In the Medieval Period, the South Asian world was divided between the Hindu and Muslim constructs of gods or God. Guru Nanak Sahib addressed IkOankar, the One, beyond geography or gender. The revelations of the Gurus show us how to transcend particularisms and creeds that continue to entangle and divide the globe.

In the 17th century, Guru Arjan Sahib gifted the Sikh community and humanity with one of its greatest treasures: the compilation of these revelations, of this Wisdom, in the Adi Granth. On September 1, 1604, the Adi Granth was ceremoniously installed for the first time at Sri Harimandar Sahib, the theo-political center of the Sikhs.

The compilation of the Adi Granth was a monumental task—a sustained labor of love, and a demonstration of Guru Arjan Sahib’s skill as a master planner, musicologist, and poet. The Granth took shape as a new understanding of the One—narrations of the unnarratable narrative of the One, love-songs of personal intimacy, and understandings of Hindu and Muslim truth-exemplars of medieval South Asia. The revealed wisdom of the first five Gurus, three Sikhs, fifteen Bhagats (devotees), and eleven Bhats (court poets, bards) offers a selection of poetic, personal experiences of the One, and songs of love for the One. Guru Arjan Sahib personally compiled the scripture, while Bhai Gurdas (1551-1637) meticulously scribed it. Tradition holds that this work was completed beside the historical Ramsar pool in Amritsar, before the Adi Granth was installed at Sri Harimandar Sahib.

Guru Arjan Sahib asked Baba Buddha (1506–1631) to be the first Granthi (the one who knows the Granth), the custodian at Sri Harimandar Sahib. On this day in 1604, Guru Arjan Sahib asked Baba Buddha Ji to open the Adi Granth and share the first Hukam (Command) with the Sikh sangat (congregation). The Wisdom of the Granth illuminated every space and interspace, and marked a defining moment in the journey of the Sikh community, as it decisively moved towards the Guruship of the Granth Sahib.

The first Hukam received that day was by Guru Arjan Sahib in Rag Suhi:

ਸੂਹੀ  ਮਹਲਾ  ੫  ॥
ਸੰਤਾ  ਕੇ  ਕਾਰਜਿ  ਆਪਿ  ਖਲੋਇਆ  ਹਰਿ  ਕੰਮੁ  ਕਰਾਵਣਿ  ਆਇਆ  ਰਾਮ  ॥
ਧਰਤਿ  ਸੁਹਾਵੀ  ਤਾਲੁ  ਸੁਹਾਵਾ  ਵਿਚਿ  ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ  ਜਲੁ  ਛਾਇਆ  ਰਾਮ  ॥
ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ  ਜਲੁ  ਛਾਇਆ  ਪੂਰਨ  ਸਾਜੁ  ਕਰਾਇਆ  ਸਗਲ  ਮਨੋਰਥ  ਪੂਰੇ  ॥
ਜੈ  ਜੈ  ਕਾਰੁ  ਭਇਆ  ਜਗ  ਅੰਤਰਿ  ਲਾਥੇ  ਸਗਲ  ਵਿਸੂਰੇ  ॥
ਪੂਰਨ  ਪੁਰਖ  ਅਚੁਤ  ਅਬਿਨਾਸੀ  ਜਸੁ  ਵੇਦ  ਪੁਰਾਣੀ  ਗਾਇਆ  ॥
ਅਪਨਾ  ਬਿਰਦੁ  ਰਖਿਆ  ਪਰਮੇਸਰਿ  ਨਾਨਕ  ਨਾਮੁ  ਧਿਆਇਆ  ॥੧॥

The All-pervading has come to complete the saints’ task.
Body and heart have been blessed, filled with immortal Life.
With immortal Life flowing within, the form gained its completion, and all the goals have been met.
In this celebration, the world admired, and all the anxieties gave in.
The Complete, Pervasive, Everlasting, and Indestructible One, whose praises the scriptures sing.
The Sovereign has kept the benevolent nature, O Nanak, one has become attuned to the Nam.

     Guru Granth Sahib 783

A century later, at Damdama Sahib in 1708, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib lovingly wove the revelations of Guru Teghbahadar Sahib into the tapestry of devotional wisdom contained in the Granth, with Bhai Mani Singh serving as the scribe. The Guru then bestowed Guruship upon the completed anthology, affirming the Guru Granth Sahib as the eternal Guru of the Sikhs.

The Guru Granth Sahib is a treasure trove of Sabad-Wisdom. The Sabad is full of beauty, music, poetry, and emotion. The Sabads are love-songs for the Beautiful One, with the power to transform ordinary beings into divine-like beings. On this significant day, let us invite the Sabad-Wisdom into our lives and dwell in the One’s presence.

The SikhRI team extends heartfelt greetings on the first Prakash Purab of Guru Granth Sahib—an occasion of profound historical significance that continues to illuminate, inspire, and guide us.