Teachings of the Sikh Gurus

Selections from the Sikh Scriptures

Christopher Shackle, Arvind Mandair, Christopher Shackle, Arvind Mandair

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781136451089
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Asian Religions

Recognized masterpieces of Indian literature, the Guru Granth Sahib and the Dasam Granth are fundamental to the Sikh religion, not only in the physical layout of temples and in ceremonies of worship, but as infallible reference texts offering counsel and instruction.

Teachings of the Sikh Gurus presents a brand new selection of key passages from these sacred scriptures, translated into modern English by leading experts, Christopher Shackle and Arvind-pal Singh Mandair. Including six longer compositions and many shorter hymns thematically organised by topics such as Time and Impermanence, Self and Mind, Authority, and Ethics, the book's accessible and carefully chosen extracts distil the essence of Sikhism's remarkable textual and intellectual legacy, depicting how its message of universal tolerance suits the contemporary world. The detailed introduction and notes to the translations aid readers' comprehension of the hymns' form and content, as well as providing some historical context, making it an ideal introduction to Sikh literature.

1

JAPJI

Guru Nanak's Japji is, without question, the greatest of all the many compositions which are contained in the Sikh scriptures. This special status is reflected in the honorific -ji which is commonly added to the name Jap or ‘Recitation’. It is printed at the beginning of the Adi Granth, on pp. 1–8. It also appears at the beginning of private prayer books, since it is prescribed for daily recitation by all devout Sikhs in the early morning (amrit vela).

As its title implies, the Japji is composed for recitation as a litany, and it is thus rather different in character from the bulk of the contents of the Adi Granth, which are primarily composed for singing and are arranged under the various ragas. It is similar to many of Guru Nanak's other compositions in its language, which is essentially a mixture of Old Punjabi and Old Hindi with a variety of technical terms from Sanskrit and Persian. But it is highly distinctive in style. Like most litanies, the Japji makes great use of the rhetorical device of anaphora, the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of several successive lines, which are themselves often composed of densely packed sequences of nouns and names.

But in deliberate counterpoint to this sameness, great use is also made of a variety of formal structures. Instead of the regular organized stanzas used in most of the Gurus’ longer poems, like Asa ki Var, the Japji is designed with numerous inbuilt changes of pace. Different metres and rhyming patterns are used in different stanzas (pauri), short stanzas alternate with much longer ones, and several sets of stanzas are marked by the repetition of their closing verses at the end of each. Since its unique form is so important to the expansion of consciousness which this magnificent litany is so wonderfully designed to produce, a deliberate attempt has been made to reproduce as many of its features as possible in the translation, with the usual exception of the rhymes which are so very difficult to reproduce at all naturally in English.

Clearly the work of Guru Nanak's maturity, the Japji brings together all the key themes explored in the Sikh scriptures around its central core of the praise of the unknowable divinity in uniquely magnificent terms. It is consequently in itself a profound exercise in the spiritual discipline of which the Gurus continually speak, culminating in the final stanzas’ succinct description of the several mystical realms (khand), to whose elucidation much subsequent effort has been given.

The opening credal statement or Mul Mantar is followed by an introductory shalok and thirty-eight stanzas. Their content and formal arrangement may be summarized as follows:

1.	The need to follow the divine will and command (hukam).
2.	List of the universal operations of the divine command.
3.	List of those who sing praises of God, the indescribable One.
4.	Praise of God and the Name.
5.	Praise of the divine manifestations (refrain A: invocation to the guru).
6.	Praise of the guru's teachings (refrain A).
7.	Impossibility of human description of the divine.
8–11.	Lists of the results of listening to the Name (refrain B: the blessings of the Name).
12–15.	Lists of the results of acceptance (refrain C: how the Name is to be known through acceptance).
16.	Praise of the saints and of the divine power (refrain D: the Formless One is beyond description).
17.	List of the countless types of good people (refrain D).
18.	List of the countless types of bad people (refrain D).
19.	List of the attributes of the unknowable divinity (refrain D).
20.	The power of the Name to save, and the responsibility of man for actions.
21.	Unknowability of the moment of creation.
22.	How the scriptures are unable to describe creation.
23.	How all praise is inadequate, and all worldly wealth inferior to devotion.
24.	How God surpasses all efforts to praise Him.
25.	The infinite bounty of God.
26.	List of God's attributes, far beyond the ability of any to describe them.
27.	Great hymn to all those who sing to the Lord.
28.	Attributes of the true yogi (refrain E: all hail to the Primal Being!).
29–31.	Celebration of the universal power of the divine (refrain E).
32.	Inability of the human tongue to describe Him.
33.	How all that happens is by the divine will.
34.	The realm of righteous action.
35–6.	The real...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Teachings of the Sikh Gurus
• Title Page
• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• 1 Japji
• 2 Impermanence: The Gift and Curse of Time
• 3 Asa ki Var
• 4 Mind, Self, Ego
• 5 Siddh Gosht
• 6 Ethical Being: Action and Grace
• 7 Anand Sahib
• 8 Guru as Word: The Location of Authority
• 9 Shabad Hazare (Patshahi 10)
• 10 Communicating Ecstasy: Knowledge and Non-Knowledge
• 11 Zafarnama
• NOTES
• GLOSSARY OF NAMES
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• INDEX