Sampurnta Diwas of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

Sampurnta Diwas marks the day when Sri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji completed the recitation of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji at Sri Damdama Sahib. In 2021 it will be celebrated on 29th August.

In 1704 at Damdama Sahib, during a one-year respite from the heavy fighting with the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Guru Gobind Singh and Bhai Mani Singh added the religious compositions of Guru Tegh Bahadur to the Adi Granth to create the final edition, called the Guru Granth Sahib.

It is said that Guru Gobind Singh Ji narrated the entire bani in Guru Granth Sahib to Baba Deep Singh & Bhai Gurdas while they kept on writing it. It took 9 months, 9 Days & around 9 hours to narrate the entire Gurbani. Sampurnta Diwas is the propitious day on which composing of Guru Granth Sahib was finished. Sikhs treat this Granth as their living Guru.

Guru Ji said – “Sab Sikhan ko hokam hai Guru Manyo Granth” signifying “All Sikhs are summoned to take the Granth as Guru”.

Guru Granth Sahib

Guru Granth Sahib is considered the Word of God. The Guru Granth Sahib is a lengthy religious text comprising 1430 pages, compiled and composed by the Sikh Gurus from 1469 to 1708. Throughout the text of Guru Granth Sahib, various beliefs which shape the Sikh religion are mentioned with primary importance given to the Lord at all points. The scripture tends to have a central theme running throughout wherein man is considered a being of lesser importance, while the Lord is referred to as the Almighty and all-powerful.

This sacred content traverses crosswise over 1430 pages and contains the real words talked by the originators of the Sikh religion the Ten Gurus of Sikhism. The text was first assembled by the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev, from the hymns of the first five Sikh Gurus. Inevitably as the last Guru, this holy book is given the most important place in the Sikh religion.

Sikhs have 11 Guru, of which 10 were in human form and the eleventh is Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Granth Sahib Ji or Adi Sri Granth Sahib Ji is likewise called the Adi Granth or Adi Guru Darbar. Sri Guru Granth Sahib forms the principal part of the Darbar Sahib or the Main Hall of Gurudwara. The scared book is kept on a predominant stage decorated with hued fine fabric. The platform is always covered by a canopy, which is also decorated inexpensively and has very attractive colored materials. The content of Guru Granth Sahib is composed in the script called Gurmukhi, which means “From the Guru’s mouth”, which is considered a modern development of the ancient language called Sanskrit.

The Granth Sahib began with the first Guru, Nanak Dev, as a collection of his holy hymns. The scripture was known as Adi Granth and was added to by subsequent Gurus. Guru Gobind Singh included the Shabads of his father, Guru Teg Bahadur, but he did not include his own Shabads; instead, he placed them in a separate Granth, the Dasam Granth. The Dasam Granth is not revered as Guru, however. The great task of re-writing the entire Guru was finally completed in 1705. The “Damdama Sahib Bir” as it is now called was then taken to Nanded where it was installed.

Although it is a sacred book of the Sikhs, it belongs to the entire humanity and carries a message of brotherhood and sanj (togetherness). The Sikhs consider Guru Granth Sahib as an eternal living guru.