Guru Granth Sahib- An Analytical Study

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Guru Granth Sahib is the latest sacred book of Asia. It was compiled by Guru Arjan the fifth Sikh Guru in 1604 It contains the compositions of not only the Sikh Gurus, but also of some promi- nent Indian Saints including Jaideva of Bengal (of 12th Cen- tury). Farid Shakarganj of West Punjab (of 12th-13th Century). These compositions mandest synthesis of Indian Thought an exposition of the ideal life of an individual and society and a consummation of Indian culture. The path of life enunciated by the Sikh Gurus and the Saints in Guru Granth Sahib is universal in character and common for all humanity.

This work is a comprehensive and scientific study of Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Scripture. Its first four chapters deal with language, metre, Ragas and Imagery of Guru Granth Sahib; the next two chapters describe the social and religious conditions depicted in Guru Granth Sahib; and the last three chapters give the fundamental of all Indian religions with special reference to the religion expounded by the Sikh Gurus in Guru Granth Sahib.

Dr. Surindar Singh Kohli, was professor and head of the depart- ment of Punjabi, Panjab University. Chandigarh. He has not only made a significant contribution in the field of comparative litera- ture, but has also done a distinct service in the realm of compara- tive religion in general and Sikh studies in particular, through his works including The Sikh Philosophy, The Yoga of the Sikhs, Outlines of Sikh Thought, Philosophy of Guru Nanak, Travels of Guru Nanak, Sikh Ethics and The Sword and the Spirit. He is an authority on Sikh scriptures and has made their thorough and critical study in a dispassionate and scholarly manner. His works are marked by clarity, brevity and profound scholarship.

"A Critical Study of Adi Granth" was the subject chosen by Professor Surindar Singh Kohli for his research thesis, on which he has been awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by the University of Delhi. I have been associated with this study as the official supervisor of Professor Kohli and the work was carried under general guidance. I am, therefore, glad that it is now being made available to a wider circle of readers to all those interested in the comparative study of religion and Sikhism.

The Adi Granth is the authoritative scripture of the Sikhs. It was compiled and edited by the fifth Divine Teacher, Guru Arjan. It is a lengthy volume of 1430 large-size printed pages in Gurmukhi script, containing songs-Bani (words)--not only of the Sikh Gurus but also of 36 Hindu and Muslim saints and bards, who wrote between the twelfth and seventeenth centu- ries. The language of the Adi Granth is described as Sant- Bhasa-which was used by medieval Indian saints throughout the country-although varying from region to region, being influenced by the regional language or the dialect. Thus we find in Adi Granth songs in various Indian languages. Besides Punjabi in its main forms, Eastern, Lehndi and Dakhni and Hindi-Eastern and Western, the Adi Granth contains some songs also in Marathi, Persian, and a mixture of Sanskrit, Prakrit and Apabhramsa called Sahaskriti.

The study made by Dr. Koh liis not only critical but also thorough, comparative and scholarly, as an approved Univer- sity dissertation should be.

**Contents and Sample Pages**