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Keeping Text Intact
Are Kabir and Namdev rewritten
in Guru Granth Sahib?
Nanak Singh Nishter
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The author
researched The Sikh Haiku from Guru Granth Sahib for our readers
and with it we launched the 300 Saal Guru de Naal campaign in
the pages of World Sikh News. In this present scholarly piece,
the author effectively debunks the Indian media's soft-pedalling
of Sikh religious issues and forcefully answers the main
question casually raised by celebrated author Khushwant Singh in
his columns. |
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 Media
misinterprets belief systems:
The Indian media is invariably non-serious in matters of religious
beliefs and more so if it concerns the value systems of ethnic
peoples who are small in number. In June 2004, in his widely
published syndicated column, “With Malice Towards One and All”,
leading author Khushwant Singh created confusion by posing the
question, “Are Kabir and Namdev rewritten in Guru Granth Sahib?
As the
subject related to Gurbani, I sent in my rejoinder correcting the
wrong done by the learned author. No newspaper published it.
I then sent the same to the author urging him to get it published in
the papers
where his columns appeared. His reply was quick and
surprising, “I am not in a position to ask editors to use your
article. I have no personal relations with any of them.
My relations with the papers are based on contracts with the
owners”.
As the
subject was sacred and sensitive, I was keen to let people know the
facts, which had been privately acknowledged by the author. I again
wrote to him asking him to make the relevant portion a part of his
well-read columns. His replied on
27th July, 2004
and I quote, “Dear Nishter Ji, I am sorry I cannot reproduce your
letter in my writing as the subject is of very restricted interest
to Sikhs only.” This I believe is a classic reply on expected
lines from the insensitive Indian media. Writing something about
Sikhism which creates confusion is in the public domain but
accepting that a mistake has been made and then correcting is deemed
to be for restricted circulation amongst Sikhs alone!
 However,
I heaved a sigh of relief when three months later, in the course of
an interview with Tehelka published on
18 September 2004,
Khushwant Singh said, “Our Gurbani and kirtan is pure and
unadulterated”. This should have been published in all his columns
but alas, it was not done. Though he had said in his column that,
“I will not open a public debate”, actually he had done by
creating unnecessary doubts and confusion among the general public
who are not aware of the sacred value of Gurbani.
Though
unintentionally, he has sparked interest of scholars in the
historical and linguistic aspects of the hymns of Bhagat Kabir and
Bhagat Namdev and for that I am thankful to the eminent journalist.
Moreover, his statement, “Having spent the best part of my life
working on Sikh history and translating selected passages of the
Gurbani, I felt I owed it to myself to read the Granth Sahib from
cover to cover”, comes as a pleasant surprise.
Reading and Interpreting Gurbani:
As suggested by him in his article, the methodology adopted by
Khushwant Singh to read Guru Granth Sahib while keeping translations
and dictionaries handy is a correct method of understanding the
teachings of our Gurus. No single author can be taken for granted
for correct interpretation of the religious text. Since the last
three decades, I have been studying Guru Granth Sahib several times
over in the same manner having translations, transliterations,
pronunciation keys by different authors in Punjabi and other
languages and Mahankosh (Encyclopaedia of Sikhism by Bhai Kahn Singh
Nabha) for cross checking the different interpretations. I have been
taking notes of the text on different subjects in my notebooks daily
since the last three decades. I did not suspend this habit even
when I was illegally detained under TADA for seven and half months
during which period I read it over six times. I staunchly believe
that Guru Granth Sahib is a resource of learning and not an object
of worship. Unless we learn from it, the relationship between the
Guru and Sikh is not established. If we do not follow this
principle, a Sikh will be presumed to be a worshipper but not a
follower of a living Guru –Guru Granth Sahib.
 Constant reading of Guru Granth Sahib will enable us to digest and
implement in our lives the message given by the 36 pious souls who
lived and preached humanism and spirituality during a span of 500
years from Hazarat Sheikh Farid Ji (1175-1265) to 9th
Nanak -Guru Tegh Bahadar Sahib Ji (1621-1675). According to Article
VIII, Clause (e) of Chapter-VII of the Code of Sikh Conduct And
Conventions (The Sikh Rehat
Maryada), “it is desirable that every
Sikh should carry on a continuous reading of the Guru Granth Sahib
and complete a full reading in one or two months or over a longer
period”. This perhaps is the only best worship the Sikhs can offer
to the All Pervading One True God, and seek guidance for leading a
truthful and successful worldly life.
Continuous rendition of Guru Granth Sahib enabled me to make a fair
interpretation of the Guru’s word and write to Khushwant Singh to
correct the wrong done by him on the subject of originality of the
bani of Bhagats in Guru Granth Sahib.
Language of Guru Granth Sahib:
It is a universally admitted fact that languages are bound to
change, in style and vocabulary by the influence of distance, period
and environment. This fact is evident from the vocabulary of Granth
Sahib too. Gurus, Sufis and Bhagats have not used only their own
language. They have addressed their audience in a mixture of spoken
languages, which could be easily understood by the people. Most of
the stanzas of Gurbani are recorded in the form of a dialogue;
questions posed by the audience and answers given by the Gurus
-World teachers to clarify doubts and confusion.
