Jump to content

The 3 granths in Sikhism & the debate surrounding Sarbloh Granth & Dasam Granth


Premi5
 Share

Recommended Posts

https://theprint.in/theprint-essential/the-3-granths-in-sikhism-the-debate-surrounding-sarbloh-granth-dasam-granth/754060/

The 3 granths in Sikhism & the debate surrounding Sarbloh Granth & Dasam Granth

The Nihangs, apart from venerating the Guru Granth Sahib, also hold in reverence the Sarbloh Granth and Dasam Granth. ThePrint explains the distinction between the three granths.

CHITLEEN K SETHI 21 October, 2021 11:37 am IST
Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in Delhi. | Nicolás Pérez/Wikimedia Commons Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in Delhi. | Nicolás Pérez/Wikimedia Commons | Representational image
Text Size: A- A+
 

Chandigarh: The brutal killing of 35-year-old Lakhbir Singh at the Singhu border last week by a group of Nihangs as “punishment ” for allegedly trying to desecrate their holy book —the Sarbloh Granth — has triggered a fresh debate around Sikh scriptures and literature.

The Sarbloh Granth is distinct from the Guru Granth Sahib, which is considered to be a living guru of the Sikhs.

However, the Nihangs, apart from venerating the Guru Granth Sahib, also hold in reverence the Sarbloh Granth and Dasam Granth.

ThePrint explains the distinction between the three granths and the controversy surrounding the Dasam Granth and Sarbloh Granth.

The three granths

While it is said that the Dasam Granth, another holy text of the Sikhs, is a compilation of various writings attributed to the tenth Guru —Guru Gobind Singh — the claims have been disputed. However, some of its contents like the Jaap Sahib are part of the daily prayers of the Sikhs — the Nitnem.In 2010, two groups of Sikhs clashed over the authenticity of the Dasam Granth at a gurdwara in Canada.

Last year, a protest was staged at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in New Delhi over a discourse from the Dasam Granth.

The Sarbloh Granth, meanwhile, contains the famous Khalsa Mahima or the praise of the Khalsa, a composition attributed to the tenth Guru.

The Sarbloh Granth was first published in the mid-19th century by Baba Santa Singh — jathedar of the Budha Dal Nihang order — and has been their revered text ever since.

While in traditional Sikh gurdwaras only the Guru Granth Sahib is placed, the Nihang Sikhs place all the three granths in their gurdwaras.

Explaining the significance of the Sarbloh Granth, Dr Jaswant Singh, assistant professor at University College, Dhilwan, said the Sarbloh Granth was discovered in a period later than the Gurus but it is composed in almost the same style as the Dasam Granth. “It’s a narration, a story of a battle between the good and evil forces which ends with the manifestation of the Sarbloh avatar.”

“Though its contents reflect the puranic tradition, yet it is a transformed version. Its most significant content is the Khalsa Mahima or the praise of the Khalsa attributed to Guru Gobind Singh. The oft-heard and quoted ‘Khalsa mero roop hai khaas…khalsa mein hi ho karo nivaas,’ is from the Sarbloh Granth,” added Dr Jaswant.

Dr Jaswant also said that apart from the Nihang gurdwaras where the Dasam Granth and Sarbloh Granth are placed along with the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sarbloh Granth is also placed in the Mai Bhago Gurdwara at Nanded Sahib (in Maharashtra).

Talking toThe Print, Sikh scholar Dr Dharam Singh, who was also the editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Sikhism, said the Guru Granth Sahib is the compilation of the ‘word’ of the Sikh Gurus. “Guru Gobind Singh ordained that the Guru Granth Sahib be considered a living guru by the Sikhs. In all Sikh gurdwaras the Guru Granth Sahib is placed with great respect, bowed and prayed to,” he said.

“The Guru Granth Sahib is a revelatory scripture while the Dasam Granth and the Sarbloh Granth are part of Sikh literature. As the name suggests, the Dasam Granth is attributed to the tenth Guru but there is a huge debate over it. Some scholars agree that some portions might have been authored by the tenth Guru but others reject the claim completely. Some parts of the Dasam Granth are included in the Nitnem (Sikh daily prayers) like the Jaap Sahib and Sewaiye,” added Dr Dharam Singh.

“The Dasam Granth also includes the Bachhiter Natak, Chandi di Vaar which have resonance with Puranic literature. The only gurdwara where the Dasam Granth is placed like the Guru Granth Sahib is at Nanded Sahib,” said Dr Dharam Singh.


