Nitnem by Dr. Kulwant Singh, with Punjabi ... - Gurbanifiles.org

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SOURCES OF THE SCRIPTURES
Guru Granth Sahib – The root source of all the Gur-Banis (Scriptures), except that of Guru
Gobind Singh, is Guru Granth Sahib. Besides others, the Holy Book is published by S.G.P.C.,
Amritsar, Punjab, India. It was compiled by the 5 th Guru Arjun Dev. Later, Guru Gobind Singh
added to it the Bani of his father 9 th Guru Tegh Bahadur, but did not put in it his own Bani.
On the page 1429, line 6, of the Holy Book, there are 5 couplets in the stanzas under the
title Dohraa, and out of these the two are -
balu chhutkeo bandhan prae kachhoo naa hot aupaae.
kahu nanak abb ot har-e gajj jeo hohu sahaae. Slok 53.
Strength has been lost, the bindings have caught up, and there is no way out. Nanak,
submit to the protection of God. O Lord, help as You did the elephant (and saved it from
the crocodile). 53.
balu hoaa bandhan chhutae sabh kichhu hot upaae.
nanak sabhu kichhu tumraae haath maae tum hee hot sahaae. 54
Strength is there, the bindings are no more, everything is set right. Nanak, all is in Your
hands, please provide Your protection. Slok 54.
Some think that the lower couplet No. 54, is by Guru Gobind Singh. The 9 th Guru wrote the
stanza before his martyrdom at Delhi, and at that time his son the 10 th Master, was more than
200 miles (320 kilometers) away at Anandpur Sahib, near Chandigarh. Father would not have
sent his son the incomplete stanza without the above given upper couplet No. 53, for him ( son)
to put in the couplet No. 54, to complete it. Even, the 9 th Guru would not have expressed a
desperation, and asked his son‘s advice by sending his couplet No. 53. If the Ninth Guru had
been afraid of his death, he would have not traveled to Delhi, preaching all along the way.
Moreover, the obedient son would have never sent his advice to his great Guru-Father, to boost
up his courage. The language, words, style and expression of the couplet No. 54, is in total
harmony with the couplet No. 53, and evidently this stanza has no writing by Guru Gobind
Singh. No poet leaves a composition incomplete, especially with the unwritten lines in the body
of the poem, for someone else to complete it. If Guru Gobind Singh added his couplet to the
stanza, he could have added at least some of his other Banis to Guru Granth Sahib. In the
couplet No. 53, Guru Tegh Bahadur poses a question to the humanity, “You think you have lost
strength, you are bound down - helpless, and there is no way out? Submit to the Lord, and he
will protect you as he saved the elephant from the jaws of the crocodile.” In the couplet No. 54,
he himself advises, “ By submitting to God, you get back strength to stand everything, you get
delivered from the limitations, and everything gets set right. O Lord everything is in Your
hands, and graciously extend Your protection.” It is clear that the scripture by Guru Gobind
Singh is not there in Guru Granth Sahib.
The 5 th Guru compiled the manuscript containing the Hymns of his predecessor 4 Gurus
and his own compositions, and it was named Pothi Sahib – the Revered Book. Later, it came to
be called ‘Kartarpuri Bir,’ because it was with the Sodhis of Kartarpur. It is possible, honoring
the work of the 5 th Guru, the 9 th Guru did not himself add his own Bani to it. It was the 10 th
Master who added to it the 9 th Guru’s Bani, long after his martyrdom. It got the name of
‘Damdami Bir’ – compiled at Damdama Sahib. Perhaps, with the same sentiments, the 10 th
Master revered the work of his elders, and did not enter his own compositions into the Pothi
Sahib (Damdami Bir). Very likely, as his father did, he did not want to equal his elders. Before