Guru Gobind Singh, our last Guru-in-person, declared Guru Granth Sahib to be our perpetual Guru and we call the Shabad-Guru as the Jot (light) of our ten Gurus, although the messages contained in Guru Granth Sahib are from 6 Sikh Gurus and 30 others including 16 Bhagats from Hindu and Muslim background, as also some who were foolishly called "Untouchables". Guru Arjun, who compiled the Scripture, projected Sikh universality in such a bold manner that not only did he ask Hazrat Mian Mir, a Muslim Divine, to lay the foundation stone of our most important Shrine, Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, but also included the writings of non-Sikh saints. But the finality of every word in Guru Granth Sahib being our Guru comes from Guru Gobind Singh who declared that the guruship after him will remain, for all times to come, with Guru Granth Sahib.

I complete 30 years of my attachment to the feet of my Guru on 10th October, 2000. Keeping the compassionate protection of Guru Granth Sahib in view, I am enamoured of recollecting, recalling and remembering the gracious attributes of my Guru. What goads me to reflect on this 30-year experience as a disciple of no consequence to the Jugo-Juga, Atal Guru’s majestic personification of all that is said about a Guru, in Guru Granth Sahib, even though my Guru is not a person. The beauty is that the Guru’s qualities are detailed in countless ways by various contributions by Gurus as also Bhagats, although none of them claims in any verse that he is the Guru. To my great fortune, my adherence to the Scripture comes not only from the fact that I was born in a Sikh family where we are told that Guru Granth Sahib is our Guru, but also from a comprehension that all that is written in the Scripture Guru is absolute Truth. But what I propose to share with my fellow-Sikhs now is that we have, inadvertently, been left out of the great upliftment that we would have received, if we really believed Guru Gobind Singh s command that Guru Granth Sahib is our perpetual Guru. The Guru obviously meant that -

1. a Sikh will no longer have to bow to another human being calling him his guru because all human beings are equal and, in his own case, Guru Gobind Singh administered amrit to Panj Piare and himself took amrit from them, becoming Aape Gur-Chela (Guru and the disciple became one).

2. the Word which rules the world and directs every activity will become the object of worship that the Sikh through internal communion with the omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience of the Word will be liberated in his living;

3. the object of worship will not be the regalia, or the fineries covering it, but the Gyan, the Hukam, the Directions, which would be found in Guru Granth Sahib;

4. a Sikh would study the contents of Word-Guru devotedly, intensely, purposefully, understandingly, and then arrange his life in accordance with the directions contained therein;

5. a Sikh will find everything in the Scripture-Guru to guide him and will not have to run to personal Gurus or pseudo-saints or soothsayers to get peace because peace would be available to him in the pursuit of Guru’s instructions.

6. a Sikh would actually witness the manifestation of Guru Nanak’s assertion; Shabad Guru Surat Dhun Chela (Word is the Guru and the mental alignment with it is the disciple.)

Indeed we have belied the expectations of our Guru, because we have never taken Guru’s Word seriously as our Guru, although we have done everything to pay external respects to our Guru. I believe that if we strictly adhere to the commands of our Guru in day-to-day life, as also our major activities, we would be assured of a peaceful life, promised by our Guru. Let us first take one shabad of Guru Nanak who sets the tone of the kind of devotion he expects a disciple to uphold: Mul kharidi laala gola... (page 991, Guru Granth Sahib). A layman’s translation would run as follows:

"I am the purchased slave of my Lord and my name is the Fortunate One. I am sold to the Guru through his Word and am engaged in whatever he himself has put me on. What clevership can be shown by Your slave, Lord? True, I am not able to live by Your commands. But my mother is Your slave, my father is Your slave and I am born of the slaves. My mother dances to your tunes, my father sings to Your tunes and we are all engaged in Your bhakti. My Lord, if You ask for water, I shall bring it; if you like to eat, I shall grind the wheat fresh. I fan You, I wash Your feet and I go on reciting Your Name (Naam). (But I recognise, Lord) that your slave Nanak is not really faithful to You. If you still forgive him, it is Your Majesty. You are the compassionate Giver from the Beginning, without You, I shall never be liberated."

