Nitnem Other Books by the Author Th e other book s by the author, Dr. G.S. Ch auh an are: 1. Guru Nanak De v's Japji Sah ib. 2. Guru Arjan De v's Suk h m ani Sah ib 3. Bani of Bh agats 4. Th e Gospe l of the Sik h Gurus 5. Rah ras & Kirtan Soh ila All these book s are being distributed 'free of cost' am ong the general public by the All India Pingalwara Ch aritable Society (Regd.), Am ritsar. NITNEM Dr. G.S. Chauhan Dr. Meenakshi Rajan Publish er : Dr. Inderjit Kaur Pres ide nt All India Pingalwara Ch aritable Society (Regd.) Am ritsar NITNEM Translation by Dr. G.S. Ch auh an Dr. M eenak sh i Rajan B-202, Sh ri Ganesh Apartm ents Plot No. 12-B. Sector 7 Dw ark a New Delhi-110075 Tel- 011-25086357 © Authors February : 2012 ISBN: 978-81-9 23150-0-3 FREE OF COST Publish er : Dr. Inderjit Kaur Pre s ide nt All India Pingalwara Ch aritable Society (Regd.) Am ritsar Printed at: Printwell 146, Industrial Focal Point, Am ritsar Dedication To the sacred m em ory of Sh ri Guru Nanak Dev ji and h is successors Contents Japji Sah ib 14 Jaap Sah ib 107 Tavprasaad Sw ayas 158 Ch aupai Sah ib 166 Anand Sah ib 178 Asa di war 220 R eh ras 29 7 Kirtan Soh ila 343 rR NITNEM Gurbani: The Daily Prayers In Gurm uk h i, Devnagri and Rom an Script w ith translation and com m entary in English of Japji Sah ib, Jaap Sah ib, Tavprasaad Sw ayas, Ch aupai, Anand Sah ib, Assa Di Vaar, Reh ras and Kirtan Soh ila Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Foreword O n this planet, Earth, there are always new s of w ars between different countries, tribes, religious groups, etc in the new s-papers. Som etimes big pow ers induce and encourage w ars between sm aller countries w ith a view to selling their w eapons and w ar-eq uipm ent. Som etimes big countries invent som e excuse or the other just to invade a sm aller country for the exploitation of its precious natural resources, such as oil, iron ore, etc. etc. Such confrontations and subseq uent destruc- tion of the w ar-torn country further dam age its social, econom ic, cultural and religious fabric in the form of religious conversions, exploitation of w om en folk, loot of natural resources, etc. etc. M ain cause of such conflicts is one or m ore of the five legendry vices as enunciated by our religious leaders/seers i.e. lust, anger, greed, attach m ent and ego. W h en things go out of h and i.e. the plight of the w ar- affected people becom es unbearable, the Almigh ty sends h is m essengers to save the h um anity from the large-scale carnage and destruction. In 1469 C.E. Sri Guru Nanak Dev w as sent by the Lord to guide the people. H e w as an em bodim ent of love, com passion, faith, h um an brotherh ood, etc. W h en in com m un- ion w ith God, h e w ould sing H is praises and give a lesson or two to his audience, w h ether it was Daulat Kh an Lodh i, M alik Bh ago, Sajjan Th agg, Kauda Rak h ash etc. H is teach ings and those of his successors and other saints (bh agats), bards, etc. from all over the country and of different faiths are contained in Sri Guru Granth Sah ib, an ocean of spiritual k now ledge. Th is spiritual k now ledge guides us as to Nitnem (9) h ow to live in the given social set-up, earn our living, sh are our earnings w ith the needy, live a truthful life, etc. Although the entire Gurbani contained in Sri Guru Granth Sah ib is eq ually beneficial and w orthy of recitation, but Sri Guru Nanak Dev and h is successors h ave prescribed Asa di Vaar, Japji Sah ib, Jaap Sah ib, Sw aiye, Ch aupai, Anand Sah ib, Rah ras and Kirtan Soh ila for daily recitation as a nitnem at various times of the day. Since these banis h ave h ardly been translated in languages other than Punjabi, Dr. G.S. Ch uah an h as done a com m endable job to bring out the original texts of these banis in Gurm uk h i, Devnagri and Rom an Scripts and their m eanings w ith appro- priate explanations in English , for the benefit of the non- Gurm uk h i k now ing