RELEVANCE OF GURU GRANTH SAHIB

Author:  Dr Indarjit Singh

We entered the 21stcentury on a note of smugness in human ability arising from rapid scientific achievement. Computers doubling their capacity every 18 months or so; near instant communications, and rapid developments in the field of medicine giving hope for conquest of long feared killer diseases.

Communism had been defeated; the world seemed a safer place. 9/11 changed all that. We all know that when a large building is demolished in an inner city development, we see familiar surroundings in a new and wider perspective. As James Wolfensohn, chairman of the World Bank, observed at the time, the terrorist destruction of New York's twin towers suddenly opened America's eyes to the real world in which we live. It may have come as a surprise to the USA, but many of us have long been aware of the existence of gross inequalities, irrational anger and the fragile nature of peace in our world of today.

In former times, religious bigotry and the pursuit of power were responsible for horrendous conflicts in many lands. Today, perverse use of scientific discovery and human ingenuity, have shown that a few individuals can create the sort of destruction that once required vast armies.

A couple of years ago, I did some work for Amnesty International, looking at genocide and human rights abuse in a number of different countries; abuse which often involved unbelievable depravity. It wasn't only the details of abuse that I found sickening, there was also the growing realisation that those who we learn to trust are often the perpetrators: police and soldiers, and previously friendly neighbours. Why do people behave in such ways?

The sobering conclusion is that our human family has only a thin veneer of civilisation that differentiates us from those we formerly called savages; a veneer that is all too easily shed at times when we are persuaded to see others as lesser beings, or, even more absurdly, claim that God will overlook, or even approve the torture and murder of innocents, if we say we did it in his name.

Where once we were mesmerised by our undoubted cleverness, today we are becoming increasingly aware of the downside of our disregard of moral imperative. In our greed, we have created inequalities, destroyed much of our environment and polluted our food supply. In our arrogance, we have also harmed our social environment by disregarding religious teachings of responsibility and concern for others, in a blinkered pursuit of personal happiness. The results are hardly surprising: recurring conflict, family breakdown, increasing crime, including mindless violence against children and the elderly, a greater dependence on alcohol and drugs and a general blurring of moral standards. The reality of human nature, and the evidence is all around us, is that; we humans do not come with preloaded software of right, wrong and responsibility. Decent responsible behaviour has to be taught and learnt. Burt who should do the teaching?

Governments are powerless to move society to more responsible living. At best they can legislate to define the boundaries of what is unacceptable. But, as we all know powerful pressures of manmukh (ungodly) living mean that these boundaries are constantly changed in a negative direction. In recent years we have seen relaxed curbs on drinking and the use of drugs and a lowering of the age of consent. A recent statistic shows that university students now spend considerably more on drink than on books.

Throughout history, religious leaders up to the time of the Gurus, tried to move society back towards more responsible (gurmukh) living, but conflicting claims of -our way' being the only way to God, made religion a cause for conflict, rather than a way to peace and responsible living.

Guru Nanak rejected the idea that God was some sort of superhuman being in both image and temperament, with human attributes and passions that led him to choose favoured nations and religious paths The Guru taught that the one timeless God of us all was beyond the laws of birth and death and above human emotions like pleasure hate and envy. Guru Nanak's deep spirituality, couched in humanity and common sense, endeared him to those of different religions. His teachings transcended the religious rituals of the day, raising religion to a higher, yet more accessible plane of spiritual and ethical guidance for all humanity. His teachings and those of successor Gurus contained in the Guru Granth Sahib, are not trapped in the social norms of his day, but transcend them to give guidance for all people at all times. As we have seen, today's world is suffering in its pursuit of a mirage of material contentment. The Guru's message is that there are no quick fixes. The only way to individual contentment and greater peace is through balanced and responsible living. It is in relaying and elaborating these teachings that the Guru Granth Sahib helps us distinguish between the true and the false, and the important and the trivial, to give meaning and hope to our strife torn world that has lost its sense of direction. Let us look briefly at some key aspects of this guidance.

THE NATURE OF GOD

The Mool Mantar or opening lines of the Guru Granth Sahib make clear that there is one timeless
Creator of all that exists, the Ultimate Reality, beyond birth and death and human emotions and passions like fear and enmity. The Mool Mantar then goes on to state that an understanding of God can only be obtained through His grace. This grace is equally open to all human beings. We can all obtain it through following a Gurmukh direction in life; that is through spiritual reflection and responsible living. Verses in the Japji Sahib that follow the Mool Mantar help us understand what constitutes Gurmukh living.

