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ABSTRACTS OF SIKH STUDIES : APRIL-JUNE 2005 / 537 NS
thought and spirituality. There are many well-meaning scholars who
are eager to write on this subject and to translate the Sacred Texts.
Not all of them, however, may qualify to do so. Each one has the
indelible imprint of his own level of understanding and spiritual
experience, and it is but natural that they view the sacred gurbani by
the yardstick of their own competence. As Guru Gobind Singh says:
Aap aapni budhi hei jeti,
Barnat bhin bhin tohe teti. – Benati Chopai, p 10
Each one to his own level of wisdom
Expresses differently about You, the Lord.
There are two types of people. Persons who are centred into
their own shell and see matters in myopic sense according to their
own experience and knowledge, are categorised as ‘Self-willed’. There
are others, few in numbers, of course, who have the gift of experiencing
the feelings and the views of others, called ‘Empathic’. The two are
opposite to each other in nature. Although the Empathic are fewer
compared to the Self-willed, it is desirable to entrust the job of
translation to the former in preference to the egotists.
The translator of any writing has to develop two basic skills before
taking up the very responsible task of presenting the thoughts of the
original text to the unwary public who has no other means of access
to the author. More so, when the writings are sacrosanct and may
affect multitudes of people, who are dependant on the correct
interpretation of the text. Translations should not lead haywire and
allow incorrect perceptions. These two skills are, firstly, the in-depth
personal understanding of the subject of metaphysics and flight of
imagination in divinity, and, secondly, the maturity of expression in
apt phrases of what one wishes to convey. It will, indeed, involve
wide and excellent vocabulary in a translator. In the case of any sacred
text, the author, while writing the piece, requires not only poetic
maturity in view but also its effect on innocent souls who eagerly take
to the preaching contained therein. The translator has the onus of
passing on the essence and the ethos of the original to the reader,
totally eclipsing his own personal feelings and preferences. It is not
sufficient to rhyme the text, but to correlate the contents as conveyed
in the translation with the original
There have been errors of colossal proportions in the translations