and non-Punjabi seek ers/devotees. Th e spread of Guru Nanak Dev’s m essage of love and h um an brotherh ood h as becom e all the m ore necessary in this strife-torn, m odern and m aterialistic age w h en clouds of w ar k eep on h overing on one part or the other of this planet. M ay the people of this beautiful planet live in peace! I w ish Dr. G.S. Ch auh an all the very best in h is life. Dr. Inderjit Kaur President, All India Pingalwara Charitable Society (Regd.), Amritsar. Nitnem (10) Preface Th e English translation of Japji Sah ib w ith trilingual Gurbani text in Punjabi, Devnagri and Rom an English w ritten by m e w as publish ed 10 years back and w as very w ell received. It w as followed by trilingual text and English translation of Suk h m ani Sah ib and now translation of Rah ras and Kirtan Soh ila h as also been publish ed. M y good friend Dr. Gurm uk h Singh Retd. Director Language Dept. Punjab, suggested that it w ould be a good idea if all Banis in Nit Ne m are com bined in one book . W h en I discussed w ith Sardar M uk h tar Singh H ony. Secretary All India Pingalwara Ch aritable Society, h e encour- aged m e to undertak e the w ork and prom ised h is assistance. As per tradition, Assa Di Vaar is sung early in the m orning before sunrise in all the Gurdw aras. Th is com position is prim arily by Sri Guru Nanak Dev in 24 paurie s. W h ile com piling Guru Granth Sah ib, Guru Arjan Dev added slokas, w h ich are on the sam e subject as the relevant Pauri. All pauris are by Guru Nanak Dev but the slokas are by both Guru Nanak Dev and Guru Angad Dev. Th ese slokas are before the Pauri. Assa Di Vaar deals w ith the m isconceptions and w rong practices prevalent in the society and aim s to enligh ten the devotee about the correct way of life. Singing and h earing of Assa Di Vaar early in the m orning prepares the devotee to h ave correct fram e of m ind during the day. There are five compositions which are recited during the Sikh baptism ceremony:- 1) Japji Sah ib. 2) Jaap Sah ib. 3) Tavprasaad Sw ayas. 4) Ch aupai and 5) Anand Sah ib. Th ese com positions are arranged in this order by Sri Guru Gobind Singh w ith a view to generate feelings of 1) Vivek or discrim ination by Japji Sah ib, 2) Nitnem (11) Vairagya or dispassion by Jaap Sah ib, 3) Feeling of surrender to the Almigh ty by listening to the Tavprasaad Sw ayas, 4) Ch aupai addresses the Lord w ith prayers to overcom e our problem s in the daily life and 5) Bliss by listening to Anand Sah ib. Th e devotees recite these com positions in the m orning. In the evening, following sunset, Reh ras Sah ib is recited and Kirtan Soh ila is recited just before retiring to the bed. All the com positions in the book are therefore arranged in the sam e order. Japji Sah ib is the first and a very profound com position. In fact, it is said that w h ole Guru Granth Sah ib is an explanation of the Japji Sah ib. Suk h m ani Sah ib is also an im portant and s elf-contained course of instructions by Guru Arjan Dev. It is available in a separate book publish ed by All India Pingalwara Ch aritable Society. Teach ings of Sh ri Guru Nanak Dev and h is successors are of universal nature relevant in all times. Th is is the reason that Guru Nanak Dev traveled to far off lands, m et the leaders of all faiths and stressed at universal brotherh ood of h um anity irrespective of caste, country and religion. It is unfortunate that som e ignorant and selfish persons are trying to put limits to Sik h religion. Som e people refuse to accept prasad at congregations attended by non-sik h s. M ost do not appreciate the needs of Sik h s outside Punjab and w e do not find any Gurbani literature in languages other than Punjabi. Th ere are a large num ber of Sik h s in Karnatka, Assam and other areas w h o w ent w ith forces deputed by M ah araja Ranjit Singh to Tipu Sultan and those w h o accom panied Guru Tegh Bah adur to Assam and settled there.