THE NATURE OF THE UNIVERSE

Guru Nanak contemplated the origin of the universe while reflecting on the infinite nature of God. The use of figurative language in the Guru Granth Sahib to describe the origin of the Universe is remarkably similar to today's scientific understanding.

Through uncountable ages,
Complete darkness pervaded
Over utter vacancy
There were no worlds, no firmament,
The will of the Lord was all- pervasive.
When He so willed, He shaped the Universe in endless space
Above, below and around it.

GGS P 1035

THE POSITION OF WOMEN
At a time when women were regarded as lesser beings without civil rights in much of the world, Guru Nanak emphasised their full equality, a position which women in the Sikh community have enjoyed ever since. The Guru taught:

Of woman are we conceived Of woman we are born,
To a woman man is betrothed and married
Why should we consider woman cursed and condemned
When it is women that give birth to rulers and kings.

GGS P 473

COURAGE

The following shabad reminds us of the need for courage in the face of adversity:
Though my body be crippled with disease
Though the relentless stars bring endless misfortune on me,
Though bloody tyrants fill my soul with terror
Though all these miseries be heaped together on my head.
Even then my Lord, I shall praise Thee.

GGS P 142

HONEST LIVING

What is the use of rich food and fine clothes
When the truth does not dwell within us.

GGS P 142

Blessed beautiful is the hut where the Lord's praise is sung
Worthless the palace where the Lord is forgotten.
To live by grinding corn, wearing only a blanket
But having a contented heart,
Is better than ruling a kingdom without inner peace.

GGS P745

JUSTICE

The limits of man- made justice are recognised:

The final vision of justice lies not with man
Nor any creature of the Universe;
But with God alone.

GGS P144

PRINCIPLES BEFORE FACTIONS

I am of God's faction: He is my mainstay.
I am of no other group besides God's.

All human powers men make pacts with
Are subject to death and decay.
I am of the Lord's faction.

GGS P366

CONTEMPLATION IN EVERY DAY LIFE

How often do we hear arguments like how can a busy housewife find time for prayer and reflection.
The poet Namdev provides an answer—an early description of multi- task working!

A boy gets paper and makes a kite, he flies it high in the air,
And though he is talking in a lively way with his friends,
He keeps his mind on the string,
While the child is asleep in its cradle,
It mother is busy inside and outside the house
But she keeps her mind on her child.

GGS P972

EQUANIMITY

The ninth Guru, Guru Teg Bahadhur, reminds us of the need to preserve an even keel against the emotions and passions of life.

Neither cast down in sorrow; nor over-elated in joy;
Aloof from the negative influence of pride, greed and coveting;
See such a man as the very image of God.

GGS P1426

EQUALITY

The poet Kabir criticises the absurdity of race and caste.

The Lord first created light:
From the Lord's play all living creatures came,
And from the Divine Light all creation sprang.
Why then should we divide human creatures Into the high and low.

GGS P1349

SUMMARY

The Guru Granth Sahib is a remarkable treasury of wisdom and inspiration. It is important to understand that its teachings are universal and not the exclusive property of Sikhs. The guidance of the Guru Granth Sahib is for all people at all times, an important antidote to the self- obsession and blurred morality of today.

It is the responsibility of every Sikh to live true to these teachings. But there is also a greater responsibility. As the Guru taught us, Sikhs are duty bound not only to swim clear of manmukh currents in the ocean of life, but also to help others do so.

Sadly, today some would have us move in the opposite direction. In an increasing number of Gurdwara, the Guru Granth Sahib is increasingly becoming the focus of elaborate rituals that border on deification. When Guru Gobind Singh said 'Guru manio Granth', he was referring to the teachings contained therein, not to the physical paper and ink.

In thinking that Guru Nanak condemned in Asa Di Var, some say that the Guru Granth Sahib will become polluted if it is taken outside the Gurdwara. One large Gurdwara in London has further distanced itself from Guru Nanak's mission, by saying that even discourse on the Guru Granth Sahib should not be permitted outside the sanctity of a Gurdwara.

What would our Gurus have thought of such thinking. They did not stay within the confines of
Gurdwara. They took their teachings to people of all faiths, travelling on dusty roads to distant lands. They met and talked to usurers, thieves and others urging them to more honest and responsible living. It would be absurd to argue that the Gurus became polluted by such contact. We are duty bound to follow the example of our great Gurus in making the healing balm of Gurbani freely available to a wider world.