It Is the Same Light

Sri Guru Granth Sahib deals with eternal themes that have occupied mankind forever such as the meaning of life" or the "MOL" moment that every life has. the meaning is in the interpretation, and every generation has to explore it anew. For a new generation of Sikhs growing up outside the cultural and linguistic milieu of Punjab and Punjabi language, discovering and nurturing a sense of intimacy with the Guru's message is not so simple a matter. This is exactly what Daljit Singh Jawa...
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Sri Guru Granth Sahib deals with eternal themes that have occupied mankind forever such as the meaning of life" or the "MOL" moment that every life has. the meaning is in the interpretation, and every generation has to explore it anew. For a new generation of Sikhs growing up outside the cultural and linguistic milieu of Punjab and Punjabi language, discovering and nurturing a sense of intimacy with the Guru's message is not so simple a matter. This is exactly what Daljit Singh Jawa has to contend with. It is no easy task. It's the kind of work that no one can claim or hope to finish entirely. So Jawa has tried a different tack. He provides the original text in one column and in the next column he gives a transliteration of the original in Romanized script, so that the novice can read the text reasonably competently. I have to add that his transliteration is easy on the eyes; he skips most diacritical marks and the bells and whistles that are so critical to a linguist. Jawa's approach undoubtedly benefits the average reader and perhaps whets his/her desire to delve more into the intricacies of the language and that's all to the good. and then the icing on the cake: Jawa reserves sufficient space on every page to provide not a literal translation of a hymn (shabad), but a conceptual statement of its essential message in serviceable English, often minus the mythological baggage. I find this an essential and most attractive feature of Daljit Singh Jawa's painstaking work. Many complete translations of Siri Guru Granth Sahib in English are available. There is no official, approved version. Personally, I like this. I celebrate them all. We would not always agree with any translation; I don't, and hope that nor will you. What the many viewpoints do is to propel you, the reader, on a path for yourself. and what can be better than that? This is a large canvas that Daljit Singh Jawa has painted. I hope readers will enjoy it as I have done - particularly the millions who now live outside Punjab and Punjabi ambit and yet are intimately attached to or curious about the Sikh message."