The Guru Granth Sahib and Secondary Texts

Overview

Recall questions on the Guru Granth Sahib as living Guru and its treatment and uses, its compilation, Gurinder Singh Mann and the Institute of Sikh Studies, the janamsakhis, Bhai Gurdas and the Dasam Granth.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What does it mean to say the Guru Granth Sahib is a living Guru?

   Model answer

   Sikhs hold that guruship passed to the scripture in 1708, so it is the present teacher rather than a record of past teachers. That is why it is consulted for guidance, why it presides at ceremonies, and why Sikhs bow before it as they would before a living Guru.

2. 2

   How is the Guru Granth Sahib treated in the gurdwara?

   Model answer

   It rests on a raised platform under a canopy, is covered with cloths, and has a whisk waved over it in attendance; it is opened ceremonially in the morning and rested at night in a room of its own. Those present remove their shoes, cover their heads and sit lower than the scripture.

3. 3

   Do Sikhs worship the book itself?

   Model answer

   Sikhs say no. The reverence is directed to the shabad the volume carries, and Sikh teaching is emphatic against image worship, so the protocols are read as the respect due to a Guru rather than devotion to paper and binding. Observers from other traditions sometimes press the objection, and Sikhs answer that the object is the medium and not the recipient.

4. 4

   How is the scripture used for guidance?

   Model answer

   A reading is taken at random and the hymn beginning at the top of the left page is read out as the hukamnama, taken as the Guru's word for that day or occasion. Longer readings are also arranged, either a continuous reading completed over about two days or a slower reading spread across weeks.

5. 5

   Which life events require the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib?

   Model answer

   Naming, when the first letter of a child's name is taken from a reading; marriage, where the couple circle the scripture four times as the marriage hymn is sung; initiation into the Khalsa; and funerals with the readings that follow. Sikh ceremonies are constituted by the scripture's presence rather than by the authority of an officiant.

6. 6

   What legal standing does the Guru Granth Sahib have?

   Model answer

   Indian courts have recognised it as a juristic person able to hold property in its own right, on the ground that Sikhs regard it as a living Guru rather than a book. Historic gurdwaras and their endowments are administered under statute by an elected committee, so the scripture's status has direct consequences for property and management.

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