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50
ABSTRACTS OF SIKH STUDIES : APRIL-JUNE 2005 / 537 NS
among Hindus, and there was hardly any social intermixing among
them. Muslims were absolutely a humanity apart. At that time Guru
Nanak appeared on the scene and galvanized Indian citizenry by the
slogan of ‘Oneness of God and Brotherhood of all mankind’. By
associating with Bhai Mardana, a Muslim of the same village as his
life long friend, he broke the religious barriers and traveled 39,000
miles throughout the world including Mecca, Jagannathpuri and
Haridwar. He stayed with Bhai Lalo rather than Malik Bhago breaking
the high/low barrier. The institution of Sangat and Pangat was a
revolution in Indian social intermixing.
Now I come to Guru Arjun Dev. The foundation of Golden
Temple, the most revered Sikh shrine, was laid by a Muslim Faqir Sain
Mian Mir in December 1588.
The compilation of Guru Granth Sahib by Guru Arjun Dev and
its installation in Harmandir Sahib on 1 st September, 1604, deserves
special deliberation. This eternal Guru of the Sikhs - nay the entire
humanity, has some striking features.
The Granth contains, besides the writings of the Sikh Gurus,
compositions of almost all the medieval Hindu Bhaktas, like Kabir,
Ramanand, Ravidas, Surdas, Sain, Bhikhan from UP; Jaidev from
Bengal; Namdev, Trilochan and Parmanand from Maharashtra; Pipa
and Dhanna from Rajasthan; and Beni, then popular all over North
India. The writings of four Muslims — Baba Farid, Bhikhan, Satta,
Balwand are also incorporated in the Granth. Here is then national
integration at its best.
By far, the largest portion of the Granth is composed in a mixed
language, a mixture of western Hindi, Prakrit, Braj, Punjabi and the
then current vocabulary of Persian and Arabic. So, not only in subjectmatter,
or religious affiliations of its authors, but also in language the
Granth upholds the creed of integration as against exclusiveness.
Oneness of God was Guru Nanak’s cardinal principle :
God first created Light; all beings belong to nature.
Since from one Light is the whole world created – who is noble,
who inferior 1
THE ABOLITION OF CONCEPT OF HIGH AND LOW
The contribution to Guru Granth Sahib came mainly from the