ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>GUL&#256B SI&#7748GH PA&#7750&#7692IT</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="GULB,SIDGH,PAF IT"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279GUL&#256B SI&#7748GH, PA&#7750&#7692IT, was a Nirmal&#257 scholar, the prefix <i>pa&#7751&#7693it</i> denoting his preeminence in Sanskrit letters rather than his caste. He was born in a peasant family in 1789 Bk/AD 1732 in the village of Sekham, in Lahore district, now in Pakistan. He was initiated into Sanskrit studies by Pa&#7751&#7693it M&#257n Si&#7749gh Nirmal&#257 to whom he has expressed his indebtedness at many places in his writings. As a small boy, he learnt Gurmukh&#299 from a <i>s&#257dh&#363</i> in his own village and read with him the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. But this was not the end of his ambition. Receiving from his teacher the robes of an ascetic, he secretly left home and reached V&#257r&#257&#7751as&#299 to study Sanskrit. When his teacher there discovered that he was not a Br&#257hma&#7751, but a Ja&#7789&#7789, he turned him out of his seminary with the rebuke that, being a <i>&#347&#363dra</i>, he had no right to Sanskrit and Vedic education. But his family, for whom Gul&#257b Si&#7749gh had been like a domestic servant, persuaded him to search for him and bring him back. Gul&#257b Si&#7749gh was found sitting on the bank of the Ga&#7749g&#257 in a desolate state. Back in the <i>p&#257&#7789hsh&#257l&#257</i> Gul&#257b Si&#7749gh worked diligently and patiently, memorizing lengthy Sanskrit works to circumvent the injunction about caste restrictions. Thus he acquired an amazingly high degree of proficiency in Sanskrit and Braj Bh&#257&#7779&#257 and became a reputed scholar and writer.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; All of Gul&#257b Si&#7749gh's works are in Braj Bh&#257&#7779&#257, written in the Gurmukh&#299 script. His <i>Adhy&#257tam R&#257m&#257i&#7751</i> and <i>Prabodhchandra N&#257&#7789ak</i> are in fact translations of old Sanskrit texts. <i>Bh&#257varas&#257&#7749mrit</i> and <i>Mokhpanth</i> are original compositions. Besides these, there are some minor works such as <i>Svapan Adhy&#257i, Karam Vip&#257ka</i>, and <i>R&#257m Rid&#257</i>. The last one is a part of the <i>Adhy&#257tam R&#257m&#257i&#7751</i>, but is available in manuscript form separately written by various scribes. Pa&#7751&#7693its felt jealous of his success and, obtaining from M&#257n Si&#7749gh his manuscripts, sunk them into a river. The four major works that now survive were not then in his teacher's custody. Gul&#257b Si&#7749gh kept his composure when he learnt what had happened, though he wrote nothing more thereafter.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Pa&#7751&#7693it Gul&#257b Si&#7749gh's works remained in manuscript form for more than a century before they were published. From among them the <i>Bh&#257varas&#257&#7749mrit</i> contains preachings about rationalism and detachment. The text begins with the praise of Gur&#363 N&#257nak and Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh, followed by verses in honour of the author's teacher, M&#257n Si&#7749gh. Prayer, <i>n&#257m</i>, love of the Divine, good deeds, detached living, <i>karma</i>, good company, service, heroism and <i>dharma</i> are among the subjects dilated upon. Although the author is deeply rooted in Ved&#257ntic lore, the final touchstone for him is the teaching of the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. This work, in Braj verse, with abundant use of Sanskrit vocabulary in <i>tatsama</i> form, was completed in 1834 Bk/AD 1777 and published in 1959 Bk/AD 1902. The author records in the epilogue: "The book is completed on this day which is a Sunday. It is the night of full moon. The sky is overcast with clouds. A cool breeze is blowing. It is drizzling."</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <i>Mokhpanth</i> also called <i>Mokhpanth Prak&#257sh</i> is another of Pa&#7751&#7693it Gul&#257b Si&#7749gh's important works. <i>'Mokhpanth</i>' literally means 'the way to release', 'the way to the ultimate goal of life'. This is a philosophical work dealing with the principles of the major schools of Indian philosophy, including Yoga, Ny&#257ya, M&#299m&#257ms&#257 and Ved&#257nta. There are some autobiographical references towards the end of the book in which the poet tells us about his parents and his birthplace. Concerning his own faith, he says: "I am a follower of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh."</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The book, divided into five parts, contains 1984 stanzas. It was completed at Amritsar in 1835 Bk/AD 1778, and was published in AD 1912.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <i>Adhy&#257tam R&#257m&#257i&#7751</i>, a free translation in Braj Bh&#257&#7779&#257 of a Sanskrit work, was completed in 1839 Bk/AD 1782. The original work, in Sanskrit, bears the same title and is a part of the <i>Br&#257hma&#7751&#7693a Pur&#257&#7751a</i>. It describes the story of R&#257ma in a philosophical setting. The book was published in AD 1880. Pa&#7751&#7693it Gul&#257b Si&#7749gh adds an epilogue paying homage to the Ten Gur&#363s.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <i>Prabodhachandrodai</i> or <i>Prabodhachandra N&#257&#7789ak</i> was again a translation in Braj verse of a Sanskrit text. The original was the work of one Pa&#7751&#7693it Krishna Mi&#347ra who completed it in the sixties of the eleventh century. It is believed that he wrote the <i>N&#257&#7789ak</i> for the instruction of his son. In this book, the vices and virtues have been personified. <i>K&#257m</i> (lust), <i>krodh</i> (anger), <i>lobh</i> (greed), <i>moh</i> (attachment), <i>aha&#7749k&#257r</i> (ego) are shown at war with <i>vivek</i> (wisdom), <i>sat</i> (truth), <i>santokh</i> (contentment), <i>tarak</i> (reason), <i>&#347ardh&#257</i> (faith) and <i>bhakti</i> (devotion). The latter eventually come out victorious.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Among other works attributed to Pa&#7751&#7693it Gul&#257b Si&#7749gh are <i>Svapan Adhy&#257i</i> or <i>Svapan Birt&#257nt</i> and <i>Karam Vip&#257k</i>. The first is a brief text dealing with the interpretation of dreams. Only two copies in manuscript form have so far come to light. It consists of ten hand-written sheets, with nine lines to a page. The writing is clear and correct but, the last pages of the manuscript being missing, the date of its composition is not ascertainable.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <i>Karam Vip&#257k</i> is a mythological narration in verse in which <i>s&#363rya</i> (the sun) preaches the philosophy of <i>karma</i> (action) to Arun, his coachman. The <i>R&#257ma G&#299t&#257, R&#257m Rid&#257</i> or <i>R&#257m Ridai Stotar</i> or <i>Ram Hrid&#257</i> is still another composition which contains R&#257ma's exhortation to Han&#363m&#257n. It is, in fact, a chapter of the <i>Adhy&#257tam R&#257m&#257i&#7751</i>.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Day&#257l Si&#7749gh, Mahant, <i>Nirmal Panth Darshan</i>. Delhi, n.d.<BR> <li class="C1"> Dharam&#257nant Si&#7749gh, <i>Vedic Gurmat</i>. Jalandhar, 1965<BR> <li class="C1"> Balbir Singh, <i>Foundations of Indian Philosophy</i>. Delhi, 1971<BR> <li class="C1"> Mohan Singh, <i>A History of Punjabi Literature</i>. Amritsar, 1956<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Gurdev Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>