Bulletin 1 2003

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The Sikh Bulletin mwi G 5 3 4 January 2003

The Sikh Center Roseville, 201 Berkeley Ave, Roseville, CA. 95678 1

< s i q g uuuuuuuur p RRRs wi d ]i s K b ul yt nT he S i k h B u l l et i n

A Voice of Concerned Sikhs World Wide

January 2003 mwi G 5 3 4 n wn k Swh I [email protected] Volume 5, Number 1Published by: Khalsa Tricentennial Foundation of N.A. Inc; Sikh Center Roseville, 201 Berkeley Ave, Roseville, CA 95678. Fax (916) 773-6784

Khalsa Tricentennial Foundation of N.A. Inc. is a religious tax exempt California Corporation.

LIARS LISTF irst there were Mahants; now there are Babas and Sants. Britishused the former to their advantage; now the Hindu Govt. of India,whether Congress or Brahmin Jati Party, is using the latter to theiradvantage. We cant blame the Govt. entirely, because, after all,they are using our own people against us to do their dirty job ofkeeping minorities embroiled in their own disputes. If Sikhi is toavoid the fate of Budhism in India we have to dish out to the

modern day Babas and Sants what our fore fathers dished out to theMahants. Our situation is very similar to that of the Jewish people.Like them our numbers are small and we are surrounded by a sea ofhostility. Fortunately, like them we have also established ourpresence on the world stage. But we have to go beyond raising antiGovt. and anti Hindu slogans on the 26th of January and 15th ofAugust, the unproductive sloganeering led by none other than Sikhrenegades working for the Indian Govt. intelligence agencies. Whatfollows is one example of Govt.s creation of a Baba, his Dera, andblatant lie of propaganda to give that Baba credit that is not his due.Liars:

1. Mary Pat Fisher, Coordinator of International Communications, GobindSadan Institute for Advanced Studies in Comparative Religion and author of thebook, Living Religions, being used as a textbook in the Universities in the USA.

2. Professor Gurbachan Singh, President of Gobind SadanUSA,

3. Joginder Singh4. Gurcharan Singh Randhawa of Gurdaspur5. Dr. J. S. Rajput, Director of NCERT6. Murli Manohar Joshi, Minister of Human Resources

Development, Government of India,

7. Baba Virsa SinghLie: *

Supreme Court case against National Council of Education,

Research & Training (N.C. E. R. T) has been won with Babaji's

(Virsa Singh) blessing, and they have received the order tocorrect the books.*For details see Gobind Sadan Press Release on the next page.

gurUij nakaA;Wul ac[l [ nahI Oaxu. p;na58, AsopwIAa, isrIragu, gurUnank w[vThose chaylaas, those devotees, whose spiritual teacher is blind, shall notfind their place of rest.

In This Issue/qqkr wLiars List ............................................................. 1A Right-Wing Hindu Group Exerts Its Muscle inIndian Academe 5Public Debate on Dasam Granth Forbidden 7Dasam Granth Controversy. 8So-Called Dasam Granth. 15Guest Editorial: Vision and Verities RevealedBy Guru Nanak: A Plea For Return To Faith.. 17Are Sikhs Hindus?.18

Am I A Hindu?..21Letters To Controversial Sikh Leaders 22Turban And Connecticut DMV24Turban And L.A. Coubty Sheriffs Dept. 24Letters To The Editor25

j Qydwr swihb vl ONNKul HHHHHHHHHHHHyyyyyKq dwj vwb..26

Where Do RSS Funds Come From?. 28Donations To The Sikh Bulletin........................ ..29Rosevilles Loss is Indianapolis Gain 29

c wh yh s o, c wh yr ov oo 29

Income-Expense Statement, KTF, 2002.. 30Nanak Shahi Calendar...31Book Page ......................................................... ..32

Editor in Chief

Hardev Singh Shergill

Editorial BoardAvtar Singh DhamiGurpal Singh Khaira

Production AssociatesAmarjit Singh PaddaJasnain Singh

The Sikh Bulletin is distributed free around the

World. All you have to do is ask. We invite offersof help in disribution in other countries.

Please note our new e-mail adderess

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The views expressed by the authors are theirown. Please send the feedback and inputs to:

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Our Website: sikhbulletin.sadapunjab.com

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GOBIND SADANPRESS RELEASEFrom: Mary Pat Fisher, Coordinator of InternationalCommunications, Gobind Sadan Institute for AdvancedStudies in Comparative Religion, village Gadaipur, Mehrauli,New Delhi 110030, India, phones 91-11-680-9608, 680-3398

Sikhs Thank Baba Virsa Singh for Eliminating Libelagainst Prophets: Sangat assures Babaji that they will

obey his order.

New Delhi, November 5: The Sikh Sangats are becomingvery angry as they learn of what has been falsely written inschool textbooks against their Gurus and the prophets ofother religions. In this regard, Professor Gurbachan Singh,President of Gobind Sadan USA, reports that in recent days avery large gathering of Sikhs was held in Gurdaspur nearvillage Gharala. In this gathering, after kirtan Sardar JoginderSingh and Sardar Gurcharan Singh Randhawa of Gurdaspurand Professor Gurbachan Singh told the sangat about themisinformation that had been written in NCERT textbooks.

The sangat became very angry that for the past fifteen totwenty years this misinformation was being taught in theschools but no one had raised his voice against it. They said,"We remember Guru Teg Bahadur as 'Hind di Chader andrevere Guru Gobind Singh as our father. Baba Virsa Singh

helped to correct what was falsely written against them, and

with his blessing, the Supreme Court case was won in our

favour."

Dr. J. S. Rajput, Director of NCERT, announced at GobindSadan that the objectionable matter is now eliminated fromthe textbooks and that new books are being written withnewly corrected historical material. Murli Manohar Joshi,

Minister of Human Resources Development, Governmentof India, said that the Supreme Court case has been won

with Babaji's blessing, and they have received the order to

correct the books.

At the sangat gathering in Gurdaspur district, the Sikhsangat thanked Baba Virsa Singh, shouting their approval,and assured Babaji thatthey will follow all his orders.

*Sikh Bulletin had carried an article, ARight-Wing HinduGroup Exerts Its Muscle in Indian Academe, by MarthaAnn Overland, in the September 2001 issue that highlightedthe nefarious role of Murli Manohar Joshi, Minister of

Human Resources Development, Govt. of India. We hadalready become aware of the negative role of Baba VirsaSingh through his efforts to promote so called DasamGranth in the pages ofSeptember 2000 Sikh Bulletin. (Boththese articles are being reproduced on pages 6 and 16, respectively.)Alsowhile visiting Chandigarh in October 2001, this writer hadmet Advocate Dr. Malkiat Singh Rahi who had introducedhimself as the person who had brought the lawsuit against NCERT. So, when some one e-mailed this outrageous lie of

a press release to us, all it took was a phone call to Dr. RahiFor our readers we publish his response below:

Objectionable remarks against the Sikh Gurus in the

NCERT history textbooks Some facts-

Dear Sardar Hardev Singh Shergill ji,

Today, after our telephonic talk in the morning, regarding apress release placed by some one on the Internet, concerningobjectionable remarks against Guru Teg Bahadur and GuruGobind Singh in the NCERT books, I was surprised andpained to hear from you the contents of that announcementThe claim made in it, as told by you, that it was with theblessing of one Baba Virsa Singh of Delhi, that theobjectionable remarks have been removed and the case waswon in the Supreme Court of India, I can only say that the

contents of the press release are totally falseand the resulof deep-rooted conspiracy, with the purpose to show to the

Sikhs all over the world who got it done, and Baba may

become more popular among the Sikhs for showing such adevotion to Guru Teg Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh.

No Baba Virsa Singh or any such other Baba was in the

picture during the long struggle I waged to geobjectionable remarks against the Sikh Gurus deleted fromthe NCERT history textbooks. The story is long one.

It started in 1995, when we filed the first writ petitionagainst the objectionable remarks, against Guru GobindSingh in the book, Modern India--- a history textbook forclass XI written by Prof. Bipen Chandra, which wasdecided by Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1996 and the

full text of the judgment was published by the Abstract ofSikh Studies, Spokesmen and many other journals. It waduring this period that notice regarding objectionableremarks against Sri Guru Teg Bahadur was served onNCERT, for publication in the book Medieval India --Ahistory textbook for class X written by Prof. Satish ChandraThe first writ petition No. 9379 of 1997 was filed in 1997which was disposed off with the direction to the NCERT toconsider the case regarding deletion of objectionableremarks as mentioned in the writ petition. The NCERTrefused to do so. Then Second writ petition No.2771 of1998, which is still pending in Punjab and Haryana HighCourt was filed. During this period of 4 years the case went

twice to the Supreme Court of India. Firstly, against theorder of LPA No. 186 of 2000 and Secondly, in writ petitionNo. 98 of 2002, which was decided by the Supreme Courton September 12, 2002.

I argued the case in the Supreme Court on behalf ofSGPCDelhi Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee, Chief Khalsa

Dewan and Guru Nanak Brotherhood Society. On manyoccasions the news items regarding this case were published

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in the major newspapers of India. No interest was evershown in the case by Baba Virsa Singh or anybody else.Baba Virsa Singh has appeared on the scene, when the

case has been won and the remarks against Guru Teg

Bahadur have been removed. Our application in the writpetition regarding compensation of Rs.5 crore for damagingthe fair name of Shri Guru Teg Bahadur is still pending in theHigh Court and the next date of hearing is January 16, 2003.

I have written many articles regarding distortion of Sikhhistory in the NCERT books and many of them werepublished in the Abstract of Sikh studies and many otherjournals. Therefore, Baba Virsa Singh cannot claim that itwas he who got objectionable remarks removed from the

NCERT history textbooks. The material I am sending toyou would prove how the deletion from the NCERT bookswas got done. Please tell the truth to the people why BabaVirsa Singh is making such a false claim regarding deletionof objectionable remarks from the NCERT books. I have sentyou the copies of my two books to give you more material

regarding these cases.

