It's Not a Book

Recognise the Granth as Your Guru

The divine light of God was bestowed on Guru Nanak Dev Ji in 1469. He in turn imparted the light to Bhai Lehna who then became Guru Angad Dev Ji. To show his reverence to the divine light Guru Nanak Dev Ji paid obeisance to the new Guru. In this way the divine light has been conferred to all ten Gurus. Although the divine light remained the same, the bodies of the Gurus changed. The body through age deteriorates but the divine light is timeless.

On 30th October 1708 the tenth Guru passed on the divine light to the Shabad Guru that we revere in its embodiment, the Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

Consequently Shabad Guru is the same divine light that was in Guru Nanak Dev Ji - a living Guru.

The Gurus were not Guru in body but Guru when they personified the divine light. Guru Nanak Dev Ji reveals this when he was asked…

Who’s your Guru?
This is the question the Sikhs asked Guru Nanak Dev Ji…
Thaeraa kavan guroo jis kaa thoo chaelaa ||
Who is your Guru? Whose disciple are you? (Ang 942)
His simple reply was
Sabadh guroo surath dhhun chaelaa ||
The Shabad is the Guru, upon whom I lovingly focus my consciousness; I am the chaylaa, the disciple.

The almighty Guru Nanak Dev Ji had become the disciple, and humbly uttered that the Shabad (scriptures within Guru Granth Sahib Ji) is his Guru. It is hard to believe that we fail to see the Shabad in the same way as it was viewed by Guru Nanak Dev Ji many centuries ago. However the question remains; what makes this Bani so special and so different?

The answer is that this Bani comes direct from the Lord himself.

“Dhhur kee baanee aaee ||
thin sagalee chi(n)th mittaaee ||

The Bani of His Word emanated from the Primal Lord. It has the power to help us eradicate the problems we face in society today. (Ang 627)

As Guru Ram Das Ji states:
Baanee guroo guroo hai baanee vich baanee a(n)mrith saarae ||
The Word, the Bani is Guru, and Guru is the Bani. Within the Bani, the Ambrosial Nectar is contained. ( Ang 982)

The last of the mortal Gurus, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, brought the lineage of living Gurus to an end and declared the scriptures in the form of Guru Granth Sahib Ji as the eternal Guru of the Sikhs. On the land of Nanded, where now stands Hazoor Sahib, Guru Gobind Singh Ji bowed down in front of Guru Granth Sahib Ji and uttered:

“Sabh Sikhaun Ko Hukam Hai Guru Manyo Granth, Guru Granth Ji Maneyo Pargat Guraan ki Deh”
“To all Sikhs, let this be your order, recognise the Granth as your Guru now”

This is a humble plea to all Sikhs, let us come together to break the notion that Guru Granth Sahib Ji is a book, but in reality it’s our living Guru.

The Shabad of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji gives us support and guidance in our daily lives. Many of us have heard of the daily Hukamnama. But do we really know what this is? Or what it’s purpose is? We can present our thoughts and problems to the Guru through the recital of the Ardaas (prayer). Following the Ardaas, we allow the Guru Granth Sahib Ji to be opened, the Ang on which it falls opens will provide the Hukamnama (royal decree), This Hukamnama is the advice from Waheguru (God) in the form of a Shabad reading from the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. This provides us with the advice we need.

Even in the times of the Gurus, the Guru was not the physical body, but the words (Shabad) which were spoken. Today it is not the physical pages that make the Guru Granth Sahib Ji but the Shabad within, which give guidance for our daily lives.