Sri Guru Granth Sahib is generally known as the holy scripture of Sikhism, the world’s fifth largest religion. But this holy scripture is neither a storybook nor just the philosophy of the Sikh saints or prophets. It is more like a collection of divine revelations and hymns, expressing the feelings of love and devotion of the Sikh Gurus for the Supreme Being, along with the similar yearnings and longings of the devotees and saints from all faiths prevalent in Indian subcontinent during those times. The beauty of this 1430 page hymnal written in 22 different languages lies in the fact that while it spiritually connects the human mind to the original source of eternal bliss, it provides a very practical and effective way to live in love and harmony with other fellow human beings irrespective of their faith, color, caste, creed, or race. The following are a few examples of the views of eminent writers and scholars
regarding Sri Guru Granth Sahib:
“Mankind’s religious future may be obscure, yet one thing can be foreseen. The living higher religions are going to influence each other more than ever before, in the days of increasing communications between all parts of the world and branches of the human race. In this coming religious
debate, the Sikh religion and its scriptures, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib will have something of special value to say to the rest of the world.’
Arnold Toynbee- Historian
“I have studied the scripture of great religions, but I do not find elsewhere the same power of appeal to the heart and mind as I find here in these volumes [of Sri Guru Granth Sahib]. There is something strangely modern about these scriptures. They speak to the people of any religion or of none. They speak for the human heart and the searching mind.”
Mrs. Pearl S. Buck- Nobel Laureate
In Volume two of the “It Is The Same Light” series (SGGS pages 201-400), author Daljit Singh Jawa continues his humble effort to share the beauty of the SGGS with those who have limited familiarity with the language (Gurumukhi), history, or context. The following are some of the comments received on the volume 1 (pages 1-200 of SGGS):
“This translation of Guru Granth Sahib is one of the best English translations in my view, as it is in simple understandable English, each shabad’s summary message is given, there is connection between the shabads to reveal continuity of thought process in Guru ji’s message. Thanks to S Daljit Singh ji for the great work which will benefit future generations understand Guru Ji’s message easily.”
-Amarjit Singh, M.D., University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
“A monumental undertaking, reflecting a lifetime of devotion to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib and to the scholarly study of its voluminous texts. Both its rendition of the original Gurmukhi script, with accompanying English transliteration, and its erudite commentary on each of the Granth’s many hymns mark this work as a stunning achievement which will benefit all serious students of the Sikh religion and of world religions in general.”
-Barry Crawford, Ph.D., Washburn Univesity, Topeka, Kansas
