The objections, answered

The objection: Doesn’t the Rehit Maryada (Sikh Code of Conduct) state that a Sikh can choose whether to read Ragmala or not?

The so called Sikh Code of Conduct was originally published in the early 20th century after the leading Gursikhs of the time came together to try and agree a standard code of conduct. Many of these Gursikhs left the original meeting as it was obvious that some unscrupulous individuals would want to include things within this code that were obviously against Gurbani. Bhai Sahib Randheer Singh Jee and Sant Giani Gurbachan Singh Jee Khalsa Bhindranwale are just two of these Sikhs that didn’t agree and that didn’t actually sign to the final draft of the Code (which coincidentally took many years of deliberation to form and proof of who actually agreed the final version has never been provided those who published the document). Some of the points included in this Code are:

• Consumption of meat and alcohol are not cardinal sins
• Sikhs need only read 3 Banis (namely Japji Sahib Jaap Sahib Tva Parsad Svaye) in their morning recital
• Sikhs need only read shortened versions of certain Banis

If a Sikh is to use this Code as an arguing point then they should be prepared to abide by it in its entirety not just picking and choosing what they feel is correct for example this Code clearly states that Kes is a Kakkar and not Keski and in praise of the Code it must be stated that it also says that a Sikh should recite one Sehaj Paath (whole of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee) monthly or the equivalent. If one is to use this code as a basis for arguing then they must be willing to abide by the stated previous points and practise what they preach. As shown this Code has many discrepancies and if Sikhs abided it they would actually be violating the eternal edicts of Gurbani.

The objection: Ragamala being the heading does not indicate which of our Great Gurus wrote Ragmala and since there is no mention of the word Nanak in the writing it is comprehensible that our Great Gurus had no hand in writing Ragmala?

Ragmala has something in common with the most frequently read Bani around the world by Sikhs and non Sikhs alike JapJee Sahib. Both do not indicate which of our Gurus wrote them in fact ‘Nanak’ doesn’t appear in 7 paurees (verses) of JapJee Sahib and ‘Nanak’ doesn’t appear in several other Shabads in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee. Arguing that Ragmala is not Gurbani due to the lack of the word ‘Nanak’ appearing in it is thus a fallacy and miscomprehension.

The objection: Why doesn’t the order in which various raags are mentioned in Raagmala correspond to the order in which the same raag appears in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee? The first raag in Sri Guru Granth Sahib is ‘Sri Raag’ while in Raagmala it is ‘Bhairo.

The order of raags that appear in Raagmala are irrelevant to the writing of it as it is not an index of the raags in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee. Raagmala and Gurbani in general have deeper mystical meanings if we don’t understand or can’t comprehend these deeper hidden jewels that does not mean we should simply disregard Gurbani we don’t understand.

The objection: Why don’t the following raags which are contained in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee, emerge in Raagmala? i.e. raags Maajh Bihagra Jaitsri Ramkali Mali Gaura Tukhari Prabhati and Jaijavanti. Therefore the assertion that Raagmala is a mala (rosary) of the raags in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee is not true.

Nobody argued that Raagmala is a mere rosary of the raags in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee, Guru Jee decided what raags to include in Raagmala and it is not for us to doubt/question this decision. In Gurbani the word raag also means prem (love) so Raagmala is also a rosary of love it is not merely a rosary of raags (this is in reference to the deeper mystical meanings of Raagmala mentioned above).

The objection: Why in Raagmala is the counting system of phrases totally different to the system used in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee? i.e. in Raagmala ||1|| (No. 1) appears after each phrase and the end of Raagmala. In Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee the totalling system is 123456 etc (which can be clearly seen in the first hymn in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee i.e. in JapJee Sahib the first pauree has 1 and the last has 38”).

This statement is incorrect as JapJee Sahib actually has two ‘1’s’ at the start and a ‘1’ at the end after the Salok. The 123456 etc numbering system is present in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee but is not consistent throughout. Just as in JapJee Sahib there are other verses of Gurbani that have the No. 1 after paurees that follow each other – do we then also discount these as Gurbani as they are not adhering to this stringent consecutive numerical system.

The objection: ‘Mudavani’ the word means the seal of closure, therefore can anything after Salok Mahalla 5 really be accepted as Gurbani? Since Ragamala is after Salok Mahalla 5, it cannot be sanctioned as part of Gurbani.

If Mudavani is the seal of closure then technically we cannot accept Salok Mahalla 5 as this is a separate Shabad which comes after Mudhavani Mahalla 5. In fact the word Mudavani is present on two other occasions in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee on Ang 645 within the same Shabad in Vaar of Sorat(h). So if we follow this line of argument anything after this Shabad is not Gurbani – how ludicrous is that! The meaning of Mudavani is not ‘seal of closure’ but on the contrary it means ‘riddle’ a riddle that Guru Jee is stating in this Shabad. Guru Jee states in Mundavni

Thaal Vich…

In this platter there are three things – they are truth discussion and discourse of the Shabad.

In the next line Guru Jee states that Amrit Naam has been placed

Amrit Naam…

The riddle is understanding the true meaning of these lines which is that in the platter of Sri Guru Granth Sahib the Amrit Naam of Shabad has been placed by contemplating and studying this Shabad one attains truth and contentment.

The objection: In some hand written versions of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee the following works appear: - Salok Mahalla 1 Jit Dhar Lakh muha(n)madha… - Salok Mahalla 1 Bia aatas aab - Rag Ramkali Ratan Male - Hakikat Rah Mukam Raja Sivnat Ki In all the handwritten Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee Saroops, Raagmala appears at the end of all other works. Since it is acceptable that the works are not Gurbani, how is it that pro-Ragmala accept Ragmala as Gurbani and that the other works are not Gurbani even though they come before Ragmala this seems a very illogical attitude on their part?

