What I have read so far has really taught me a lot.Īddition: The New York born and based sister's name is Tejkaran Kaur and here are her acknowledgements. Thanks to the sister for giving permission to share. Please remember this is a work in progress. I will be posted more sections over the next few days. Using the multi-leveled approach of an analysis breaking down each word, line and pauri, not only do we get a deeper understanding of bani but we also improve our vocabulary along the way.įeel free to discuss the contents. As you will see later, the work really brings home the themic unity of the contents of the different pauris. This has been the best explanation of Japji I have come across so far. I love the analysis using a grammatical approach. I will be posting it for those interested. 'The process by which theological texts are understood relies on a particular hermeneutical viewpoint.A young sister from is working on a translation of Professor Sahib's monumental exegesis of Japji Sahib. In the interpretation of a text, hermeneutics considers the original medium as well as what language says, supposes, doesn't say, and implies. The process consists of several steps for attaining the best of the Scriptural author's intended meaning(s). Some important steps are outlined as under. (i) Lexical-syntactical (Gurbani Viakaran) analysis This step looks at the words used and the way the words are used. Here, lexicons and grammar aids can help in extracting meaning from the text.ĭifferent order of the sentence, the punctuation, the tense of the verse are all aspects that are looked at in the lexical syntactical method. Sahib Singh’s Teeka (interpretation) of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and Sikh Missionary College’s approach to interpretation of Gurbani falls in this category. (ii) Historical / Cultural analysis The history and culture surrounding the authors is important to understand to aid in interpretation. For instance, understanding the Gurus’ and Bhagats’ Lives and times (esp. social, cultural and political scenario during their times) increases understanding of Scripture. Understanding the connotations of terms such as the Kazi, Mulla, Mukadum, Nath, Yogi, Iai Panthi, Kashi, Meghar etc. helps us to know about what other thoughts have been expressed in Gurbani about such people and places. Most of the interpreters of Gurbani do take care of this aspect but not all interpreters are well versed with such terms and their meanings.

Japji sahib vyakhya