"The Essence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib written in Simple English Prose, the transalation of the holy Guru Granth Sahib, along with the original version of the hymns in Punjabi also. The hymns are given parawise with the essence of the hymns, instead of their literal translation.
Certain Punjabi terminology used in the holy Guru Granth Sahib has been explained under glossary at the end.
Gurbachan Singh Makin, an Electrical Engineer and a Management Professional having qualified from the Institute of Marketing London in 1970, has settled in Chandigarh Practising as a Management Consultant after retirement from the Indian Navy in Feburary, 1973.
Now he is a student of the Sikh Studies. He has already published the "Philosophy of Sikh Gurus" in 1994 giving the English translation of 13 banies of Nitname and "The Universal Message of Guru Granth Sahib" in 1996 giving the central theme of various hymns of the holy Guru Granth Sahib. Now the complete translation in simple English prose of Sri Guru Granth Sahib along with the original hymns in being published in five volumes.
Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of the Sikhs and the living Guru of the Sikhs, is an embodiment of the cream of Indian thought and philosophy.
According to Miss Pearl S. Buck, "Sri Guru Granth Sahib is a source and expression of man's aspirations, his longings, his yearning for communication with the Divine Being."
While Duncan Greenless has remarked that "Sri Guru Granth Sahib is certainly one of the world's masterpieces of poetry and few, if any among the world scriptures attain so high a literary level or so constant a height of inspiration."
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, a great Indian philosopher, an exponent of Religious studies and a former president of India, has said, "We find in the Guru Granth Sahib a wide range of mystical emotions, intimate expressions of the personal realisation of God and rapturous hymns of divine love."
And Prof. Puran Singh, a great Sikh scholar and poet has remarked, "It is the scripture of all nations; for it is the lyric of Divine Love and all the people of the earth submit on such glowing lyrical prayer that Guru Granth is one song, one idea and one life. Immensity is the substance of the sublime."
The Essence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib (in five volumes) is an humble effort to translate the hymns in simple English prose, not literally, but in sequence parawise. There is, however, no denying the fact that the real charm of Gurbani (Guru's Word) alongwith its mystical beauty, could be enjoyed and appreciated by us only in the original version in Punjabi language (Gurmukhi Script), as it amounts to a face to face talk with the Guru, seeking His advice and Guidance for leading a successful and purposeful life.
This holy book of the Sikhs is unique in certain respects as it does not prescribe any rituals to be observed, rather it urges the elimination of rituals, like visiting holy places of pilgrimage and taking baths there, fasting or observing penance of any type.
It goads us to approach God, through Simran (by repeating True Name) through the Grace and benevolence of the Guru, which is the Guru's Word, a principle reflecting God's Will. Thus it will lead us towards our final goal of the merger of the human soul with the Prime Soul. There is no other scripture in the world which could take the common man to the realm of Truth in such a simple but compelling manner. The Guru Granth Sahib does not sanction austerity, penance or baths, or reverence for even symbolic offerings in thanks giving to graves, tombs, cows, snakes or sun, wind and fire. Moreover, animal sacrifice has no place in Sikhism.
Lieut. Commander Gurbachan Singh Makin has already written two excellent books entitled, "The Philosophy of Sikh Gurus" and "The Universal Message of Guru Granth Sahib", a translation of Nitname and central themes of Gurbani in simple English, which gives very good insight into the philosophy of the holy "Granth Sahib". Now he has embarked on a monumental task by planning to bring out in simple English prose of the first volume of complete translation of Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
Sri Guru Granth Sahib is the latest spiritual scripture which had been written and compiled by the Gurus during their life time, including in addition the relevant banies (hymns) of earlier and comtemporary saints of other Indian religions, which is its unique feature. However the holy Granth Sahib, being in Punjabi language, could be read and enjoyed only by a small section of the world community who could read and understand Punjabi. In the Commander Makin's present work the contents of the Granth Sahib could be read and easily understood by a very large number of people, since English is almost a Universal language.
The Author has chosen a novel style by presenting in the Punjabi language the original hymns of Sri Guru Granth Sahib on the left side of the page and its English translation on the right side, thus providing in an easily accessible manner the original Gurbani, as also its true essence in English.
Commander Makin in my opinion has done the entire world a great service by trying in this novel method, to reach the message of Universal brotherhood and one-ness of God Almighty to practically one and all. I wish him God speed and good health so that he is successfully able to complete the remaining four volumes of this superb work, without any interruptions.
**Contents and Sample Pages**
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