(Dr.M.S.Rrahi) ChandigarhMobile : 98140-17142E-mail: [email protected]: Also see Abstract of Sikh Studies, April-June, 1996, p.130;July-September, 1996, p.77; January-March, 1999, p.15; July-September, 2001, p.74; October- December, 2001, p.34 April-June,2002,p.35;

*IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIACIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION I.A No. 11 OF 2002

IN WRIT PETITION No. 98 OF 2002 IN THE MATTER OFARUNA ROY, SOCIAL ACTIVIST & OTHERS PETITIONER

VERSUS UNION OF INDIA & OTHERS. RESPONDENTSAND GURU NAKAK UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD SOCIETY

INTERVENERWRITTEN SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE INTERVENER

RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH:

1. That the intervener is a registered body involved in thepropagation of Sikhism. The intervener filed a Writ Petitionin 1997 against the objectionable remarks regarding the SikhGurus and particularly against Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur. Thecopy of that Writ Petition is reproduced in Vol. VII at Page

No. 700 of the Counter filed on behalf of Respondent No.3i.e. NCERT. The Honble Punjab and Haryana High Courthad earlier ordered the deletion of objectionable remarksagainst Guru Gobind Singh. That judgment of the High Courtis reproduced at Page No. 690 of the above said volume. TheNCERT did not delete the remarks even though the case wassecurely covered by the earlier Division Bench Judgment ofthe same High Court. The representation of the Petitionerwas rejected which was said to be considered by the order of

the Honble Court in the above said writ Petition. Then theSecond Writ Petition No. 2771 of 1998 was filed, which ispending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court as a part-heard matter since July 2001.

2. That during the pendency of that writ petition, theNCERT and the writer of the book changed the paragraph inthe reprint of the book in 2000 without any information tothe Honble Court. Both the paragraphs are reproduced atpage No. 5 & 6 of the present I.A. This conduct of therespondent No. 3 i.e. NCERT clearly shows how the historybooks are written and paragraph changed in the reprint othe same book without any regard to the establishedhistorical fact. Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur was mentioned as

disturber of peace in Punjab in the paragraph whic

remained in the book from 1978 to 1999, but in the reprin

of the Book of 2000 it was mentioned that the Guru had,

resorted to plunder and repine, laying waste the wholeprovince of the Punjab.

3. When the question in the Parliament was raised regardingthese objectionable remarks against Sri Guru Tegh Bahadurand litigation pending in the Punjab and Haryana HighCourt, the NCERT on the instructions of Human ResourceDevelopment Ministry of India ordered the deletion of theseobjectionable remarks. The objection was raised by manyother persons and the petitioners in the present writ petitionThe new syllabus is on the basis of the National CurriculumFramework for School Education. But surprisinglyenough, in the new textbook of history for Class XI and

XII total paragraphs regarding the history of the Sikhs

have been expunged; as a result, in the new history

textbooks for these classes there is no information

regarding the history of the Sikhs. It is grave injustice tothe Sikhs and their history. The Sikhs have played a veryimportant role in the history of India, and this should be sorecognized in the history textbook being taught in theSchools of India, if true secular spirit of the Constitution ofIndia is to be preserved.

It is therefore, submitted that the respondent NCERT should be directed to look into the matter regarding th

accurate projection of Sikh history in the School history

textbooks before the new history textbook are published as

per the new syllabus, otherwise the rights of the intervenerwould be seriously violated.

(DR. M.S. RAHI) Chandigarh, Counsel for the Intervener

*WELL, THERE YOU HAVE IT!

Baba Virsa Singh of Gobind Sadan fame and Mur

Manohar Joshi stand stark naked before you, full

exposed as partners in crime against the Sikh Qaum

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Wherever you see Gobind Sadans, you should know that the

people associated with Gobind Sadans are not one of you,even if they are your siblings. They are out to destroy your

identity.

If in the past you did not believe that the Govt. of India, theworlds largest democracy, is capable of such outrageousconduct angaist its minority communities, you should changeyour mind. If you have any contacts with Hinduorganizations bring this up. May be those Hindus who havesettled abroad would be more fair minded than their kinsmenback home (but not the ones who have organized themselvesinto IDRF i.e. India Development and Relief Fund. Thisorganization is a front for Hindutva, the Hindu supremacistideology responsible for anti- minority communal violence in

India for over half a century. See page 28). Martha AnnOverland (see p.5) throws plenty of light on Murli ManoharJoshi and his RSS activism. Draw your own conclusionswhen he says, that the Supreme Court case has been wonwith Babaji's blessing, and they have received the order to

correct the books.

After coming across the name of Mary Pat Fisher asCoordinator of International Communications, Gobind SadanInstitute for Advanced Studies in Comparative Religion, welearned that her book, Living Religions is being used as atextbook at The Sacramento State University. Uponexamination, we found that this book is written by an authortotally ignorant about Sikh philosophy. Presenting GuruNanak as little concerned with things of the earthroamedabout in nature rather than working is contrary to what hestood for, which is amply recorded in his bani enshrined inAGGS. The author also represents Mirabai as Sufi mystic and

Sant and Bhakti traditions as one and the same. She furthergoes on to say that even before Guru Nanak, Islam andHinduism had already begun to draw closer to one another inNorthern India.

Upon examination we found that the chapter on Sikhism wasreviewed by Dr.Balkar Singh, then at Punjabi UniversityPatiala, but lately an employee of Bhajan Yogi. He had everyopportunity to rectify errors in the text and expunge mythssuch as: immersion in a river for three days anddisappearance of his body to the surprise of both Hindus

and Muslims who wanted to perform the last rights

according to their respective faiths.

The textbook also has some pictures. Among them,Nanaksaria version of Guru Nanak and a farm scene inwhich Baba Virsa Singh is sitting on a folding chair in aploughed field; at his feet are four well dressed happylooking urbanite Malik Bhagos sitting on a picnic blanket,while in the distance Bhai Lalos can be seen toiling in thefield.

In an interview with G. S. Jauhal, a commandant in theIndian military service, she describes him as, a disciple ofthe contemporary Sikh teacher, Baba Virsa Singh. Webeg to differ with Ms. Fisher. Sikhs are disciples of theGurus and the Shabad Guru only and not of any dehdharGurus. Gobind Sadan is not a Gurudwara. It is a part ofSangh Parivar. Neither Baba Virsa Singh nor hisdisciples can call themselves Sikhs. Turban, no matterhow big a paggar, does not a Sikh make. LikeRadhaswamis, Baba Virsa Singh has his own religion basedon philosophy of Baba Siri Chand and Dasam Granthamong others (see p.14).

One would think that Dr.Balkar Singh, one time Dean ofthe Department of Guru Granth Sahib Studies, PunjabUniversity, Patiala, would have pointed this out but whacan you expect when he himself, asserts that the universa

religious openness practiced at Gobind Sadan is thmessage of Sikhism: Gobind Sadan symbolises the above-

mentioned ocean. With the Grace of Guru Gobind Singh

the message of Sikhism is being spread under thpatronage of Baba Virsa Singh.Dr. Balkar Singh, is GuruGobind Singhs Sikhi different from that of Guru Nanak?.

Just as the Hindutva forces created Baba Virsa Singh andhis Gobind Sadan, they are actively involved, right infrontof our eyes, in promoting Sant Baba Daljit Singh and hisGurdwara Gurjot Parkash in Chicago. He can obtainany number of passports and any number of visas. KirtaniasKathakars and Jathedars make a bee line for his dera. Mostrecent to visit him was Giani Iqbal Singh, Jathedar ofTakhat Patna Sahib in November 2002. Daljit singh hasaccompanied Jathedar Vedanti to visit with the Pope in

Italy alongwith Nanaksaria Sant Baba Amar SingBarundi, Mahant Mohinder Singh of Nishkam Sewak Jathaand Dr. Rajwant Singh.

Below are some excerpts from previous issues of The SikhBulletin showing our so far unsuccessful attempts inthwaring the establishment of a dera in USA. UnfortunatelyS. Kulwant Singh Hundal, the then President ofGurudwara Sahib in Chicago, who strongly opposedJathedar Vedantis visit to the dera and promised toprovide us with information on Daljit Singh has made anabout face and joined forces with those who would distorthe message of Gurbani. Perhaps Indian politics and

bhaichara took precedence over principle. The road ofSikhi Sudhar is very lonely:

From SB July, 2001Our Jathedars should be spending their time educating the Sikhmasses about the true message of the Gurus and not circling theglobe hobnobbing with Dera Babas as Jathedar Vedanti recentlydid. When we failed to dissuade Jathedar Vedanti from visiting theDera of Baba Daljit Singh of Chicago in the month of May thisyear, we could not help but conclude that nothing could have

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stopped Jathedar Vedanti. His visit was part of a grander scheme,i.e. to extend to that man the credibility that he lacked so that otherlesser souls could follow. That is precisely what happened. JathedarVedanti was followed by S. Ajaib Singh Mukhmailpur, a BadalCabinet Minster; Sant Singh Maskin; Bibi Harjinder Kaur, PresidentNarimanch Chandigarh (Now the Lady Mayor of Chandigarh); andBhai Nirmal Singh, Hazoori Raagi Darbar Sahib, Amritsar. And

Daljit Singh himself, a mere Baba in his pre Vedanti visitadvertisements, has, as predicted, become a Sant Baba (Indo-Candian Times Intl. Inc., June 28 July 04, 2001).

