Guru Granth Sahib and Its Context

‘Guru Granth Sahib and Its Context’ as suggestive of its name, tells us about the Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Granth Sahib is a distinctive book which affirms to the belief of inter-faith communication and provides a model of the same. This book teaches us respect for all religions for the benefit of entire mankind.

‘Guru Granth Sahib and its context’ is published at Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan and translated in English by J.S Neki, which was one of the topics in the paper of the seminar, held to commemorate the quadricentenary of the compilation of the Sikh holy book, ‘The Guru Granth Sahib’. The compilation of this holy genius of the Sikh community and its installation at Harmandar Sahib, Amritsar in 1604 was celebrated by organizing seminars in five cities of India.

Guru Granth Sahib and its context explain the holy book ‘Guru Granth Sahib’ as a doctrine of ‘Nam’ and ‘Prem’. There are explanations of the content of Guru Granth Sahib and the categories included. There is a mention of the first version of the book known as ‘Adi Granth’ meaning the ‘The First Book’, compiled by the fifth Guru, Arjan Dev, scribed by Bhai Gurdas and the final version drafted by the ninth Guru, Gobind Singh in 1708 and the name given to the book as Guru Granth Sahib. This ‘Granth’ (Book) comprises of works of Hindu Bhaktasagar and the Muslim Dervishe, thereby known as a pluralist scripture without which no Gurudwaras (places of worship for Sikhs) are complete to its truest self and will be regarded a mere concrete building. The Guru Granth Sahib proclaims that it represents full five centuries of spiritual wisdom - from Jaidev to Guru Tegh Bahadur.

The following lines describe Guru Granth Sahib as a pious book that will help realize the ultimate ‘Providence’.

“Hold Guru Granth Sahib in great reverence

As the living embodiment of the Gurus.

Anyone who is desirous of meeting the Lord, God,

Should be able to discover Him through its holy Word!”

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http://www.sikhbookclub.com/Book/Guru-Granth-Sahib-And-Its-Context
 

Guru Nanak Chamatkar Volume 1

By Bhai Vir Singh

 

 ‘Guru Nanak Chamatkar', is the magical divine glory of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, his teachings and the magical exuberance that he created with several anecdotes of true life stories of people getting inspired by his teachings and the lessons taught. It is first volume or part of the book named ‘Guru Nanak Chamatkar’. In the first chapter readers are made aware of the ‘Miracles of Higher Spheres’ i.e. the Lord and his miracle and how he commanded Guru Nanak Devji to set out for a journey to the earth to end the sufferings of people. The Guru came to this earth to enlightened the troubled souls full of mistaken beliefs, many types of vices, hatred, superstitions and useless rituals. Therefore the Lord said- “0 Nanak, You are immersed in my love. I command thee to bless the people. Guru Nanak Dev believed religiousness is important to control minds which is otherwise engulfed in useless thought and other manipulations.

Guru Nanak Dev was the first Guru of the Sikh religious body considered the savior who reformed minds and filled their eyes with spiritual nectar through constantly imbibing in minds the loving and godly recitation of the name of the lord. Guru Nanak Dev he is compared to a tree with its branches and that grow separated to the roots but still is very much connected. Similarly, the Guru, always immersed in the love of the Lord, out of  benevolence, like the branch of a tree separate but connected, left to bear the hardships of the world. The eyes full of this nector see what lies inwards, the beauty of the Lord and the ultimate revival of the common man from the vices of the world. You rise above time and space hardly identifying any of it but only the recitation of the Lord within your senses. 

The Guru’s childhood is depicted and the magical appearance of the Lord in the form of the Guru was very much prevalent. He was declared a prophet by the priest you used to visit Guru Nanak Dev right from the day of birth. The priest knew this child was different, his forehead is radiant and miracles (Chamatkar) happened through him to enlighten the world and spread the message of love, brotherhood and the involvement of everything that is godly and religious in this world. This and more related to Guru Nanak Dev’s life continue to fill minds with knowledge of Guru’s words and his encouragement to recite God’s name for at least five minutes a day.

In a nutshell, though difficult to just stay in such a small space of a nutshell, the Guru’s teachings enlighten minds and fill it with Lord’s prayers. He states- “Our mind can arise only if we love God, loving him is remembering him, and to remember is reciting his name as O Lord O lord O lord or WaheGuru, Waheguru, WaheGuru WaheGuru.”

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A History of the Sikhs-Volume 1

by Khushwant Singh

A comprehensive and authoritative work of one of our renowned writers Khushwant Singh can easily be interpreted by both scholarly and less scholarly people.  Based on Khushwant Singh’s stupendous archival research, the book covers this studious analysis in archives. Singh thoroughly covers the genesis and development of Sikhism and the Sikh community, up to and beyond ''Operation Blue Star'' when the Indian army entered the Golden Temple in 1984. The book covers the social, religious, and political situation influencing the formation of the Sikh faith in the fifteenth century.

Mr. Singh took his most valuable references based on the study of original documents in Gurmukhi, Persian, and English. The aftermath of “Operation Blue Star” to siege the pious and serene premise of the Golden temple was a spark to many grown aggression, The blame on the Union government for breach of trust and the Sikh struggle for the survival as a separate community led to the emergence of many voices who even demanded a separate country with the proposed name as Khalistan. This book is an anthology of events that best described the history of the Sikhs right from the day of inception to the present scenario. It took a period of ten years for the government and the Army to win back the confidence of the Sikh community. This book will take readers further into the journey of reintegration of the Sikhs as mainstream nationals. Download and read this story marking the resurgence of the Sikhs.