They have used the vocabulary of several Indian and foreign
languages. The variety of language depicts the extensive
travels of the authors.
No
language of the world, may be with the exception of oral tribal
dialects, has retained its originality for a long period; it is
bound to change. To classify and be judgemental about an ancient
language with parameters of its present day usage is unjustified.
Many old languages are being rewritten according to the present
linguistic patterns and needs.
 Bhagat
Nam Dev Ji (1270-1350) along with Shri Gyan Dev -popularly known as
Sant Gyaneshwar and other saints and devotees from Maharashtra went
travelled far and wide in what is present-day North India. During
their sojourn, while in
Delhi,
Bhagat Namdev was imprisoned and persecuted by Sultan Mohammad bin-Tughlaq,
which has been narrated in his hymns included in Guru Granth Sahib.
Bhagat
Namdev travelled and stayed in
Punjab for nearly 20 years. Lack of authentic documentation
makes it difficult to determine the exact span of his travels in
Punjab. The impact of Punjabi and Persian in his Marathi
language can be clearly seen in his works. One of his hymns is
in pure Persian. Till that time, the Persian language had not
influenced the Marathi language of south-west India as it had only
affected Punjabi in
North India.
In Punjab there are several Gurdwaras built in memory of his
travels. One of the famous Gurdwara is in Ghuman village of
Gurdaspur district, which was built by Sardar Jassa Singh Ramgarhiah
(died in 1783), chief of the Ramgarhiah Misl.
During
the course of his interaction with people there, he would have mixed
the local language with his own Marathi tongue. It can therefore be
safely inferred that no one interfered or rewrote the verses of
Bhagat Namdev. Shri P.N.Oak, ex-I.C.S., who has studied the
writings of Maharashtrian saint-poets, scrutinized Gurbani and
arrived at the right conclusion that “It is Namdev but the
vocabulary is different.” This supports my contention.
 Regarding Bhagat Kabir’s compositions of acrostics, it is true that
by that time, the Gurmukhi alphabet had not yet fully
evolved. He did not write on the basis of these alphabets. In
those days, Sanskrit was based on 52 (Bavan in Hindi) letters
with the nomenclature called “Bavan Akshri”. It was called
same “Bavan Akhari” in Punjabi. Gurmukhi was
introduced with 35 (Painti in Punjabi) letters with the same
nomenclature and was called as “Painti Akhari”. In Raag
Gouri, there are two compositions of acrostics, by name “Bavan
Akhari”, one by Bhagat Kabir Ji on page 340 and another of the 5th
Nanak Guru Arjan Sahib Ji on page 250. The composition of Guru
Arjan Sahib Ji is in the then prevailing form of Punjabi. Both of
them are written based on “Bavan Akhari” of Sanskrit, but not
on Gurmukhi letters of “Painti Akhari”.
All
compositions of Bhagat Kabir Ji in Guru Granth Sahib are an
admixture of communicative spoken languages of that period. It has
been written in the form which was then popular, which is different
from the language of the presently available texts of “Kabir
Granthavali”, “Bijak” and other texts.
A
simple query to adjudge the authenticity of the text is, “how is the
text preserved in the original form?” Generally speaking, there has
been no binding on proofreaders and publishers to maintain the
originality of the text in toto; rather they change the
language in accordance with common understanding of their respective
times. Let us, for example, examine the Bhajans of Bhagat Meera Bai.
Her original version was in Rajasthani, Brij and Gujarati; she never
wrote in present day Hindi. However, most of the texts available
today are in easily understandable Hindi. Similarly, there is a
possibility of Bhagat Kabir Ji’s bani undergoing some language
change during the long period of six hundred years.
 However, since its inscription in Aad Granth Sahib, compiled in
1604, there is no possibility of alteration of even a single word in
this text. This most sacred scripture is installed in Harmandir
Sahib (also known as Golden Temple), Amritsar. The authenticity and
originality of any text of Bhagats and Sufis has to be compared with
the text of the present published form of Guru Granth Sahib alone.
Other than this, there can be no other criterion.
In
Raag Aasa, there are two other compositions of acrostics
employing the letters of “Painti Akhari” of Gurmukhi
script, one of Guru Nanak Sahib Ji on page 432 by the title “Patti
Likkhi” and the other one of the 3rd Nanak, Guru Amar
Das Ji on page 434 by the title “Patti”. These are in the manner
of the then prevalent form, but resemble the present day “Painti
Akhari” of Gurmukhi. They are in the spoken Punjabi
language of that period which cannot be compared with present-day
colloquial Punjabi.
The 5th
Nanak, Guru Arjan Sahib Ji (1563-1606) did not singularly collect
the banis of different Bhagats and Sufis. Guru Nanak Sahib Ji
(1469-1539) and his four successors collected the banis, over a
period of 135 years from 1469 to 1604. There is historical evidence
of Guru Nanak Sahib Ji collecting the bani of Hazrat Sheikh
Fariduddin Masood Ganj-i-Shakar (1175-1265) during his meeting with
his eleventh successor, Hazrat Ibrahim Farid-i-Sani i.e., called
Farid the second, at Pak Patan, now in Pakistan. During his visit
to Bengal, he collected the bani of Bhagat Jai Dev Ji (1201-1245).
