THE BOOK

Foreword

Dedication: Fortunately, the book is being published in the year when the entire Sikh- world, and countless other followers of the Great Guru Nanak are celebrating His 550th Birthday. What better gift could this insignificant slave offer to the Sikh world than an English translation of the holy Gurbani!! I consider myself very lucky that way. So this work is dedicated to all the devotees of Guru Nanak who love and follow His universal Teachings.

HERTFELT THANKS

<>siqgur pRswid

Myriads of Thanks to You, oh Satguru Nanak, and Waheguru, who showered me with enormous kindness to complete this Great task of translating the Divine Bani into English. There were many challenging situations during this very tough task, but You enlightened me and showed me the right path. At the same time, it was highly satisfying and blissful. You also protected me from my personal biases. I cannot thank You enough. It was purely Your kindness which sustained my efforts.

Waheguru, Waheguru, Waheguru, Waheguru, Waheguru

Dhunn Guru Nanak, Dhunn Guru Nanak, Dhunn Guru Nanak.

Slave of Your slaves

Devinder Singh Sekhon

Canada.

e-mail: SEKHONDS@HOTMAIL.CA

March May 17, 2024.

FORE WORD

I was in elementary school when I got the opportunity to read the “Seetal” series of the books written by S.Sohan Singh Seetal. All those books were on Sikh history – mostly on the selfless sacrifices of Sikhs. The books really moved me and got me interested in the study of Sikh history and Sikh scriptures. I had some inclination to write,and began to write in my college days at Qadian, Gurdaspur. I started with writing short stories, and poems. But it wasn’t a sustained interest until the early 80’s when I began to write short stories and religious articles which were published in newspapers and magazines in Canada. I began to study Guru Granth Sahib with greater devotion in 1992 using Prof Sahib Singh’s Pothis. Teaching at a college and at a university, I had enough time to devote to the study of Guru Granth Sahib on regular basis. I was able to study it 2-3 times a year at first, but the frequency increased to 5-6 times a year. On the suggestion of my children, I wrote my first book on the life of Guru Nanak Sahib in English - not as a scholarly work, but just to catch the interest of the young children who were being raised in the Western World. The book was well liked by children, and a multi-faith organization in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada published the book and distributed free among the Sikhs and devotees of other faiths.

My next book was “The Divine Message of Guru Granth Sahib” which covered 17 popular topics and was very well received not just by the general readership, but also in academic circles.

So far, I have authored 9 books, out of which six have been published including one by the SGPC and three by Bhai Chatar Singh Jivan Singh, Amritsar. Two books are being evaluated by the SGPC for publication. I am also managing a website: www.gurbanisandesh.com which has really become very popular. Many of my articles are being published regularly in magazines in North America.

About a year ago, some of my close friends and readers asked me to translate Guru Granth Sahib in English. It was a highly challenging and daunting undertaking which required a deep understanding of Guru Granth Sahib, and a good command of English language. Besides, it required a long time commitment of about six years. Even though, it was a highly demanding project, I did not have to think too deeply to make decision. I was retired, was confident of my background of Guru Granth Sahib, and hade a reasonably good command of English. I thought what else could be a better way to channelize my energy than this great project. Confident of Waheguru’s supporting hand on my head, I accepted the challenge and after prayer to Guru Nanak, I started this Great Project on 29.01.2017. With Guru Sahib’s grace, I have finished the translation of the first 300 pages of Guru Granth Sahib. The project seems to be within the time frame I had expected. I am greatly indebted to Waheguru for pulling me out of all impediments and keeping me on track.

I am also very pleased with the quality of work I have done with the Divine guidance of Guru Nanak. I have tried my best to keep my personal biases out of my interpretation of the holy Gurbani. I checked and cross checked many times to make sure that there was no contradiction with the basic Principles of Gurbani in my interpretation.

I am highly indebted to Principal Sahib Singh Ji from whom I learnt a lot about the holy Gurbani. Even though I have some differences with his interpretations, yet he has been the source of my basic understanding of the holy Gurbani. I am also thankful to Bhai Kahan Singh Ji Nabha whose book “Mahan Kosh” has been a treasure for me to search for the meanings of some of the words.

In the end, I am very thankful to many friends and my readers for their encouragement and moral support. Above all, I am thankful to Guru Nanak Dev Ji for the motivation and the wisdom He bestowed on this slave. I will feel very lucky if my hard work is recognized even by a few of my readers and they develop affection for Gurbani.

REQUEST TO MY KIND-HEARTED READERS: Reviewing of the holy books was much more difficult task than I had expected because of many components to each and every holy Shabad. I have tried my level best to remove all mistakes in spellings and in grammar, but I am sure, there are still some mistakes left in there. Rather than cursing me for the mistakes, I will be highly thankful if you kind-hearted folks pointed out the mistakes and made suggestions for improvement. No single person can bring any changes in any field. It has to be a concerted effort to inculcate love and reverence for the holy Gurbani among our younger generation, which is a daunting task. So, I request all of you to contribute to this noble cause. I need your help.

With Sincere Thanks

Devinder Singh Sekhon

sekhonds@hotmail.ca