TRUTH ABOVE ALL
The Japuji of GuruNanak
By
Dr. Gobinder Singh Samrao
Published by
Unistar Books Chandigarh
(MARCH 2013)
Friday, July 7, 2017
Friday, April 5, 2013
PREVIEW
NAME OF THE BOOK TRUTH ABOVE ALL: THE JAPUJI OF GURU NANAK
AUTHOR NAME DR. GOBINDER SINGH SAMRAO
PUBLISHER UNISTAR BOOKS, CHANDIGARH
YEAR OF PUBLICATION MARCH 2013
PAGES 303+xiv
BINDING HARD BOUND
ISBN # 978-93-5113-021-5
CHAPTERS
PROLOGUE vii
PREFACE x
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT xv
INTRODUCTION 1
Chapter I Formulation and Nomenclature 41
Chapter II Issues and Objectives 72
Chapter III Beliefs and Faiths 107
Chapter IV Methodology and Application 134
Chapter V Nature and Quantification 156
Chapter VI Perspectives on Reality 219
Chapter VII Overview of Knowledge 235
Chapter VIII Realm of the Truth 251
Chapter IX The Challenge 260
Chapter X Summary and Conclusions 266
Appendix 281
Bibliography 283
PREFACE
The Japuji of Guru Nanak is the opening verse of the Adi Granth.[1] As such, it occupies an important place in the Sikh scripture. The coded language and compact style of this verse make it easy to recite but difficult to understand. Though most Sikhs chant it daily in the morning, few of them claim to know its authentic meaning. The void between chanting and understanding of this small text has led to a mushroom growth of its sateekas (interpretations), teekas (commentaries) and viakhias (explanations).
A detailed bibliography of the Japuji prepared by Dr. Kirpal Singh in 1990 contains about nine hundred entries of interpretations and explanations of this verse.[2] By the time of the publication of the book in hand, their number might have gone well over one thousand.[3]We have not read all these works; not even all of them are easily available today. However, if what we could go through was a representative sample of all the published works on the subject, we inductively presume that all of them belong to the same category of literature.
As a category, these interpretative works are based on a broad assumption that Guru Nanak was one of the pioneers of the BhaktiMovement in India and that his Japuji is a religious and spiritual text.[4]Though they hold variant views about the genesis of this verse, all of them believe that its message is infinitely deep and complex.[5]All of them relate it in meaning and purpose to the salvation of man; some even liken its 38 pauris (stanzas) to as many steps of liberation of the being and its union with 'the God'.[6]All of them refer to the mysterious stages of 'the divine' existence supposedly envisioned and visualized by the Guru in some of its stanzas, and all of them regard it as the high goal of the Sikhs to realize these experiences through concentration of mind and devotion. In short, all of them entertain the belief that the Japuji is a manual of spiritual relief for man and his transcendental communion with God.
Obviously, this category of literature ignores the rational and scientific aspect of theJapuji. It covers up the scientific contents of the verse with a mystic robe of veneration. In its eagerness to assign a meaning to the text, this category of literature even overlooks the rational context of its message and the personal profile of its author. It evaluates the verse in a theoretical framework, which the Guru had himself rejected and preached against throughout his life. This category of literature indulges in make-believe interpretation of the text, and justifies the bias through subjective turns and twists with the doctrine of dual meaning.[7]Because of the arbitrary approach of this literature, the genuine meaning of the verse remains unexplored and tightly wrapped, deep inside the body of its text. What goes around in the name of a ‘genuine" sateek of the Japuji, therefore, is only an adapted version of the original text drastically moderated by some high-profile Sikh saint or a politician-turned Sikh priest or else, a solace-seeking 'Sikh scholar'.
The work in hand does not share the assumptions and beliefs of this class of interpretations of the Japuji. Brushing aside its subjective bias and methodological flaws, it makes a rational approach to narrow down on the original message of the Master contained in this unique composition.
This work is guided by the principle that a direct interpretation of a written text is often far closer to reality than a moderation of the moderated one. It is based on the assumption that the Guru's written word speaks much more authentically for him and his thought than the explanatory notes of all the Sikh saints and scholars put together. It tries to match the text with the intellectual stature of its author and ensure that any interpretation of the Guru's word must conform to his overall personal image and profile. It proceeds from the premise that in a muddled situation like this, the text and the lexicon are the most reliable tools needed to penetrate the mist of opinion around the fact. It seeks to deploy these tools constructively and responsibly to unravel the secrets of the Japuji,which apparently contains conceptual propositions of universal import. Needless to add, this work acknowledges the indispensability of an objective and rational approach, and of the knowledge of the overall historical milieu, for handling a difficult task of research like this.
