Guru Granth Sahib



Guru Granth Sahib or Sri Granth Sahib Ji or SGGS for short, is more than just a scripture of the Sikhs. The Sikhs treat this Granth (holy book) as a living Guru. The holy text spans 1430 pages and contain the actual words spoken by the founders of the Sikh religion (the Ten Gurus of Sikhism) and various other Saints from other religions including Hinduism and Islam.

The SGGS was given the Guruship by the last of the living Sikh Masters, Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1708. Guru Gobind Singh said before his demise that the Sikhs were to treat the SGGS as their next Guru. Guru Ji said – “Sab Sikhan ko hokam hai Guru Manyo Granth” meaning “All Sikhs are commanded to take the Granth as Guru” So today if asked, the Sikhs will tell you that they have a total of 11 Gurus. ( 10 in human form and the SGGS).

When one visits a Sikh temple or Gurdwara the SGGS forms the main part of the Darbar Sahib or Main Hall. The holy book is placed on a dominant platform and covered in very beautiful and attractive coloured fine cloth. The platform is always covered by a canopy, which is also decorated in expensive and very attractive coloured materials. The text used is a script called Gurmukhi (literally "From the Guru's mouth"), which is considered a modern development of the ancient language called Sanskrit.

Guru nanak wrote his divine poetry and called it pothi. it is not that people started to collect the writings of the gurus and are called pothis. these writings were not available to anyone. they were kept by the children of the gurus. when fifth guru wanted to writes siree guru granth sahib then he went to them and collect those writings. all these writings were the writings of the first 3 gurus and the collection of hindu and muslim saints, collected by guru Nanak

History & Composition of Siri Guru Granth Sahib
Guru Nanak brought the "Word of God" to manifest upon Earth. Through his Hymns and Prayers, he inspired and uplifted humankind to live a life of truth, righteousness and spirituality. These enlightening words were sung by his companions, Bala and Mardana, and by the Sangats which grew up around Guru Nanak. In his later years at Kartarpur, it became customary for the members of the Sikh community to sing certain hymns on a daily basis: Japji in the morning; So Dar and So Purakh, the beginnings of Rehiras, in the evenings.

Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das and Guru Ram Das all composed Shabads (hymns), and the Sikhs began to collect these in books called Pothis. Chanting these Shabads, the Sikhs became vehicles for the vibrations of the "Word of God", and they achieved a state of higher consciousness, a transcendent meditative union with God and Guru.