Guru Granth Sahib Ji
[Thread]
[Thread]
1/19 Guru Granth Sahib also called the Adi Granth is more than just a scripture of the Sikhs, for the Sikhs regard and respect the Granth (holy book) as their living Guru. The revealed holy text contains the actual words spoken by the founder of the Sikh Religion 
2/19 Unique amongst the world's major religious scriptures, Guru Granth Sahib, not only contains the writings of Sikh Gurus but also includes the writings of other contemporary saints from Hinduism and Islam
3/19 Including saints belonging to the lowest strata of untouchables in the Hindu Caste System & Sufi Saints of Muslim lineage, who believed in the unity of God and denounced superstition and caste.
4/19 Guru Nanak Sahib the founder and first Guru of Sikhs, was born in the year 1469, in the village Talwandi which is located in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Now in Pakistan
5/19 Setting up a unique spiritual, social and political platform based on equality and fraternal love, Guru Nanak Sahib attacked the citadel of the Hindu Caste System, and condemned the theocracy of Mughal rulers.
6/19 Guru Nanak Sahib promoted the equality of all mankind and upheld the causes of the downtrodden and the poor, laying special emphasis to assert the equality of women.
7/19 Guru Nanak Sahib's writings, in the form of spiritual hymns (Shabads) comprising the Japji Sahib, Asa di Var, Bara Mah, Sidh Gosht and Dakhni Onkar among others were collated in small books called Pothis
8/19 Whatever he said was said in verse straight from GOD. His blissful and mesmerizing songs are not those of an ordinary singer; they have sprung from within one who has known. There is the ring of truth, the reflection of God within them.
9/19 It is these songs, songs of love and expressions of truthfulness and worship, along with the songs of his successors and numerous other Sikhs, Bhagat, Bhat, etc, that form the eternal Guru of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib.
10/19 Guru Angad Sahib, Guru Amar Das and Guru Ram Das all composed Shabads (hymns), and the Sikhs began to collect these in Pothis.
11/19 Early in Sikh history, there were mal-quotations, and pretenders to the Throne of Spirituality. The elder brother of Guru Arjan , Prithi Chand, composed his own hymns and passed them off as writings of Guru Nanak.
12/19 Guru Arjan Sahib realized that a standardized, authenticated collection of the Guru’s Bani (called Gurbani) was needed to preserve the integrity of the Shabad.
13/19 Guru Arjan Sahib then set to compile the Shabads into a single volume, the Adi Granth. He sifted through the Shabads which had been passed down from the first four Gurus, and filtered out those which had been added by imposters.
14/19 When the Guru compiled the Adi Granth containing the hymns of the Gurus and those of some saints and sufis, Bhai Gurdas inscribed the the entire text.
Pic. Gurudwara Ramsar in Amritsar where Adi Granth was compiled
Pic. Gurudwara Ramsar in Amritsar where Adi Granth was compiled
15/19 Guru Arjan Sahib added his own Shabads to those of Guru Nanak Sahib , Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das, and Guru Ram Das. He also added Shabads of thirty-six Hindu and Muslim Saints, among them Kabir Ji, Ravi Das Ji, Naam Dev Ji, Trilochan Ji, and Sheikh Farid Ji.
16/19 This was the first time any religion incorporated the works of sincere devotees of other religions into its own scripture; this reflects the universality of thought which underlies the Sikh belief in One God, and the one family of humanity as children of God.
17/19 In 1604, Adi Granth was completed & installed in Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple); Baba Buddha was appointed Guru's Granthi. Guru Arjan told his Sikhs that the Adi Granth was the embodiment of the Guru, and should be treated in the same fashion as they respect him, as a Guru!
18/19
This day is celebrated by Sikhs all over the globe as Pehla Prakash Gurpurab
This day is celebrated by Sikhs all over the globe as Pehla Prakash Gurpurab
19/19 Guru Gobind Singh later added the bani of ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib to Adi Granth and formally enthroned it as the perpetual Guru of the Sikhs, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji
