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Know Your Heritage Introductory Essays on Primary Sources of Sikhism

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Know Your Heritage Introductory Essays on Primary Sources of Sikhism KNOW YOUR HERIGAGE INTRODUCTORY ESSAYS ON PRIMARY SOURCES OF SIKHISM INSTITUTE OF S IKH S TUDIES , C HANDIGARH KNOW YOUR HERITAGE INTRODUCTORY ESSAYS ON PRIMARY SOURCES OF SIKHISM Dr Dharam Singh Prof Kulwant Singh INSTITUTE OF S IKH S TUDIES CHANDIGARH Know Your Heritage – Introductory Essays on Primary Sikh Sources by Prof Dharam Singh & Prof Kulwant Singh ISBN: 81-85815-39-9 All rights are reserved First Edition: 2017 Copies: 1100 Price: Rs. 400/- Published by Institute of Sikh Studies Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Kanthala, Indl Area Phase II Chandigarh -160 002 (India). Printed at Adarsh Publication, Sector 92, Mohali Contents Foreword – Dr Kirpal Singh 7 Introduction 9 Sri Guru Granth Sahib – Dr Dharam Singh 33 Vars and Kabit Swiyyas of Bhai Gurdas – Prof Kulwant Singh 72 Janamsakhis Literature – Prof Kulwant Singh 109 Sri Gur Sobha – Prof Kulwant Singh 138 Gurbilas Literature – Dr Dharam Singh 173 Bansavalinama Dasan Patshahian Ka – Dr Dharam Singh 209 Mehma Prakash – Dr Dharam Singh 233 Sri Gur Panth Parkash – Prof Kulwant Singh 257 Sri Gur Partap Suraj Granth – Prof Kulwant Singh 288 Rehatnamas – Dr Dharam Singh 305 Know your Heritage 6 Know your Heritage FOREWORD Despite the widespread sweep of globalization making the entire world a global village, its different constituent countries and nations continue to retain, follow and promote their respective religious, cultural and civilizational heritage. Each one of them endeavours to preserve their distinctive identity and take pains to imbibe and inculcate its religio- cultural attributes in their younger generations, so that they continue to remain firmly attached to their roots even while assimilating the modern technology’s influence and peripheral lifestyle mannerisms of the new age. The younger Sikh generation, especially the Sikh youth likewise, in both India and foreign countries are keenly interested in knowing about their unique Sikh heritage, as is evident from the daily inquisitive queries and questions being put forth by them on the social media. Since the bulk of original and ancient written material about the origin and evolution of Sikh religion, its history and cultural heritage is available only in Gurmukhi – Punjabi script and that to in old, archaic poetic diction (Braj Bhasha), the younger generation feels itself handicapped in accessing this treasure trove of vital information about the Sikh Gurus, their missionary lives and their teachings directly. Undoubtedly, these classics are an inexhaustible foundational source of knowledge about Sikh heritage. As is narrated in the Sikh scripture: pIaU dwdy kw Koil ifTw Kjwnw] qw myrY min BieAw inDwnw] (As I discovered the treasure trove of my ancestral heritage. I did feel enriched and fulfilled ) (p. 186) It is with the aim of fulfilling this long-felt need for an Introductory, informative articles on at least only ten major sources of Sikhism in English that the Institute of Sikh Studies, Chandigarh has endeavoured to prepare this volume consisting of ten informative articles on 7 Know your Heritage the primary sources of Sikhism in the chronological order in English written by Dr Dharam Singh and Prof Kulwant Singh. Moreover, these classics were written by persons who were either contemporary companions of the venerated Sikh Gurus or belonged to a period immediately after the Guru Period. Since they were also men of letters in their times and devout Sikhs of the Sikh Gurus’, their writings were written for the benefit of whole mankind. prQwie swKI mhw purK boldy sw I sgl jhwnY ] (Great men speak legendary fables which enlighten the whole world ) (647). I am sure that English readers of Sikh religion and Sikh history, especially the Sikh youth and younger generations, will be benefitted immensely by this elementary information. As immortal lines of H.W. Longfellow: Lives of Great men all remind us/ We can make our lives sublime/And, depart, leave behind us/ Footprints on the sands of time, indicate, the modern English reading Sikh youth will find a similar stimulation in these articles. Dr Kirpal Singh Prof Emeritus # 1288, Sector 15-B, Chandigarh 8 Know your Heritage INTRODUCTION I Heritage is both tangible and intangible. Tangible heritage refers to physical artifacts produced, maintained and transmitted inter-generationally by a community in a society. It includes artistic creations, built heritage such as buildings and monuments, and other physical or tangible products of human creativity that are invested with religious and historico-cultural significance. The intangible heritage indicates ‘the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills’ (as well as the instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces associated therewith). Examples of intangible heritage are oral traditions, performing arts, local knowledge, and traditional skills. As the UNESCO Convention (2003) states, both tangible