Sikh Temple Turlock

Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scriptures of the Sikhs, is unique in having been composed and compiled by the founders of the Sikh faith during their lifetime. Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth guru, compiled it in 1604, and Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth guru, added hymns, composed by Guru Teg Bahadur, the ninth guru.Before his death in 1708, Guru Gobind Singh declared that there would be no more living gurus. He also ordered that henceforth “Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scriptures, shall be the Guru of the Sikhs, and advised them to seek guidance (spiritual and temporal) from these scriptures.” The Holy Book contains compositions by the Sikh gurus as well as those of saints from other religions (Hindus and Muslims), from all castes (high and low), social status (rich and poor), and hailing from different parts of India. Sri Guru Granth Sahib is a 1430 page volume written in poetry in theGurmukhiscript (also called Punjabi) and has approximately 6,000 hymns, arranged in thirty-one ragas (musical measures of Indian classical music). It contains the wisdom and spiritual thoughts of a time span spread over five centuries. The language is primarily Punjabi, although it contains words of many languages such as Sanskrit and Persian and many dialects of Punjabi and Hindi. Its teachings promote the message of universal love and harmony among all communities.