assumption that the Banno hymn concerns the life-cycle rituals relating to Guru HarGobind's early life. For instance, G.B. Singh's manuscript note on the copy of a Banno recension in the India Office Library reads: 'the hymn (chhant) about the early life of the sixth Guru is given complete[ly] (24 lines); and not only The first two lines. 130 It is important to note, however, that apart from this indirect association, there is no explicit reference to the sixth Guru in the text itself. Rather, the author of the Banno hymn employs the metaphor of a unique son (anup balak) as a poetic convention to describe the life-cycle rituals of Punjabi society in general. 131
Secondly, there are certain linguistic expressions in the hymn which cannot be the work of Guru Arjan. For instance, for him to have used the phrase satgur bahi kai vand kini (the true Guru made the distribution while sitting) for he is totally alien to the humble nature of Guru Arjan.132 He never directly refers to himself as the true Guru in his compositions. The hymn was definitely composed by a scribe who was highly motivated by the idea of completing the incomplete text in the name of the Guru. A recent example of a somewhat similar sort may be seen in Jodh Singh's addition of his own interpretation to his description of the Kartarpur Bir to solve the textual problem of this hymn. His note on the description of folio 703/1 reads as follows:
118 Raga Ramkali Mahala 5 Salok
ran jhunjjhanara gau sakhi hari ekdhiavahu// satgur turn sev salmi: chindiara phalu pavahu//l//133
The word Sloke in the title and the numeral 1 at the end of the couplet do not occur in the original text of the Kartarpur volume. This is an example of making an incomplete text look like a complete text. Further, there are other examples in the Adi Granth where gurus employ single-line aphoristic sayings instead of Slokes. These single lines may be seen in the section assigned to Gurus' shaloks, surplus to the vars. 134
Thirdly, the most significant point is that Guru Arjan never employed such words as vand (distribution) or vandiahu (distribute!) anywhere in his compositions in the Adi Granth. These words did not form part of his usual lexicon. This fact alone makes improbable his authorship of the additional material of the hymn. Similarly, other words such as riti (rites), bhaddanu unetu (the tonsure rite), jevanavaru (the ritual feast associated with the sacred thread ceremony), namukaran (the name-giving ceremony) and mangeva ('the betrothal rite') only appear in the Banno version the Adi Granth in this disputed hymn. 136 Thus they were intentionally employed to give legitimacy to Brahmincal rituals in Sikh society, which were otherwise strongly repudiated by the Sikh Gurus, particularly by Guru Arjan himself. On a number of occasions Guru Nanak criticized the sacred thread (Uaneu), and other rituals associated with death (like pind, patal, kina, and diva) .137 Guru Arjan referred to the celebration of Guru Hargobind's birth by the sangat in form of the singing of gurbani, particularly the Ramakali Anandu of Page119, Guru Amar Das (gurbani sakhi anandu gavai).138 evidently this later tradition was the one in vogue among Sikhs at that time.
Fourthly, it is the fifth Guru who, like Guru Nanak, criticizes both Hindu and Muslim beliefs, practices and texts. In 0ne of his comments on Kabir's hymns, he explicitly says: 'We are neither Hindus, nor Musalman”. He further states that he has settled the difference between Hindu and Muslim (as Kabir did), not by working out some kind of synthesis of the two, nor by keeping the observances of both, such as fasts, pilgrimage, prayers and worship, but by cultivating the remembrance of Akal Purkh within the heart. Although there is no direct reference to life-cycle rituals as such, it is implied in the general category of Hindu practices. 140 One can then raise the question as to how Guru Arjan could have been the author of such a hymn, which sanctifies Hindu rituals, when he himself was a strong critic of them. It is much more likely that the real the author of the extra material in the Ramkali hymn was a person who was under a strong Brahmincal influence. In this context Piar Singh has suggested that either a Bhatt (bard) or a Brahmin family priest) composed this hymn on the occasion of the marriage to receive jajamani (gift or stipend) from his parents. This hymn, he argues, became current under the signatures of Nanak and was then incorporated into the Banno version of Adi Granth. Gurinder Mann, on the other hand, unconvincingly uses the argument of signatures to prove Guru Arjan’s authorship of this hymn. 142 Two signatures binvanti nanak (Nanak begs) and the janu kahai nanak (Nanak the servant says) that appear in this hymn, also appear in certain hymns of Guru Arjan. But this sole convention cannot be used to attribute the hymn to the fifth Guru. It seems likely that anybody (a pundit or a Bhatt) could have picked up such expressions and composed the hymn in the name of Guru Arjan.
Fifthly, the poetic style of the hymn is flattering and plodding, unlike what we encounter in the authentic Bani of Guru Arjan. In the first two lines following the original couplet, for instance, one Page 120 can easily sense how the author is at pains to create a tortured rhyme Uammia/punnia), and similar is the case with the last two lines of the hymn (sura/tUra). The use of the clumsy phrase charjivan in contrast to Guru Arjan's chir jivan is another indication that the author of the additional part was not a good poet. More importantly it is lacking in the structural unity that is usually achieved by Guru Arjan in his hymns. The overall tone of reading in the original scarcely matches the rhythmic beauty of Guru Arjan's poetic style.
