Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji : Why did the Need To Compile Shri Guru Granth Sahib ji Arise ?

2. Why did the Need To Compile Shri Guru Granth Sahib ji Arise ?

Great Guru Arjun Dev Ji needed to compile Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji because possessing divine foresight of all worlds seen and unseen, he knew that these Divine commandments and writings could be added to or altered in the future. Even during the life span of Guru Arjun Dev Ji, Meharban, the elder son of Pirthi Chand had begun to write his own immature verse under the name of "Nanak". The ordinary simple folks amongst the congregation were often confused and duped by this. They were at a loss to know how to differentiate real Gurbani from Meharban's poetry as both pieces of verse had "Nanak" at the end. Meharban added his own poetry to the original verses of the first four Gurus under Nanak's name and created a Granth. Its reference has been given by the author of "Banswali Naama" as followed :

Meharban the son of Pirthia has started to write prose He has studied Persian, Hindi, Punjabi and Sanskrit He too has written a lot of poetry The end ceremony and signature is dedicated to Guru Nanak Bards sing these verses of the meena's A large congregation is assembled to proclaim him as Guru The meena's have collated a book or Granth They have incorporated the words of the first four guru's

So in order to save all the gurbani of the previous guru's and secure the real Divine word from being tampered or mixed with dubious verses, Guru Arjun Dev Ji himself sat at the pleasant surroundings of Ramsar (Amritsar) and had the text of Guru Granth Sahib ji edited and scribed at the pious hands of the great scholar Bhai Gurdas Ji. In this compilation, Guru Ji entered the verses (gurbani) of the first five guru's including his own and that of fifteen Bhagats. He himself went from place to place to collect these divine hymns. These 15 Bhagats were from different parts of India. They were of different castes, creeds or background, but they had united themselves with Almighty through their constant meditation upon Naam. Their Bani was in unison with the principles of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. So without any discrimination, their experiences were thus inscribed in the Adi Granth (Guru Granth Sahib ji). Eleven Bhatts (bards), who belonged to the Brahmin Caste, were scholars and curious seekers of spirituality. They had roamed throughout India, visited the Muthhs (schools of yoga), had profound discussions with different saints and sadhus, but had to endure the bitter experience of harsh words from these Hermits and Ascetics. They had minute and detailed discussions on all matters of faith and salvation of the soul, but they could not get any satisfactory answers. At last they heard the divine principles of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and came into the fold of Sikhism. They not only surrendered their own experience before Guru Ji, but also wrote a great deal in praise of the Guru ji. They taught us that if we want to have eternal peace or unison with God, then we should surrender completely to Guru's shelter and meditate. The Bhatts shared their experiences through Bani (Word of the Guru) in order to inspire deeper faith and firm belief in the guru. As Bhatt Bheeka ji says :

I have been searching for the Saints; I have seen so many Holy and spiritual people. The hermits, Sannyaasees, ascetics, penitents, fanatics and Pandits all speak sweetly. I wandered around lost for a year, but no one touched my soul. I listened to preachers and teachers, but I could not be happy with their lifestyles

