Jan-March 2006 - Institute of Sikh Studies

22ABSTRACTS OF SIKH STUDIES : JAN-MARCH 2006 / 537-38 NSIt would be quite another matter for non-believers, as we shall see, togo on making hostile contentions.As Guru Arjun Dev composed hymns as per ragas, musicalmeasures, and their sub-meters, and keeping in view the contents andtypes of compositions in two, three, four, six, eight and sometimes 16or more lines/paras, he mixed the bani of various Gurus, and variousBhaktas starting with those of Kabir and ending with those of Farid.It presented an integrated work, an anthology of five centuries ofIndian religious literature from various parts of the country.The composition or Pothi Sahib was a masterpiece of Guru ArjunDev. Firstly, it straightaway consolidated the Sikh faith and gave it avalid and legitimate personality of its own. Secondly, as Guru Nanakhad laid emphasis on Shabad-guru, Word of Lord as the Guru, GuruArjun Dev, keeping that concept in view, put the Pothi at a higherpedestal and sat himself at a lower level. Here, like his predecessors,he laid emphasis on the Personality or Characteristics of God as theobject of worship, and not any other object. Lastly, he enunciated anunadulterated monotheism and humanism, and reflected a pan-Hindustani and universal relevance of Sikhism.There was no duality in Sikh thought.VPreparation of Pothi Sahib in 1604 caused a ripple in the Sikhcongregation. The first copy of this Pothi, recension, was made fromthe original in 1605, i.e., within a year. It was copied by Bhai BuraSandhu, at the instance of Bhai Milkhi, a resident of Peshawar in thepresence of Guru Arjun Dev. These facts were written at the end ofPothi. This Pothi was written in one hand, of Bhai Bura Sandhu. Lateron, as we shall see hereafter, some one removed two last folios, 587and 588, and, with malafide intentions, inserted four more folios, 587to 591 and also introduced some extraneous matter, like (a) SalokMahla 1, jit dar lakh mohammada, (b) Salok Mahla 1, bae atish aab khak,(c) Rag Ramkali Ratan mala, (d) hakikat rah mukam raje Shivnabh ki.,etc. As stated earlier, these had been rejected by Guru Arjun Devthis was part of the conspiracy to distort Sikh philosophy. We shall