From SB February, 2002

We and the managing committee of Chicago Gurdwara pleadedwith you (Jathedar Vedanti) back in April 2001, to not to give thisman the respectability by your visit. You did not listen. As we hadpredicted, this Giani Daljit Singh who used to beg for time forkirtan in Chandigarh gurdwaras, became a Baba in Chicagobefore your arrival in his Dera and Sant Baba after your visit.Sant Singh Maskeen and others followed right on your heels. Dr.Jasvir Singh Ahluwalia, Vice Chancellor of Punjab University,Patiala (Now discredited and removed) heaped the latest insult onSikh Qaum when he presented this Sadh with the Maharaja Ranjit

Singh Award. This is how the story reads in the India west ofJanuary 18, 2002, p. B18:

Nations that do not learn from their history are destined torepeat it. We are reliving the period of Anglo-Sikh Wars of1849. British have been replaced by the forces of Hindutva,who are using Akhand Kirtani Jatha, Damdami Taksal, SikhYouth of America, atleast one officer of World Sikh Council-USA, and deras such as Nanaksar, Mastuana, Harian Belan,Sacha Sauda and others as their front line soldierscommanded by likes of Baba Virsa Singh andAttorneyGurcharanjit Singh Lamba. The loyal Sikh soldiers are beingrepresented by our Missionary Colleges and lone

missionaries and like the Dogras, our Jathedars -JoginderSingh Vedanti, Puran Singh and Ranjit Singh Ghataura, andSGPC Presidents- Badungar, Talwandi and Tohra havebetrayed them. While the enemy is brazen in its assault onGuru Nanaks Sikhi, defenders of our faith are gutless.Silence from them is deafening. Hardev Singh Shergill

*****A RIGHT-WING HINDU GROUP EXERTS ITS

MUSCLE IN INDIAN ACADEMEScholars say that the independence of the countrys universities is threatened

By Martha Ann Overland(This article was first published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, July6, 2001. Reproduced here from The Sikh Bullet in, Sept. 2001)

New DelhiWHEN INDIAS education authorities announced that theywere making traditional Hindu astrology a course of study atuniversities, newspaper headlines and op-ed articles howledat the idea. Would the ancient practice of setting a horse onfire - prescribed in Hinduisms early sacred texts - also bepart of the curriculum? If Vedic astrology is offered, whynot palmistry, tealeaf reading, and tarot cards?

While commentator had a field day, Indias liberaacademics were not laughing. Giving astrology the status oan academic discipline, they charge, is just the latest efforof a right-wing Hindu Government to implement its culturalagenda in a process called saffronization.

Saffron is the color of the flag flown by the RashtriyaSwayamsewak Sangh, or R.S.S., a Hindu-supremacist groupinspired by Italian Fascism after one of the founders meMussolini in 1931. In the 14,000 schools it operates, theR.S.S. espouses the idea that pure Hindus are descendedfrom an indigenous Aryan race. All others in Indiaincluding Muslims and Christians, are outsiders. One othe R.S.S. most revered leaders, Madhav Sadashiv

Golwalkar, called Hitlers persecution of the Jews race

pride at its highest.

Many academics say the RSS philosophy puts at risk Indiaspolitical foundation the principle of a secular state tyingtogether a highly diverse nation. Ram Puniyani, author of a

number of books on the R.S.S. and secretary of theCommittee for Communal Amity, which seeks to fighreligious prejudice, says members of the R.S.S. havemanufactured their ideology for a handful of Hindu eliteThey are pushing a cultural nationalism. But its aparticularly oppressive nationalism - the culture of [upper-caste] Brahmin Hindus.

The R.S.S. says it is fighting only for the Indian intellectuatradition, national pride, and spiritual values that werescorned by British colonial rulers.In universities, which had long been regarded as aboveIndias political fray, the fight over saffronization is playing

out in disciplines as diverse as history and mathematics. Aother scholarly institutions, critics accuse the R.S.S. oftrying to seize control.

A Prominent RoleOnce dismissed as a fringe group best known for inspiringthe man who assassinated Gandhi in 1948, the R.S.S. istoday the ideological backbone of the ruling BharatiyaJanata Party (B.J.P.), says Mr. Puniyani, who is also aprofessor at the Indian Institute of Technology, in BombayPrime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is in the groups innercircle, and 16 of his 30 cabinet officials are members. Oneof the most outspoken is Murli Manohar Joshi, the

minister in charge of education.

Mr. Joshi has become as well known for his R.S.S activities as for his education duties. He is currentl

under indictment for inciting a mob in 1992 to tear down the Babri Masjid, a mosque in Ajodhya. Hindufundamentalists say it stood atop the ruins of a temple at thebirthplace of the Hindu god Rama. The communal riots thafollowed the mosques destruction left 1,900 people dead

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across India. The issue of whether Muslims or Hindus willbuild on the site remains one of he most divisive in thecountry.

To most Indians, religion is a central and passionate part oftheir identities. About 80 percent of Indias population isHindu, and Muslims are the largest minority. Buddhism hasits orgins in India, and Sikhs started their religion as a sect ofHinduism in the 15th century. Significant numbers ofChristians, Jains, and Parsis, or Zoroastrians, also live in thecountry.

Since Mr. Joshi took the helm of the Ministry of Human

Resources Development two years ago, its slogan has

become to nationalize, Indianize, and spiritualize the

countrys educational system. Many read that phrase as

a coded slogan for Hindu proselytizing.

The newly drafted national curriculum calls for all children tolearn Sanskrit, the language of Hindu scripture and of

uppercaste Brahmins. Hindi, though it is spoken primarily inthe north of the country, is also slated to become compulsory.Mr. Joshi, formerly a professor of physics at the Universityof Allahabad, wants all schools to teach Vedic math, asystem said to be based on Hindu scripture but dismissed bymany mathematicians as a farce. He has also called for theinclusion in childrens history books of the teachings ofKeshav Baliram Hedgewar, founder of he R.S.S., whoemphasized the need for unity among Hindus.

A Tradition Of IndependenceUntil the B.J.P. solidified its power in 1998, higher educationgenerally remained above politics. Members of the powerful

University Grants Commission, which distributes federalfunds, traditionally have been viewed as independent eventhough they are appointed by the central government.

That changed when Mr. Joshi appointed Hari Gautam, alongtime R.S.S. member, to head the committee - whichrecently blessed the study of Vedic astrology. Despite largecutbacks in higher-education spending which have crippledmany universities, last year the committee also found moneyto start undergraduate and graduate programs in humanconsciousness and yogic science, both of which arecomponents of Hindu mysticism.

Now the human-resource ministry is instituting what it callsvalue education. Although the program is designed to teachgeneral moral and spiritual principles, critics fear that it willexpand into Hindu dogma.Mr. Kaw argues that yoga and meditation are life-copingskills not based on religion. He says they are part of thestudy of human consciousness and how it relates to thecosmos.

Promoting National Pride

The new rules go so far as to require that all students at thenations engineering institutes - controlled by the human-re-source ministry - take the value-education classes. The stategovernment of Uttar Pradesh, where he R.S.S. has itsheadquarters, has made a course in national pridecompulsory for students. They will know they are Indianssays Mr. Kaw, and they will be proud they are Indians.

He dismisses attacks on his department as whining fromleftists who are no longer in power. Theres nothingsaffron about value education, he insists, adding that thecomplaints are more of a political criticism than anacademic one.

But academics, particularly scientists, feel threatened. MrJoshi, the human-resource minister, has publicly questionedthe value of empirical research and has urged scientists toseek alternative answers in the ancient Hindu textsProfessors say they are under pressure to teach subjects such

as Vedic math, or to explain why they wont.

Despite its name, Vedic math is not a mathematical systemsays Shobhit Mahajan, a professor of physics andastrophysics at the University of Delhi. Rather, it is a smalbook of formulas that its author says came from the VedasHinduisms ancient books. The formulas simplify suchoperations as multiplication and factorization.

Its basically a bunch of tricks, which allow you to dohigh-school calculations very quickly, says Mr. Mahajan, acritic of saffronizations effect on the sciences. I may wantto teach my 12-year old such tricks to entertain him, but to

think that this can replace a serious study of mathematics aany level is patently absurd.

It is true, he says, that Indians were doing geometry beforePythagoras, and that Indians devised the concept of zero inA.D. 400 (although he notes with disdain that they neverdid anything with it.)

But this is like saying there is an Indian physics, an Indianbiology, an Indian chemistry, argues Mr. MahajanMathematics is a discipline. It isnt static. It grows bydefinition from the contributions that have been made to itFrankly, our contributions in the hard sciences are negligible

in the overall scheme. And going back 3,000 years to theVedas wont change this.

An Agenda To PushWhile virtually no demand exists for Sanskrit-basedteachings, the human-resource ministry is nonethelesspushing that agenda. The countrys elite engineeringuniversities, the Indian Institutes of Technology, which are

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directly under the ministrys control, have announced thattheir Delhi campus will soon offer science courses based onSanskrit texts. As a language, Sanskrit is taught in manycolleges throughout the country, but this is the first time itwill be used to explain science.

Meanwhile, Hindu fundamentalists are trying to rewritehistory, critics say. Teesta Setalvad, director of Khoj, agroup based in Bombay that promotes secular education, saysthe R.S.S. wants to present ancient Indian civilization as aHindu one, even though thats not correct. To maintain themyth of their own greatness and justify the idea of a Hindurace, she says, fundamentalists are rewriting history to glorifyHinduism and vilify Islam.

College textbooks in states where Hindu-fundamentalistparties have been in power have been touched by the saffronbrush. In Maharashtra, a third-year history text describesIslams arrival as a curse for the people outside the Arabworld, because wherever the Islamic hordes went, they not

only conquered the countries, but killed millions of peopleand plundered their homes. The concluding paragraphreads, Why these atrocities? Because Islam teaches onlyatrocities.

Apart from the immediate worry that such incendiary wordswill incite more violence between Indias Muslims andHindus, the greatest threat from the R.S.S. now is itsinfluence over historical research, says Ms. Setalvad. Therehas been a steady and insidious effort to pack Indiasimportant educational, science, and cultural institutions withR.S.S. members who dont have sufficient academicbackgrounds, she says. They have been working overtime

to do this.

Doing Away With The Old GuardIn the case of the prestigious Indian Council of HistoricalResearch, the leaders of the old guard were expelled. Thehuman-resource ministry first removed the councils electedsecretary. Then it gradually replaced the historians on theboard with R.S.S. members. Then, in a move that outragedthe Indian academic community, the newly configuredcouncil pulled the plug on two history projects that it hadsponsored, documenting Indias struggle for freedom fromthe British.

The editors of the volumes in question contend that the groupwants to be portrayed as a heroic participant in Indiasindependence struggle against the British, even though theauthors found no evidence that the group had played much ofa role. The editors said the documents they found actuallyshowed a pattern of R.S.S. collaboration with the Britishagainst the Muslims.

The R.S.S. has an agenda, and they want to project historyas they see it, says T.K. Vishnu Subramaniam, who wasremoved as secretary of the historical-research council afterthe new government came to power. This is anautonomous institution infiltrated by those with fascistendencies. History is a discipline; its not a projection of anationalist Hindu state.

The R.S.S., for its part, says no one was removed from hispost, but was simply replaced when his term was up. MrSubramaniam is now dean of history at the University ofDelhi.

