In an era filled with desecration, distortion, and disconnection, this project was initiated to provide a greater opportunity for everyone to develop a personal relationship with the Guru Granth Sahib. SikhRI recruited an international team of specialists and subject matter experts to begin a process of "transcreation," composition by composition, beginning with Asa Ki Var. Transcreation is the process of developing meaningful interpretation, while providing content in both modern Panjabi and English. SikhRI's transcreation process is meant to generate a rich context to illuminate the language, aesthetics, musicology, history, culture, and philosophy contained within the Guru Granth Sahib.
Savaiya is an ancient and significant poetic form in the Indic literary tradition. It can be composed in two styles: varnik (based on the number of letters) and matrik (based on the number of meters).
In the Guru Granth Sahib, Din Raini is a poetic form, like Barah Maha, Ruti, Thiti, and Var Sat, structured around traditional Indic units of time.
As a poetic form, Thiti is based on the fifteen lunar days of the Indic calendar months. A ‘thiti’ refers to a lunar calendar day—a count from the first to the fifteenth day based on the moon's phases.
The Guru Granth Sahib Project is pleased to announce the annotation of two Sabads by Bhagat Jaidev Ji, one of the fifteen Bhagat contributors to the Guru Granth Sahib.
The word ‘anjuli’ refers to the gesture of cupping or folding the hands. It can signify prayer, supplication, seeking blessings, acceptance of the Divine will, or a gesture of salutation.
The word ‘birhare’ comes from ‘birha,’ meaning separation, or the pain of separation. ‘Birhare,’ meaning ‘songs of separation,’ is a poetic form that gives voice to this pain of separation. These three Sabads powerfully convey the experience of separation
“So Purakhu” means “That Being,” “That Supreme Being,” IkOankar who is without form, is all-pervasive, beyond gender, existing in all and beyond.
Var Sat, commonly known as ‘Satvar’ or ‘Satvara,’ is an old and popular poetic form based on the seven days of the week. In it, each stanza begins with a particular day of the week and describes an idea, sentiment, or belief associated with that day.
In this composition, Guru Amardas Sahib emphasizes that IkOankar (the Divine) is the Creator of the entire creation. It illustrates how beings attached to transient things and relationships remain trapped in the cycle of birth and death.
The Guru Granth Sahib Project is pleased to launch the annotation of three Sabads (compositions) by Bhagat Beni Ji, one each in Rag (musical mode) Srirag, Ramkali, and Prabhati.
The Guru Granth Sahib Project is pleased to launch the annotation of four Sabads (compositions) by Sheikh Farid Ji, two each in Rag (musical mode) Asa and Suhi. While Rag Asa is devotional in nature, Rag Suhi is associated with deep love and devotion.
The Guru Granth Sahib Project is pleased to launch the annotation of the first fifteen saloks by Sheikh Farid Ji, one of the fifteen Bhagat contributors to the Guru Granth Sahib. Saloks traditionally do not have a prescribed rag (musical mode).
While reading the Guru Granth Sahib, we encounter various stanza structures within a Sabad, often indicated through corresponding titles on the Sabad. This diversity in stanza structures arises due to variations in the number of lines in the stanzas.
This Sabad, composed by Bhagat Ravidas ji in the Gauri rag, reflects a vision of a sorrowless realm, a state of being beyond pain and anxiety.
This Sabad, composed by Bhagat Ravidas ji in the Gauri rag, reflects a vision of a sorrowless realm, a state of being beyond pain and anxiety.
While reading the Guru Granth Sahib, we encounter various stanza structures within a Sabad, often indicated through corresponding titles on the Sabad. This diversity in stanza structures arises due to variations in the number of lines in the stanzas.
Saviye Sri Mukhbakya (Mahala 5) I explores a kind of devotion that arises intuitively from love, awe, and lived experience—not from rigid intellectualism or empty ritualisms.
In the Guru Granth Sahib, Din Raini is a poetic form, like Barah Maha, Ruti, Thiti, and Var Sat, structured around traditional Indic units of time.
In this Thiti, Bhagat Kabir Ji uses the lunar fortnight calendar to guide us through an inner journey of remembrance, awareness, and transformation.
The Guru Granth Sahib Project is pleased to announce the annotation of two Sabads by Bhagat Jaidev Ji, one of the fifteen Bhagat contributors to the Guru Granth Sahib.
The word ‘anjuli’ refers to the gesture of cupping or folding the hands. It can signify prayer, supplication, seeking blessings, acceptance of the Divine will, or a gesture of salutation.
The word ‘birhare’ comes from ‘birha,’ meaning separation, or the pain of separation. ‘Birhare,’ meaning ‘songs of separation,’ is a poetic form that gives voice to this pain of separation.
Sheikh Farid Ji is one of the fifteen Bhagat contributors to the Guru Granth Sahib. The Guru Granth Sahib contains four Sabads and one hundred and twelve saloks by him.
Bhagat Sadhna is one of the fifteen Bhagat contributors to the Guru Granth Sahib and one of the saint-poets of the Medieval period in South Asia. He was a butcher by profession whose life and behavior changed when he became a devotee after realizing...
The first fifteen saloks by Sheikh Farid Ji convey that the span of every being’s life is predetermined and finite. The being has come into this world to engage in devotion of IkOankar (the Divine) and to live a life of humility and non-attachment.
In saloks sixteen to thirty-six, Sheikh Farid Ji reminds us that humility is a noble virtue essential for life. A seeker in love with IkOankar (the Divine) perceives the Divine in all and remains ever humble.
In saloks thirty-seven through sixty-five, Sheikh Farid Ji describes the typical human life, where beings are drawn to glittery yet ultimately harmful transient things and relationships, spending their entire lives in pursuit of them.
In saloks sixty-six through ninety-two, Sheikh Farid Ji reminds us that with each day comes someone’s time to depart this world. All those here are like guests; yet they spend their lives oblivious, forgetting to prepare for the journey ahead.