Along with this shabad, if we take extracts from Japuji Sahib, the picture would be more clear:

"Kiv sachiara hoiye kiv koore tute paal
Hukam rajai chalna nanak likhya naal"

(How can one attain Truth and become the Truthful one,
and how can the wall of falsehood be razed down? Says Nanak: We must live by His will)

and

"Hukmein andar sabkau bahar hukam na koe
Nanak hukmein je bujhe tan haumein kahe na koe"

(Everything is under His command and nothing happens without his Human;
Says Nanak : If one begins to understand the mystery of Hukam, one will not be guided by Haumein (Ahankar)"

For a Sikh it is important to listen to Gurbani, understand its import, analyse the instructions and to live by the commands. If he does so, as we shall see later in the light of Guru s own words, we shall see for himself the promises projected by Gurbani fulfilled in his own life and Mukti (a kind of liberation) from fetters granted without travail. Let us see what the Guru, the first Guru expects a Sikh to do to earn the grace of the Guru :

1. To serve the Guru as a slave with no will of his own. In other words, strictly live according to his dictates.

2. To live in communion with the Lord 24 hours and accept His will cheerfully in whatever he is commanded to do.

3. To display no cleverness and arguments and to try to live in His will always.

4. To accept the status of a Non-Entity before the Guru, remembering that he is supposed to serve the Guru and implement every command of the Guru unhesitatingly. That is Bhakti.

5. To recognise his unfaithfulness and beg the Lord for His pardon and not boast of his devotion.

6. To recognise that without Guru s grace, the Sikh would not be able to achieve anything anytime anywhere.

7. To break the shell of falsehood in which the Sikh is enveloped; he is required to accept the Lord s will cheerfully and live peacefully.

8. To recognise that everything happens with His will and not complain.

9. To understand that he can be rid of his Haumein by learning to live by Hukam.

As we shall see later, even Guru Gobind Singh’s dramatic creation of the Khalsa was in line with Guru Nanak’s declaration :

Jau tau prem khelan ka chaao sir dhar tali gali meri aao

Itt marag peir dhireeje sir deeje kaan na keeje.

(If you wish to play the game of Love, put your head on your palm, then come to my pathway. On this path, the first step should mean that you are prepared to lay down your life, if necessary, for righteousness).

(Guru Nanak: SGGS: 1412)

But let us see the perfection of the Guru in Every Command, and the perfect implementation leads to the results mentioned in every command. As we go on we shall discuss some of the effective and demonstrable result-oriented commands of the Guru, but before we go on this exercise, I am tempted to mention that these 30 years of life at the feet of Guru Granth Sahib remind me of various shabads but two of them stand out.

1. Jakau mushkul att bane....(Guru Arjun, SGGS:70-71)

One who is faced with an insurmountable problem and finds no one for support. His enemies gloat over his problem; that may be natural but even his relations run away. When all help vanishes, no one is there to offer succour. If that person thinks of the Lord, He will come out Unscathed.

2. Jo hamri bidh hoti mere satguru, sa bidh tum har jaano aape. ham rulte phirte koi baat na poochata gur satgur sang kire ham thaape.

If I were to be dealt with on the basis of my actions, my Satguru, everything is known to you. I would have been rotting on the streets. But in your company a worm like me has also some value.

- (Guru Ram Dass, SGGS: 167)

Since I have no personal Guru and have received no Mantra in the ear, or in public, and I know no one who commands my allegiance, I know only Sadhsangat, the basic instrument of our religious philosophy, and the singing of the shabad, our main form of worship. I heard these shabads sung many times and came to dwell on their meanings, and found them in my own life not only to be true but also reassuring for all times to come. I suffered from depression for two years and, at one time, had become so out-of-gear that my life began to look purposeless. It appeared also that I would lie like a vegetable, helpless and wait for death. Indeed, in terms of Jakau mushkal att bane.... I began going to Rakabganj Sahib at lunch time everyday, begging the Lord to rid me of the scourge so that I could come to Him only to love Him. After months of this exercise, the Lord, through Gurshabad, smiled and removed my pain for all times to come:

Je toun mitar asadara ikk bhori na vichchor

(If you are my friend, do not foresake me for instant)

(Guru Arjun, SGGS: 1094)

The protection of my perfect Guru in Guru Granth Sahib is not only available all the time but, what is more remarkable, is that the Guru has no preferences, no discriminations and no extraneous considerations. Those who listen to the Guru invariably receive his consolation, his grace, his encouragement and his love, but those who are in karam-kand relationship come to the conclusion, to their disadvantage and in their wrong judgment, that they have to go to a personal Guru, Granth Sahib is the Perfect guarantee of the Gurus’ implementable commends through their own actions and of their strict rule of law. I need not stress that our Gurus did not observe the principle of heredity in bestowing Guruship on their successors and, indeed, did not leave out their sons if they found them meeting the requirements of spirituality.