In 1945 the SGPC set up a sub-committee to investigate whether Raagmala is included in the original Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee Saroop that was compiled by Sri Guru Arjan Dev Jee. The following is from their findings: “We can most definitely say that nobody other than Bhai Gurdas Jee who was the scribe, included Raagmala in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee. Ragmala is an ang of Sri Guru Granth Sahib.”

They also stated that they the ink paper and handwriting of Raagmala was consistent with the rest of the saroop. When this first saroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee was compiled many had made supplications to Sri Guru Arjan Dev Jee to include their writings but Guru Jee rejected many only those who had merged with God could utter Gurbani as it is the word of God Himself.

The final Saroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee as we know it today was compiled by Sri Guru Gobind Singh Jee and Baba Deep Singh Jee compiled 4 other Saroops of this final version and they were sent to all Five Takhats. All these Saroops have Ragmala in them again it is written in the same handwriting ink and upon the same paper. The above mentioned works are not present in any of these Saroops and they unanimously accepted not as the writings of the Guru and only few Saroops have these works in them.

The objection: Raagmala which comes after Mudavni in the printed versions of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee was not written by Sri Guru Arjan Dev Jee. It is from a book called Mudhavnal Kamkandla written by poet Alam in 1640 Bikramee (1583 AD), 21 years before Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee was compiled by Sri Guru Arjan Dev Jee.

This point is a fallacy it was a poet named Jodh who wrote Madhvanal Kamkandla in 1583 AD - Raagmala or anything even resembling it is not present in the original version of this book. The poet Alam lived from 1655 to 1717 AD and after listening to/reading Raagmala he wrote a book called Madhvanal Sangeet that was mostly copied work from other poets including Jodh. There is also a poem in this compilation which doubters of Raagmala believe is Raagmala, but it is actually very different to Raagmala.

In the past century people have mistakenly linked the work of these poets’ as one and the same because Alam plagiarised much of his work from Jodh and they try to prove that Raagmala is not Gurbani with this mistaken line of argument. Historically there are 11 different versions of Raagmala they all differ from the original which is in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee, different writers over time have gained inspiration from Raagmala in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee and then gone on to write their own versions of Raagmala.

In Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee there are 2 different versions of Barah Maha one in Raag Maaj and the other in Raag Tukaree. There are also many versions of Barah Maha written by various authors should we then argue that these two Barah Maha’s are not Gurbani?

The objection: Raagmala Bhagats preach that whatever is contained in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee should be read. Then why don’t they read the 11 pages containing the index to the contents of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee or the publishers name on the first page or the seal of certification? Why the hypocrisy?

Sri Guru Granth Sahib is not a book and it is blasphemous to suggest so it is God’s word and should be respected as such. This line of argument is obviously of one who does not view Sri Guru Granth Sahib with reverence and it may be pointed out that such people also argue that you don’t have to do Bhog to food in the presence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee or even doing Bhog is a mere ritual. The faithful offer food to Guru Jee to bless and Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee is the living embodiment of the 10 Guru’s thus it is logical to offer food in the presence of the Guru.

The objection: The following great Sikh and non-Sikh scholars believed that Ragmala is not Gurbani: - Great Poet Bhai Santokh Singh - Pandit Tara Singh Nakoola - Giani Dit Singh - Professor Gurmukh Singh - Giani Gian Singh - Sadhu Gobind Singh Nirmala - Pandit Basant Singh Are they all wrong?

It would be very easy to make a list of Gursikhs who were held in high regard that believed Raagmala is Gurbani. The list would include great scholars freedom fighters, spiritualists and selfless servants of the Khalsa Panth.

The other point to note is that most Sikhs throughout the world read Raagmala and it is only a minority who question or doubt it’s authenticity, there are only a few Gurdwaras throughout the world where Raagmala is not recited and it is recited at Sri Akal Takhat Sahib and Sri Harimander Sahib (Golden Temple).

Giani Sobha Singh, who lived at Takhar Dyal Singh’s Dharamsala in Amritsar, was one of the first Sikhs to start the debate over the authenticity of Ragmala over a 100 years ago. He even compiled a Saroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee without Ragmala in it and he took it to Sri Akal Takhat Sahib for approval. The senior Sikhs of the day decided to offer an Ardas to Guru Jee in which they said:

If Bhai Sobha Singh has done right then nothing should happen but if he has done wrong then punish him accordingly.

After just a week he became ill and his mouth was full of ulcers and he was in much pain to the extent that he could not even speak. He wrote a letter begging for forgiveness and brought it to Sri Akal Takhat Sahib and he said that no-one should ever make the same mistake again.

Bhai Bhagat Singh Ji, under the Guidance of Shaheed Bhai Mani SIngh Ji, has told us of the greatness of reading Raagmala in Gurbilas Patshahi 6 (written on July 22, 1718, within ten years of Guru Sahib’s departure):

Complete the Bhog of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji by reading Raagmala. All sins are vanquished with the paath of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Without Raagmala the paath is incomplete. By reading raagmala it becomes complete

We can only pray that Guru Jee brings the people who don’t believe in Ragmala to their senses in this life, as who knows what they will have to endure if they die doubting the authenticity of Guru Jis Baani.

The objection: There is no Rahao (Pause) in Raag Maala?

The absence of Rahao is an invalid argument because there isn’t Rahao in JapJi Sahib, Barah Maha, Anand Sahib and in the whole of Raag Tukhari Bani; therefore you would have to agree they are not gurbani either.