Also read: Who are Nihang Sikhs? Sect accused of Sikh man’s ‘sacrilege’ lynching at Singhu


‘Sarbloh pothi is not sacred text’

Even as the debate over the Sikh holy scriptures continues, in a sermon delivered Monday, Sikh preacher Ranjeet Singh Dhadrianwale said Lakhbir was killed for no reason at all. “What is the proof that he committed a desecration? They killed him saying that he intended to desecrate their Sarbloh Granth. The Sarbloh Granth pothi is not a sacred granth,” said Dhadhriwale.

Dhadrianwale, who was at the forefront of 2015 protests against the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib in Bargaari, further said: “When we utter the words Guru Granth Sahib our heartbeats increase. We have so much respect. He is our real Guru whom we adore and worship. But in this case the desecration which was attempted was of a pothi (book) of the Sarbloh Granth which half the Sikhs don’t even consider (as sacred). Before getting agitated over someone harming your father, you should know clearly that your father is the Guru Granth Sahib and not the Sarbloh Granth.”

His remarks came after the Nihangs justified the killing, saying that just as the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sarbloh Granth was like their “father” and if anyone tries to harm their father “it is their duty to defend him”.


Also read: Punjab govt sets up SIT to probe if Lakhbir Singh was ‘lured’ to Singhu border 


What Nihangs claimed

Nihang leaders, meanwhile, claimed that Lakhbir had come to their “dera” some days ago and allegedly entered the bus where the granths were placed and removed the cloth in which the Sarbloh Granth was wrapped.

The Nihangs camping at the Singhu border had housed the three granths in a bus near their living area.

“He ran away with the Sarbloh Granth and we caught him with it. There were boxes of matchsticks lying there and we suspect that he had come to do something big,” said Nihang leader Baba Raja Raj Singh during a press conference at the Singhu border Sunday.


Also read: ‘Devil & deep blue sea’: Why Punjab’s politicians are silent on Singhu Dalit lynching


 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the way they quote Dhadriwale shows just what a stooge he is and how desperate the Godimedia is to destroy trust in sikhs . main mission of the culprits has always been to destroy the confidence and peace of mind of the sikhs by attacking their isht/ their Guru; Nihangs have reminded panth that we will not tolerate such things and most sikhs agree that they do the right thing , the only complainers are fake -sikhs/comrades/missionaries/ hindus with agenda; heck even Muslims agree with nihangs as do some sane brahmins

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • advertisement_alt
  • advertisement_alt
  • advertisement_alt


  • Topics

  • Posts

    • yeh it's true, we shouldn't be lazy and need to learn jhatka shikaar. It doesn't help some of grew up in surrounding areas like Slough and Southall where everyone thought it was super bad for amrit dharis to eat meat, and they were following Sant babas and jathas, and instead the Singhs should have been normalising jhatka just like the recent world war soldiers did. We are trying to rectifiy this and khalsa should learn jhatka.  But I am just writing about bhog for those that are still learning rehit. As I explained, there are all these negative influences in the panth that talk against rehit, but this shouldn't deter us from taking khanda pahul, no matter what level of rehit we are!
    • How is it going to help? The link is of a Sikh hunter. Fine, but what good does that do the lazy Sikh who ate khulla maas in a restaurant? By the way, for the OP, yes, it's against rehit to eat khulla maas.
    • Yeah, Sikhs should do bhog of food they eat. But the point of bhog is to only do bhog of food which is fit to be presented to Maharaj. It's not maryada to do bhog of khulla maas and pretend it's OK to eat. It's not. Come on, bro, you should know better than to bring this Sakhi into it. Is this Sikh in the restaurant accompanied by Guru Gobind Singh ji? Is he fighting a dharam yudh? Or is he merely filling his belly with the nearest restaurant?  Please don't make a mockery of our puratan Singhs' sacrifices by comparing them to lazy Sikhs who eat khulla maas.
    • Seriously?? The Dhadi is trying to be cute. For those who didn't get it, he said: "Some say Maharaj killed bakras (goats). Some say he cut the heads of the Panj Piyaras. The truth is that they weren't goats. It was she-goats (ਬਕਰੀਆਂ). He jhatka'd she-goats. Not he-goats." Wow. This is possibly the stupidest thing I've ever heard in relation to Sikhi.
    • Instead of a 9 inch or larger kirpan, take a smaller kirpan and put it (without gatra) inside your smaller turban and tie the turban tightly. This keeps a kirpan on your person without interfering with the massage or alarming the masseuse. I'm not talking about a trinket but rather an actual small kirpan that fits in a sheath (you'll have to search to find one). As for ahem, "problems", you could get a male masseuse. I don't know where you are, but in most places there are professional masseuses who actually know what they are doing and can really relieve your muscle pains.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use