Gurmat Studies

Newsletter

April 2004 - Issue #8

Important Dates

 in April

What is Gurbani?

That ocean of knowledge which we call God spoke through Guru Ji’s mouth. Those spoken words are called Gurbani. This Gurbani is a message for all people regardless of caste, culture, or background: 

KqRI bRwhmx sUd vYs aupdysu chu vrnw kau swJw ]

Tranlsation:    The message is the same for all four castes- the Kh'shaatriyas, Brahmins, Soodras and Vaishyas.

Gurbani teaches us the following:

1)      Always remember that God who gave us everything.

2)      Self realization.

3)      See God in everything and to love that God in everyone.

4)      It gives us spiritual knowledge.

5)      To break from sins and become a better human being.

Gurbani is the message of truth that are not mere words. Some think of Gurbani as just poetry, but this Gurbani is an ocean of divine knowledge:

logu jwnY iehu gIqu hY iehu qau bRhm bIcwr ]

This Gurbani came directly from the Truthful God:

jYsI mY AwvY Ksm kI bwxI qYsVw krI igAwnu vy lwlo ]

Translation:            As the Word of the Forgiving Lord comes to me, so do I express it, O Lalo.

hau Awphu boil n jwxdw mY kihAw sBu hukmwau jIau ]

Translation:            By myself, I do not even know how to speak; I speak all that the Lord commands.

Where theories of science can be questioned or found wrong, Gurbani cannot be questioned because it is not created by any man, it is the word of God:

siqgur kI bwxI siq siq kir jwxhu gurisKhu hir krqw Awip muhhu kFwey ]

Translation:            O GurSikhs, know that the Bani, the Word of the True Guru, is true, absolutely true. The Creator Lord Himself causes the Guru to chant it.

Gurbani gives us the fool for our soul which helps us concentrate on that One Almighty God.

Gurbani teaches us to break from false or blind rituals and to meditate on only God.

When Guru Arjun Dev Ji had the Aad Granth Saheb installed in Darbar Saheb for the first time he said:

mm AwigAw sB hI suno s`q bcn inrDwr[

gRMQ gurU sm mwinau Byd n koaU ivcwr[

Translation:            Everyone listen to my orders and follow them. The Granth is the same as the Guru, there is no difference between the two.

Satguru Ji has even told us this in Gurbani:

bwxI gurU gurU hY bwxI ivic bwxI AMimRqu swry ]

Translation:            The Word, the Bani is Guru, and Guru is the Bani. Within the Bani, the Ambrosial Nectar is contained.

This Gurbani is the manifestation of God:

vwhu vwhu bwxI inrMkwr hY iqsu jyvfu Avru n koie ]

Translation:            Waaho! Waaho! is the Bani, the Word, of the Formless Lord. There is no other as great as He is.

So as you can see, we are lucky to have Guru Granth Saheb Ji as our Guru. Gurbani is not the writing of any ordinary man, or the followers of a religion. It came directly from God and was spoken through our great Satguru Ji.

We should realize that it is like an ocean of knowledge that is just waiting for someone to come and read it. When we read it with love we will find the answers to all of our questions, spiritual and worldly from Gurbani.