The History of the Nitnem Bāṇiā
The short essay was written for a lecture at the Khalsa Jatha Gurdwara (Shepards Bush) on the Nitnem bāṇīā, which are also known as the Panj bāṇīā. These are the five liturgical Sikh prayers said in the ambrosial hours by pious Sikhs, and are also recited in the Khalsa initiation called khaṅḍe-ki-pāhul. I will conclude by offering an explanation to why the Panj bāṇiā are ‘mentioned’ very little in history.
The Guru Granth Sahib is not a collection of random hymns (shabads), as it has a structure. Some scholars argue that this is like chapters in a book, with an introduction (the Jap jī Sāhib), various chapters based on the rāga, and a conclusion. This is one way of looking at it. In my own research and from the traditional teachings of saintly people (māhāpurukhs); the Guru Granth Sahib is actually structured in accordance with nature or kudrati, so one interpretation is that it is ordered like a tree. As we shall see we can also conclude this from some of the terminology employed.
As previously stated the Jap jī is the first composition of Guru Granth Sahib, it begins with the Mῡl mantra. This is translated as the ‘Root mantra’, and is the basis for Sikh theology or Gurmat, as every tree must have roots. Where do the roots come from? They must come from a seed. This ‘Bīja mantra’ or seed mantra, according to Bhai Mani Singh Shahīd in his Uthankā, or exegesis of Guru Granth Sahib, is Ik Oaṅkār Satināmu. Ik Oaṅkār is the monosyllable of shabad Brahman, the primordial shabad Guru or Uni-versal Creator. The etymology of this word, as denoted by the dash, can be found in English, Latin, and Greek; meaning One Verse, One Shabad, One Word (Universe). Many people interpret and translate Ik Oaṅkār to mean that ‘There is One God’, but ‘there is One God’ and ‘God is One’ are two different concepts. I would argue that it is the second non-dual concept, as argued by Mandair (2006). This is also due to the theological notions of God being Omnipresent and Omnipotent, where it could be that the word Omni could be related to the Sanskrit Oṃ. The tradition also views Oaṅ to mean the generating, organising, and destroying power of GOD.
As Ik Oaṅkār is a monosyllable this leaves us with the four syllables of Sa ti nā m, that God’s name or existence is true, which makes panch shabad, from which where the five elements of existence arise from. From this it develops into the Māhā Mantra which is up to Gurprasādi. From there we have the name of the bāṇī and the first instruction to a Sikh, to Japu – to meditate, concentrate, to repeat the name of God, and become fixed on the existential truth of God’s divine name. In the tradition the Mῡl mantra concludes with the salok of Guru Nanak Dev, which is said in the tradition to be the response by Guru Nanak to hearing the Māhā Mantra directly from Akal Purakh, when the Guru disappeared at the river Kali Bein:
Ādi sachu jugādi sachu hai bhī sachu Nānak hosī bhī sachu.
The Mῡl mantra is the root of Sikh theology, in which our understanding of existence is given. Therefore all shabads must be interpreted in relation to the Mῡl mantra.
We have similar expressions of Divinity in other traditions, in the holy Bible in John Chapter 1:
‘In the beginning there was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.’
In the Qur’an:
‘Bismillāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm -
In the name of Allah Most Gracious the Most Merciful.’
There is also the traditional saying of ‘La Il-aha ill-al-lah.’ There is no Deity but Allah, literally meaning there is no deity but The Deity. On the other hand the first opening of the Vedas is to Agnī (fire) which could possibly be a symbolic representation for God, but Om is chanted before it:
‘Agní īle puróhitaṃ -
I adore the Fire, the sacrificial priest’
It is clear there are similarities between the Mῡl mantra with other traditions, but is it also unique. We should also recap here, so the seed grows and gives rise to the root, and it is obvious that the stem or the sutra, related to the English word – ‘suture’ as in sew or connect the Guru Granth Sahib is the Jap jī Sāhib.
The first command in the Jap ji is to japu the name of the Creator which also serves as the name of bāṇī. Then Guru Nanak states the importance of the hukam or Divine order that all rituals are empty and only by being in hukam can lead to inner purity.