The bani of others were also collected during the course of various
travels of the Gurus.
Preserving Authenticity of Gurbani:
 I would like to mention that an ordinary person or writer takes due
care to ensure that he does not make mistakes and that one’s work is
authentic and above any criticism. It would be naive for any one to
imagine that a person of the stature of a Guru, while compiling the
most sacred text which is to serve as a beacon light for humanity
and foster universal brotherhood, and which is established in
Harmandir Sahib and hundreds of other Gurdwaras, might not have
taken care to maintain the originality and authenticity of the text.
To
preserve and protect the authenticity and sanctity of this text,
many measures were adopted and several sacrifices were made. The
eldest son of the 7th Nanak, Guru Har Rai Ji was the
celebrated scholar Ram Rai. In 1661, Guru Sahib sent him to the
court of Emperor Aurangzeb for rendering explanation of certain
hymns. Instead of doing justice with the theme, he avoided debate
and replaced only one word, Musallman with Beiman
while quoting from Asa-di-Vaar. When Guru Sahib learnt about
this, he asked his son not to show his face ever and also directed
Sikhs not to have any association with him and his people. This
first ex-communication of Sikhism stands valid till today.
Regarding rewriting text in Guru Granth Sahib, the Gurus have
followed a pattern. Wherever any confusion arose regarding
interpretation or a need was felt for more explanation, without
interfering with the original text, the Gurus have compiled a
separate version in their own name, and included both the versions
in Guru Granth Sahib. For example we can see Jap Ji Sahib of Guru
Nanak Sahib Ji. On page 8 of Salok, the last line is,
“Jini naam dhiyaiya gaye maskkat ghal, Nanak, te mukh ujle keti
chutti naal”. To explain it further, the 2nd Nanak,
Guru Angad Sahib Ji compiled the same bani of Salok on page
146 under his name and included one extra word “hor”
saying, “Jini naam dhiyaiya gaye maskkat ghal, Nanak, te mukh
ujle hor keti chutti naal”. From page 1410 onwards in
the chapter “Waran Te Wadheek” Guru Nanak Sahib Ji’s 33
Saloks are inscribed. Out of it, Salok 27 goes like
this, “Lahore shahar zahar kahar sawa pehar”.
To explain the changed circumstances of Lahore city during his
period, without amending the original text, the 3rd
Nanak, Guru Amar Das Ji compiled Salok 28 and added to it
saying, “Lahore Shahar Amrit Sar Sifti Da Ghar”.
Apart
from other hymns, a chapter of “Salok Sheikh Farid Ke” starts
from page 1377, in which 130 Saloks are inscribed. Out of
this, the 3rd Nanak, Guru Amar Das Ji has compiled and
added his own name to Salok 13 on page 1378, Salok 52 on page
1380 and Salok 104 on page 1383. This clearly indicates that
this bani was very much with Guru Sahibs, who could write an
explanation about it. The 5th Nanak, Guru Arjan Sahib Ji
has compiled and added his name to Salok 75 on page 1381, Salok
No. 82-83 on page 1382, Salok 105, 107-110 on page 1383 and
Salok 111 on pages 1383-1384.
The
chapter of “Salok Bhagat Kabir Jio” starts from page 1364, in
which 243 Saloks of Bhagat Kabir Ji are inscribed. Out of
this, the 3rd Nanak, Guru Amar Das Ji has compiled and
added in his name to Salok 220 on page 1376. And the 5th
Nanak, Guru Arjan Sahib Ji has compiled and added his name to
Saloks 209-211 on page 1375, Salok 214 and Salok
221 on page 1376.
In the
chapter of “Aasa Bani Bhagat Dhanne Ji Ki” on page No.487,
the 5th Nanak, Guru Arjan Sahib Ji has compiled and added
in his name a complete Shabad “Gobind Gobind Gobind Sang Namdev
man leena.”
On
page 947 a chapter is titled as “Ram Kali Ki Var Mohalla 3,
of the 3rd Nanak Guru Amar Das Ji. It’s Shabad 2,
starts with the Salok of Bhagat Kabir Ji in his own name and is
followed by the verses of Guru Sahib.
Undoubtedly, Guru Sahibs revered the original text and kept it fully
intact. Every Sikh is also supposed to do the same. In every
Ardas (concluding prayer) a pardon is sought, for any
inadvertent mistake (addition, omission or wrong utterance) made
during recitation or musical rendition of a word or alphabetical
character of any word from any bani of Guru Granth Sahib.
 Nanak Singh “Nishter” is a
Hyderabad
based orator, writer and Urdu poet. He is an activist-academician
making immense contribution to the social and cultural welfare of
Sikh society. He has presented papers at national and international
seminars on Sikhism and social problems. He is director of
International Sikh Centre for Interfaith Relations. He may be
contacted at
nanaknishter@gmail.com
6 February 2008
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