Shudh Gurbani Ucharran Part 1 - from AKJ.ORG
by bsingh » Wed May 04, 2005 4:02 pm
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!
Every gursikh reads Gurbani everyday. Many of us have learned to recite paath from Gutkai which have romanized gurmukhi. Most of us have been pronouncing gurbani the same way from the very first time we started to read from a gutka. A lot of us have the panj banis memorized. Others may have heard bani for a while and memorized it by listening to a recording or from a gursikh.
The thing is we read bani over and over every day, years on end. But we fail to get what the idea of reading bani is. Most of us cant decipher/interpret what gurbani is telling us. The majority has a problem with shielding out other thoughts which disturd concentration. Sometimes we go through nitname and only know when the last pangati of anand sahib is read. Many gursikhs think that a person isnt hooked to bani until they have a complete understanding of what is being said by it. In order to hear and understand what the bani is saying Gurbani Ucharran must first be mastered. Everyone wants to take the easy road. We want mukti by just learning basic punjabi and start to do paath, thats it. But the gurmukhi path is not that easy, we need to put in way more work. A sikh is not a sikh if he/she stops learning. Unfortunately thats what we see(gurmat wise) today in all sikhs young or old.
Just as a person learning to read correctly needs to lean the rules of grammar, puncuation, tenses etc., a perosn that wants to understand gurbani properly needs to also learn the rules of gurbani. Personally I feel that learning gurbani ucharran is both more interesting and varied than english grammar. Gurbani viakaran(grammar)is also much more advanced than english grammar. You dont get bored the same way you do in english class. And its not that hard. Books by Bhai Joginder Singh talwara are out in the market and is a good read about Viakaran(grammar). Although Sahib Singh's & Talwara jees books have a lot of grammar in there books, the only book ever wretten on the subject of Gurbani Ucharran was by Commisioner Dhana Singh jee. It it now distributed by the Pingalwara(Amritsar) free of charge. Even singhs who have vast knowledge about viakaran learn many new things from this book.
Gurbani Ucharran is a lifelong learning process. Before getting to read gurbani from Shri Guru Granth Sahib Jee, we first need to make our recitation/ucharran of the nitname bannia shudh(correct). Bhai Harbans Singh(pataila) jees teeka on nitname is a great start for someone who wants to start correcting nitname.
Here are a few pointers on how to correcty recite bani:
-Never miss any part of a shabad{a lag(dalavva/dolankar etc.) or a letter}
-Judge according to viakaran and gurmat if a bindi(nasel sound) adhak(stressed sound) other lag or if the word or part of a word shou be spoken softly(without stress)
-Judge according to viakaran or meaning if you should or should not say a lag(mostly unkar & sihari)
-When reciting bani from a larivaar gutka, reading bani becomes easier when you think of unkar and sihari as a seprator, where the first word ends and the next begins. Guru sahib has made it very easy for us to read from larivaar this way. Remember that this is not found in any other langage and is exclusive to shri guru granth sahib jee.
-Reading Gurbani with proper Bisram(pause) makes unclear meaning clearcut and supashat. Putting the wrong bisram could make the meaning totally opposite so we need to be careful about this. A considerbly longer pause should be given after rahaoo. A pangty usually has one or two places where bisram should be given.
I dont want to make this too long. I will write part two of this soon.
Waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh!bsingh
Posts: 89
Joined: Wed May 04, 2005 3:55 pm Top
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by bsingh » Wed May 04, 2005 4:32 pm
Vaaheguroo jee kaa Khaalsaa! Vaaheguroo jee kee Fateh!!
Excellent post! Veer jeeo, please share more on this topic. It would be great if we could start taking examples of common mistakes we make in regular Paatth and Keertan. AsaaDeeVaar would be a good one to start with.
I'll post here some observations about the 1st chhakkaa. Please correct me where you feel I am wrong and don't hesitate to post questions or ask for clarifications.
JAN NAANAK MUSHAK JHAKOLIYAA
(the third word should be pronounced with a 'sh' as in 'shop' rather than 's' as in 'slow')
Note the pauses in the following:
VAAR SALOKAAN NAAL, SALOK BHEE MEHALE PEHLE KE LIKHE,
TUNDE ASRAAJE KEE DHUNEE
JE SOU CHANDAA OOGAVE...
(I have heard some people unfamiliar with Punjabi pronounce SOU as
SIYOO. This is incorrect. It should be pronounced as 'saw')
CHHUTE TIL BUAAR JIO SUNJYE ANDAR KHET
(The word SUNJYE is not be pronounced as suniye, it is SUN-JE with very little emphasis on J)
..BHEE TAN VICH SUAAH
(a bit emphasis on AA should be used)
AAPEENAE AAP SAAJIO...
DUYEE KUDRAT SAAJEEAE
TOO JANOYEE SABHSAE...
(note AAPEE-NAE, SAAJEE-AE, SABH-SAE have dulaavaan)
Please forgive my mistakes and share.
chardi kalaa!