Then the next numbered sections follow from the theme of hukam, to singing gāvai, to listening suṇiai, and then to having faith or one pointedness of mind, maṅai. So the Jap jī Sāhib is teaching us how to meditate on the Divine truth, as well as the Guru praising Vahiguru. Guru Nanak Dev teaches us that rituals are futile:
suṇiā maṅniā mani kītā bhāu uṅtargati tīrathi mali nāu.
By listening and having faith and love in the mind. Then the internal filth is washed away.21.
The salok of the Jap jī Sāhib is recited in many Sikh ceremonies, and is the closing of the composition, and cannot be completed without it. To conclude, the first part of the Jap jī Sāhib was the conversation of Guru Nanak with the Siddhs as is noted by the yogic terminology at the beginning of the composition, while the rest was said by the Guru to the Sangat at Kartarpur Sahib.
Model of Guru Granth Sahib
From this sutra of Jap jī Sāhib or the trunk of the Guru Granth Sahib, are the branches of the 31 Ragas starting with Srī Rāga, as each chapter is in a different Rāga. Then the blossom of flowers on this Eternal tree is the Rāgamālā. It is the guldastā (Bouquet) of all those individual flowers or Rāgas, which sets the mood and aesthetic form of the bāṇī.
In the Rāgamālā, Guru Arjan Dev states ‘Rāga Ik Saṅgi Paṅch Baraṅgan.’ There is One Rāga with five wives, i.e. Ik Oaṅkār Satināmu – that there is One Vahiguru with Panch shabad, the five primal notes of the Panch shabad. Such was the master artist the Guru was that he gave spiritual knowledge even via Indian classical music.
The fundamental teaching of Jap jī Sāhib is to connect to the nām, from this jap – we get jāp, i.e. from jap we get ajapā jāp (unbroken recitation of nām). This is of course expressed by the Jāp Sāhib.
Jāp Sāhib
Guru Nanak bows to Vahiguru, ādesu tisai ādesu, and this same devotion is continued on by the Tenth Nanak - Guru Gobind Singh. Like the Jap jī Sāhib the Jāp Sāhib is written in metres or chhaṅds. Guru Nanak does not label the metres while Guru Gobind Singh does, but he gives them new names to show their style of movement.
Like the Mῡl mantra, the first verse Chhappai Chhaṅd Tva Prasādi states that Vahiguru has no features, caste, lineage etc. The Guru states that his purpose of this composition is to ‘praise You by your active names (karam nām)’, God’s shaktī or power! In the next Bhujaṅg Prayāt Chhaṅd, the Metre of the Fast Moving Cobra (Chhaṅd seems to be from the same root as the English word chant). The Guru bows to the Creator by repeating the word Namastvaṅ – Namaskār Tvaṅ/taṅ - Tvaṅῡ – I bow to You.
The Jāp Sāhib was written at Bhagpura in the vicinity of Anandpur Sahib, it was here that the Guru recited this bīr ras bāṇī, while his warriors did Gatka/Shastravidia and horse riding. In this bāṇī, there are many allusions to the khaṅḍe-ki-pāhul or Amrit saāchār just like the Jap jī Sāhib – where the Guru talks about how to process the amrit before the salok. In this Jāp Sāhib we also have the stanza of the Bhagwatī or Bhagautī the Khaṅḍā (Double-Edged Sword), of sweetness - Madhubhār and so on. There are also direct references to fighting Charpaṭ and Bhujaṅg Prayāt Chhaṅd. The Guru made the community into Saint Warriors, and ends this exciting, powerful, rhythmic bāṇī, with Sadā Aṅg Saṅge, which means that Vahiguru is in us, and all around us.
Like Jap jī Sāhib is the first bāṇī of Adi Guru Granth Sahib ji Maharaj, the Jāp Sāhib is the first bāṇī of the Dasam Granth Sahib. According to the contemporary source a Rahitnāmā by Bhai Chaupa Singh Shahīd, the Guru composed this bāṇī when he was about sixteen years old, and this was during 1677-1682 AD.
