The Sikh Geek

I recently found out that the British Library in London holds some amazing pieces of Sikh Manuscripts. The most amazing of these is the "Guru Granth Sahib" (The Sikh Holy Book) but what is remarkable is that is the oldest known version outside of India and one the 20 oldest known in existence. It dates from c1660-75 which is the time of the Ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and his son the Tenth and Final Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji. It was only in 1699 that the Khalsa was formed by Guru Gobind Singh Ji and he declared that after him the Sikhs should only follow the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. So, it became the living embodiment of our Faith and it is treated with the utmost respect and reverence. I’m not sure if it is a good or bad thing that the British Library owns such a rare part of the Sikh Faith. You could argue that it might have been destroyed if it had remained in India through various upheavals. I understand it has been restored with funds from the Sikh Education Council.

The collection also contains the Prayer Book of Rani Jindan Kaur, the wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who fought two wars with the British before the Punjab was finally annexed. His son Maharaja Duleep Singh was shipped off to England, converted to Christainity (later went back to being a Sikh) and become a favourite of Queen Victoria. This was when the famour Koh-i-Nor diamond was somehow given/taken from Duleep Singh and now is part of the Queen’s Crown Jewels ("To the Victor the Spoils"). Duleep Singh is buried in Elveden Church in Norfolk. How strange that the last Maharaja of the Sikh Nation’s resting place is only 100 miles away from me. There is a Sikh Memorial to him there but I’ve never visited or seen it and to be honest I didn’t know it even existed until quite recently.

It’s amazing to think how intertwined the history of Britain and the Sikhs are and I guess why my parents came to this country back in the 1960s.

Within the collection there is a picture of Guru Nanak Ji, the founder of Sikhism with his two followers one which was a Muslim and one a Hindu. The message from this and from the Sikh Faith is of the equality of Religious belief.

The opening words of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji is "Ek on Kar" meaning "One God"!