Shri Guru Granth Sahib by Jaswinder Singh Chadha

Guru Gobind Singh declared
Adi Granth as the Guru
for all times to come
for all the Sikhs to follow

a treasury of Guru's word
perpetual light to view
the revered Guru Granth is
last but ever lasting Guru

Guru Nanak in his travels
was known to carry a book
an anthology of his hymns
a diary or pothi of his trips

it was passed to Guru Angad
as he became the Guru
the hymns in it were sung
by Sikh sangats as they grew

Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru
saw the need to collate
compositions of the Gurus
for Sikhs of the future date

messages were sent around
to sangats everywhere
to deposit the Gurus hymns
in Guru Arjan's care

Guru Amardas's son Mohan
inherited pothis from the sage
but he refused to part
with his precious heritage

Baba Budda and Bhai Gurdas
were specially sent
they had no luck with Mohan
who will just not relent

finally Guru Arjan himself
went to Goindwaal to try
he serenaded his tambura
sang hymns of The High

Baba Mohan melted away
in the magic of the hymns
and parted with the pothis
his prized possession

the pothis were accorded
respect and veneration
and were brought to Amritsar
in a holy procession

the bedecked pothis,
were placed in a palanquin
which was carried by the Sikhs,
followed by Guru Arjan

the cavalcade moved on
and headed for holy Amritsar
paying homage at Khandoor
to the great Guru Angad

Outside Amritsar, the Sikhs
waited along with Hargobind
they welcomed the party
rejoicing filled the wind

Bhai Gurdas and Baba Budda
were carrying the palanquin
as the party entered Amritsar
they were all singing hymns

thanksgiving was conducted
by the revered Guru Arjan
with all this material then
the Guru was ready for action

besides the Gurus writings
there was a treasury of hymns
coming from Indian saints
of varied castes and religions

for completing the task
Guru Arjan picked a spot
in the midst of nature
in the nearby forest lot

in the peaceful surrounding
he had a tent erected
and with help from Bhai Gurdas
a model was perfected

Bhai Gurdas wrote in hand
as Guru Arjan dictated
the script used was Gurmukhi
and the Granth was collated

hymns of the Gurus
were uniquely assigned
so were the hymns of saints
allocated and defined

musical styles were stated
for each and every hymn
classified as Shabad, Var
or some other composition

the Adi Granth produced
was two thousand pages
half of these were blank
to be filled by future sages
venue for the holy Granth

venue for the holy Granth
was chosen to be Harmandar
Baba Budda was assigned
to look after the wonder

from the Ramsar site
they moved to Harmandar
the Baba carried the Granth
followed by Guru Arjan

musicians sang the hymns
on the way to Harmandar
Baba Budda laid it down
and read it as hereunder

"God Himself accedes
to His followers need
He has Himself arrived
to accomplish the deed

the place is enchanting
and beautiful is the pool
the waters are ambrosial
the Amrit pool is full"

at day time, the Granth
was enthroned and read
it was laid to rest at night
after the prayers were said

a room was provided
for resting the holy Granth
it was wrapped up in silks
and laid on its planquin

the cherished Granth
became centre of Sikh life
the Guru and the Granth
were guides in every strife

the original holy Granth
served the Sikhs at Amtritsar
later the sixth Guru, Hargobind
moved it to Kartarpur

from Guru Hargobind
the copy went to Dhir Mal
and descendants of Dhir
possess it now as well

the Granth was updated
and brought to completion
Guru Gobind Singh himself
accomplished this mission

Bhai Mani Das recorded
Guru Gobind Singh's dictation
gradually the colossal task
was brought to completion

Guru Teg Bahadur's hymns
were added to the Granth
but Guru Gobind Singh's Bani
is conspicously absent