From Jap we get ajapā Jāp, and then we proceed to vairāg:
Tva Prasādi Svaiye or Shudh Svaiye
Like the Jāp Sāhib this bāṇī is also rhythmic and is written in Braj Bhasha. When read in the right piṅgal matra (rhythm) we get the impression of marching armies, battle, pomp and valour. This bāṇī is a part of the longer Akāl Ustati Sāhib, the second bāṇī of Dasam Granth Sahib. In this bāṇī Guru Gobind Singh talks about the temporary existence of rule, and the falsity of rituals. The Guru teaches us how to live or rule by being detached, Rāj Yoga, as this bāṇī was said to one of the hill Rajas, as is recorded in the tradition and Sau Sakhī, which are the hundred stories narrated by the Guru to Bhai Gurbax Singh at Hazur Sahib. The emphasis of this composition is on complete love – prem. The Guru says ‘Listen all I proclaim the truth, those that love will find the Lord’.
Model of Dasam Granth Sahib
Like the Guru Granth Sahib the Dasam Granth Sahib has a structure, which after Guru Gobind Singh was organised into the correct order by his trusted official, Bhai Mani Singh. Bhai Mani Singh writes in is Bhagat Ratnāwālī that the bāṇī is amrit mai bāṇī (ambrosial verses)– like Jāp Sāhib, Judh mai bāṇī like Bachitra Nāṭak Sāhib (war verses), Giān mai bāṇī, Saṅsar mai bāṇī like Charitropakyan Sāhib (knowledge and worldly verses). In Bhai Mani Singh’s hand written recension of Dasam Granth Sahib, which has eight folios in Guru Gobind Singh’s own hand (daskhat), he arranged the bāṇī accordingly to the char padarath (or four boons):
Moksha – Liberation - Jāp Sāhib and Akāl Ustati Sāhib
Dharam – Righteous War - Dharam Yudh – Bachitra Nāṭak Sāhib - the narratives of war and weapons which is major feature of all of compositions in Dasam Granth Sahib.
Ārth – Worldly Assets - Ardās (Chaṇḍī dī Vār)
Kām – Desires - Charitropakhyan Sāhib.
When we read traditional accounts we can conclude the following about the history of the Dasam Granth Sahib. One day a large group of Sikhs was looted while going to see the Guru. The Guru said ‘why has no Sikh ever said we have looted the Moghuls?’ Around the same time a messenger came to the Guru saying that the Sodhis refused to hand over the ‘Kirtarpurī bīrh’ of the Adi Granth, as the tradition narrates that the Guru wished to finalise the compilation with his father’s bāṇī. The Guru then said ‘I will compose such a scripture to complement the meekness that a Sikh receives on reading Adi bāṇī, so that the Sikhs are able to sustain their fighting spirit after me.’ After that point the Guru asked people to bring scriptures, arms, and horses to him, hence the mention of war and its apparatus, like in his Svaiye Sāhib, is found throughout the Sri Dasam Granth Sahib.
Chaupaī Sāhib
To reiterate the compositions go from jap to ajapā-jāp to vairāg, then we have prayer or ardās by Guru Gobind Singh in the Kabiyo Bāch Benātī Chaupaī Sāhib, or ‘the humble supplication of the poet in lines of four verse.’ This final composition in the nitnem is from the Dasam Granth, which makes three out of five bāṇīā from the Scripture of Guru Gobind Singh. It comes from what can seen to be the end of the Dasam Granth Sahib, as the Zafarnāmā was added some years later in 1705, while this bāṇī was completed and closed the project that the Guru had started, in 1696. The completion of the Granth is testified by the Guru’s own words at the end of the Chaupaī Sāhib:
Kripā karī hum par jagmātā. Granth karā pῡran shubh rātā.
The Mother of the world has been kind towards me and I have completed the scripture on this auspicious night;
The closing verses have unfortunately been excised by reformist Sikhs. We also need to bear in mind that after the Jāp Sāhib and Akāl Ustati, which act as opening compositions to the Dasam Granth Sahib, there is the opening to the Sword (which features in the aforementioned compositions also):
Namaskār srī khaṛag ko karoṅ su hitu chitu lāi. pῡran karoṅ garaṅth ihu tum mohi karaho sahāi.
I take the holy Sword in my heart. Please assist me in completing this Granth.