In brief, the work in hand is an analytic study of the Japuji of Guru Nanak undertaken with a view to discovering its meaning according to its author’s own intent. It gets inspiration from the daily exhortations of the Sikh prayer to search for the Gurus' message in their own shabad(written word). Confining strictly to the domain of objectivity, it applies the proven techniques of scientific method for decoding and interpreting this poetic text. It makes a realistic attempt to trace the possible correlations between the wisdom contained in this classic and the vision of the modern science, which has contributed to the enhancement of human knowledge since the medieval times. It is neither an opinion nor a religious discourse but a positive endeavor to read the mind of the Guru through his own creation.
This study has discovered that the Japuji is, in essence, a concrete expression of Guru Nanak’s urge for knowing the ultimate reality, from which the variegated phenomena of the universe sprouts. Rejecting the contemporary approaches to knowledge in this respect, this composition gives a clarion call to the community of researchers for an ab initio inquiry into the nature of the ultimate creative cause and its laws. This quest begins with the codified message in the moolmantra and vibrates throughout the body of its text, like a pulsating wave that inspires imagination and intellect. The verse bears fantastic rational features in form and content and is a unique blend of style, satire and science. Although many people use it as a gospel of worship for spiritual gains, yet its real message appears to be carried out, and carried forward, by the scientists working in laboratories and observatories all around the globe.
The work in hand is inspired by the theme that the Japuji of Guru Nanak is amenable to numerous interpretations. Being an article of faith for millions of his followers, it has been interpreted in various ways over the centuries by myriad of Sikh scholars and devotees, affirming the rationale of their beliefs. Although not all these interpretations may be entirely precise and accurate, yet each one of them highlights some particular aspect of it. This work respects the opinions of these interpreters as their efforts to understand and explain the meaning of this verse from their perspectives. Without prejudice to the stand of the existing interpretations of this classic, the work in hand tries to explore the meaning of this verse from a rational angle which somehow appears to have escaped scholarly attention so far. It intends neither to dispute nor to undermine any of the earlier interpretations of the verse but to add one more ray to the colorful beam of its radiance. Reference to the views of the other scholars in it is therefore, intended only for the purpose of comparison, clarification, correlation and affirmation of the conclusions of this study.
Being the first attempt of this type, this work, like others, is also far from being perfect. It only puts a modest claim to originality for outlining an objective and realistic path to the study of our scriptures. Using objective tools of research, it tries to rediscover the rational and intellectual heritage of the Japuji, which the unmatched genius of Guru Nanak confided in its 'word'. Comments, corrections and suggestions are solicited to explore and enrich this perspective further.
Gobinder Singh Samrao
Patiala: March 13, 2013(GOBINDER SINGH SAMRAO) [1] See, Adi Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, (Amritsar: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, 1994), p. 1.
[2] “The Bibliography contains 762 entries pertaining to Japuji, and with the entries in the supplement the total number comes to 862.” Kirpal Singh, Guru Nanak’s Japuji: A Descriptive Bibliography, (Patiala: Punjabi University, 1990), p.2.
[3] Perhaps, much more than that, if we accept the estimate that it was just above a hundred in 1971. See, Satibir Singh, Japuji te Usde Pakkh, (Jalandhar: New Book Company, 1971), Preface.
[4] The representative view-point of this category is summed up by one of the works which mentions, ‘The definition of God, His creation, the society and person that can attain to Him, have been completed inJapu through 38 pauris or stairs.’ See, Gurbhagat Singh, Guru Nanak Dev’s Japuji: Meditation for the Futuristic World, (Delhi: Ambe Books, 1999), Pp. 17-18.
[6] “Jap is the stairs by which one rises up to God!” See, Satibir Singh, op. cit., p.1.
[7] According to the doctrine of dual meaning, it is believed that a scriptural text can be interpreted in both a realistic and in a mystical sense, and that, the later alone gives the appropriate meaning of such a text.
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PROLOGUE
ਨਿਰਭਉ
Nirbhao
Undeterred, (not conforming to alien law).
The truth has full existential and functional autonomy.
The truth or the ultimate
creative cause of the apparent reality wields its own supreme law, which is not
subordinate to any other authority. If it were subservient to any other regime,
then it would not be the ultimate reality. In that case, the authority
subordinating it would be the ultimate reality and that would don all the
attributes ascribed to it. Thus, it comes at the end of the abstraction, after surpassing
all the subordinate levels of competence.
