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RELEVANCE OF GURU GRANTH SAHIB IN THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY
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RELEVANCE OF GURU GRANTH SAHIB
IN THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY
TEJPAL SINGH *
Literature has the inherent quality of being relevant to all times.
Art and literature never die. It remains invariably fresh and lively.
Guru Granth Sahib, as a genre, enshrines the highly inspired utterances
of the divinely oriented poets, communed with God. Its universal
appeal is to the whole of mankind. It typifies the man who is the
measure of all things. Its vision is splendid, which covers the basic
characteristics of man: his ego, tensions, fears, frustrations, anxieties,
temptations as well as aspirations. Guru Granth Sahib’s appeal is
ecumenical: everybody irrespective of caste, creed, religion, race,
gender, region is welcome. Guru Granth Sahib is a major repository
of spiritual cognition. Whatever relevance Guru Granth Sahib had
four or five centuries ago, it has the same today in the twenty-first
century for mankind. The scenario at the global stage has not changed
much, and is marked by fear, suspicion, disunity and strife. Man is
still groping for light in the dark in its search for peace and happiness.
Mankind is beset by acts of genocide, violence, holocausts, terrorism
and threats of nuclear wars. Imminently, Man’s existence is in peril.
Guru Granth Sahib appeals to the Almighty for deliverance:
Save by Thy grace, the world in flames;
Save it at whatever portal it may be saved. 1
The world is on a heap of gunpowder. Any ignition can explode
it. Hitler’s invasion of Poland in September 1939 led to the Second
World War, which killed 55 million people. Like Pearl Harbour and
September 11, the Belsan school slaughter, Bali and Jakarta bombings
are still fresh in our memory. The oil inflation of the 1970 changed
* # 1, Myrtle Grove, Bella Vista, NSW 2153, Australia