Now that my life centres round the service of the down-trodden without discrimination, and the singing of the praises of the Lord with association of Sikhs and non-Sikhs with equal gusto I find, in my own life the truth of Gur-Satgur sang kre ham thaape. While I continue to be ashamed of my innumerable sins and my helplessness in depression, the Lord has seen to it that others think of me as Guru’s slave.

Let us now take some of the general assurance of the Word-Guru which cover the whole gamut of our activities, both spiritual and mundane. The results are so clearly demonstrable that one begins to think of our Guru as our real teacher and we the students. The basic requirement of a human being is that he should live in peace and happiness, he should be free from worry and pain, he should flourish in work and relationships and he should have respect and regard among the people. The wonder of our Guru is that without direct contact as a person-to-person, he through Gurshabad, ensures that Man can enjoy his life unhindered if he lives the commands of the Guru. Guru Granth Sahib’s basic postulates would be:

7 I must do unto others as I want others to do to me.

7 I must not do anything which does not please my Guru.

7 I must treat all Mankind to be of one and the same caste/race.

7 I must treat womankind with the same respect that is reserved for men.

7 I must not consider anyone lower or higher because of caste, because caste, in our philosophy, stands abolished.

7 I must not be selfish, I must not do anything which I have to hide from others and I must not presume to be better than others.

7 I must not be under the influence of coveting others’ wealth or women.

7 For me, every woman other than my wife, is my sister, my daughter or my mother.

7 I must remain in communion with the Lord 24 hours.

7 I must get up at amritvela and sing the Lord’s praises in my own interest.

7 I must contribute 1/10ths of my honestly earned income towards charity.

7 I must not be guided by Bhramas (doubts) and superstitions.

7 I must not compromise with truth and righteousness, even if it hurts me or inconveniences me.

7 I must not be party to frightening others for selfish motives and I must not be frightened to gain something.

7 I must not be afraid of death because I am born out of the philosophy which Khalsa represents, i.e. offering our head to the Guru.

7 Love should be my principle in everything I do.

7 I must never think ill of anyone nor should I wish ill for anyone.

7 Slander of others and vanity for myself must be avoided at all costs.

7 I must respect all religions and religious methods of worship of others.

7 I must remain the humblest as my Gurus showed themselves in their lives and I must not hesitate to take up arms against tyranny in the defence of the weak, just as Gurus did themselves without hatred or rancour.

All these attributes of Sikh life are backed by Gurbani, but the truth is that the way our Guru promises a clean and comfortable life as a result of our adherence to his message is totally dependable. It is my good fortune that Guru Granth Sahib has blessed me with experiences of all that I have learnt in a significant manner. The splendor of our Guru is that, although he is full of compassion and grace, he expects the Sikh to display in life the qualities that the Guru has envisaged for the Khalsa. The qualities that Guru Gobind Singh emphasised on the Vaisakhi Day, for the Panj Piare were meaningfully the same that earlier Gurus has preached and practiced. To our great delight results promised in the adherence to Guru’s commands, exemplified in the shabads of Guru Granth Sahib, are there for everyone to experience. The appeal of the Shabad Guru lies, therefore, not only in uncompromising loyalty to Truth and Righteousness but also to a life of freedom, peace and happiness as a householder.

I end this note of gratitude to the Guru for allowing me to live in the Tapovan Ashram of his Charan-Kamal for 30 years, with the appeal that we should recognise the ever-living Guru in the Jugo-Jug-Atal Guru Granth Sahib and live Guru’s commands. All the controversies, our quarrels, our rivalries, our selfishness will be washed away before the Perfection which the Perfect Guru, Guru Granth Sahib is capable of bestowing on us. This is the Experienced Truth of the Shabad-Guru.