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The Guru Granth Sahib has contributed immensely to our composite culture
in the past four centuries, said the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Inaugurating
an international seminar on “the Guru Granth Sahib and its context” here today,
Dr. Singh said, “it is even today a collection of what we would now call very
progressive teachings, aimed at creating an ideal world.”
Elaborating
on it further, the Prime Minister said, “This ideal world would be a world
without borders, free from the pernicious divisions of caste and status, one
where differences of religion and language are rendered irrelevant. The
teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib seek to harmonize the world as we know it.
These teachings synthesize the essential wisdom of all religions and earlier
mystic saints, and the ancient traditional cultural and civilizational ethos of
the Indian people. In doing so, it sets out a powerful and appealing message of
gender equality, concern for women and concern for our natural environment. It
defines a moral compass for humanity to follow, but without adopting an
imperative approach. Most of all, it sets out an agenda for social equity that
is most relevant for our society today.”
The Seminar was organized to mark the 400th
anniversary of the installation of the Adi
Granth at the Harmandir Sahib. The Union Minister for Information &
Broadcasting and Culture, Shri Jaipal
Reddy, representatives of the Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan and other
dignitaries participated in the inaugural session of the seminar.
The following is the text of the Prime
Minister’s address on the occasion:
“I am delighted to be amongst you to
inaugurate this international seminar on “the Guru Granth Sahib and its
context”, to mark the 400th anniversary of the installation of the Adi Granth at the Harmandir Sahib. My
personal association with Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan adds to the sense of
privilege I feel as a proud Indian, and as a Sikh, in discussing the eternal
relevance of this important sacred text.
I also welcome the release today of a
translation of the Guru Granth Sahib
into German. This work, by Dr Jarnail Singh, who is unfortunately unable to be
with us today, is a labour of love. I am also happy that as a result of
initiative taken by the Sadan, Dr. Swami Veda Bharati has translated selected
hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib into
English and their translation into Spanish has also been done through the
munificence of Swamiji. I offer my felicitations to all those involved in these
projects. These are all worthy efforts, in keeping with the decision of our
National level Celebration Committee to mark the four hundredth anniversary of
the installation of Guru Granth Sahib.
I will not
dwell at length on the historical context and the manner in which the Adi
Granth was composed. Our knowledge of these aspects is substantially evolved,
and in any case, I cannot claim expertise over this fascinating subject.
However, as one who has found great spiritual and mental solace from the
teachings of this remarkable sacred text, suffice to say that I do believe that
the Guru Granth Sahib has contributed immensely—perhaps even
disproportionately--to our composite culture in the past four centuries. The impact of its teachings has been so
profound that it has influenced language, literature, art and of course the history of much of this
subcontinent in a relatively brief period of time.
Scholars and historians tell us that this
sacred text distils the essence of the wisdom of that great period of
philosophical ferment in India, during the Sufi and Bhakti movement. That
period of social and philosophical enquiry followed the unprecedented
interaction between the great faiths of Islam and Hinduism in our ancient
homeland. From their interaction arose a number of saints who sought to
synthesize the mystic elements of both faiths.
Writing in different languages, using different forms, using different
idioms, they were united in the simplicity of their message and the colloquial
idioms that they adopted from daily life. This common idiom, this sant bhasha, made their essentially
common message enormously powerful. Therefore, even today, it can still be a
matter of some surprise to recall that the great sufi and bhakti saints
were separated by several centuries. This shows a certain universality of the
thoughts of these mystic saints, which were inherited by their spiritual
successors.
To begin with, therefore, the Guru Granth
Sahib brought these different voices together in one place. While compiling the
sayings of the sacred Gurus before him, Guru Arjun Dev had a plethora of
material, as well as the obvious editorial freedom, to select and reject. Guru
Arjun Devji collated the sayings of those who shared the broad and all
encompassing spiritual outlook of Guru Nanak, such as Baba Farid, Kabir,
Jaidev, Namdev, Ravidas, and several others. This illustrates his all-inclusive
approach. The ideals of monotheism, rational enquiry what we call today as
scientific temper, brotherhood of humankind, egalitarianism, concern for
women—all of these are recurrent themes in the teachings of these saints, and
in the Guru Granth Sahib. Many of them—Guru Nanak Dev in particular—embodied the spiritual convergence between Islam
and Hinduism of that time. Perhaps there is also significance in the fact that
efforts to include the sayings of sants
of various denominations and regions was also an act of both religious and
secular integration. To the extent one can extrapolate a modern metaphor to
those times, the compilation of the Guru Granth Sahib is a unique and
pioneering example of an inter-faith dialogue.