This shows that like the Adi Guru Granth Sahib, the Dasam Granth Sahib was a homogenous project, and is not an admixture.
According to tradition the Chaupaī Sāhib was written at Bhabhaur Sahib, where a Gurdwara stands today to commemorate this, by the Guru in 13 days, 13 hours, and 13 minutes, probably to coincide with the first prakāsh diwas of Adi Granth Sahib at Harmandir Sahib. According the Rahitnāmā of Bhai Daya Singh, the Guru wrote this bāṇī to calm the nerves of Sikhs for battle.
The Chaupaī Sāhib like the Jāp Sāhib, and other dasam granth bāṇī contains the praises of the Srī Asidhuj or Divine Sword, and the Guru seeks the protection of Akal Purakh, ‘Hamarī karo hāth de rachhā’. This bāṇī is a part of the longer Charitropakhyan which has 405 stories, the last story has 405 verses, and the last portion of this is the Chaupaī Sāhib.
Many of you may have noticed the last portion of this composition has been removed by the SGPC. How can we read Jap jī Sāhib without its salok? In the traditional view some misguided people say a Kavi, not the Guru, prays to the goddess to due to the reference of ‘Kripā karī hum par jagmātā.’ However in the Ardās (from Sukhmanī Sāhib) the Fifth Guru says ‘Tum māt pitā’, in Jāp Sāhib we have ‘Namo lokh mātā.’ Therefore this position is untrue and has been concocted by enemies of the Khalsa Panth. Originally the full bāṇī was repeated at Sri Darbar Sahib, and it was the head Granthi, Kartar Singh ‘Kalaswalia’ a student of Teja Singh ‘Bhasauria’ who managed to change it with his persistence. Recently we have had an incident where the Chaupaī Sāhib was not read at all! Sikhs need to be vigilant to keep the traditions together. For those of you who are astute you can clearly see why the final verses have been removed, to try and erase the history of the Scripture of Guru Gobind Singh.
The Svaiyā and Dohirā from the Chaupaī Sāhib are actually from the Rāmāvatār in the Dasam Granth Sahib. This was completed by the Guru in 1698 and then rebound into the middle of the Dasam Granth Sahib. It contains the Guru’s name Gobind, and tells us his views on the importance of the Purāṇas and other scriptures he translated.After we go through jap, ajapā-jāp, vairāg and ardās we reach Aṅand (bliss).
Aṅand Sāhib
In the Sikh tradition this is the bāṇī to conclude all ceremonies, and likewise the nitnem. There is a story in Max Arthur Macauliffe’s ‘The Sikh Religion’ about the origins of Guru Amar Das’s Aṅand Sāhib. An ancient yogi felt frustrated with his lack of spiritual progress, the yogi humbly decided to visit Guru Amar Das for instruction. When he met the Guru, the yogi asked a very simple question. “Oh Guru, please tell me, what is the proper way to live life?” Guru Amar Das answered him by saying, “Go – leave your body and be reborn in my family. When you are reborn, then I will answer your question and teach you how to live life.” Soon after, while sitting in meditation, the yogi breathed his last. Sometime after this event, Guru Amar Das’s son, Mohri, and his wife had a son. When the baby was born, Guru Amar Das recognised the soul of the yogi in his new grandson. Upon seeing the baby, the Guru went into an ecstasy and sang the Aṅand Sāhib. Afterwards, he named the child Aṅand. Therefore the Aṅand Sāhib is the Guru’s answer to the question: ‘what is the proper way to live life’.
Gobind Singh Mansukhani describes this very well:
The obstacles on any spiritual path are many and difficult. They include human cleverness, intellectual hair-splitting, family attachments, the taboos and rituals of traditional religion, conformity to custom and convention, the unending chain of desire, hypocrisy and 'ad hoc means' for the purpose of compromises with ideals and principles for personal gain, and the many other compulsions of expediency. The disciple overcomes such obstacles by obeying the instructions of the Guru. The blessing of the Guru will support and enable him to progress, on his spiritual path. Any association with godly people or of doing of acts for the public good and social welfare, also help on the spiritual journey.
