Course Description

Anand Sahib holds a very special places in Sikh tradition, as it is sung in almost every congregational setup. It has also come to be recited in the Sikh initiation ceremony of Khade-ki-Pahul.

Revealed to Guru Amardas Sahib, the bani essentially details human quest for bliss and the lifestyle that is necessary for leading a blissful life. But before all, it describes what bliss is; what are its characteristics and where to find it.

Anand Sahib has been sung in Ramkali, a rag that has swinging moods, varying from devotion and yearning to energy and spiritedness. Variation and sway of the rag is skilfully exploited to traverse through human tendencies that cause anxiety in daily life, and deprive us of bliss. It then explains ways to get rid of them, and shows how to develop a sense of discrimination between right and wrong. In doing so, it introduces the individual to things that are worth engaging in life.

The beauty and significance of Anand Sahib can be gauged from the fact that it dwells on a variety of ideas and principles that are central to Sikh thought.

Some of the questions that it answers are: who is the Guru for us, who is a devotee of the Guru, what kind of relationship a Sikh should have with the Guru. The bani also challenges stereotypes like purity associated by religious individuals to spirituality and Divine love, and graciously addresses many other misconceptions.

In the course, it also defines maya and other such widely used terms that develop our understanding of the Sikh thought in the Guru Granth Sahib.


Course Includes...

  • Forty-four video lessons that include a course introduction, title etymology & description, individual lessons for each pauri (stanza) and a summary
  • Four downloadable course readings


Sponsor:

Sponsored by the Grace of Guru Ramdas Sahib.

Instructor

Surender Pal Singh

Surender Pal Singh is a researcher in Sikh studies. He serves as Content Manager at the Sikh Research Institute (SikhRI), where he develops curriculum, presentations, and research papers on Sikh history and culture. He teaches a course on Gurbani at Sidak, an annual leadership program by SikhRI. He is the co-author of Gurbani linguistics book Guru Granth Sahib – Its Language and Grammar and Workbook Gurbani Language and Grammar. He has over seven years of experience in teaching Gurbani linguistics and fifteen years of experience in teaching Sikh theology and culture. He received Master of Arts in English and Religious Studies. He lives in Panjab.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Readings

    • Handout 1: Bani (Gurmukhi) and Translation

    • Handout 2: Interpretation by Prof. Sahib Singh

    • Handout 3: Interpretation by Bhai Vir Singh

    • Handout 4: Interpretation by Giani Haribans Singh
  • 2

    Anandu Sahib

    • Introduction

    • Etymology

    • Bani Title

    • Pauri 1

    • Pauri 2

    • Pauri 3

    • Pauri 4

    • Pauri 5

    • Pauri 6

    • Pauri 7

    • Pauri 8

    • Pauri 9

    • Pauri 10

    • Pauri 11

    • Pauri 12

    • Pauri 13

    • Pauri 14

    • Pauri 15

    • Pauri 16

    • Pauri 17

    • Pauri 18

    • Pauri 19

    • Pauri 20

    • Pauri 21

    • Pauri 22

    • Pauri 23

    • Pauri 24

    • Pauri 25

    • Pauri 26

    • Pauri 27

    • Pauri 28

    • Pauri 29

    • Pauri 30

    • Pauri 31

    • Pauri 32

    • Pauri 33

    • Pauri 34

    • Pauri 35

    • Pauri 36

    • Pauri 37

    • Pauri 38

    • Pauri 39

    • Pauri 40

    • Summary