THE GURU IN SIKHI

Immortal or Mortal?

Premise:

The primacy of Guru (“ਗੁਰੂ”) in the Sikh praxis is undeniable. The faith’s historicity evinces the universally accepted fact that from Guru Nanak, the progenitor Guru, onwards the epithet Guru heralded a figure of singular religious authority retaining Nanak’s own mandate. The era of the human Gurus spanned a period of nearly two centuries, culminating in the evolution of Sikhi from an embryonic philosophy into a practical full-fledged ideological revolution. Consistent clashes with both the contemporary Islamist state and Hindu chauvinism-an event foreseen by Guru Nanak- lent the faith a martial bent with the fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth and tenth Gurus emphasizing the Sikhs remain armed.

In late 1708, the tenth and final human Guru, Guru Gobind Singh addressed the Khalsa-the fraternity envisioned by Nanak-and heralded the conclusion of human Guruship. In the latter’s stead, the Guru Granth-the faith’s corpus-was declared Guru ad infinitum. Since the post-human Guru era, this decision of the tenth Guru has elicited much discussion. Academics and traditionalist sophists have contended that this move was rooted in the final Nanak’s desire to preserve the gains acquired for the community. The truth, however, is less labyrinthine when essayed in the light of the Guru Granth.

Nanak:

Multiple Sikhs point to the words of Guru Nanak in his Siddh Gosht-a quasi memoir detailing his debates with the Siddhs-to substantiate their respect for the Guru Granth which borders on the overzealous. The most underscored verse, from the named composition, is:

ਸਬਦੁ ਗੁਰੂ ਸੁਰਤਿ ਧੁਨਿ ਚੇਲਾ ॥

Rendered in simplified English:

“The Shabad (word) is the Guru; the Surat (consciousness) is the disciple.”

-Guru Granth, 943.

Yet whose word is Guru? It is intriguing to note that far from relying solely on the Guru Granth, zealous Sikh preachers have centralized that Nanak’s Shabad is Guru and Nanak is God himself. While acceptable, to some degree, as an exhibition of religious fervor; let us remember that the Gurus were dismissive of such claims synonymizing any mortal with God. It was for this very reason that the fifth Guru had candidly dismissed the Mughal-Islamist state’s attempts to coerce him into intermingling Koranic verses with the Guru Granth, instead citing their human origination. More bluntly, he refused to recognize Muhammad or any of the other Abrahamic Prophets as being the foremost assistants of the infinite Maker.

Intriguingly, Guru Nanak did not proclaim even himself as Guru supreme. Rather, he boldly declared Gian as Guru.

ਗੁਰ ਗਿਆਨੁ ਸਾਚਾ ਥਾਨੁ ਤੀਰਥੁ ਦਸ ਪੁਰਬ ਸਦਾ ਦਸਾਹਰਾ ॥

“The Guru is Gian and this Guru is my sole pilgrimage.”

-Guru Granth, 685.

Gian (“ਗਿਆਨੁ”) is an umbrella term for the wisdom gleaned from harmonizing oneself with Hukam (“ਹੁਕਮਿ”), the cosmological constitution empowering Creation. For Guru Nanak, this Gian was the primary Guru-the Guru which made him Guru.

Post-Nanak:

The paramount litmus test for Nanak’s successors in ensuring the continuity of human Guruship was to select an able successor wholly imbibing Guru Gian. To ensure the impartiality of the process, among many other factors, the Sikh corpus was complied by Guru Arjan (Guru fifth) and made open for all and sundry to read. Whereas initially only a few embryonic manuscripts of the corpus had been in existence, the fifth Guru started a wholescale compilation of the Guru Granth to ensure that Nanak’s Gian was spread ubiquitously. This proved to be in consort with the progenitor Guru’s early emphasis on Gian as Guru. Immediately after Nanak’s demise, detractors had started challenging the nascent faith and positing rival Gurus against the rightful successors to his mission. The Guru Granth ratified Sikhi’s earlier emphasis on Gian and also preserved the faith’s essence.

Guru Gobind Singh:

As the tenth and final human Guru, it fell upon Guru Gobind Singh’s shoulders to ensure the perpetual continuity of Nanak’s mission through the fraternity of the Khalsa. The Khalsa would retain the same mandate as a human Guru, but it would be more democratic and republican in nature. However, because it derived its existence from Sikhi it could not alter the faith’s philosophy. To ground it in tangible foundations, the tenth Guru ratified the first Guru’s emphasis on Gian by declaring its repository-the Guru Granth-as Guru infinite. While remarkable in its own light, more remarkable is the fact that this declaration was a cyclical event. What Nanak had initially inscribed, Gobind Singh finally ratified. This then is the wholesome truth behind the declaration of the Guru Granth as Guru for all perpetuity.