and intangible heritage are inter-dependent though they require different approaches to preserve and safeguard them. We can also say that the heritage, tangible as well as intangible, is the sum total of the past attainments of the people living in a particular society, and it also remains the permanent source of inspiration for those people to reach heights of glory in the present and future. A community which becomes forgetful of its heritage or loses its heritage artifacts for some reason or the other, loses its distinct identity and soon becomes extinct. Literature – whether in the field of history or anthropology or religion or any other - forms an important part of human heritage. We can also say that history and literature are not only completely independent and distinct from each other rather they are intimately entwined with each other. History is not just about power struggles, wars, names, and dates. It is about people who are products of their time 9 Know your Heritage who shape with their own lives, their own times as well as the times to come. Today, the world is not like it was even a couple centuries back; people have changed largely, and without ancient classical literature, we would never know about our past, our ancestors and what they did or sacrificed to make us what we are today. Books are the carriers of civilization as they relate us to our past, to our heritage. History is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, and thought and speculation at a standstill if they do not find expression in literature. It will not be wrong to say that a study of ‘literature’ is a sort of leap into the past. It takes us back to the times it is placed in and helps us understand and experience the culture, beliefs and the way of life of our people of those times. This also enables us to get a view of the inside looking out, a personal view and insight into the mind and reasoning of someone else on the issues which concern our heritage, the issues which serve as the core of our essential identity and the knowledge of which is essential to inspire us for better future. A literary text acquires its existence after a complex synthesis of its author’s main sources of inspiration, his sensitivity towards his inner stimulation, his psychological introspection, experience and its resultant hypothesis as well as its intended semantics communicated through a medium best suited to his creative genius. A literary composition can be studied, analyzed and evaluated on the basis of its theme, craftsmanship, linguistic expression, diction, aesthetic nuances, imagery, symbolism and structural organization of its composition in the light of existing parameters in that genre. Literature teaches us how to live: as Tolstoy had remarked, human beings would be like beasts without literature because literature endows an understanding, an empathy in the reader, even for someone who is much separated from him by time and distance. Literature unites humankind with one another as well as with larger truths and ideas in a society because it is 10 Know your Heritage a means for people to record their thoughts and experiences and makes them accessible to others. Literature especially of historical nature makes the past come alive for the reader and it also becomes the torch-bearer that helps civilizations to overcome their past lapses and move ahead with greater success. India would not have been what it is today in the absence of its scriptures, the Vedas, Puranas sacred Buddhist, Jain Texts and Sikh scripture Sri Guru Granth Sahib and great epical works like the Ramayana , Mahabharata , Suraj Partap Granth and Greece would not have been ‘the mother of European civilization’ but for its great literature. Literature enables us to expand our minds and ask questions and modify our intuitions and instincts. The importance of literature to humankind can well be likened to that of the pole star by making us aware of our inspiring heritage. It successfully guides us through miseries in life of present life and build a strong future. Sikh religion, despite its being only five and a half centuries old, also has a fairly significant member of itsclassical and heritage texts which have survived the onslaughts of several contemporary splinter Sikh sects and have enabled it (Sikh religion) to emerge as a distinctly (new) religion. In this respect, we know that several schismatic groups had grown up even during the early phase of Sikh evolution. Acting in an antagonistic manner, these groups did much harm to the Sikh movement. The Minas, Dhir Mallias, Ram Raias and a few other splinter groups many times worked in tandem with the Mughal government of the day which was apprehensive of the rising popularity of the Gurus and took it as a threat to their authority. These groups also created their own literature and also interpolated their views in various existing Sikh texts with a view to corrupt the authentic character of classic Sikh literature. Despite these malicious attempts, a good amount of original literature produced during their period has reached us in its pristine form.
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