One of the newer trends which Gurbakhsh Singh Kala Afghana has criticized is the elevation of the `Dasam Granth' to a status comparable to the Guru Granth Sahib. This is allegedly a collection of the writings of Guru Gobind Singh, but much of it does not stand up under scrutiny because the contents are at odds with the fundamentals of Sikhism. This is hardly surprising, as it was put together long after Guru Gobind Singh's death. While we may hold those parts which are in accordance with the Gurus' teachings with respect, it would be foolhardy to take all of it at face-value; yet there are some who do, and at the highest levels. Even if it was possible to authenticate some writings as being purely the work of Guru Gobind Singh, it would still not be right to treat them as being comparable to the Guru Granth Sahib. The reason is that by choosing not to include his own compositions in the revision of the Adi Granth, when he added the writings of Guru Teg Bahadhur, and on which he bestowed the Guruship shortly prior to his death, Guru Gobind Singh did not want us to do so. He emphasised this further by not using Nanak as his pen name, out of keeping with all the other successors of Guru Nanak. I can't see that there is any room for doubt in this matter, but it is a valid question as to why Guru Gobind Singh made this decision. The only sensible answer is that, since his literary interests were very wide (he did patronise a court of several dozen poets after all), not everything he wrote was appropriate for inclusion in the Sikh Scriptures. To avoid any possibility of a subsequent ambiguity, therefore, he took the drastic step of excluding all his compositions.

There is a lobby of Sikhs who do not like the above assessment, including those who excommunicated Gurbakhsh Singh. Some do have a genuine concern, of course, because they realise that there are implications for our most cherished Amrit ceremony: the presently agreed Nit-Nem includes Jaap Sahib, Sawaiy and Chaupai, all presumed to be written by Guru Gobind Singh. Well, are we really sure that Guru Gobind Singh advocated these as part of our daily prayers? Given the earlier discussion, I'm rather doubtful. I suspect that the first thirteen pages of the Guru Granth Sahib, which stand apart from the Raga-based chapters, were the original prerequisite for the morning, evening and night prayers. Whether it was so or not, Guru ji gave us the authority to discuss matters of concern and current relevance, as a community, and make appropriate decisions. This has to be done in the light of Sikh principles (as opposed to mere traditions) and by consensus; a majority verdict is considered second best, and decrees by a select hierarchy are definitely out of the question. We should not be afraid to revise earlier decisions in the light of new information, or changing circumstances, or to correct inadvertent mistakes; just because we have have been something in the past doesn't, of itself, make it right.

As a final comment on the Dasam Granth saga, I'd like to point out that we seem to be forgetting the writings of Bhai Gurdas. He acted as a scribe to Guru Arjan when the Adi Granth was compiled, but was also an author in his own right. Apart from the Guru Granth Sahib, the works of Bhai Gurdas are said to be the only other compositions that were given official sanction by the Sikh Gurus. Although not included in the Sikh Scriptures themselves, Guru Arjan adorned them with the title of the 'Key to Gurbani'. As such, the Dasam Granth could never be anything more than a tertiary text.