Guru Granth Sahib

Guru Granth Sahib combines Guru (teacher), Granth (book or collection), and Sahib (master or honored one)[1]. The full title gives a sense of the scripture as honored teacher-book. The text is also called the Adi Granth (Original Granth) and is treated by Sikhs as the living and eternal Guru[2].

the text is treated with living authority and ritual reverence, not merely as literature.

The Guru Granth Sahib is the central scripture of Sikhism and is treated as the eternal Guru. The first version was compiled by Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh Guru, in 1604. Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and final human Guru, declared the scripture itself as the perpetual Guru in 1708 before his death, ending the line of living Gurus. From that point forward, Sikhs have venerated the Guru Granth Sahib as the embodied teaching presence of the Gurus.

The text is in multiple languages (predominantly Punjabi, with Sanskrit, Persian, and other influences) and is composed almost entirely in verse organized for musical performance. The text contains the writings of six of the ten Sikh Gurus (Nanak, Angad, Amar Das, Ram Das, Arjan, Tegh Bahadur) along with selected writings from medieval Indian saints of various backgrounds: Hindu bhakti poets (Namdev, Kabir, Ravidas, Sur Das, and others) and Muslim Sufi figures (Sheikh Farid).

Gurdwaras (Sikh places of worship) center on the Guru Granth Sahib. The scripture is treated with extraordinary reverence: housed in a special bed (palki) during the day and put to rest at night; opened ceremonially each morning (prakash) and closed each evening (sukhasan); covered with cloths and protected by an attendant who waves a fan (chaur) over it. Devotees bow to the scripture, offer flowers, and receive sanctified food (karah parshad) in connection with its reading.

Kirtan (devotional singing) of compositions from the Guru Granth Sahib is the central act of Sikh worship. The compositions are organized by raga (musical mode), and the prescribed musical settings are part of the religious meaning.

The scripture is treated as living teaching, not as historical artifact. Sikh weddings are conducted by circling around the Guru Granth Sahib. Major life events involve readings (akhand path, the continuous reading of the entire scripture over 48 hours, marks weddings, deaths, and significant occasions)[2].

Sikh studies has produced significant scholarship on the Guru Granth Sahib. Pashaura Singh[3], Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh[2], Christopher Shackle, and others have produced major work. Translation challenges (the scripture's poetic compression, its musical structure, its theological depth) are themselves topics of ongoing scholarship.

• The Guru Granth Sahib: Canon, Meaning and Authorityby Pashaura Singh
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• Sikhism: An Introductionby Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh
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