The Sri Guru Jyot Sahib

Bet that got your attention. Yep. You’re reading it right. The Sri Guru Jyot Sahib. As I lead the students in my school on their journey into Sikhi, I become more and more aware of the many references in the holy gurbanee about what really the Guru is. Then I also recall that many times our Gurus reminded us that “I am not the Guru. The Guru is the word of God, Gurbanee.” That was also the answer the Holy Guru Nanak gave to the leader of the Yogis, Gorakhnath. Upon being questioned by the yogi as to who Nanak’s Guru was, Guru Baba replied;

“Shabd Guru, surtt dhun chela”. Pg 943 Line 1 Holy SGJS
The Word of God is my Guru!

Then we have other commonly known references like
“Banee Guru, Guru hai banee.” Pg 982 Line 10 Holy SGJS

Then we are taught that banee itself is ‘Divine Light’
“Gurbanee ess jagh meh channan Pg 67 Line 10 Holy SGJS
Gurbanee is the Light that illuminates the world.

Even in our ardaas, we refer to the Gurbanee as - Dasan Paatshahian dhi Jyot.

And then, it suddenly all came together in one big rush……….. I had seen the Light!

But before I go any further, lets review what I have written before in my other postings. Guru is a Sanskrit word that means from darkness to light. My vidya guru, His Holiness Sant Niranjan Singh Ji of Patiala taught us to translate and understand the word Guru to be – ‘Perfect Light’. Now, if Banee is Guru and Guru means ‘Perfect Light’, then Banee must be ‘Perfect Light’. And if that be the case, then why do we Sikhs refer to the compilation of the holy Banee as a granth and not as the Holy Light of God, or just The Holy Light? This point may sound trivial, but its significance is immense. By the use of the more accurate word, our reference to our holy scripture becomes self explainatory to the whole world, without anyone having to offer any explanations!

A granth simply means a volume, or a scripture that is voluminous. Nothing glorious about it. There are probably hundreds of ‘granths’ around. Why lump our holy gurbanee into that description when we can address it with a much more ‘MEANINGFUL’ title, one that allows the individual a much more personal experience when bowing to, or when referring to the holy gurbanee, much more so when describing it to a visitor to the gurdwara or a student of Sikh dharma.

The Guru is not the granth. It may have been the ancient way to refer to holy books. But that exactly is my point. For the Sikhs, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib IS NOT MERELY A GRANTH. Our Gurus have clearly differentiated it from all the other granths of the world. Actually, it is not even a granth. The banee is not the book. It never was. It is not the paper, the ink or the cover. So why reduce the Holy Light that is descended from ‘Dargah’ into just another one of those granths?

Dhur kee banee aayee Pg 628 Line 2, Holy SGJS
The Holy Banee is descended from the Lord Himself, the Perfect One.

It is descended from the source (Dhur), from ‘Dargah’. So why don’t we address the Holy Guru Granth Sahib as the Holy Sri Guru Jyot Sahib. In English, it could translate to a very clear - The Holy Light of the Sikhs. With this one stroke, we instantly change the entire projection and perception of our holy ‘book’.

Instead of referring to the SGGS as the Holy Scripture or the Holy Bible of the Sikhs as we always do, now we can change the entire energy of the utterance by informing the world that here is the ‘Holy Light’ of the Sikhs!

Unlike the word Granth, the word ‘Light’ is very special. It embraces and encompasses the whole physical and metaphysical universe. Under this light, the word Granth does not do justice to gurbanee. There can be no better words than ‘Holy Light’ to describe the scripture of the Sikhs. And suddenly, it will be so easy for people all over the world to understand what we are trying to say to them. They can now understand why Sikhs regard the Holy Jyot Sahib so highly and above everything else. It immediately gives substance and strength to the whole subject of why SIkhs revere their holy scripture so much, much much more than any other religion does theirs!

The word Light in any language of the world is such a powerful and up-lifting word. No other word could be more appropriate to describe the eternal Guru of the Sikhs.

Even today, Sikhs use the word ‘Parkaash’ when referring to the morning installation ceremony of the Holy Granth. Parkaash means – the Radiance, another practice that confirms that the Granth is Holy Perfect Light. Even in our Ardaas we again refer to its essence; “Dasan Paatshahia dhi Jyot, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji ka dhian dhar keh bolo Sri Waheguru!

On the days that we celebrate the 'birth of our Holy Gurus, why does one speaker after another at the gurdwara stage remind us NOT to call it a 'birthday. They remind us to say - 'Parkaash Diharaa'. Parkaash can only refer to light.

So, for me, out with the old and in with the new. Since a few days ago, I have begun to refer to the Granth Sahib as the Sri Guru Jyot Sahib. At first it sounded a bit ‘different’ and clumsy. But over time, I'll probably get a hang of it.

The final reference of all Sikh scholars is the 'Mahan Kosh' prepared by Kanh Singh Nabha, one of most respected and greatest minds Sikhs have ever known. It is an encyclopedia of the Sikh religion and generally accepted to be the ultimate authority for students of the Sikh religion. On page 436, in the third column and about the middle, you will find the meaning of the word 'Granth'. It is given as 'pustak' and in brackets is given 'kitab'.

Which one of us has not heard these words, that "The Guru Granth Sahib is not a book". Thats what we tell people and also teach our kids. Excuse me? Am I missing something here? We tell others not to call it a book, so how come we are calling it a book in our own language, albeit in a glorified way.

Referring to our holy scripture as 'The Holy Perfect Light' makes a lot of sense to me. It even makes for clearer communication. For eg, my old way to say this sentence would have been:
“As we enter the Darbar, we bow to the Granth Sahib.”
My new way would be:
“As we enter the Darbar, we bow to the Holy Perfect Light”

Now you tell me which one conveys more meaning, which one commands your attention, which one has more substance, and which one speaks to your heart?

During one of my classes last week, when I asked the class to give me their feedback, one of my young students correctly pointed out to me:
“But wasn’t it Guru Gobind Singh Ji who had used the word Granth when saying ‘Sabh Sikhan ko hukm hai, Guru manio Granth’. I had to agree that that’s what the history books tell us. But I also told the student that if the Holy Guru was with us in body today, I would have explained my point to Him. I said that I have every reason to believe that the Guru Himself would have overwhelmingly supported me on this change.

Is it possible that when the Holy Guru Gobind Singh Ji used the words "Guru Manio Granth', it was simply a means of explaining, that from now on, after His 'jotee jot samonaa', Sikhs will have to get used to relating to the Holy Gurbani contained in the 'Granth' in the same manner that they have been relating to the physical presence of the Holy Gurus. Instead of coming before the Guru's physical presence, they will now have to go before the physical manifestation of the gurbani, the Granth Sahib. The Gurbani, will from now till eternity, be their guiding light.

And by the way, yes, for the dohera after the ardaas, I shall still sing it as Guru Manio Granth!

Satnam