Your Holy Book

[Guest]

Hi

I am interested in how your Holy Book was written. Also that it is all meant to be chanted and sung i think? 

In contrast the Bible was written by many writers all inspired by the Holy Spirit whom we believe helps us to understand it once our minds and hearts belong to Christ. Jesus himself never wrote a word. Though the Bible is not sung, the Psalms especially have been used to make hymns. For me a huge part of worship is hymns, which i use also as prayers. When i read my Bible, i feel the power and holiness of God moving my soul and feeding me. Just as i am sure you do. 

We all know God's Word is power and light. But i spend time looking at the origins of how the Bible was written. It interests me very much how your Holy Scriptures were put together. 

I love the way you revere your Guru Granth Sahib. That it is your 11th Guru. We treat our Bible quite casually! I've got several copies in the house, small one in my handbag and two on Kindle. To us it is the Words that matter not the medium in which they are contained. I bet you think that is awful? 

So please tell me about your scriptures and how you study them. Can you each have your own copy at home?  

 

[Amit12]

17 hours ago, Christiangirl52 said:

Hi

I am interested in how your Holy Book was written. Also that it is all meant to be chanted and sung i think? 

In contrast the Bible was written by many writers all inspired by the Holy Spirit whom we believe helps us to understand it once our minds and hearts belong to Christ. Jesus himself never wrote a word. Though the Bible is not sung, the Psalms especially have been used to make hymns. For me a huge part of worship is hymns, which i use also as prayers. When i read my Bible, i feel the power and holiness of God moving my soul and feeding me. Just as i am sure you do. 

We all know God's Word is power and light. But i spend time looking at the origins of how the Bible was written. It interests me very much how your Holy Scriptures were put together. 

I love the way you revere your Guru Granth Sahib. That it is your 11th Guru. We treat our Bible quite casually! I've got several copies in the house, small one in my handbag and two on Kindle. To us it is the Words that matter not the medium in which they are contained. I bet you think that is awful? 

So please tell me about your scriptures and how you study them. Can you each have your own copy at home?  

 

Yeh we do have holy scripture at home, most of the young 'uns have the mobile app version, 

And before singing, our scripture is meant to be understood, contemplated, and practiced in life and then yes as it is written in musical Raags. It is evident that it is also meant to be sung.

 

[Dsinghd]

Guru Granth Sahib is 1430 pages long.

It has 5894 hymns written by 6 Gurus, 15 Saints, 3 Sikhs and 11 poets.

The scripture was first compiled by the 5th Guru in 1604.

It was declared as a Guru by 10th Guru in 1708.

[Wicked Warrior]

I do not think it is awful that you treat the Bible that way. But imagine how Christians would treat it if it had been written entirely by Jesus and he told his followers to treat it as though it were him. 

Not quite an accurate analogy since lots of stuff happened around the time of the crucifixion and onwards which Jesus would not have been able to write. 

[Big_Tera]

On 3/23/2019 at 7:36 AM, Christiangirl52 said:

Hi

I am interested in how your Holy Book was written. Also that it is all meant to be chanted and sung i think? 

In contrast the Bible was written by many writers all inspired by the Holy Spirit whom we believe helps us to understand it once our minds and hearts belong to Christ. Jesus himself never wrote a word. Though the Bible is not sung, the Psalms especially have been used to make hymns. For me a huge part of worship is hymns, which i use also as prayers. When i read my Bible, i feel the power and holiness of God moving my soul and feeding me. Just as i am sure you do. 

We all know God's Word is power and light. But i spend time looking at the origins of how the Bible was written. It interests me very much how your Holy Scriptures were put together. 

I love the way you revere your Guru Granth Sahib. That it is your 11th Guru. We treat our Bible quite casually! I've got several copies in the house, small one in my handbag and two on Kindle. To us it is the Words that matter not the medium in which they are contained. I bet you think that is awful? 

So please tell me about your scriptures and how you study them. Can you each have your own copy at home?  

 

Just a few basics. We dont have a holy book. We have a living Guru which we call the SGGS.

[Guest]

Sorry. I would like to understand. 

So what happens to the average Sikh who wishes to study The Word in private? Can they have a copy at home? Forgive my confusion. All i know is that the Bible is to me the word of God snd i need, crave, access to it. So i have a small one of new testament always in my handbag, a bible beside my bed, several copies in the house and i give a copy to anyone who is interested. I have 2 versions on my Kindle of course.

Of course our bible is not God but is his word to us. A lifetime is not enough to read and digest it's contents. I read it in every spare moment, in waiting rooms or on holiday or as i eat lunch! That must sound awful to you! But my motive is pure, to know and underpin my faith with knowledge.   It is our guide and inspiration to live life. Yet we do not revere it as you do. 

So you have due ceremonies for when the reading takes place? 

[RajKaregaKhalsa1]

14 minutes ago, Christiangirl52 said:

So what happens to the average Sikh who wishes to study The Word in private? Can they have a copy at home? Forgive my confusion. All i know is that the Bible is to me the word of God snd i need, crave, access to it. So i have a small one of new testament always in my handbag, a bible beside my bed, several copies in the house and i give a copy to anyone who is interested. 

ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕਾ ਖਾਲਸਾ ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕੀ ਫ਼ਤਹਿ

Hello Sister,

If a Sikh wants to study Guru Granth Sahib ji we listen to Katha (explanations of it/sermons) in the Gurdwara or even on YouTube or the internet. If someone wants to study in private there are certain conditions to follow. For example Guru Granth Sahib ji must be seated in a Palki Sahib and a bed etc. I'll post a picture to show you how Sikhs must take of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji Maharaaj, the Sikh Akaal Takhat Regards Maryada (code of conduct) tells you what's needed. There are also books by scholars like Bhai Veer Singh ji, Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh ji which have deep explanations of Gurbani and history.

And we're not allowed to highlight any of it etc. (I've seen some Christians do that with their bible). We must take the utmost care with Guru Sahib. Even on our smartphones. So when in the Hazoori (presence) of Guru Sahib we have to cover our heads too. If we can't keep the whole scripture at home we keep small sections of it with the daily prayers and other prayers that are really common and they are called Pothi/Gutka Sahib's. We also cover Pothi Sahib's with cloths.

There's much much more that others can tell you about.

ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕਾ ਖਾਲਸਾ ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕੀ ਫ਼ਤਹਿ

[Guest]

Fascinating. Great reverence and respect. It's quite a jump for someone outside the religion to understand the reasons why. So different from us - me with a bible in my shopping bag! Yet as soon as i read the powerful words of our scriptures, i feel in connection with God. Though we approach so differently there is a lot of common ground. In my humble opinion. The love of God is pure.