Those who have abandoned the Lord's Name, and become attached to duality - why should I speak in praise of them ? So speaks Bhikhaa: the Lord has led me to meet the Guru. As You keep me, I remain; as You protect me, I survive. The Great Guru gave an authentic place to the Bani of these true devotees and spiritual knowledge seekers in Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji. Not only this, but also the Bani of hymn singers of the Guru's and four Gursikhs whose verses were in unison with Guru ji's own, were entered in the Adi Granth. It eliminated forever, the discrimination based on caste, color, creed, nation and country, rich and poor, teacher and learner. It gave a practical shape to the concept of Father-hood of God (Ek Piita Ekas ke hum Baarak i.e. one heavenly father and we are all his children). Before preaching the doctrine of "Fatherhood of God' ( Ek noor te sabh jag upj eya, kaun bhalai kon manday i. from the primal divine light the whole world appeared who then is good or bad ) to the world, the great Gurus put it into practice this principle themselves and told the world that only actions are important for Guru's love. Action orientated people being victorious in life become inhabitants of "Begampur" or Gods court. All are equal there. There is no first or second. There is no rich or poor. All have one form as Guru Ravidas ji commands on page 345 of Guru Granth Sahib Ji :
God's Kingdom is steady, stable and eternal. There is no second or third status; all are Satguru (True Guru) did not merely preach equality but he actually showed it by giving equal place to all in Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Arjun Dev ji gave a beautiful description of entire Bani in 30 Ragas and blessed the sangat with a unique rhythm and rhyme scheme. The exact number of shabads, their addition and checking was audited mathematically, so that in future there could be no addition or deletion from this divine order by one's own will. The entire bani was annunciated by Guru Ji's pious tongue and was written down by Bhai Gurdas ji. Then this bani written by Bhai Gurdas ji was further checked and verified by the Great Guru himself. Wherever he found some grammatical error, Guru Ji corrected the mistakes and the word Sudh Kichai, meaning proof read and checked, was written for future information. The bani that needed no grammatical correction, the word Sudh was written after it. Guru Arjun Dev Ji used great care and caution in preserving and maintaining the true form of Gurbani, which in itself is a task beyond intellectual comprehension. After the departure of Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji, when "Dheer mall", refused to handover the Adi Granth to Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Guru with his spiritual insight got the entire Bani written by Bhai Mani Singh ji at Damdama Sahib( Guru Ki Kashi), District Bhatinda. The Bani of ninth Guru (Guru Tegh Bahadur ji) was added to it. Now, with its addition, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji contained the Bani of Six Gurus, 15 Bhagats, 11 Bhatts, 4 Gursikhs, and was set to 30 musical scales or Ragas. This Bani, being a true, pure, Divine order, occupied a unique place and position in the Religious world. No previous prophet, seer, sage, or a divine Guru, in any age has ever handed over such a precious, authentic Divine Granth to the world during his lifetime. This authenticity and pride of stature is enjoyed only by Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji.