The Guru exclaims that ‘My Mother I have reached the Satiguru, I am in bliss – I hear the five sounds of celestial bliss! The composition is written in very simple language but it is full of some much knowledge, yogic terms, and tells us about spiritual disciplines. It concludes with ‘Whoever says this bāṇī who ever hears this bāṇī is sanctified!’ An obvious theme of the Jap jī Sāhib is suṇiā, to listen and hear, which is reiterated by the Third Nanak, Guru Amar Das. The final spiritual state of being in bliss is also stated by Guru Nanak, to be nihāl, and is perhaps why it is followed with the Ardās that remembers the Bhagauti (Sword), and the lineage of Divine beings, and martyrs who were able to give up their body due to the Divine bliss they experienced, as well as the Sikh jaikārā.
Is there Panj bāṇīa?
Sometimes when we research and look through information from the past, it does not necessarily match with current Sikh practices. My aim is not to offend anyone, or challenge any group but just present this information. The main issue is Sikh texts are written in poetry, they were written to give the gist of events, rather than pages of details, like modern history. Therefore we need to tackle the texts as poetry and not as prose, but interestingly some works that are in prose provide lists and details. For example Bhai Daya Singh’s Rahitnāmā, from the early eighteenth century lists all five compositions for the Amrit ceremony, as well as Gurῡ kiāṅ Sakhiāṅ (1797) by Bhai Sarup Singh Kaushish, rewritten by Maharaja Ranjit Singh from the language of the Bhatts. Interestingly a work attributed to Bhai Jaitha Singh, (Rangrettā Gurῡ kā bhettā), titled Gurῡ kī Kāthā also narrates the five compositions. Baba Santa Singh in his exegesis of Srī Gurῡ Panth Prakāsh by Shahid Rattan Singh Bhangu, explains that Japu Jāpu means the five compositions, and it is important to note that this term found throughout the early Rahitnāme. We need to change our methodology in how we examine our history, as a literal view is not sufficient to make sense of the Sikh tradition. The work of Richard King (1999) in his ground breaking Orientalism and Religion gives valuable insights into how Indian text should be viewed to prevent such misconceptions occurring.
--------------------------
About the Author
My name is Dr. Kamalroop Singh, I am a Sikh and a member of the Khalsa, and belong to the Nihang Singh order. I began my journey back in 1995, when I met some inspirational Sikhs. I have been reading about and practising as a Sikh from a young age, I took initiation into the Khalsa in 1999. I have travelled around India and stayed with the Nihang Singhs and Sants, and I also took basic santhia from the Dam Dami Taksal in Amritsar. After finishing my degree in Chemistry I completed an MPhil and PhD in Sikh Studies. My chosen subject was the Dasam Granth Sahib, my thesis was titled ‘Dasam Granth Re-examined’. A book titled ‘Dasam Granth Questions and Answers’ has been published which was written with a colleague, please see it at www.archimedespress.co.uk. I am a linguist and have worked for the Crown Prosecution Services and taught languages at the School of African and Oriental Studies. I have been a consultant to a number of museums and galleries around the world, and I regularly travel and teach about related subjects.
------------------------
Bibliography:www.archimedespress.co.uk
- Akali Baba Santa Singh Nihang, Mukh Shabad, in Harbans Singh, Dasam Granth Darpaṇ, Gurmatnarain Prakashan, 1990.
- Arvind Mandair, The Politics of Nonduality: Reassessing the Work of Transcendence in Modern Sikh Theology, 2006.
- Bhai Mani Singh, Uthankā Guru Granth Sahib, 18th century, Private collection.
- Max Arthur Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion, 1909.
- Nitnem Saṭīk, Dam Dami Taksal, Amritsar
- Piara Singh ‘Padam’. Rahitnāme, Amritsar, Singh Bros, 2005,
- Rattan Singh Bhangu, Srī Gurῡ Panth Prakāsh, exegesis, Akali Baba Santa Singh Nihang, (2Vols).
- Richard King, Orientalism and Religion, 1999.
www.chaupaisahib.com
www.dasam.info
www.gurbanifiles.net
www.kamalroopsingh.com
www.searchgurbani.com
www.sikhitothemax.com
www.sridasam.org