Vaaheguroo jee kaa Khaalsaa! Vaaheguroo jee kee Fateh!!bsingh
Posts: 89
Joined: Wed May 04, 2005 3:55 pm Top
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by bsingh » Wed May 04, 2005 4:33 pm
A long time ago, i learnt paart from a gyani (gyani gurdev singh). He learnt the correct pronoucetion from a very famous paart school in india which goes back to Guru Gobind Singh Ji's time. So the school is known to have knowledge of how to say each word that exists in the Guru Granth Sahib. Even now i make mistakes, as it is very hard to remember each rule. But the aim is to say paart as correctly as possible for you. Examples of common mistakes:
One big one is ek um kar it should be EK O ANg KAR (just a slight trace of g).
Jap Ji Sahib:
paataala paataal NOT ptaala ptaal
aagaasa aagaas NOT agaasa agaas
Anand Sahib:
The last line usually starts off with Keahe, but many pronounce it with only one, kihe.
another e.g. you should pronounce each letter and vowel, and emphisize aswell, for e.g. saHIB, not saeb.
I'm very grateful that i had the oppurtunity to learn from this gyani, but you can still figure it out yourself if you concentrate and take time out to study each word!
Thank you for reading.
Waheguru ji ka khalsa! Waheguru Ji ki Fateh!bsingh
Posts: 89
Joined: Wed May 04, 2005 3:55 pm Top
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by bsingh » Wed May 04, 2005 4:34 pm
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Wahaeguru Ji Ki Fateh
I wanted to write up the rules of viakarn and gurbani ucharran and make up one post on each topic. But now I think that doing proper ucharan of nitname is even more important. This is the way I do nitname and I think that its correct according to Gurbani Viakarn. This is the same way Bhai Harbans Singh and Bhai Joginder Singh Talwara have written in their steeks of nitname. If you don?t agree with what I write, give a reason why its incorrect and what the correct way is.
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1) Ik o(n)(g)kar is the correct ucharran in Punjabi is and oora with an open mouth, a tippi{(n)(g) sound} on the aara a kana with a kaka and a rara. Pronouncing it as eakomgkar is wrong. The 1 in front is pronounced as Ik not eak as in hindi. The above ucharan is also used in Bhai Gurdaas Jees Vars.
2) The ucharan of Sai BHng seprate is incorrect the shudh ucharran is SaiBHng(one word)
3) Pronouncing Persaad as Pershad is incorrect. Persaad means with the kirpa of the guru, and Pershad means something to eat or krah parshad.
4) Reading Jup as Japo is not right. Jup is the name of the bani. There is a bisram after jup.
5) Hai BHee is not one word, ucharan should be separate.
6) When the keka of Nanak is a mukta(without any lag-mater) then a pause should be given after Nanak.
7) Bindi on Sochee(n) in Jai Sochee(n) lakh vaar.
8) Bindi on Rahaa(n) in jai laye rahaa(n) liv taar.
9) Bindi on Bukhayaa(n) in bukhayaa(n) bhukh naa uttari.
10) Bindi on Puriaa(n) in Ji Banaa Puriaa(n) Bhaar.
11) Bindi on Sianpaa(n) & Hoyee(n) in sais sianpaa(n) lakh hoyee(n).
12) Rajey is incorrect in hukam Razayee(n) chalanaa. Is from Raza, which means the hukam of waheguru; the such ucharran is Razayee(n).
13) Bindi on Paiyaae(n) in Hukam Likh Dukh Sukh Paiyaae(n).
14) Bindi on Hukamee(n) & Bhavayaae(n) in Ik hukamee(n) sada bhavayaae(n).
15) Many Jatha singhs say a kana when there is the letter aara at the end of a word. The purpose of the aara is to just make the sound of the first letters in front longer, not add a kaena. So the ucharran of Jee is not Jeea(Hukamee hovan Jee).
16)Bindi on Vadayeea(n) in Gavai ko gun vidayaa chaar.
17) Bindi on Koatee(n) in Kath kath kathee koatee(n) koat koat.
18) Bindi on Dai(n)da, La(n)dai and Pahai(n) in dai(n)da sai la(n)dai thak pahai(n).
19) Bindi on Kaheyee(n) & khahai(n) juga joganter kaheyee(n) Khahai(n).
20) Pronouncing Rah and Vehpervah as Rahoo and Vehpervahoo is ashudh. The unkar at the end in gurbani is used to specify it as a singular.
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If you see any mistakes in the above, let me know. Bindi is something that path cant be done without. With adding a bindi the shabad becomes easir to understand and follow and we can drive the proper meaning with it. This is only till the 3rd puri of Jap jee sahib, rest will be posted soon.
Post under this thread where we make mistakes in gurbani.
Waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh!bsingh
Posts: 89
Joined: Wed May 04, 2005 3:55 pm Top
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by bsingh » Wed May 04, 2005 4:35 pm
Waheguru jee Ka Khalsa
Waheguru jee Kee Fateh
Pronunciation of short vowels ( Sihari and Unkar) at the endings of Gurbani words: the advantages of sihari and unkar ucharn at the ending of Gurbani words is that this at least doubles the Gurbani understanding of a common person. Bhai Joginder Singh Jee Talwara and Dr. Harkirat Singh stressed in their book for its importance.
a) Bhai Joginder Singh jee Talwara devoted his life for Gurbani understanding and document his findings. I believe it will be a true honor to Bhai Joginder Singh jee Talwara if we read, understand and implement his findings to enhance our Gurbani understanding. Bhai Sahib wrote this great book named "Gurbani ucharun" ISBN 81-7205-067-4, after a lot of research and by participating in a number of seminars with other researchers. Pages 38-61 of this book are must a read for pronunciation of short vowels ( Sihari and Unkar) at the endings of Gurbani words.
b) Dr. Harkirat Singh jee Gurmukhi linguistics and Gurbani Bhasha scholars from Punjabi university, Dr. Harkirat Singh jee says in his Book "GURBANI DI BHASHA TE VYAKARAN (Punjabi)" ISBN : 81-7380-323-4, "g) The short vowels /u/ and /i/ were generally pronounced in the endings of words in Apabhramsa. Absolutely, the same position is found in the case of Gurbani. So, it is against the grammatical rules of Gurbani to reject the pronunciation of these short vowels (/u/ and /i/) at the endings of the words of Gurbani. Writing always follows the pronunciation, therefore, we should try to read the old writing in tune with the old pronunciation." To look at the complete abstract please go to:
[
www.sikhpoint.com] ... p?pageno=1
c) Gurbani words with and without laga matras are different:
aahar sabh karadhaa firai aaharu eik n hoe ||
naanak jith aahare jag oudhhara viralaa boojhai koe ||2||
The example of Gubani tuks with three different types spelling of the base word Aahar(Aahar, Aaharu, Aahare) shows that pronunciation of sihari and Ukar is must in order communicate three different meaning of the words (jobs, the job, by doing the job) to the listeners. Also, as we know in Gurbani words unkar & hora and Sihari and lav/Bihari are used inter-changingly for the same very purpose. If we say we should pronounce hora, bihari and lav then why not unkar and Sihari? . Answer is that sihari and unkar must be pronounced like other lagamatras in order to propagate Guru?s message correctly.
Waheguru jee ka Khalsa
Waheguru jee kee Fatehbsingh
Posts: 89
Joined: Wed May 04, 2005 3:55 pm Top
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by bsingh » Wed May 04, 2005 4:36 pm
WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH!
Gurbani has been wretten in a very special and unique way by guru sahib. The writing style and grammar, word usage etc. has been caregully chosen by the gurus and everything about bani is exclusive only to shri guru granth sahib jee. This kind if sahitkari is not found anywhere else. How could it be when it is bani from guru sahib.
We see many singhs and babbyaa that do kirtan with any knowledge whatsoever about the meaning and structure of the verses.
All the modern Keertaniya cares about is how my voice will be, who will sit on the second vaja and how fancy the tune will be. This is SAD! Have we forgotten what gurbani kirtan is?? Kirtan is supposed to be a supereme sewa; not a chance to impress people. Many people are not raised in a sikhi enviornment and thus they have no idea aobut waht the marya of kirtan is.
Learning gurbani grammar and usage and pronouncination of gurbai kirtan is the key that over 97% of the sikh population hasnt adopted. There are many saikhs that tell us that sikhi is about pream and shudhtaa. SO PLEASE KEEP IN MIND WAHT YOU ARE SINGING.....
1) THE RULE OF UNKAR AND SIHIRI
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All but a few people agree that the sihiri and teh unkar are devices used to make larivaar bani easier to read and decipher.
a)THE LARIVAAR ISSUE
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HOW? with bani is a continous line with any breaks it is ippossible for the average sikh of today to read correctly. Guru sahib was well aware of this and so he created a system to make bani easier to read. He put a unkar and a sihiri where the word was supposed to end. Interestingly this was only done in bani not in other punjabi works{all writing of the gurus era was larivaar, no deviation whatsoever} Slowly the trend changed and some genius figured that they can break the gurus word and make life easier. This was the biggest blow to sikhi ever. That spelled the end of gurbani as the world knew it. Thousands upon thousants of larivaar beerswere burned at govindwaal said as the new fad began to encroach on the larivaar bir....
Certain singhs of sgpc, sangh sabha, cheif khalsa diwan & bhai sahib jee and the Kirtani jahta began an epic struggle{also in joyt vigaas} against the mayadhari sikh printers. I consider the Chattar Singh-Jeevan singh guys as the biggest thugs in all of sikh history... they forever changed the legacy of the larivaar saroops.
Sikhi was degraded now a kid with 5 years worth of schooling was able to call himself a gyani. That is the real downfall began here. THis is the same time when the government introduced the raagmala debate. This was an excellent opertuinity to hit home division and chaos in the singhs. But it didnt not gain much momentum UNTIL the jatha bhindraan supported the raagmala conspericy. The sgpc passed various motions that would not give proadtaa to the new broken lettered bir. The commette also had an extensive investigation into the Raagmala and ped-shed introduction into mainstream sikhi. {for further reading condult dilgeers book on akhal takhat [1999] and his thesis on raagmala
ਸਤਿਗੁਰਬਚਨਕਮਾਵਣੇਸਚਾਏਹੁਵੀਚਾਰੁ॥