This attribute is significant
and this hypothesis is challenging. No one has ever been able to establish
superiority over the supreme laws of the ultimate reality. No one ever has been
able to violate or bypass the principles of the truth as they transpire in the
manifest reality. Those who tried to overcome the hurdles created by its rules
could do so only by understanding and obeying them, and by deploying some
other rules of the absolute reality against them.
Thus, if heavier bodies sink in
water, the Archimedes’ principle tells how to make them float on the surface.
If the gravitational pull of the Earth prevents gliding in the air, Bernoulli’s
principle shows the way to fly in the skies. Where there is no escape from the
freezing chill of the snowy lands, the law of conduction of heat guides that
snow cave is the best resorts to guard against the chill. If escape to the
space is not possible for want of an airy medium beyond the atmosphere,
Newton’s third law of motion opens up possibilities of space travel to the
other planets. In every case, one law of the ultimate reality has to be
counteracted by some other law of it to overcome the impact of its operation.
Mere violation of its laws or their substitution by alien principles is an
absolute impossibility.
It shows that the ultimate is
supreme in a complex manner. While its supremacy is pliable to a limited extent
in some principled ways, it is not refutable. Modern science is trying to
understand this complexity to find alternate paths of operation or paths of
least resistance for human action. It has discovered numerous principles to
circumvent the all-pervasive laws of the ultimate reality and it has invented
various devices based on them. Modern technology is in an endless run to enlist
more achievements in this respect.
Thus, the humanity is, in a
sense, helpless under the operation of the supreme law of the ultimate reality.
It lives within it and in accordance with it. If it wishes to prevent an
earthquake, it cannot do that. If it wants to cause rainfall in the deserts, it
cannot do that. If it wants to increase the human life span to 1000 years, it
cannot do that. If it wants to make colonies on the seabed and wishes to live
under water like the fish, it cannot do that. If it wants to fly in the air and
live in nests on the treetops like birds, it cannot do that. But, these
impossibilities are relative. Science has indeed enabled people to go to the
seabed, fly in the air, travel in the space and increase the span of life by
some years. Humanity is in a constant struggle trying to discover new laws with
a view to achieving more success in these and other areas. Though the ultimate
reality is aggressive against the breach of its lawful volitions, yet it is
permissive on their compliance as it allows their manipulation through a set of
lesser-known laws, which have to be discovered from time to time.
This attribute makes the
operation of the law of the truth supreme and objective. The supreme law is
supreme for it does not bend according to the whims of the violators. Its
treatment is equal for all and it does not excuse anybody by way of ‘grace’ or
pardon. The prayers do not make it flexible and offerings of any sort do not
earn exemptions from the consequences of its breach. The law does not recognize
moral and social questions as it is amoral, and the ethico-moral issues are the
product of the social system, which are recognized solely within it. Had it not
been amoral, none of the honest would ever drown in the river and none of the
pilgrims would ever die in road accident on way to religious shrine. Also, none
of the devotees would ever perish in congregational stampede[1] and none of the holy
men would ever suffer pain and adversity.
[1]Incidentally, there is no classified
data on how many devotees of various religions die in accidents. However,
incidents like the ones noted below are frequently reported in newspapers. “Eleven pilgrims were killed and 32 injured
when the truck (RJ 13 G-2001) they were traveling in, which was bound for Lehra
Dhurkot in Bathinda district from here, met with an accident reportedly due to
the failure of brakes near Lal Dhang on the Himachal-Haryana border today.” The Tribune, November 16, 2002 ; “All 302 members of
the Iran Pakistan February 20, 2003 ; “Acting Chief of
Damdami Taksal, was rushed to a private hospital in a critical condition after
a road accident here yesterday.” The
Tribune, April 5, 2003 ;
“Prof Darshan Kumar of Government
College Beas rammed into a truck (HP-23-1993)
parked on the Hoshiarpur-Jalandhar road at Mandiala yesterday.” The
Tribune, June 2. 2003; “Two scooter-borne persons were killed when their
vehicle was hit by a truck near Badbar village, 18 km from here, on the
Sangrur-Barnala road today. These men were
ragis who were going to Bahadurpur village near Mastuana Sahib to take part
in a religious function. Both were named Makhan Singh.” The Tribune, July
16, 2003 , and “Four young men were run over and killed by bus” near
Mahilpur in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab
while they returning on motorcycles from a holy trip of Hemkunt Sahib. See, The Tribune,
July 14, 2007 .
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