R.S.S. leaders are not bothered by the criticism fromacademics. In fact, they are delighted with Mr. Joshiprogress in remaking Indian higher education. So we havea certain point of view, says Madhav Vaidya, thespokesman for the group. What harm is there? Are wemurderers or accused of some terrible crime? We are parof the social life, too. We have a share in the administration

of the whole society. Mr. Joshi is a big R.S.S. man - whyshould we apologize about it?

The critics of the R.S.S. believe that it is playing to itsconservative constituency when it rewrites history oraccuses the opponents of astrology of being the enemies ofreligion. Meanwhile, critics say, the abysmal state of Indianeducation, where libraries dont have books and professorsgo unpaid for months, is ignored. (Courtesy The Chronicaof Higher Education, July 6th 2001. Contributed by Autar SinghSidhu, Windsor, Ontario, Canada)[We would appreciate contributions of this nature from our readerwhenever they come across any articles of interest. Ed]

*****[In August 2000 Jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti imposed ban onany discussion on Dasam Granth. Ban was selective. It did notapply to Baba Virsa Singh, Akhand Kirtani Jatha, Damdami Taksaand Takhats at Patna Sahib and Hazoor Sahib. All of these groupsbelieve it to be the creation of Tenth Nanak. Unfortunately, theonly major Sikh organization that chose to observe the ban was theone most effective against the Dasam Granth onslaught and that isthe Institute of Sikh Studies, Chandigarh. One of its foundingmembers, Dr. Kharak Singh, is a member of the Dharam ParcharCommittee that is heavily loaded with Sant Babas and AkhandKirtanias. That may have played a role in the weakness shown bythe Institute. Following articles are being reproduced from TheSikh Bulletins of September & November 2000, because they

relate to the editorial in this issue. ED]

PUBLIC DEBATE ON DASAM GRANTH

FORBIDDENTribune News Service

AMRITSAR, Aug. 7 (2000) Jathedar Akal Takhat GianiJoginder Singh Vedanti has directed Sikh intellectuals not toair their views on the Dasam Granth controversy. In a one

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page press note, issued on the letterhead of Akal Takhat,Giani Joginder Singh said some Sikh intellectuals hadviolated the directive not to publish any material on this issuein accordance with the gurmata passed on May 14 by theSikh conclave. The Jathedar hinted that those Sikhs whowould publish articles or issue press statements could besummoned at Akal Takhat. It may be recalled that Mr.Gurtej Singh, who was declared professor of Sikhism byAkal Takhat, had published his article in a section of pressand a reply was given to the article by another Sikhintellectual. Giani Joginder Singh said the ShiromaniGurdwara Parbandhak Committee was likely to constitute acommittee on the issue.

*****

DASAM GRANTH CONTROVERSYHardev Singh Shergill

The Sikh Bulletin during its first year of publication hasextensively covered the taboo subject of Dasam Granth,presenting both viewpoints. It is sad that our predecessorshave allowed this problem to simmer for three centuries. It istime now to put it to rest. We as a people are at a fork inthe road. We should be free to choose the road we take. Wehave a history of such forks. Guru Nanaks two sons chosenot to follow their fathers path. So the mantle was

instead passed to a disciple who did choose his Gurus

path. The four sons of Guru Gobind Singh, on the otherhand, chose to accept martyrdom at very tender ages becausethey decided to choose their fathers path. Baba VirsaSingh, Gurcharanjit Singh Lamba, Piara Singh Padam

and their followers can believe in Dasam Granth as the

Bani of the Tenth Nanak and still call themselves Sikhs

just as Nanaksarias, Namdharis, Nirankaris, and Bhajan

Yogis followers call themselves Sikhs, and there is

nothing that anyone can do about it. It sounds much likehistory of Christianity repeating itself among Sikhs. Perhapsthat calls for the Reformed Sikhi and that is what we havebeen heading towards here at the Roseville Sikh Center.Now, since the official guardians of the Sikh Doctrine, theJathedars, have squarely come on the side of Dasam Granthisby their actions that inhibit discussion against Dasam Granthbut are silent about the heavy pro Dasam Granth propagandafinanced and supported by the BJP Govt. at the centre and thehear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil attitude of the

SGPC and the BJP/Akali Govt. of Punjab, the course for theSikhs of Guru Nanaks Philosophy as enshrined in theAGGS, bequeathed to us by none other than Dasam Nanakhimself, who chose not to include any of his writings intoGurbani of the AGGS, is very clear. We must part ways.

We firmly believe that Sikhi is not a birthright. A Sikh is

not born. He or she becomes one only by living it. Birth

into a Sikh household merely gives a momentum of early

start, which can just as easily be frittered away.

Readers attention is invited to the following selections fromthe Nov. 2000 sikh Bulletin:

1. Most active pro Dasam Granth, Baba Virsa Singhs Gobind Sadan

organizations views on Dasam Granth.

2.Most active in the Indian media and on the worldwide web, pro DasamGranth activist Gurcharanjit Singh Lambas views taken from a websiteIn this he cleverly juxtaposes what is obviously right with what isoutrageously wrong. He cleverly uses the tradition of 2+3 Banis for Nitnemas justification for authenticity of Dasam Granth without touching upon thecomponents of Krishanavtar, Ramavtar and Chritropakhyan.

3.Editorial views of the Sikh scholars at the Institute of Sikh StudiesChandigarh, as published in the Sikh Studies Quarterly Vol. II, Issue 3July-September 2000.

1. Baba Virsa Singhs Gobind Sadan

Sri Dasam Granth Sahib(From: - Gobind Sadan Times International

Edition Vol. 1 No. 8 July 2000)

At present there is considerable controversy surrounding theauthorship of parts of the collection of the writings of GuruGobind Singh, the Dasam Granth. The history of thisscripture is as follows: The collected writings of GuruGobind Singh are known as Dasam Granth (Scripture ofthe Tenth Guru). The writings of the poets in his courcomprise a different scripture, known as Vidiya Sar (Pooof Knowledge). According to a famous history of the Sikhswritten in 1843, Suraj Prakash (Rising of the Sun), 52scholar-poets and 7 pandits always lived in the court of

Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The writings of the poets werewritten on paper in fine script, and according to SurajPrakash, the weight of this Vidiya Sar was 9 maunds.

On the night of 5 December 1705 AD, Guru Gobind Singhleft his court in Anandpur, after a long siege by Hindu andMuslim armies. During this departure, the Guruspossessions, including both the Dasam Granth and VidiyaSar, were carried away by the strong current of the floodingSarsa stream. However, in those days it was customary tomake copies of Guru Gobind Singhs writings and thewritings of the poets. In addition to the 52 poets and 7pandits, 39 scribes had lived in Guru Gobind Singhs courtBecause of the faith of his devotees, copies of Guru GobindSinghs writings always exceeded those of the poets, andthese copies were kept safely with many devotees.After Guru Gobind Singh left his mortal body in 1708religious-minded people began trying to take care of hiswritings. First of all, Bhai Mani Singh Shahid(martyr), whowas at that time Head Priest at Amritsar and also a greatscholar, with great efforts collected the writings of GuruGobind Singh and compiled one copy thereof.

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Bhai Kesar Singh Chhibbar - whose family had been diwans(administrators) of the Gurus, including his great-grandfatherwho was diwan of the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Gurus,whose grandfather and father were diwans of Guru GobindSingh, and who himself attended Mata Sundri Ji (wife ofGuru Gobind Singh)- has written in his 1769 book known asBansavalinama Dasan Patshahian Ka (Lineage of the TenKings), This book which contained the life stories of avtarswas compiled by Bhai Mani Singh. He provided travelexpenses for various people. One Sikh brought a largeamount of cash. That cash was used by Bhai Mani Singh tomake payments to the Sikhs for expenses in searching for thewritings of Guru Gobind Singh.

Only Mata Sundri, Bhai Mani Singh Shahid, and Bhai ShishaSingh (who stayed with Mata Sundri in Delhi and wascompiling the Dasam Granth) can know about theauthenticity of Dasam Granth. Later, Baba Deep SinghShahid, Bhai Sukha Singh, and many other religious workerscollected the writings of Guru Gobind Singh and edited the

Dasam Granth. Among those birs (copies) of Dasam Granth,those written by Bhai Mani Singh Shahid, the one in thelibrary of Sangrur, and the one in Moti Bagh Gurdwara,Patiala, are at present kept safely. The Dasam Granthpreserved at Patna Sahib, the birthplace of Guru GobindSingh, is also famous. But in these Dasam Granth birs, thebanis (sacred writings) are not written in the same order, noris their number equal. The reason is that as and when thedevotees found copies of the writings, they included them intheir collection. Those who had greater means for makingthese collections were certainly more successful in collectingmore banis. But from those birs, many banis are the sameand appear to be written from the same one source. It was

due to the unavailability of proper means of collection thatthere were differences in the size and shape of the birs. Atfirst people called the collection Bachittar Natak. Later it wasknown as Dasmen Patshah da Granth. But now the HolyBook is called Dasam Granth.

Bhai Desa Singh, known as Rahitnamiya (writer of afamous Rahitname, or ethical code, of Sikhs), son of BhaiMani Singh Sahib, has written in his Rahitnama,I had a vision of Guru Gobind Singh.He said from his mouth:Oh Sikh, listen to what I say:In the beginning I wrote Jaap,

Then I uttered Akal Ustat-This is like the recital of Vedas.Then I wrote Bachittar Natak-In that the story of the Sodhi lineage is told.Then two Chandi Charitras were compiledAnd poets appreciated the poetry in them.Then l recited Giyan Prabodh [Source of Knowledge]I described that, and all the wise people understood.

Then came the stories of the 24 Incarnations, then theMasters of Datta Tarayc [a saint who had 24 masters] weretold,Then Bachittar Bakhiyan [wonderful descriptions] weremade;Those were also called one scripture. If a fool reads themhe becomes wise. Then in Shabd Hazare the stories of alkings were told.Then 404 Stories were made.They described the guiles of women [and men].