I
would like to
dwell on these
ideas briefly. It is remarkable
how, in that age of great political instability and social crisis, the
teachings of these holy men are so stark and simple. Perhaps the message had to
be reduced to its basics, born as it was in a time of great stress. This also
explains the common message underlying the teachings of the Sufi and Bhakti
saints. Many of these teachings are therefore particularly relevant today, in
our troubled and weary world. I would add, however, that it is simultaneously
ironic and a little saddening to realize that many of the same evils that
plagued our society four hundred years ago, continue to do so even today. I
therefore believe that the message that emerges from the Guru Granth Sahib aims
at addressing the most basic doubts and dilemmas of humanity, which have
remained unchanged over centuries.
Although
this sacred text is embedded in the historical context in which the sayings
were compiled, it is even today a collection of what we would now call very progressive
teachings, aimed at creating an ideal universal man. This ideal world would be
a world without borders, free from the pernicious divisions of caste and
status, one where differences of religion and language are rendered irrelevant.
The teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib seek to harmonize the world as we know
it. These teachings synthesize the essential wisdom of all religions and
earlier mystic saints, and the ancient traditional cultural and civilizational
ethos of the Indian people. In doing so, it sets out a powerful and appealing
message of gender equality, concern for the uplift of women and concern for our
natural environment. It defines a moral compass for humanity to follow, but
without adopting an imperative approach. Most of all, it sets out an agenda for
social equity that is most relevant for our society even today.
For instance, the common teaching of the Guru Granth Sahib explicitly proscribes
the reprehensible practice of female infanticide, the customs of purdah and
evil of sati. Guru Nanak said, “why do you despise her who gives birth to
monarchs and prophets?” Similarly, we find a common concern for maintaining the
ecological and environmental balance.
Guru Nanak’s reverence for life, for nature and for God’s creation is
illustrated by his sayings.
To quote but one instance in the Japji:
Þ{É´ÉxÉ MÉÖ°ô, {ÉÉÉÊhÉ ÉÊ{ÉiÉÉ, àÉÉiÉÉ vÉ®iÉ
àÉciÉ *
ÉÊn´ÉºÉ
®ÉiÉ nÉäA nÉ<Ç nɪÉÉ JÉäãÉè ºÉMÉãÉ VÉMÉiÉ ** Þ
Air the Guru, Water the
Father,
Great Earth the Mother
:
These teachings argue for a life, which if
well led, would address both the internal crisis of the human spirit as well as
the external crises in our society and our natural environment, which are often
the result of spiritual emptiness and irresponsibility.
The transcendental vision embodied in the
Adi Granth is described by our scholar President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan in the
following words:
“In the tradition of India, Nanak Dev believes in
religion as realisation, anubhava.
Those who adopt his view subordinate ritualistic practices and creedal
definitions. Nanak Dev does not believe in the ultimacy of the distinction
between Hindu and Mussalman. He goes beyond these distinctions and fosters a
religion of spirit which is universal in character… Nanak Dev affirms the
possibility which is now becoming popular and was anticipated by the Sikh
Gurus. No wonder that the Adi Granth, which is sacred scripture of the Sikhs,
contains the utterances of holy men of both Hinduism and Islam.”
Such an ideal social order, without religious or
political boundaries, is described by Guru Arjun Dev as Halemi Raj.
This
concept of Halimi Raj as described in the Guru Granth Sahib resembles, in some
ways, the modern ideal of a welfare state. Such a society is not defined or created
by state directives or legislation but is the result of a spiritual
transformation of all its constituents. This concept of an egalitarian society,
free from the exploitation of man by his fellow man, is further corroborated in
the hymns of Bhagat Ravidas, who describes an ideal city --Begumpura – a city
without defined boundaries, free from fear and grief. According to Ravidas the
citizens of such an ideal society would not have excess of taxes, nor would
they live in fear of injustice. That’s the heritage that Guru Granth Sahib and
our Gurus have bequeathed to us.
This is by no means an exhaustive
elaboration of the eternally relevant ideals of the Guru Granth Sahib. As participants in this important seminar,
you have the opportunity to provide new and valuable insights into the
continuing relevance and validity of the eternal message of the great Gurus.
Once again, I thank you for inviting me to participate in this meaningful and
evocative event. I wish you every success in your deliberations.
YSR/DS
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400th Anniversary of installation of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib
