ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁ ਜਾਗਤਾ ਹੈ ਦੇਉ॥੧॥ (ਅੰਗ ੪੭੯)
Sikhs are the only faith that recognizes their sacred Gurbani Scriptures as their Living Guru. Guru Arjan Dev Sahib Ji reveals on ਅੰਗ ੧੨੨੬ (ਸਾਰਗ ਮਹਲਾ ੫) ਪੋਥੀ ਪਰਮੇਸਰ ਕਾ ਥਾਨੁ ॥ – The Sacred Scripture is the abode of the Akal Purakh Sahib. Yet, as Sikhs we have neglected to preserve the pristine pure form of Gurbani that was is enshrined in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and allowed variations and modifications in the Sacred Gurbani text over the past few centuries.
PRESERVATION OF THE TORAH
In contrast, the people of the Jewish faith do not consider their sacred Torah as their Guru, yet for over 2000 years, they have meticulously preserved the accuracy of this scripture through systematic stringent measures that do not allow a copy of a Torah to be certified unless it is handwritten by an approved scribe (sofer) and the content must be 100% free of errors, mistakes, and fully in sync in format with their original ancient text.
ACCURACY NEGLECT BY SIKH SCRIBES AND PUBLISHERS
Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is no longer scribed by hand as was done centuries earlier, the larrivar (connected word) format that was revealed by the Guru Sahibans has been largely ignored. Modern Published Saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, and handwritten Saroops from the 18th and the 19th centuries contain many typos, alterations, and other textual variations with each other. There is clear consensus among scholars who have studied these sacred volumes that these Saroops no longer match in textual content and spelling the original ‘Pothee Sahib’ and Damdami Bir that were scribed by Bhai Sahib Bhai Gurdas Ji, and Bhai Sahib Bhai Mani Singh Ji respectively, under the direct Guidance of Guru Arjan Dev Sahib Ji, and Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji.
How did this happen, and why have our leaders and Panthic organizations deliberately hidden this shocking reality from the Sikh Sangat? How have Jews preserved the Torah for thousands of years, yet Sikhs have completely lost control of the textual accuracy of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji within 350 years?
BACKGROUND:
Under Guru Arjan Dev Sahib Ji’s Divine Guidance, the ‘Pothee Sahib’ was compiled and scribed by Bhai Sahib Bhai Gurdas Ji and Parkash of the Sacred Scripture was done at Sri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar with the utmost reverence and respect.
The Pothi Sahib eventually ended up in the hands of Sodhi Dhir Mal and his family and the original this original saroop was referred to as the ‘Kartarpuri Bir’.
The Sodhi of Kartarpur claim to still have possession of original ‘Kartarpuri Bir’, a claim that is doubted by many Sikh scholars. According to Baba Naurang Singh*, a famous Budha Dal Nihang Singh turned Udaasee Scholar, and others the original ‘Pothee Sahib’ vanished during a fire at Kartarpur.
Under Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji’s Divine Guidance, another Saroop was scribed by Bhai Sahib Mani Singh Ji, this Saroop became known as the ‘Damdami Bir’. The revered Baba Deep Singh Ji of Misal Shaheedan, Tarna Dal, is stated to have written four Sacred Saroops of the ‘Damdami Bir’ which were sent to the four Sikh Spiritual Takhts – Takht Sri Patna Sahib, Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib, Sri Akal Takht Sahib, and Takht Sri Hazur Sahib, Nanded. The whereabouts of those original Saroops scribed by Baba Deep Singh Ji are no longer known.
*It should be noted that Nihang Baba Naurang Singh is the key scholar responsible for compiling together the current version of ‘Sri Sarbloh Granth’ (Manglacharan) that was submitted along with his research to Budha Dal Jathedar Baba Chet Singh Ji.
MODIFICATIONS OVER TIME:
As mentioned in the extract above by Giani Kirpal Singh in the book “ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ ਦੀਆਂ ਸੰਥਾ-ਸੈਂਚੀਆਂ ਅਤੇ ਪੁਰਾਤਨ ਹੱਥ ਲਿਖਿਤ ਪਾਵਨ ਬੀੜਾਂ ਦੇ ਪਰਸਪਰ – ਪਾਠ ਭੇਦਾਂ ਦੀ ਸੂਚੀ” (੧੯੭੭) an eight hundred sixty (860) page report of compiled research by SGPC research scholar Sardar Randhir Singh, Bhai Kundan Singh, and Bhai Gian Singh ‘Satantar, a renowned Nihang Singh scholar. This monumental research documents the textual variations in published Gurbani Pothees and puratan handwritten Birs of Guru Granth Sahib Ji. The variations number into the thousands across the various copies of the scriptures.
In the forward of the book, Sri Darbar Sahib Head Granthi, Giani Kirpal Singh, a student of the saintly scholar Giani Gurbachan Singh Ji Bhindranwale, notes that the original Sikh scribes used to handwrite the gutkay pothees of Gurbani Birs purely out of love and devotion for Sikhi and used to offer their services free of cost to devotees – without any compensation. However, due to the increasing demand for copies of Birs during the period of the Sikh missals and Sikh Raj, the newer scribes turned this ‘seva’ into a means of monetary gain and livelihood, and completely abolished the practice of proofing and correcting their work. That is the key reason how the differences and inaccuracies increased in written Gurbani.
Oddly, when the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee decided to publish Saroops of Guru Granth Sahib Ji in the early part of the 20th century, publishers decided to use text from copies of the Kartarpur Bir instead the Damdami Bir, which further introduced even more textual errors and variances into the already modified handwritten saroops that were being scribed purely for monetary gain by scribes from the time of the missals.