In the years after the passing of Guru Gobind Singh, theSikhs were engaged in battles and struggles, due to whichthey could not prepare the Dasam Granth in proper formWith the beginning of the Singh Sabha movement in the latenineteenth century, scholars directed toward the religiousscriptures and Sikh history. The Gurmat Granth ParcharakSabha Amritsar collected 32 copies of the Dasam GranthAfter five years of deliberations in the second floor of SriAkal Takht, Amritsar, these eminent scholars clarified the

differences in the birs and published their report in 1897A.D. In accordance with that report, the present form of theDasam Granth came into existence. The banis included in iare as follows:

JaapAkal UstatBachittar NatakChandi CharitraChandi Charitra IIWar Bhagauti Ji KiGiyan PrabodhChaubis Avtar (incarnations of Lord Vishnu)

Up Avtar (Brahma and Rudr)Shabd HazareSwaiyeKhalsa MehmaShashtar Nam MalaCharitropakhiyanZafarnama, Hikayat

In the above report, Giani Sardul Singh the scholar who wascharged with writing the committee report, agreed that thewhole Dasam Granth is written by Guru Gobind Singh, andall doubts were ended. Nevertheless, sometimes skepticaarticles continued to be written. Sikh scholars then gave

replies.

In 1902 A.D., Bhai Bishan Singh of Sangrur, son of BhaGurdiyal Singh Anandpuri, wrote the book Dasam GranthSahib Kisne Banaiya? (Who Created the Tenth Granth?)According to the method and style of the writings and muchother evidence, he proved that the Guru Gobind Singh wrotethe Dasam Granth.In 1935, Bhai Sher Singh of Kashmir wrote a book

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Dasmesh Darpan (Mirror of the Tenth Guru) in which hegave many proofs that the Dasam Granth was written byGuru Gobind Singh.

In 1937, Dr. Jaswant Singh of Lucknow published a series ofarticles in Amrit magazine. This was scholarly research inwhich after great effort, giving many proofs from thescripture itself and the style of writing, he concluded that thewhole book was written by Guru Gobind Singh.

In 1955, Bhai Randhir Singh, eminent member of SikhHistory Society Amritsar, wrote a book entitled DasmePatshah ji Granth da Itihas (History of the Tenth GurusGranth). After 20 years of labour collecting proofs, hefirmly established that Guru Gobind Singh wrote the DasamGranth. This book was published by the Shiromani GurdwaraParbandak Committee. The first printing was sold out withina few days of its publication, and there was great demandfrom the public. Ultimately, three printings were made of thispublication.

After 1955, People Began Research Of Dasam Granth toobtain PhD degrees. In 1955 Dr. Dharam Pal Ashta and in1959 Dr. Harbajan Singh proved in their research papers thatthe entire Granth was written by Guru Gobind Singh. In1961, Dr. Parsini Sehgal offered her research paper along thelines of the former two scholars. Dr. Lal Manohar Upadihiyaof Benares University, Dr. Om Prakash Bhardwaj of AgraUniversity, Dr. Sushila Devi of Punjab University, Dr.Shamir Singh of Guru Nanak Dev University, Dr. Mohan JitSingh of Usmaniya University, Dr. Bhushan Sach Dev ofPunjabi Unibersity, Dr. Nirmal Gupta of Punjabi University,etc.-about two dozen scholars wrote their PhD. and DLit.

research papers on the subject. They have all agreed that theDasam Granth was written by Guru Sahib.

After all this research, it is clearly evident that this scriptureis great not only due to its religious aspects but also due to itsliterary merit. The scholars who have studied the DasamGranth have written great praises of the high standard of itspoetry.

Today the Dasam Granth is being kept open with reverenceat Takht Patna Sahib, Takht Sach Khand Hazur SahibNander, and all gurdwaras maintained by Nihang Singhs. Inthese places, its meanings are being explained and

hukamnama (holy commandment for the congregation) isalso being taken from the scripture.

As for the writings of the poets in Guru Gobind Singh scourt, a few parts of Vidiya Sar have survived and have beenpublished by Bhai Vir Singh as Kavi Darbar of Guru GobindSingh (the Poets Court of Guru Gobind Singh) Thecompiled writings of one of those poets was also publishedabout one hundred years ago as the book Asmodh Bhakha. It

has long been out of print. Comparison of the survivingwritings of the poets with the writings of Guru GobindSingh shows that their writing style is clearly different.

[This article has been prepared by Bhai Kirpal Singh, theresident research historian of The Gobind Sadan Institute foAdvanced Studies in Comparative Religion. Many of thehistorical documents mentioned here in are available forstudy in the library of the Gobind Sadan Institute.]

Call To Scholars

To help set the controversies over the authorship of theDasam Granth to rest, His Holiness Baba Virsa Singh hascalled for anyone who has proof that Guru Gobind Singhdid not write the Dasam Granth to come to Gobind SadanInstitute in Delhi to present those proofs. Transportationaccommodation, and meals will all be provided by GobindSadan to any such scholars.His Holiness Baba Virsa Singh also invites questions abou

Dasam Granth to be sent to him via email atwww.dasamgranth.org,fax at 91-11-680-1653, or mail aGobind Sadan Institute, Gadaipur, Mehrauli, and New Delh110030. Babaji will answer all such questions personally.

Potential Of Dasam Granth

His Holiness Baba Virsa Singh explains the significance ofDasam Granth:I think that if the Dasam Granth is publishedand read in many languages, our limited ideas andboundaries will all vanish. In Dasam Granth, the Guru hasnot spoken only about one religion, one community, or one

people. Dasam Granth speaks about the whole world. I

includes descriptions of Mata Durga, Lord Krishna, andLord Ramchandra of all great personalities from Sat Yugato Kali Yuga. Reading it, ones enmity will end. One willrecognize that Guru Gobind Singh has not come for onecommunity or one caste. He came to uplift all humanity. Hecame to awaken the power within people. He came to givehumanity what we need to avoid mistakes and overcome ourweaknesses.

In Dasam Granth, Maharaj has written that all cowardicecan end. This he has explained enlightened wisdom; he haswritten in detail about bravery to develop our courage, and

also about being brave without being egotistical. As he

explained in the fourteenth chapter of Bachittar Natakhis autobiography, God became pleased with me. Hecontinued to dictate and asked me to keep on writing.These are the commandments of God; I want them to reacheverywhere.

What has always impressed me most about Guru GobindSingh is that he is a breaker of boundaries. When he goes so

far as to say, Temple and mosque are the same, Hindu

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worship and Muslim prayer are the same, we should say tohim. You have said this, but what are we doing? This is

your teaching, but what teaching are we giving?

Where there is talk of boundaries, do not listen to it, becausetherein anger, hatred, and conflict will be created, and theseare not good. Love is good. Guru Gobind Singh has said,Listen all of you, for I am telling the truth: Only those whohave deeply loved God have realized God. God is love, andif there is no love, then there is nothing.

In Dasam Granth, Guru Gobind Singh has written thedetailed history of the four Ages. It is my desire that byreading this Holy Book we will come to know somethingabout what happened in each era, how the battles were

fought, how the peace-loving people rose up for the sake ofpeace, and how they loved each other. If people come to feelall this, then in the process they may also feel God.

If you question the Dasam Granth, there is no need for anger.First read the entire scripture, think about it, and then

question. Why be angry?

Dasam Granth Website

A special internet website concerning the Dasam Granth isbeing launched by Gobind Sadan as part of its continuedeffort to serve the universal, barrier breaking mission of GuruGobind Singh. On this website will be found the completePunjabi translation of the Dasam Granth, articles and seminarpapers about Dasam Granth, historical documents pertainingto the Dasam Granth, news stories concerning the DasamGranth, and a discussion forum. The website address iswww.dasamgranth.org.

*****2.Gurcharanjit Singh Lambas Views

Guru Granth Sahib And Dasam GranthGurcharanjit Singh Lamba from E-Mail

The Dasam Granth or Dasven Patshah ka Granth is thesecond most important holy scripture of the Sikh Panth. Theimportance of this Granth lies not only because of its being aliterary work of par excellence but also for the reason thatthis book is the source of the Bani of Nitnem andadministering Amrit. Hence this is the source book ofcreation of the Khalsa. Although Guru Granth Sahib is theembodiment of all the ten Gurus but the Bani of only GuruGranth Sahib cannot baptize a Sikh. For this, along with it,the Bani of Guru Gobind Singh ji also has to be recited.

The philosophy of the Gurus invited the wrath of the rulers ofthe time who tried to physically eliminate the Gurus whilethe others in the garb of religious people tried to eliminate thephilosophy by adulterating it. bwby ky bwbr ky doaU, Awpkry prmysr soaU said Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The process

continued and the attitude of these forces towards theSikhism also remained the same. One were those whodeclared that we will eliminate and wipe out this religionwhile the others were there who even refused to recognisethis movement of God as even a religion. The storycontinues to this date. If somebody is to attack Guru GobindSingh ji today he will definitely attack either the symbols ofSikhism i.e. the five kakars or the banee of Dasam Patshahas contained in the Dasam Granth. The story of Sikhismwhich is recognised as the saviour of others, is also the storyof struggle and sacrifices for its own survival. It is noexaggeration that even writers like Khushwant Singh haveat times claimed that the Panth is not going to last too longPanth is in danger always but so is a thing of any worth. TheDasam Granth is like an armour for Guru Granth Sahib. It isthe source of inculcating the spirit of saint-soldiers in thecowards and is panacea for the distinctive identity of theKhalsa. It is no surprise that the forces who do not cherishthe distinctive identity of the Khalsa are always on themission to create chaos and confusion. But one thing is

absolutely clear now that the Sikh baiters can no longerattack the roots of Guru's philosophy by un-Sikh likeappearance. Hence they have to, and have rightly adoptedand adorned the garb of the Gurmukh. The camouflaging isnow absolutely perfect to spread the confusion thoroughlyThis is the most dangerous period. Though the Sikhism is areligion of the book but the apathy of the Sikhs towards thestudy of its scriptures and literature has prompted theunscrupulous people and pseudo intellectuals to disseminatefalse notions about the Dasam Granth. The wisdom or theword of God revealed to the Gurus and other seers andsaints of God was canonized by Guru Arjan Dev Ji in theform of Adi Granth. The Adi Granth was installed with

unprecedented reverence in Harimandir Sahib. So much sothat the Guru himself came down from the Manji andenthroned the Adi Granth on it. It was no ordinary booknow. It was the embodiment of the Guru and the God. TheGuru and the Sangat i.e. the Sadh Sangat now sat around theAdi Granth in the Harimandir Sahib. The Guru was therethe Sangat was there, the Harimandir was there, the GuruBani was there. But the mission of the God was only halfaccomplished. The King was not amused. He noted withcontempt that the Guru's mission had become d uk wn e yb wq wl

d uk wn e y b wq l , the 'establishment of falsehood' and had to be

shut.The precious gift of the God in the form of ecclesiastic

sovereignty had to pay its price and which was paid in theform of sacrifice of Guru Arjan Dev Ji himself. And camewith it the ordinance of the government of the day thaexcept tableeque, the teachings of Islam no other philosophyshall be allowed to be propagated. The mission was tocontinue and hence came the dual swords of Miri-Piri andSri Akal Takhat Sahib. While the Harimandir Sahibreverberated with only the praise of Almighty, the Akal

