Holy Scriptures of Sikhism

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The sacred writings of Sikhism are at the center of the Sikhs' meeting place, the Gurdwara , and play a major role in the entire religious life.

Guru Granth Sahib

The Guru Granth Sahib is not only the sacred text of the Sikhs, but represents the visible alienated form of the ten Gurus and is therefore treated like a human being. It is considered the spiritual source and seat of Almighty God, which is why the whole life is determined by Guru Granth Sahib. In its presence, children are blessed, marriages are made, and the dead are bid farewell. In Guru Granth Sahib, different texts from different centuries by people of different religious orientations are combined. Many of the texts come from the 10 gurus themselves. Guru Gobind Singh determined that he would be the last guru and appointed Adi Granth Guru Granth Sahib.

Adi Granth

The Adi Granth , which can be translated as Holy Book of the Beginning , contains among other things hymns written by the first four successors of Guru Nanak . Guru Arjan wrote a grant containing the texts of the first four gurus. From Guru Arjan himself come 2,218 hymns. Texts by important figures of the Santh movement such as Namdev , Kabir , Trilochan , Jaidev and Ravidas also went .

Dasam Granth

The Dasam Granth , "the book of the tenth master", is another important book of the Sikhs alongside the Adi Granth. Here Guru Gobind Singh's works were found alongside texts by other authors. The Dasam Granth cannot be equated with the Guru Granth Sahib, neither in terms of scope nor in terms of appreciation, but the texts it contains are important for everyday use. For example Jaap Sahib, which is one of the texts to be recited every day.

Origin of the texts

The texts of Guru Granth Sahib come on the one hand from a large geographical area in northern India, with today's Punjab in the center, and on the other hand from several centuries, which explains the inconsistent language. However, the heterogeneity of the language does not affect the theological orientation, which is centered on Bhakti piety, i.e. loving devotion to God. The doctrine deals with the one God who is of the same essence as the soul of all people, regardless of time, space and alienated form. Most of the lyrics are poetry written in hymn form. The texts are reproduced with 31 traditional Indian melodies. The authors lived for a period of 500 years, the oldest authors dating back to the 12th century, and in the period up to Guru Nanak number eleven. Seven out of ten gurus from the epoch of the gurus are represented in the Guru Granth Sahib and are supplemented by about 23 other poets from the same period, who come from both the Hindu (from Nath-Yogis ) and from the Muslim context (from Sufis ) .

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