Gurbani & Translations
Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa
Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!
I was thinking about translations today. The most popular translation out today is on SikhiToTheMax. It's a great tool. The seva done is amazing. One thing about it, which is a positive AND a negative is that the translations are simple english and easy to understand.
I mean, those translations are what introduced me to gurbani and made me so open to it. But, now, those same translations have made me cynical towards gurbani, well not really gurbani, but rather what we are coming to see as gurbani today--the translations.
I mean, sometimes the thought may run through your mind, every single line says the same thing, every single shabad says the same thing blah blah.. BUT only in simple english does it all seem like the same thing or even similar.
The truth is, that guru sahib made such a wonderful and rich poetry through gurbani that one meaning just isnt enough, especially in simple english. There is so much more meaning and description behind every word that its hard for it to be faithfully translated. There are some great translations by Bhai Manmohan Singh in an eight volume set. He uses bigger, older words and more complicated english, it really helps to understand it. But even that just isn't enough.
We have been doing santhiya here for awhile and to study the meanings we end up looking through 5 or more sources, and even then, the line may end up as a half hour discussion. The depth of gurbani is amazing and we should all have some santhiya, even panj pauRees of Jap Ji sahib will change the way you think about gurbani.
It just helps so much, and theres a point where translations are just meaningless. I think I have started to reach that point. They just don't do gurbani justice. I mean they are a great tool, but we should look beyond them as they could make us all cynical and indifferent towards gurbani, which is wrong.
If you want gurbani to pierce your soul as it has other gursikhs, you need to understand what it truly means and actually contemplate--spend time thinking about each and every word.
Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!
I was thinking about translations today. The most popular translation out today is on SikhiToTheMax. It's a great tool. The seva done is amazing. One thing about it, which is a positive AND a negative is that the translations are simple english and easy to understand.
I mean, those translations are what introduced me to gurbani and made me so open to it. But, now, those same translations have made me cynical towards gurbani, well not really gurbani, but rather what we are coming to see as gurbani today--the translations.
I mean, sometimes the thought may run through your mind, every single line says the same thing, every single shabad says the same thing blah blah.. BUT only in simple english does it all seem like the same thing or even similar.
The truth is, that guru sahib made such a wonderful and rich poetry through gurbani that one meaning just isnt enough, especially in simple english. There is so much more meaning and description behind every word that its hard for it to be faithfully translated. There are some great translations by Bhai Manmohan Singh in an eight volume set. He uses bigger, older words and more complicated english, it really helps to understand it. But even that just isn't enough.
We have been doing santhiya here for awhile and to study the meanings we end up looking through 5 or more sources, and even then, the line may end up as a half hour discussion. The depth of gurbani is amazing and we should all have some santhiya, even panj pauRees of Jap Ji sahib will change the way you think about gurbani.
It just helps so much, and theres a point where translations are just meaningless. I think I have started to reach that point. They just don't do gurbani justice. I mean they are a great tool, but we should look beyond them as they could make us all cynical and indifferent towards gurbani, which is wrong.
If you want gurbani to pierce your soul as it has other gursikhs, you need to understand what it truly means and actually contemplate--spend time thinking about each and every word.
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