Finally, the theory of the origin of the Banno recension (that I have discussed in detail in my doctoral work143) needs to be further qualified in view of the above analysis. The issue of Brahmincal influence must be considered in the union of Hindali, Udasi and Bhatra interests. We shall return to this issue in Chapter Seven. This Banno interest group, it seems, had a hidden agenda to arrest the process of crystallization of the Sikh tradition. Whereas the elite group of the Panth had developed a strong sense of distinctive identity, a large body of believers was still following Brahmincal traditions. 144 The Banno group had started to exert its influence within the Panth in the area of Khara Mangat in Gujrat district, while the main centre of Sikh activities under Guru Har Gobind had already shifted to Kiratpur. Even the Amritsar area was under the control of Minas, Prithichand's descendants, and their followers. This was a time when apocryphal literature was proliferating under Brahmincal influence. This is evident from a manuscript containing the text Sukhamani Sahansarnama written by Miharban's successor under the symbol of mahalu 8 in 1646 (sambat 1703 manghar sudi 1 ).145 This composition is based on the model of Guru Arjan's Sukhamani and praises th!} Vaishnava avatars and other figures from Hindu mythology. It clearly indicates that the process of Hinduization of Sikh tradition had already begun. It was during this period that the Banno Bir was copied from the original volume in 1642, although the additional material was interpolated into it some time later. This was an intentional tampering with the Adi Granth text, which was done to legitimize the Hindu life-cycle rituals in the Sikh community by putting words into the mouth of Guru Arjan.146
Page 121 In the light of the textual analysis of the Ramkali hymn examines W.H. McLeod’s views on the Kartarpur-Banno debate. The following excerpts from his article may prove useful in our analysis:
The nature of these points as recorded in the Banno version suggests an obvious reason for their deletion from the Kartarpur manuscript. They incorporate concepts which would be unacceptable in the light of later Khalsa ideals. This particularly applies to a Ramkali hymn attributed to Guru Arjan which, in its Banno form, refers to the shaving of child Hargobind's head....
If the additional portions supplied by Banno version correspond to deletions in the Kartarpur manuscript there could conceivably be justification for concluding that Banno represents an earlier recension than Kartarpur.
Let it not be supposed that at this stage I am arguing this case as one which I am personally prepared to affirm. This I am certainly not prepared to do....
There is thus no suggestion that the Kartarpur claims are on the brink of refutation. The point which I am endeavouring to make is simply that we need a sustained campaign of textual analysis if we are to establish a sure and certain text.147
Here McLeod argues that the Khalsa ideals could have provided' motive for the deletion (though upon close examination we now know that there is no actual deletion) of the additional portions of the Ramkali hymn in the Kartarpur manuscript. I have personally examined folio 703/1 of the Kartarpur manuscript and can affirm that while there is a blank space of more than two folios after the opening verse of the Ramkali hymn, there is no evidence of any erasure or any other kind of deletion. If there were such a deletion, it would support the claim that the Banno text may actually represent an earlier recension than the Kartarpur text.
Thus McLeod’s hypothesis is a clear case of retrospective interpretation which cannot be convincingly applied to explain seventeenth-century Sikh situation. The question of later deletion in this instance cannot be taken seriously since there are a number of seventeenth-century manuscripts of the Adi Granth that do not contain the extra material of the Banno version. Also, the assumption Page 122 that the hymn is somehow related to the puberty rites of Guru Har Gobind cannot be sustained. It should be emphasized here, however, that McLeod suspends his final judgement on the Kartarpur Banno issue and, instead, urges that there be a sustained campaign of textual analysis to establish a sure and certain text. Recently, however, McLeod has revised his position on the issue of Guru Arjan's Ramkali hymn. 148
In concluding the argument of this section it may be stated that the Ramkali hymn, as found in the Kartarpur manuscript, never consisted of more than two aphoristic sayings, which may have been uttered by Guru Arjan on the occasion of a marriage. These sayings, which stand recorded in the Kartarpur volume, were perhaps intended to be developed into a complete hymn later. There is another such instance provided by Var Basant in the Adi Granth, which, unlike other Vaars of the Gurus, has only three stanzas.149 According to tradition, when Guru Arjan had just completed three stanzas of this Var, he was informed by a Sikh that langar ('communal meal') was ready. He left the work unfinished and joined the congregation for meals. This incomplete composition was recorded in the Kartarpur manuscript much later. Unfortunately Guru Arjan was executed by the Mughal authorities in 1606, before he could complete these compositions. It is my contention that it was the Banno group that completed the Ramkali hymn in their version of the Adi Granth in order to legitimize the Brahmincal life-cycle rituals in the Sikh community. This is my answer to the, academic question raised in the Kartarpur-Banno debate that has been going on for the last two decades.
We can discuss it later.
Virinder
