Why Gurmat Parkash?

And why me?

I remember standing in the parking lot of Dixie Gurdwara in the GTA after Asa Ki Vaar Kirtan and Bhai Jaspinder Singh (Father of Bhai Harpreet Singh Toronto) was holding a stack of papers. He had just finished the English translation of Charan Kamal Ki Mauj and was handing it to his grandchildren to be typed up and proofread. I was probably 15 or 16 at the time and my Punjabi reading comprehension wasn’t the best. It was very exciting that another book of Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh had been translated and I couldn’t wait to read the final copy. I read Jail Chittian in Punjabi but relied on the English translation to understand it better. Even Rangle Sajjan, I read the English translation by Bhai Jaspinder Singh and it was life-changing, to say the least. Bhai Jaspinder Singh told me that we the next generation need to read Bhai Sahib’s books and that we should be helping him to translate them to English since English is our first language. 17 years later I find myself blessed with this Seva. What a turn of events.

I was lucky to do Sangat of many great Gursikhs, and some Gursikhs who even had Sangat of Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh ji such as Dr Darshan Singh and it was this Sangat of Gursikhs which helped me to understand Bhai Sahib’s writings. Bhai Kulbir Singh has been one of the most influential figures in my journey of Gursikhi so far. He translated many articles from Bhai Sahib’s books into English and posted them on forums and message boards which was a phenomenal help. I would look forward to the next post with utmost eagerness. Even though reading Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh ji’s original Punjabi text is unmatchable in its transformative effect, being a native English speaker, English resonated with me a lot more.

Doing Sangat with Bhai Kulbir Singh was a great blessing. He helped me understand Bhai Sahib’s books, and we read many chapters together to better understand Gurmat. Over the years, my grasp of Punjabi strengthened, and my fluency also drastically increased. So much so that I now prefer to read Bhai Sahib’s books in the original Punjabi, and I have read them multiple times. Bhai Kulbir Singh attempted to translate all of Gurmat Bibek near the end of his life and made a team of us who would work diligently with him on these translations. But in Guru Sahib’s divine plan, it was time for Bhai Kulbir Singh to pass on and the potential for his understanding and work to be published passed with him.

Bhai Kulbir Singh’s death had a profound effect on me. He had an insane amount of knowledge and spent countless hours pondering and refining his understanding of Gurmat. His clarity of thought was mesmerizing. But it felt as if his potential was never fully reached, and he never was able to put all of his thoughts on paper. What a tragic loss of decades of work. Hopefully, those who have his rough work will complete his intention by publishing it even in the incomplete form.

This is why I decided to work on translating Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh ji’s books into English. If Guru Sahib gives you a gift, not sharing it is a waste of that potential. I am not the best person to do these translations, and they will be full of mistakes, but I have decided that regardless of that, the effort should be made and presented for future generations to refine.

Now came the hard part. Which book do I start with?

I wanted to start with Gurmat Bibek, but whenever I would sit to work on it, I would hit a mental hurdle. So I decided to leave it up to Guru Sahib. I opened the pdf folder of all of Bhai Sahib’s books and scrolled through them with my eyes closed while Japping Naam. When I opened my eyes Gurmat Parkash was highlighted and that was it. Divine Intervention!

I had read Gurmat Parkash before but reading it with the intention of translation was a totally different experience. Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh ji has covered topics in such an amazing way and even though this book is a compilation of his smaller tracts and writings, it became apparent that it was the need of the hour. Guru Sahib works in mysterious ways!

As of writing this post the translation has been completed and has been submitted for final review to Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh Trust UK for publishing and should be released soon. But since I have no patience, I will be releasing chapters from the book here as well for feedback and review from readers. You still have to buy the book!

Keep in mind these are the rough drafts before edits so you should still read the final version in the physical copy or the digital pdf releasing soon!

First Chapter will release tomorrow.

Enjoy!

And Buy The Book! Don’t be Lazy!

- Preetam Singh Toronto