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Takhat Sahib resounded with thunderous applause of thetemporal authority. While at Harimandir Sahib only the Baniof Adi Granth and vaaran of Bhai Gurdas ji were sung, theAkal Takhat Sahib had the stage set for ballad singing epicseulogising the warriors and heroes and discussions about theworldly expeditions, which was not permissible inHarimandir Sahib. The Akal Takhat Sahib was thus theguarantee for the security of Harimandir Sahib. The adoptionof the combine of Miri and Piri was a big leap but still shortof the goal destined i.e. creation of the Khalsa. From GuruHargobind Sahib to Guru Tegh Bahadur ji made theircontribution and then came the Dasm Patshah. Then came theultimate day for the creation of the Khalsa. Although the baniof Guru Granth Sahib was there but out of the five banisrecited for baptism Japuji and Anand Sahib came from GuruGranth Sahib but the Dasam Patshah recited his owncompositions Jaap Sahib, Swaivey and Chaupaee Sahib.Similarly for the nit-nem also the source of the banis is fromGuru Granth Sahib and Dasm Granth. The source of creationof the Khalsa can thus be ascribed to two holy scriptures

Guru Granth Sahib and Dasam Granth. The culmination ofthe Guru Nanak's vision was the administration of amrit atAnandpur Sahib in 1699 and formation of the complete manin the form of sant-sipahi. The role of the Guru Bani found inthe Dasam Granth for this purpose cannot be belittled andany attempt to do so is to simply trying to not recognise allthe Gurus as one light. The simple meaning of Guru Bani iswhat has been uttered by Guru Sahibs. This is the reason thatthe daily Nitnem of a Sikh consist of reciting the five banis,three of which are given by Guru Gobind Singh ji. The FirstPauri of the Ardas too is the gift of Guru Gobind Singh ji.This thus explains that mere Guru Granth Sahib and

Harimandir Sahib did not make the mission of Guru

complete. It had to be supplemented by Akal TakhatSahib and Dasam Granth. It is thus naive to suggest thatwhen Guru Granth Sahib is there we should not have anyconcern with any other scripture or anything else. If that beso we will have to ignore and discard all the Guru Sahibs andthe Guru Bani given by Guru Gobind Singh ji. What AkalTakhat Sahib is to Harimandir Sahib, Dasam Granth is

to Guru Granth Sahib.

3.Editorial Views Of The Sikh Scholars At The Institute

Of Sikh Studies, ChandigarhSikh Studies Quarterly Vol. II, Issue 3 July, September 2000

The Dasam Granth And The Sikh Consciousness

While talking of the dasamgranth, which has been steepedin controversy ever since its inception one is treading onslippery soil. It was more slippery a decade ago, before theInstitute of Sikh Studies (IOSS) commenced its enquiry intoits mystique. Even though fortified by the hard work of thefounders of the IOSS, one can never be too responsible whilediscussing this particular matter. Restraint has to be thewatchword. In concrete terms this means taking up onlythose concepts for discussion, which have evolved as a result

of the discussion of centuries and which are widely acceptedas true and unassailable. This category could legitimatelyinclude those arguments regarding its contents, which arelogically sustainable. These have been presented wisely andat length in a number of volumes by a true gursikhGurbakhsh Singh of Kala Afghana. His humility islimitless and his logic is as unassailable as his deep faith inthe Guru (which today means the Gurbani) is unfathomableAs a measure of abundant precaution, these wholesome andvery valid arguments are not being made a part of todaysdiscussion.

Of the many tricks played upon the Sikh consciousness byhistory, the most enduring has been the legacy of the socalleddasamgranth. There are no nine books that precedeit; it is not the book of the Tenth (Dasam) King. Thoughattributed, very cleverly to the Tenth Master, there is not asingle composition in it, which bears his name. This is instark contrast to Guru Granth, which clearly bears the guruimprint in the form of the name Nanak. This reality is as

old as Sikh theology itself. Authorship of every verse isclearly indicated to the extent that Nanak is perhaps themost common proper noun and the most commonly used ofwords in the entire Guru Granth. In the dasamgranth ioccurs absolutely nowhere with the implication ofauthorship. Names of the authors, which occur in it, areRam, Shyam, Kaal, Raj, Nanua and such othersStrangely, even after these poets are located and madeknown, it is assumed by the ignorantly devout that these arestill the pseudonyms of the Tenth King. It is totallydisregarded that no other Guru before him bothered to adopany pseudonym and all called themselves Nanak. Aparfrom being doctrinally correct in the context of the Sikh

concept of guruship, this truth is historically verifiable andis asserted by contemporary historians like Mohsan FaniBhai Gurdas, the celebrated bards of the Guru Granth andBhai Mani Singh. Nobody tries to explain to us how, whenand why the Tenth King abandoned the tradition of two anda quarter centuries and nine predecessors, refused to callhimself Nanak and why in complete reversal of thishallowed tradition he adopted strange pseudonyms. Thebest that our scholars have been able to muster is that theMata was shy of calling him Gobind because hisgrandfathers name was Hargobind. Being only anexplanation, the mock modesty theory has no history andsurfaces in the middle of the twentieth century, a decade

after British de-colonization. It also holds no clue to whyMataji named him Gobind to begin with. There is also noelaboration of the process by which words of endearmenused by the exalted mother came to be converted intopseudonyms. This is a rare occurrence in Indian literaturewhere pet names have been transformed into pseudonymsNo attempt is also made to explain why the Guru had toadopt half a dozen of them when all medieval and modernpoets could do with one. For Rumi, Hafiz, Shirazi

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Firadausi, coming right down to Zauq, Ghalib, Zafar, Naaz,Mahir, Diwana, Tir, Bhaia, Safeer, and Mirgind only onepseudonym was considered sufficient. One also sufficedwherever else the tradition was in vogue.

The name of the granth itself has a history of sorts. To beginwith it was in the form of separate books and had nocollective name. Mercifully, even the most diehard ofdasamgranth fans admits this as true. When put together inone volume around 1748 CE or so, it was christened

Bachittar-natak-granth. This was quite logical also.According to an estimate, eight times in the chandichariter,its name is given asBachittar-natak-granth.The author of theKrishanavtar uses the same nomenclature for the book noless than sixty-seven times and theRamavtarnineteen times.In spite of it the real title of the granth is changed so as tofacilitate its attribution to the Tenth King. Overwhelming

and oft-repeated internal evidence is completely disregardedand variety of scholars and motley of believers maintain the

fiction that it is actually named after the Tenth Nanak.

More needs to be said about the name of the granth of whichsome people are greatly enamored. As time passed it cameto be successively and variously called Bachittar-natak-

granth, dasween patshah ka granth, dasamgranth, dasam granth sahib, eventually evolving into dasam Sri GuruGranth Sahib by the courtesy of booksellers doingbusiness in Bazaar Mai Sewan of Amritsar. In the latestincarnation, the word dasam is printed in very small print andfor all intents and purposes it is the rest, that is Sri GuruGranth Sahib, by clever and mean deception. Shakespearewould have been shocked to realize what all is there in aname and only in a name. What fragrance a wild bush flower

can come to acquire when it is named a rose! This granthcame to acquire prestige and reputation that is wholly andsolely traceable to its name being associated with the TenthKing. The name arouses passions even today. Those whohave not read a word of it are the most insistent that it

must be regarded as the composition of the Tenth Guru.

The title and the widely prevalent ignorance about its

contents are the potent sources of its veneration amongst

a couple of Sikh sects, at Hazur Sahib and Patna Sahib .The main inspiration of undue veneration is also traceable tothe utter neglect of the Sikh doctrine by its true custodian, theKhalsa. It can equally be blamed on the failure of the Sikhintellectuals to call a spade a spade and can be traced to the

covert encouragement of those who maintain the controllersof Sikh affairs in power in regions far away from the Punjab(now also in the Punjab). It is not strange that nearerhome and in the recent past, those who revere thisgranth

also constructed the destroyed Akal Takhat in defiance of

the peoples will. Generally, these very people support

the most Hindu of all organizations at elections and are

perceived to be the vanguard of re-assimilation process -

the blue-eyed baby of Hindutava forces.

At no time the authorship of the charitropakhyan part of thisgranth was attributed to the Guru except in a crudely forgeddocument, which could not stand even a cursory scholarlyscrutiny. Several times, eminent scholars have confirmedthis assessment. Once even the Akal Takhat has decreedthat the Guru has not written it. That needed no learning osensational dedication, for the authors name is mentionedin chariternumber 195 as Kaal. This portion consists o923 pages of a recension having 2276 pages in all. Anothe494 pages are in honor of Krishanavtar authorship of whichis claimed by a poet named Shyam. Thus according tointernal evidence, the authorship of 2205 pages is claimedby poets known to history. The rest of the seventy-onepages mention no clues to authorship and are widelyaccepted as the genuine writings of the guru. This is anexceptional case in literature where a book is named after aperson to whom only seventy-one pages of it are attributable(with a few reservations) and the 2205 cannot be. Otherswho have superior claims by the sheer bulk of theircontribution, are completely ignored.

