Eternal truth for a new age
B. S. Thaur

Sayings of Guru Nanak
by Harnam Singh Shan. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar.
Pages 636. Rs 701.

Who would not, with a pulsating pen and a bit of religious awakening, like to write or say something about the bani of Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh religion. Already much has been written on the subject and it will be an ongoing exercise for scholars and writers to explore this "Infinite".

The establishing of Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, Guru Nanak Chairs in various universities and organisations like the Guru Nanak Foundation are the manifestations of fostering of Guru’s philosophy and teachings. In this context, the book is a valuable contribution, as acknowledged and commended by men of letters, politics and religion like Dr Suniti Kumar Chatterji, First President of the Academy of Letters; Hukam Singh, a former Speaker of the Lok Sabha; and Bhai Ardaman Singh, Bhai Saheb of Bagrian; as given in the foreword, preface and prelude, respectively.

This is the second edition of the first book brought out in 1969 at the commemoration of fifth centenary of the birth of Guru Nanak. Sturdily bound, spaciously printed in bold font and moderately priced, this 636-page book contains 830 holy quotations culled from the verses of Guru Nanak given in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Each of the quotations has first been printed in its original form in Gurmukhi script and then translated into English.

The uniqueness of the book lies in the selection of its subject. Further novelty lies in the good arrangement of saying of the Guru. Each heading has been given both in Punjabi and in English. The index is exhaustive and informative. The translation is as if it comes naturally to the author. It depicts the felicity of language and an ecstasy-tinged holy dip to reach the substance in the verse.

The very first quotation: "The word of the Lord descends to me, so I make it know, O’ Lalo. The author has perhaps circumspectly given hardly any comments this or that way, under the established belief that the bani is from the Ultimate, hence beyond the scope of human intellect. The author has expressed it thus: "No translation in any language of such inspired utterances can fully convey the spirit of the original and I am most conscious of my limitations in presenting this." The order of the sayings has been as per the ragas and the relative page from the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, given along with every quote. The quotation is self-contained and denotes the eternal truth.

The language used in the translation is simple, in equivalent diction and a palatable style. A special trait of the chosen sayings is that these reflect every aspect of human life and depict the original views of the Guru. Punjab is land of the Gurus, but Sikhism is not only a faith here, but also a way of life. Guru’s bani is well understood and referred to in each home.

Punjab’s cultural contours are spread to Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Western Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. The new generation is going to be well versed in English. In order to spread Guru’s philosophy, this book should be made to reach every home and even abroad, where it may have a wider appeal.

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