Sunday, February 23, 2003		Books

Gurbani interpretation you can rely on
Satinder Singh

Guru Granth Vishavkosh (two volumes)
by Rattan Singh Jaggi. Punjabi University, Patiala. Pages 492+510.
Rs 500+500.

DR Rattan Singh Jaggi, a former Professor and Head of the Department of Literary Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala, is a scholar considered to be an authority both on Guru Granth Sahib as well as the Dasam Granth. He has to his credit a large number of valuable publications on the study of medieval Punjabi literature, of which several have been awarded and decorated.

Dr Jaggi’s latest work, Guru Granth Vishavkosh (Patiala: 2002) (Encyclopedia of Guru Granth) in Punjabi in two volumes is voluminous as well as scholarly. This project, as Dr Jaggi says, took almost 27 years of consistent hard work in which he has touched and defined all notable aspects of Guru Granth Sahib.

The encyclopaedia prepared by him has almost 1,700 entries, giving sufficient information and neat interpretation of all its banis, banikars, their life sketches and personality, etc., and other aspects like philosophy, religious concepts, rituals, mysticism, spiritualism, historic and mythological references, rag and raginis, form and metre, folk heritage, including all artistic and literary qualities, etc.

Guru Granth Sahib’s compilation by fifth Sikh Guru Arjan Dev in 1604 AD is a landmark in the world history of religion. Guru Granth Sahib is not only a rich treasure of poetry/banis written by Gurus and many medieval Indian saints, bhaktas, Sufis and Bhats, but is also a valuable source of authentic version of these medieval texts as preserved and edited by Sikh Gurus. Guru Granth Sahib also embodies cultural and social awareness and the spiritual and religious heritage of India of almost seven centuries.

Guru Granth Sahib is a megascopic volume of wisdom and spiritual philosophy full of secular, social and democratic values based on moral and social justice for humankind. The philosophy and humanism as enshrined in the banis as also its message is actually meant for the whole humanity. But as Guru Amar Das proclaims, the light and vision of Gurbani can only be obtained by one’s good fortune and deeds.

The study of the banis of Guru Granth Sahib has a rich lineage of scholarship and is still a source of attraction and inspiration to both national and international scholars. These available studies are of varied shades like hermeneutic, semantic, conceptual, philosophical, ideological, poetic, etc., including that of translation and transliteration in many Indian and foreign languages.

In Sikh scholarship Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha occupies a special status for his contribution made by preparing Gurshabad Ratnakar (Mahan Kosh) (Encyclopedia of Sikh literature) in 1930, which is still a source of authentic interpretation of Sikh thought and ideology. Among other such works are The Encyclopedia of Sikhism by Prof Harbans Singh and Nirukat by Dr Balbir Singh. Dr Jaggi’s work under discussion is another landmark in this direction. Dr Jaggi has his own hermeneutic style of interpretation with which he touches all the significant aspects in his entries in an objective manner within a comparative framework. He has a distinctive exactitude and conceptual clarity with which he goes on to explain and give all the relevant and required information in these entries. He also touches the background ideas in order to make his entries more informative and precise while remaining within its specified limits.

A careful study of this encyclopaedia reveals that Dr Jaggi has a lucid style to describe ideas and facts in a precise manner. Being well versed with the philosophy and poetics of Guru Granth Sahib, he tries to make his entries both authentic and dependable. It satisfies the need of common readers scholars as well as preachers who have taken up the task of interpretation of Gurbani. One can quote and rely on the authenticity of the interpretations as given by Dr Jaggi, who has the advantage of being fully familiar with the work done by almost all his predecessors and contemporary scholars on medieval studies as well as on Guru Granth Sahib. Thus, he has a vast canvas and an authoritative grip on his specialised subject area.

On how he was able to complete this voluminous project single-handedly, he credits the "grace of Waheguru or Akal Purakh," whereas on the worldly plane he also assigns it to certain challenges that he confronted, his determined nature of taking up big projects and a good response and acknowledgement that he often received from his readers. Next comes the talented companionship and intellectual assistance of his life partner, Dr Gursharan Kaur Jaggi, who is herself a recognised scholar of Gurbani, Bhakti, Sufi Sahit and medieval sensibility. Dr Jaggi, the recipient of Sahit Shiromani and many other awards, needs applause for his contribution and intelligent effort in preparing this work in two volumes running into 1000 pages. The thematic index at the end is another useful feature.