Of these seventy-one pages the Gurus authorship isregarded as certain, except for the four notorious versesThere is also unanimity about the status of the Guruscompositions included in the dasamgranth. It is recordedby a fairly reliable (for this purpose) sources that someSikhs approached the Guru with a request to include hisbani in the Guru Granth. They were told that it was to beretained in a separate volume and was not to be treated atpar with the bani of the Guru Granth. He twice confirmedthe doctrine again by very fundamental decisions that hetook later. Around 1697 CE he had the final version of theGuru Granth prepared. In this volume, he included the ban

of the Ninth King and not his own. Both decisions indicatethat he consciously and deliberately did not claim a

status equal to the Gurbani for his writings. Heeventually put the seal of finality on his decision byconferring the status of Guru on the Granth from which hisbani was excluded. Thus he settled for all time to come

and made it an article of faith for his Sikhs that his own

utterances were irrelevant to the Sikh canon, which comprised of the Guru Granth and the Guru Granth

alone. In defiance of his own command, we have gone to

the extent of conferring high reverential status on even the

poetry which preached antagonistic doctrines or which ispurely hedonistic in character but is included in the same

volume by some sinister scribe.

A careful study of dasamgranth has yielded that the desireto stultify and destroy the absolutely pure and spirituallyedifying image of the Tenth King is the main motivationbehind its creation. The ultimate aim being the dismantlingof the wholly ameliorating spiritual order erected by thestriving of the Ten Masters and manifested by themartyrdom of tens of thousands of the purest minded, the

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most motivated and the most devoted of Sikhs. All this isabsolutely clear from the spate of books that have emergedon the subject during the last few decades. Yet whenobjective analysis of the dasamgranth is proposed to be

undertaken, those who protest most vociferously are the

very persons who consider themselves to be good Sikhs.

These good Sikhs try to break their own fall on the cushionof wishful nomenclatures. They seem to believe that roughgranite will become soft and comfortable once they decide tocall it a pillow. For them dictionaries and the context inwhich the words are used have no meaning and they assumethe absolute sovereign right to assign vastly differentconnotations to proper nouns although neither the words northe context permits such use. Shiva when used in aparticular verse for them is One Supreme Lord, although theword is used six or seven times more in the samechandichariter (ukat bilas) and every time it connotes theDevi Chandi. Yet it is insisted that when it is used onceagain in the popular verse (number 231) it means Akal

Purakh. The words Mahakal and Bhagauti are also similarlymisinterpreted to read convenient meanings in them. Howgreat a blind spot the dasamgranth can be becomesapparent when kabiovach benti chaupai, a part of the

charitropakhyan is recited as part of the evening prayer

although the Akal Takhat accepts Chritropakhyan

composition to be no part of the Gurus bani.

The Institute of Sikh Studies has been patiently analyzing thevarious aspects of this work and has been promoting itsproper understanding for almost a decade now. It has eversought the promotion of a scholarly debate on the issue ofauthorship. And yet when the issue breaks into the

headlines of the motivated Press, we are invariably askedto be patient, to not to rush matters and to try and work

out a consensus. The very attempts made for arriving at aconsensus are criticized as impositions on the entire panthby one organization. Counsel of patience and of working outa consensus itself is nothing new: it has been suggested forcenturies and periodically extended without any follow up.It has become a euphemism for indefinite postponement

and for no action ever. Perhaps things will change nowbecause, besides the Institute of Sikh Studies, the AkalTakhat and the World Sikh Council, the two premier Sikhinstitutions are both urgently and seriously seized of thematter.

*****BABA VIRSA SINGH JI MAHARAJS BLESSING(Reproduced from SB Sept. 2000)

b wb w i v r s w i s MG j I mh wr wj v l oNA s Is

s RI d s m g RMQ d I b wx I s wf y p Uj n j og h Y[ i e h g ur Ug oi b Md i s MG j I d I

z b wn i v c oNA we I e y[ a un HWd yi g A wn i v c oNA we I e y[ a un HWd IA Wn z r W

iv c oN A we I e y[ i j h Vw d s v Wg RMQ e y, s i B q oN i z A wd w i p A wr w k I

l g d w mYn UMi j h V Wa uh d y i v c j wp u s wi h b A wi e A w h oi e A w e y[ q y mYN

q Wie h g l k h Wg wik i j h V wd s v Wg RMQ ey, a uh d y i v c S k n k r

ik a UN? i e k A Ys I p i v q r b wn I a uh d y i v c A we I hoe I ey, j I h n

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a uh i s K Wd I c I z e y[ T i k h Y, s wf y i n q n ym i v c A w i g A w e y j wp

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k oe I i d l d y i v c B ul yK w k r d I e y, a uh k F i d a [ k uJ b wx IA Wa uh d

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q yA s INs wr IA Wn UMi k a UNn h INmMn l YNd y[ i e k n UMk i h x w, q yr IA Wb wh

c Mg I A Wn y, q yr w i s r K r wb e y[ i e h k I h oi e A w? q y q us INs wr I Bwe

s Mg q n UMi k a UNn h INmMn d y?

i e k s wn UMs wi r A Wn UMi e h Bul yKw e y, ik i j h VI g l d w s wn UMp q

n h IN, i e h q Wn Mg I g l e y[ h ux a uh q Wi k h Md we yn wc k wn c e IXw [

h ux e ys g l n UMs mJ n wi k k l g IDr r b n UMi k h Md we yik q UMq Wn c wr

h YN[ a uh i k h V I i d S w i v c k i h i r h w e y[ a uh A wp n c wr s wr

d un IA wn UMn c w i r h we y[ e ys k r k y i k q yk ih Md we y j ob n k w j wl h Y [

p r i k a UN? S wf IA Wk mz or IA W, A s INs mJ d yh Wik g ur Ug oib Md i s MG

ik v yNk ih s k d wr b n UMik q UMj ob n k w j wl h YN [ q UMn wr k w i s Mg wr

h YN [

i e h g l Wid mwg iv c oNk Fo[ g ur Ug oi b Md i s MG h r c Iz n UMp Yd w k r n

v wl w, h r c Iz n UMv yK i r h w s I [ q yh r c I z n UMv yK k yq yb ol i r h

s I[ i e n HWg l Wd y j d oN a up r a uT og y, q uh wn UNi g A wn a ud oNh I A we yg w

g ur Ug oi b Md i s MG d w[ q us IN i e n HWg l W i v c h I a ul J y r h y, i k g ur

g oi b Md i s MG A wh QoV w k i h s k d w e y[ g ur Ug oi b Md i s MG q Ws i B k uJ

h I ik h s k d w[ g ur Ug oib Md is MG A g yk oe I c I z F k I nh IN[ k oe I c I z

n Mg I nh IN[ a uh s wr IA Wc Iz W nUMp Yd w k r d w e y A q y s wr IA Wc I z Wn

A wp d y iv c s mwl YNd we y[ i e n HWg l Wn UMCf k ya up r a uT o[ S k d w k

e y? j yS k h I k r n w e y, P yr q Wb wn I qyB I S k k r o[ q ybwn I i v c B

A wa uNd w e y- i e Md r I k w b l Q wk w [ i e h q Wn Mg I g l e y[ r i s r i s

Bog k r yp RBumyr w [ a uh q Wd un IA Wd I g l Cf o, k Fob wh r ie h n UM[

h i r p RB umyr w c o j I j Ia u [ c o j I k I e y? i e n HWg l W q oN A s I N a up r

a uTIe y[ i k a UN? b wn I i v c BI b Vw k uC i l iK A wh oie A we y[ a uh b wn

i v c j o i l i KA w e y, a uh i g A wn i l iK A w e y[ d s m g RMQ i v c B I j

i l i K A w e y a uh b Rh m i g A wn n wl i l i K A w e y[ i g A wn r wa uj b s yj

A wv Y q n wnk B og k r ye I [ j d oN s yj q y A we yg w k Mq , Bog a ud oN h

k r Wg y[ i e h q Wb wn I i v c h Y[

i e h g l WCf i d a u, i e h g l WA s IN n h I Ns mJ s k d y[ g ur Ug oi b Md

i s MG j I k I s I ? j o a uh n y i l i K A w a us n UMmMn l a [ S k h I e y[ h or

k I ey[ A wh i k v yNmh wr wj i l K s k d yny[ mh wr wj q Wk r q yny[ s iB

k uJ i l K s k d y n y, h Y k I ? myr y v ws q y q W i j Q y p wi q S wh d w n W A

j Wd w e y q y i j Qy j wp u s wi h b A w i g A w e y, A s I N q W a us j g wh n

s wr I c Iz n UMp U j Wg y[ i k a uN? a uh p Uj n I k e y[ q us INj wp uswih b k i h Md

j yA Mi m Rq e y[ q y d Uj I c I z z i h r e y[ i e h i k v yN h o s k d w e y[ j y j wp

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s wi h b A Mi mRq e y, d U j w s wr w h I A Mi mRq e y[ q us IN k i h Md y h o n w i k

c Op e Iy c Mg I e y, j wp us wi h b c Mg w e y, q Wb wk I i k a UNmwV I e y? i k a UN

q uh wnUMc Mg IA W n h IN l g d IA W[ i e h g l Bul j wa [ s wi h b A k l I

b wi h r w - b wn I i v c i k h w e y i k s wi h b A k l q oNa uc w e y[ q us INA k l

n wl s mJ n w c wh uMd y h o, s o i e h C f i d a [ i j Q y q uh wf I A k l K q m h o

j Wd I e y, a uQoNa uh d wi g A wn S ur Uh uMd we y[

h ux q us I Ni e h s oc s k d y h o j l y h r I , Ql y h r I [ A wp n y A wp n UMi k v yN

k i h s k d w h Yi k d r K q i v c h r I b YT w h oi e A w e y, p r a h q Wk i h

i r h w e y[ A s I Nk i h s k d y h Wi k s muMd r d y i v c h r I e y[ a uh q W i k h

i r h w e y h r I h Y[ a uh q W i k h i r h w e yy- g g n d mwmw b wi j a [ h ux

i k Qyg g n h Yq y i k Qyd mwmwh Y[ k I h n UMp q we y? Kyq j umwi f a s Ur mw

A b j UJ n k o d wa u [ a uh i k QoN s Ur mw l V i r h w e y? i k h V I g l k r

i r h we y? a uh q Wk i h Md we yy- A K I b wJ h u v yK x w i v x uk Mn ws un x w[ p Yr w

b wJ uh c l x w i v x h Q wk r x w[ j IB Yb wJ h ub ol x w a uh k I c Iz e y?

