The Guru Granth Sahib is a collation of many hymns, poems, shabads and other writings from many different scholars, including the Gurus and Hindu and Muslim writers. Every Guru Granth Sahib has 1,430 pages, and every copy is identical. The Guru Granth Sahib is not just the holy scripture of Sikhism. It is also considered as the living Guru. Before Guru Gobind Singh died, he declared that there would be no more human Gurus and that the Guru Granth Sahib would be the Eternal Guru.
The Guru Granth Sahib was first compiled by the Fifth Sikh Guru, Arjan Dev, on 27th august 1604 in the Golden Temple of Amritsar. Its second and last version was the handiwork of Guru Gobind Singh, and it was finalized at Damdama Sahib in the year 1705.
It contains the words spoken by the Gurus. This is known as Gurbani, which means ‘from the Guru’s mouth’. It is believed to be the word of God and is therefore infallible. It is written in Gurmukhi. This is the script the Punjabi language is written in. It is placed in the prayer hall within the gurdwara. Any building that has a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib is considered a gurdwara. It is considered as the Living Guru, because the Gurmukhi scripture is considered the word of God and therefore treated with respect as a human might be.
The Guru Granth Sahib contains the scriptures of the Sikhs. It is an anthology of prayers and hymns which contain the actual words and verses as uttered by the Sikh Gurus. Sikhs regard the Guru Granth Sahib as the living Guru. The Guru Granth Sahib, also known as the Adi Granth, consists of 1430 pages and has 5864 verses. Its contents are referred to as bani or gurbani. An individual hymn is a shabad.
One of the most distinctive features of the Guru Granth Sahib is that it is the first religious book which contains the writings of persons belonging to different communities, castes, and diverse regions of the country. The Granth Sahib contains 937 hymns of 36 Hindu saints, Muslim sufis and bards. The hymns of the these holy men cover a period of six centuries (from the 12th to the 17th century). Regardless of the author, this gurbani has an equal status as the hymns of the Gurus.
Guru Gobind Singh re-edited the Adi Granth to the form in which we find it today. The Guru removed some unauthenticated writings in the Granth and added four hymns in the beginning for evening prayers. Guru Gobind Singh also added several hymns from his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur. Otherwise, the Granth was left as it was before in the days of Guru Arjan.
Many of Guru Nanak’s hymns and prayers were preserved and complied by Guru Angad and Guru Arjan. This collection became known as the Adi Granth. The Adi Granth also included writings from Hindu and Muslim writers who believed in the oneness of God. Some of these writers were from lower castes, which shows the inclusiveness of Sikhism. The Guru Granth Sahib was completed in 1604 and installed in the Golden Temple. This original copy is written in many different languages, reflecting its many different authors. Every other copy of the Guru Granth Sahib is identical. The first shabad of the Guru Granth Sahib is the Mool Mantra. This is the statement of belief for Sikhism. It outlines the belief in one God. The first line of the Guru Granth Sahib is “Ik Onkar”. This literally means ‘there is only One God’. The Guru Granth Sahib is placed in a separate room at night.
As the Guru Granth Sahib is considered to be the Eternal Guru, Sikhs believe it should be treated in the same way the human Gurus were treated. This means it must be treated with the utmost respect.