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				2. Why did the Need To Compile Shri Guru Granth Sahib ji Arise ? Great Guru Arjun Dev Ji needed to compile Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji because possessing divine foresight of all worlds seen and unseen, he knew that these Divine commandments and writings could be added to or altered in the future. Even during the life span of Guru Arjun Dev Ji, Meharban, the elder son of Pirthi Chand had begun to write his own immature verse under the name of "Nanak". The ordinary simple folks amongst the congregation were often confused and duped by this. They were at a loss to know how to differentiate real Gurbani from Meharban's poetry as both pieces of verse had "Nanak" at the end. Meharban added his own poetry to the original verses of the first four Gurus under Nanak's name and created a Granth. Its reference has been given by the author of "Banswali Naama" as followed : Meharban the son of Pirthia has started to write prose He has studied Persian, Hindi, Punjabi and Sanskrit He too has written a lot of poetry The end ceremony and signature is dedicated to Guru Nanak Bards sing these verses of the meena's A large congregation is assembled to proclaim him as Guru The meena's have collated a book or Granth They have incorporated the words of the first four guru's So in order to save all the gurbani of the previous guru's and secure the real Divine word from being tampered or mixed with dubious verses, Guru Arjun Dev Ji himself sat at the pleasant surroundings of Ramsar (Amritsar) and had the text of Guru Granth Sahib ji edited and scribed at the pious hands of the great scholar Bhai Gurdas Ji. In this compilation, Guru Ji entered the verses (gurbani) of the first five guru's including his own and that of fifteen Bhagats. He himself went from place to place to collect these divine hymns. These 15 Bhagats were from different parts of India. They were of different castes, creeds or background, but they had united themselves with Almighty through their constant meditation upon Naam. Their Bani was in unison with the principles of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. So without any discrimination, their experiences were thus inscribed in the Adi Granth (Guru Granth Sahib ji). Eleven Bhatts (bards), who belonged to the Brahmin Caste, were scholars and curious seekers of spirituality. They had roamed throughout India, visited the Muthhs (schools of yoga), had profound discussions with different saints and sadhus, but had to endure the bitter experience of harsh words from these Hermits and Ascetics. They had minute and detailed discussions on all matters of faith and salvation of the soul, but they could not get any satisfactory answers. At last they heard the divine principles of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and came into the fold of Sikhism. They not only surrendered their own experience before Guru Ji, but also wrote a great deal in praise of the Guru ji. They taught us that if we want to have eternal peace or unison with God, then we should surrender completely to Guru's shelter and meditate. The Bhatts shared their experiences through Bani (Word of the Guru) in order to inspire deeper faith and firm belief in the guru. As Bhatt Bheeka ji says : I have been searching for the Saints; I have seen so many Holy and spiritual people. The hermits, Sannyaasees, ascetics, penitents, fanatics and Pandits all speak sweetly. I wandered around lost for a year, but no one touched my soul. I listened to preachers and teachers, but I could not be happy with their lifestyles Those who have abandoned the Lord's Name, and become attached to duality - why should I speak in praise of them ? So speaks Bhikhaa: the Lord has led me to meet the Guru. As You keep me, I remain; as You protect me, I survive. The Great Guru gave an authentic place to the Bani of these true devotees and spiritual knowledge seekers in Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji. Not only this, but also the Bani of hymn singers of the Guru's and four Gursikhs whose verses were in unison with Guru ji's own, were entered in the Adi Granth. It eliminated forever, the discrimination based on caste, color, creed, nation and country, rich and poor, teacher and learner. It gave a practical shape to the concept of Father-hood of God (Ek Piita Ekas ke hum Baarak i.e. one heavenly father and we are all his children). Before preaching the doctrine of "Fatherhood of God' ( Ek noor te sabh jag upj eya, kaun bhalai kon manday i. from the primal divine light the whole world appeared who then is good or bad ) to the world, the great Gurus put it into practice this principle themselves and told the world that only actions are important for Guru's love. Action orientated people being victorious in life become inhabitants of "Begampur" or Gods court. All are equal there. There is no first or second. There is no rich or poor. All have one form as Guru Ravidas ji commands on page 345 of Guru Granth Sahib Ji : God's Kingdom is steady, stable and eternal. There is no second or third status; all are Satguru (True Guru) did not merely preach equality but he actually showed it by giving equal place to all in Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Arjun Dev ji gave a beautiful description of entire Bani in 30 Ragas and blessed the sangat with a unique rhythm and rhyme scheme. The exact number of shabads, their addition and checking was audited mathematically, so that in future there could be no addition or deletion from this divine order by one's own will. The entire bani was annunciated by Guru Ji's pious tongue and was written down by Bhai Gurdas ji. Then this bani written by Bhai Gurdas ji was further checked and verified by the Great Guru himself. Wherever he found some grammatical error, Guru Ji corrected the mistakes and the word Sudh Kichai, meaning proof read and checked, was written for future information. The bani that needed no grammatical correction, the word Sudh was written after it. Guru Arjun Dev Ji used great care and caution in preserving and maintaining the true form of Gurbani, which in itself is a task beyond intellectual comprehension. After the departure of Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji, when "Dheer mall", refused to handover the Adi Granth to Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Guru with his spiritual insight got the entire Bani written by Bhai Mani Singh ji at Damdama Sahib( Guru Ki Kashi), District Bhatinda. The Bani of ninth Guru (Guru Tegh Bahadur ji) was added to it. Now, with its addition, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji contained the Bani of Six Gurus, 15 Bhagats, 11 Bhatts, 4 Gursikhs, and was set to 30 musical scales or Ragas. This Bani, being a true, pure, Divine order, occupied a unique place and position in the Religious world. No previous prophet, seer, sage, or a divine Guru, in any age has ever handed over such a precious, authentic Divine Granth to the world during his lifetime. This authenticity and pride of stature is enjoyed only by Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji.

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