Download a free copy of this e-book at 

http://www.sikhbookclub.com/Book/A-History-of-the-Sikhs-Second-Edition-Volume-2

A History of the Sikhs-Volume 1

by Khushwant Singh

A comprehensive and authoritative work of one of our renowned writers Khushwant Singh can easily be interpreted by both scholarly and less scholarly people.  Based on Khushwant Singh’s stupendous archival research, the book covers this studious analysis in archives. Singh thoroughly covers the genesis and development of Sikhism and the Sikh community, up to and beyond ''Operation Blue Star'' when the Indian army entered the Golden Temple in 1984. The book covers the social, religious, and political situation influencing the formation of the Sikh faith in the fifteenth century.

Mr. Singh took his most valuable references based on the study of original documents in Gurmukhi, Persian, and English. The aftermath of “Operation Blue Star” to siege the pious and serene premise of the Golden temple was a spark to many grown aggressions, The blame on the Union government for breach of trust and the Sikh struggle for the survival as a separate community led to the emergence of many voices who even demanded a separate country with the proposed name as Khalistan. This book is an anthology of events that best described the history of the Sikhs right from the day of inception to the present scenario. It took a period of ten years for the government and the Army to win back the confidence of the Sikh community. This book will take readers further into the journey of reintegration of the Sikhs as mainstream nationals. Download and read this story marking the resurgence of the Sikhs.

Download a free copy of this e-book at http://www.sikhbookclub.com/Book/A-History-of-the-Sikhs-Second-Edition-Volume-1

Five Vices & Four Eras By Giani Sant Singh Maskeen

This book explains about the Five Vices and the Four Eras that make the readers aware of the advantages to go through this literary piece. The five vices are Sex, Anger, Greed, Attachment and Ego. These vices are home to many human beings who may be of any religion or caste. One in need of ultimate ecstasy can take refuge through the verses given in the book. Similarly there are explanations in verse form to better explain the Four eras namely Golden Age (Sat Yug), Silver Age (Treta Yug), Brazen Age (Dwaper Yug) and Dark Age (Kal Yug). The transformation from one age to the other largely depended on the changes in human nature of how they deal with situations and not on the change in the position of sun as it was thought to be. The sun, moon therefore remain the same. 

This book has six topics including the four eras explained in details. The five vices are considered as evil for mankind and with the change of ages and the obstacles created in every age it becomes extremely difficult to concentrate and meditate. The religious aim as a result is not fulfilled. Giani Maskeen further made it clear that he wrote this book in order to transform these four evil vices and the eras with the intelligence he gained by reading Gurbani. Jaswant Singh, the translator of the book was lucky enough to listen Bhai Maskeen‘s discourses. “I had the opportunity to listen to his discourses at the annual Samagams at Alwar and also in the T. V. However I never thought that he will be called so soon by the Almighty. After his departure I came to realize his greatness in the Sikh world in particular and the world in general. In this connection his couplet given below is relevant:-

"Chiraage raah bana-ay gay ek din nakshay kadam mairay.

Abhi toe main gumrah maloom hota hun. "

Interpretation to this verse would go like this:-

“There will be light to show me the way but for now it seems I am ignorant.”

Download E-book at http://www.sikhbookclub.com/Book/Five-Vices-and-Four-Eras
 

Amardeep Punjabi Path Mala 1

Amardeep Punjabi Path Mala Part 1  is the best picture book that takes advantage of the way children learn Poetry and story . This book was written by Dr Gurdyal Singh Phul who was a children's book writer. The Book starts with the poem titled as ‘Soorj’ in Punjabi which means the sun. In this poem the writer narrates the importance of the sun in the form of verses and give exercises based on the poetry like fill the blanks etc.  The second story is about the festival “Rakhri” Rakhsha Bandhan which is a festival of brothers and their sisters and the emotional bonding they share. Sisters tie band on their brother’s wrist with a promise from the brother to protect her in every way. 

”Ka Te Koil” is the next story explained, giving a lesson to kids reading it. It is about a Crow and Cuckoo.  The crow puts a question to the Cuckoo . We are same in color (Black) but people like you why not me? Then Cuckoo replied we are not same, you are not melodious but I have a sweet voice and people like birds that chirp sweet. The next  story is about ‘Harmandir Sahib’ the holy temple of the Sikhs also known as The Golden Temple, situated in Amritsar. There are four doors to get into the Harmandir Sahib, which symbolizes the openness of the Sikhs towards all people and religions. The Gurdwara is surrounded by a large lake or holy tank, known as the Sarovar, which consists of Amrit.

The Red Turnip (Lal Salgam) is another story introduced for the young learning buds in the Punjabi Paath Mala Part1. This story is about fast friendship in the forest between a Rabbit, Calf and goat. When snow covers the forest and there is scarcity of food the rabbit  gets two turnips and shares with his friends to satisfy their hunger along with him. The book compiles within it a patriotic poem known as  “Desh”(country) where the poet praises the country and its natural beauty like water, wind, forest, flowers, river etc. Children can also learn word meanings and many more in different sections of the Punjabi Paath Mala Part 1