(The sayings of the Gurus are a beacon of light,

It ingrains virtuous deeds deep into the mind)

There are many holy books or books full of knowledge in the world and in India such as the Vedas, Shastras and Smritis, Upanishads and the holy Quran of Muslims and the Bible. The Ramayana and Mahabharata are also historical holy books of the same kind. They are all considered to be spiritual, philosophical and mystical (symbolic and divine) books. The Vedas and Puranas are the oldest books in the history of the world. But the Adi Granth, the Holy book of the Sikhs which was written in the sixteenth century, has another feature too. Having been created more recently compared to the other books, it is also closer to the humankind in many respects. Which means that in addition to being full of spiritual teachings it also includes other truths which man needs. It is also true that it contains less of biographical parables, and more of knowledge. Any book of knowledge or holy book becomes a classic only if it talks of the mind and deeds of human beings. It’s other feature is that the Adi Granth is not the utterance of any one guru or prophet or great man.

Just about five centuries ago the fifth Sikh Guru Arjun Dev ji started editing the Guru Granth Sahib in the beginning of the sixteenth century. He completed it in four years. It was first placed in Sri Harimandir Sahib at Amritsar and Baba Buddha was appointed the first priest. The Granth includes the verses of the first five Sikh Gurus and the poetry of saints, devotees, dervishes, experienced balladeers. In all, verses of 36 poets were included in Guru Granth Sahib. Later Guru Gobind Singh ji included the poetry of the ninth Guru Tegh Bahadur in the Adi Granth. This holy book consists of 1,430 pages and the poetry has been set on 30 ragas. It starts with sri raga. It has a total of 5,894 poems of which 937 have been written by devotees. Verses of 11 minstrels also form a part of it. The verses of Guru Arjun Dev ji are the most, their number being 2,300.

What were the conditions in which this holy book was created? What does it include? What influence did it have in those times and what is its importance today? All this questions can be answered here but briefly.

Guru Nanak Dev ji was born in the fifteenth century (in 1469). Before him, India passed through many ages. For thousands of years the Vedas and the Shastras were revered as supreme and were practised too. But a unity of the mind and deeds could not be brought about in the society. The people, divided by different castes, creeds, races and religions, could not get any real and appropriate direction. The situation became even more complex due to foreign invasions. The disenchantment displayed in the deeds of Guru Nanak Dev starting from the beginning of the sixteenth century (1507 onwards) demonstrated that not only in India but in other countries too, various societies were in a state of decay. Both religion and politics had become enemies of the society. Bearing the torch of renunciation, love of man, truth, service and loving worship, the Sikh Gurus, starting from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh carried on this continuous movement for two and a half centuries (1469 to 1708). Guru Gobind Singh brought this welfare movement to its culmination. Steeped in sacrifices and full of virtuous lives, this movement came to be known as the Sikh movement. By naming Sri Guru Granth Sahib as the next guru, Guru Gobind Singh brought it to such a conclusion that it became the eternal truth for the whole world.

Guru Arjun Dev ji, who collected the truth of the ages in the form of verse in the Adi Granth, perceived like all other Gurus that unity of humankind was the biggest need of the day in order to fight the dark forces at the national and international level and to create a common brotherhood. And although the mission was welfare of one and all, the dark forces of hypocrisy and terror could not be represented in it.

The Guru Granth Sahib teaches that national unity can be achieved only by rising above differences and division of creed, friendship, cultures, castes, colour, races and untouchability. Only in such a spiritual world can God be attained and only through this can man be rid of sorrows in the world.

The mission of improvement carries on through the Guru Granth Sahib and at the same time there is a challenge and ire against hypocrisy and oppression. These sayings have been called divine not because they descended into the hearts of prophets through angels, but because they accord prime importance to oneness of all, "Manas ki jaat sabhe eke pehchanbo." (The whole humankind is but one). Guru Gobind Singh accorded the role of Guru to Guru Granth Sahib in order to accomplish the experience "Bani guru, guru hai bani" (Holy verses are the embodiment of the Guru and Guru himself is holy verses), provided by the first Guru. He decided for all times that the verses of the Gurus and no human being or sage or seer will be the Guru.

Je sau chanda ugveh, sooraj charhe hazaar

Ete chanan hoyan, guru bin ghor andhar. (Salok mahalla -2)

(Without the Guru it will be pitch dark even if hundreds of moons and thousands of suns throw their light)

The religion depicted in Guru Granth Sahib is based on experience and belief which requires that religion be reflected in daily life. Harmony of the mind, utterances and deeds is the main sign of spiritualism.

The opinion of some intellectuals that Guru Granth Sahib is such a glorious holy book that every human being on this earth can say with confidence that it is a liberating holy book is also correct.

Literary significance: It would be very fair to say that Guru Granth Sahib is one of the best literary creations in the whole world. Although basically it is not counted amongst literary texts, but its language, style and scientific approach and psychological expression can hardly be found in any other literary work. The beauty of Guru Granth Sahib lies in the wonderful use of order, the expressive system of ragas, meters, tropes, imagry and signs.

All the verses of the Granth are set on 30 ragas such as sri raga, asa, gujari, dev gandhari, sorath, dhanasari, todi, suhi, bhairav, malhar, kalyan, jai jai vanti, ramkali, etc. The poetic images in the Guru Granth Sahib depict the life of people of Punjab and India. The Gurus and their followers have based their poetry on the social, religious and political life of the people.

Another literary significance of Guru Granth Sahib lies in the fact that all the moods such as calm, beauty, compassion, awe, anger, heroism, surprise, wit have been widely used in it.

Of course, there can be different opinions on the influence of Guru Granth Sahib in today’s world, society and the times. However, one can say that because of the overriding role of politics in the modern social and religious life, the sayings of the Gurus are also being twisted to suit the situation. The Sikh society is ridden by ancient and brahmanical traditions and mores. Religion has become decadent. Different sects have also proliferated, due to which worship is being turned from a spiritual experience into more of a ritual.