A K I N q oN i b n w v yKId w, z b wn q oN i b n w b ol I d w, k Mn Wq oNi b n w s ux Id w,

p Yr Wq oNib nw q ur Id w[ i e h k I h oi e A w? e yyh q Wb wn I iv c h Y[ i e h d y

A r Q i k v yN k F yg w? q us INe yn w c Iz WnUMi k v yNs mJ og y[ i e h q WA Ys IA W

g l Wn y, b Md wS k h I k r I j we y[ k r I j we y, i j Mnwmr j I ey[ p r myr ymn

d y iv c q Wh r c Iz e y ik i j Qyg ur Ug oib Md is MG d yb Rh m d ws v wl e y,

a uQya uh h r c Iz d w, k wie n wq d wa uh mwl k e y[ k oe I c Iz n Mg I n h IN,

k oe I F k I n h I N[ a uh q WB ul j wa [ i e h oi j h I A Wg l Wi v c p Yj wa g y q W

q uh wn UMi g A wn h I n h INh ox w[ b YT yr h o[

s RI d s m g RMQ n UMi v A wi KA w s i h q s B q k p Oc wx w h Y[ e yh a uq m k Mm

f w: r q n i s MG j g I A q y f w: g ur d r S n k Or j g I v l oNb VI s uGVq w

n wl in Bwie A wi g A we y[ myr I a un HWn UMA s Is h Y[ g ur Umh wr wj a un HWn UM

c V Hd I k l wi v c r K y, A Mg s Mg s h we I h oe y[

*****

GURU GOBIND SINGH & "SO-CALLED"

DASAM GRANTHSarjit Singh Sandhu, Idaho, USA

All the stories related to authorship of Dasam Granth, despitethe research of Dr Rattan Singh Jaggi [Ph.D.Thesis] leadingto the conclusion that Guru Gobind Singh is not its author,still persist and are alive to serve those who benefit from it.The primary purpose of these adversaries of Sikhism is toconfuse and divide the Sikhs rather than to relent for theirforgery and forget about it. The intelligentsia amongst Sikhs

has a duty to provide a clear and logical picture as to thevalidity of this conclusion that Guru Gobind Singh hasnothing to do with the so-called Dasam Granth and provebeyond doubt that " Guru Kian Sakhian " is nothing butanother interpolation in Sikh affairs by the adversaries ofSikhism. No doubt many chapters of so-called Dasam Granthare full of dirty words, which nobody would like to speak inthe family. Here some facts are provided which support that

Guru Gobind Singh was never associated with the text ofso-called Dasam Granth.

1 Aad Guru Granth Sahib is composed in 31 Raagas whileso-called Dasam Granth is composed in Chhands, which isthe methodology of Hindu Writers.

2 Gurbani has been composed by the Gurus in almost all thedialects of Panjabi language and is in Sant Bhasha but DG iscomposed mostly in the dialects of language of Hill people.

3 Guru Gobind Singh included the Gurbani of Guru TeghBahadur in Aad Guru Granth Sahib at Damdama Sahib in1704 A.D. and this is known as Damdamibirh incomparison to Kartarpuribirh compiled by Guru Arjan Devin 1604 A.D..4 Dr Rattan Singh Jaggi in his Ph.D.thesis states without aniota of doubt that Guru Gobind Singh is not author of so-called Dasam Granth.

5 Guru Gobind Singh never composed any GurbaniOtherwise he could have included it into Aad Guru GranthSahib at the time of inclusion of gurbani of Guru TeghBahadur in 1704 A.D.

6 Even people who tried to interpolate Kachi Bani intoAGGS used the word " Nanak to make it authentic; but

Dasam Granth does not contain word "Nanak" as a seal oauthority of Guru Gobind Singh.

7 Some people advance the argument that Guru GobindSingh forgot to include his compositions into DG. Such

persons must pay attention to the following stanza in SGGSwhich is given as under: -

B ul x A Md i r s B uk oA B ul ug ur Uk r q wr u]

g ur mi q m n us mJ wi e A w l wg w i q s Yi p A wr u]

n wn k s wc un i v s r Ymyl ys b d uA p wr u] 8 ] 1 2 ] . 1 M 1 SGGS P 60

8 DG contains the following stanza in praise of justice ofJahangir.j h Wg Ir A wi d l mi r g X o] S wi h j h Wh j r i q j UB X o] . 1 ] . 2

DG P 916Would you believe it to be true when we know that Jahangir

tortured Guru Arjan Dev, the great grandfather of GuruGobind Singh, to Death and boasts about it in his

autobiography. Jahangir put his grandfather, GuruHargobind, in incarceration for almost eight years. Do youbelieve in the justice of Jahangir or for that matter GuruGobind Singh as an author of DG ?

9a If we examine the vocabulary used in SGGS and DGwe find a few words which have been used in both of theseBut both Granths use these words in different contexts withdifferent meanings. For instance, the use of word Amrit in

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DG ocurrs only two times and the stanzas are given asunder:-i c q w j r wi e j r n j b l wg X o] q b b Yq wl q h w q yj wg X o]

s IMi c A Mi mRq i q h d uh uMn i j XwXo] i n Rp k yic q k oq wp ui mt wXo64 ] .3

DG P 929

s un ur wj w q YNp r mYNA t k I ] B Ui l g e I s B h I s ui D G t k I ]

j omui h A b q um d r s i d K wv o] A MimRq f wi r j nu imRq k i j X wv o] 6 ] . 4DG P 1310

We find that in DG the word Amrit has been used in bothcases as a means of reviving the dead. In [4] the beloved ispining for meeting her (lover) friend who is a king. In [3] it isthe king who has been saved from a funeral pyre (dying inself repentance) by saving the dead (lover and beloved) withthe use ofAmrit as a medicine, which revives both the dead.Here the king is saved from self-immolation.

A Mi mRq k wi e A wr h Ys uKwl I b wj I i e h us Ms wr o]

l b l oBumuc uk UVuk mwv i h b h uq a uT wv i h Bwr o]

q MUk wie A wmYr ul d I dyK I i j a uD r a up i r C wr o] 1 ] . 5

M 1 SGGS P 154

a us wi r mVol I r wKYd uA wr wBIq i r b YT I s wDn w]

A Mi mRq k yl k r yi n q k wmi x A v i r l ut yn s up Mc j n w ] 2 ] . 6

M 1 SGGS P 155

i j n v i f A we I q yr yn wm k I q y r q ymn mwi h ]

n wn k A Mi mRq e yk uh Yd U j wA Mi mRq n wi h ]

n wn k A Mi mRq mnYmwi h p we IA Yg ur p r s wi d ]

i q n I Hp I q w r Mg i s a ui j n Hk a ui l i K A w A wi d ] 1 ] . 7

M 2 SGGS P 1238

In SGGS the meanings ofAmrit are different. In [5] and [6]Amrit is used in the sense of immortality which makes one

haughty to do everything in selfish and self-centered manner.In these two slokas word Amrit has been used in ridicule tosend a message to the person that by assuming yourselfimmortal you are making a mistake, which will be verycostly for you in the end. In [7] the use of word Amrit is inits true sense. The Sikh Gurus believed that human attitudeshould be attuned to understand the working of this universe,which is created by the Akaalpurkh. All the human beingsare under the command of the creatorand theyshould learnto live by caring for everyone else and sharing what they canwith the fellow human beings. Death is an inevitable fact oflife and one should spend one's life in accordance with theadvice of Aad Guru Granth Sahib since Sabd is the Guru of

Sikhs.

9b Bhagauti is another word which has been used in both[AGGS & DG] but, again, with different meanings and indifferent contexts. In DG Bhagauti is consort of Shivji,sometimes referred to as Shiva, which is worshipped inHinduism under different names such as Kali, Durga etc. Butin AGGS it finds its use as a Bhagat who is seekingBhagwant, the Akaalpurkh, for learning to live in this

world in accordance with the laws and grace ofAkaalpurkh. To illustrate this point stanza of Guru AmarDas is given as under: -A Mq i r k p t uB g wa uq I k h we y] p wK Mi f p wr b Rh muk d yn p we y

] 3 ] 1 4 ] . 8 M 3 SGGS P 88

10 In Rehras, the Kabiobach Benity is a part ofCharitarno.404 [DG] and starts from sloka 377 and ends in 401. InGutkas, published by SGPC, the numbering of slokas inRehras goes from 1 to 25. The gurbani in AGGS, too, hasnumbering of slokas but during quoting these slokaselsewhere the original numbering is maintained as anevidence of originality and its being part of AGGS. Whythis rule was not followed may be clear soon. If we readsloka 402 the mischief loses its mystery which is givenbelow for your perusal:i k r p w k r I h m p r j g mwq w ] g RMQ k r w p Ur n s uB r wq w ] 0 2 ] . 9

DG P 1388

This clearly indicates that JAGMATA is some Devi whichis being thanked by the poet for help in the completion ofthis Granth without any hurdle or happening. How can thisbe a composition of Guru Gobind Singh? He did notworship anyone but Akaalpurakh.

11 Amongst five banies ofNitnem (daily recitation) JaapSahib is one of the three from Dasam Granth. Most of theSikh brothers & sisters are emotionaly involved in acceptingit as one of the compositions of Guru Gobind Singh andthey equate it with Japji Sahib of Sri Guru Granth SahibJapji Sahib is the first bani in Sri Guru Granth Sahib juslike Jaap Sahib in Dasam Granth. However, an analytica

study of Jaap Sahib shows that word Namaskar isrepeated as many times as is the number of couplets of banin JaapSahib which is nothing else but bowing before theGuru or Aad Guru Granth Sahib as the Guru. The wordKaal, too, is used almost as many time as word Akaal asnames of deity for worship by Sikhs. However, the wordKaal is most profusely used in Hindu religious literatureand is generally related to worship ofShivji, a Hindu godHere interpolation of word Kaal to such an extent seems toindicate introduction of concepts of Hindu thoughsurreptitiously which is openly professed in later parts ofDasam Granth, relating to Hindu Avtars, Bachiter Natak etc11b The most astonishing stanza of Jaap Sahib isreproduced below with its meanings in Panjabi and English.

n ms q s q ud yv Yy[ n ms q M A Byv yY[

n m s q MA j n m y[ n ms q Ms ub n m y[ 2 1 ] . 1 0 DG P 2

A

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