Guru Manyo Granth

Guru Manyo Granth
by Punam Khaira Sidhu

WHEN we moved into the official residence of the Deputy Commissioner in Amritsar at No. 3 Maqbool Road house and saw the “Babaji”s room”, we determined that we owed it to Guru ki Nagri to have “Prakash” there.

Will you be able to maintain the “Maryada?” was the concerned response from both our parents. My husband and I were confident that we would give it our best. Errors and omissions, if any, would surely be condoned by a benign Omnipresent and Omniscient — “Ek Onkar”. The scriptures direct, “Sab Sikhan ko hukam hai Guru Manyo Granth..” Sri Guru Granth Sahib is different from other religious texts in that it is deemed to be the personification of a Guru. This is why it is said, “…Guru Granth ji Manyo, Pargat Guran ki deh…” Guruji was installed with ceremony and we went through a crash course in “Maryada” from a kindly Bhai Sahib from the SGPC.

Our day commenced with “Prakash” when we awoke Guruji after rest and took “Gurvak”, the “Hukamnamah” or the Order, which laid the tone for the rest of the day. In the evening, we did the Sohila Path, took “Gurvak” again and completed the “Sukhasan”. My little sons, Bilawal and Sehaj, who derive their names from Guruji, then only 5 and 2, took turns to wave the fly whisk (“Chaur sahib”) with energetic enthusiasm. We also acquired a page-to-page English translation of Guru Granth Sahib. But the real message, I believe, can sometimes be lost in translation. Guru Granth Sahib needs to be read with faith and conviction. The message is in each individual’s interpretation of its 1430-page text. A message as true today as it was 400 years ago, when it was first installed in 1604 in Harmandir Sahib by Baba Buddhaji.

Through the Bani in Guru Granth Sahib we have become familiar with the thoughts of the Gurus and their perceptions of our faith. The family favourite undoubtedly is the most beautiful “aarati” ever composed, “Gagan mai thal..” a cosmic “aarati” set to Raag Dhanasari, in the Sohila Path composed by Guru Nanak Devji. Each evening my family rests secure after the Chaupai in the Rahras Sahib : “Hamri karo hath de rachha, Pooran hoi chit ki icchha,….” A prayer for everyone, it seeks God’s blessings and protection, for all family members, for the fulfilment of all desires, and destruction of enemies.

In every home that we have set up thereafter, the pivot has always been Guru Granth Sahib. Many are the times that we have knelt before our Guruji, only to find answers to questions and problems that appeared to be without a solution. The fragrance of the flowers and incense surrounding Guruji permeates our lives for all the “Bara Mah” of our being.