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Raag Maala
The basis of every religion is respect and faith. To be a religious person, one must have complete faith in his/her religion. For instance, Muslims believe that on judgment day all Muslims will rise up from their graves and Mohammad will send them to heaven based on their virtues. Christians believe that Jesus resurrected the third day after he was sacrificed on the cross. These people have complete faith no matter what others think. Just like that every Sikh should have complete faith in Gurbani, in each and every word. Guru Ji says: O GurSikhs, know that the Bani, the Word of the True Guru, is true, absolutely true. (Pg. 308) A Sikhs should believe in every single word of Guru. Unfortunately, some Sikhs question the Guru and try to show their psuedo intellect. These Sikhs question Raag Maala which was composed by none other than Guru Arjan Dev Ji himself. They have raised many questions regarding Raag Maala the answers to which can be found in the writings from the Damdami Taksaal which was started by Guru Gobind Singh Ji and many other books such as "Raag Maala Parbodh" by Sant Tehal Singh Ji and "Guru Granth Sahib Kosh" by Bhai Veer Singh Ji. On this page, I have written the answers to all the questions I know of. The purpose of this page is to clear the doubts of Sikhs, so we can have complete faith in Guru and unite together. These kinds of questions really divide our community, that's why I decided to write on this topic so that we may become one. First of all, it is important that we learn from the story of Raam Rai, son of Guru Har Rai Ji. He changed only one word of Gurbani and Guru Ji never wanted to see his face again. He was kicked out and was not accepted by the Guru. It clearly shows the consequences of changing Gurbani. If Guru Ji did not accept his own son then why would Guru Ji accept those who do not believe everything in Gurbani. In the first two centuries of Khalsa, no Sikh ever questioned Guru but then suddenly in the beginning of the 20th century some Sikhs started questioning Guru Ji. They lost their faith and the only thing they had was their pseudo intellect which is an act of stupidity in Sikhism. Showing smartness in front of Guru is to try to contradict Sikhi. Many famous Sikhs such as Bhai Veer Singh, Dr. Charan Singh, Bhai Tehal Singh, Giani Sahib Singh, Sant Attar Singh Mastuanne Wale, Sant Gurbachan Singh Bhindranwale and all other Saints of Damdami Taksaal including Baba Deep Singh Ji, Bhai Mani Singh Ji and his Taksaal (Started by Guru Gobind Singh Ji), Baba Nand Singh Ji, Sant Isher Singh Ji, Sewa Panthis, Nirmalle Sadhu, Udasi Saints and all Nihang Sampardas and many others believed in Raag Maala and they tried their best to bring those lost Sikhs on the right path and many of them did come but some didn't even though all of their questions were answered. Some of the famous Sikhs who were against Raag Maala are Shamsher Singh Ashok, Bhai Kahan Singh Nabha (writer of Mahan Kosh), Sobha Singh, Teja Singh, Randhir Singh and Sher Singh (who was blind). One thing common in these people is that they all received education from the same school or they had link with this anti Sikh school in one way or another. So lets look at these people one by one.

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org The first person who started this controversial topic was Giani Sobha Singh who lived in a religious school (Dera) of Thakar Dyal Singh. According to Sant Gurbachan Singh Bhindranwale, this man had some personal business problems and went to government officials who were Christians (English people who had control over India at the time). They said he would get everything he wants and all of his problems would be solved if he could divide the Sikh community by questioning Gurbani. Christians thought if Sikhs were to loose their faith in Gurbani, they will never become powerful and they could never be real Sikhs because Sikhs get everything from Gurbani. One who has complete faith in Gurbani is a Sikh. It was because of the power of Gurbani that Baba Deep Singh fought with his head on his palm. It was because of the power of Gurbani that Bhai Mani Singh was cut limb by limb but never showed grief. Gurbani is the soul of Sikhs. So Sobha Singh questioned Raag Maala and mislead Bhai Santokh Singh to write in Sooraj Parkash that Raag Maala is not Gurbani. Santokh Singh wrote on page 40 and 41: "Raag Maala is not the composition of the Satguru, Mundavani is kept at the end of the Granth Sahib as the Closing Seal." It did not end here. Sobha Singh wrote a saroop Guru Granth Sahib without Raag Maala and brought it to Akaal Takhat to seek approval of Sikhs. Many famous Sikhs were present there at that time such as Granthi Jwahar Singh, Bhai Bhagat Singh, Bhai Diwan Singh, Thakar Dyal Singh, as well as many Nirmale and Udasi Saints. The Singhs turned to Guru Ji for answers and they all decided to pray to the Guru Ji. Sikh Sangat chose five Sikhs as Panj Pyare and prayed in front of Guru that if Sobha Singh is right then he should stay healthy but if he is wrong then he should suffer within a week so that other Sikhs can learn a lesson from his mistakes. Within a week Sobha Singh was afflicted with leprosy and died a painfully death soon after. But before he died he learned his lesson. He asked some Sikhs to take him to Akaal Takhat to ask for forgiveness. He requested that his story should be published in weekly newsletter of Darbar Sahib so that no one could make the same mistake again. Guru Granth Sahib that he wrote was taken home by Bhai Aala Singh Ji Patiala. Madan Singh questions this story and says its a fake story. He says "If Sobha Singh was punished then why weren't others punished who didn't believe in Raag Maala?" The answer is he wrote Sri Guru Granth Sahib without Raag Maala and Ardaas was done to only punish him if he was wrong. What was the point of punishing everyone because Sikhs thought others will learn their lesson by looking at Sobha Singh but unfortunately they were too ignorant to learn anything. Madan Singh also says that record of this story is no where found in Darbar Sahib. It is because most of the old record was burnt in 1984 by the army. Now the next person comes Bhai Kahan Singh Nabha who started writing in 1901 when the first edition of Gurmat Sudhakar was published. He wrote that the Bir Sahib (Saroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji) of Kartarpur has 974 pages and Mundavani is on page 973 and page 974 is blank. The page number 974 is written on the page but it is blank. He said everything after page 974 is not Gurbani. He said that the Bir Sahib not only contains Raag Maala but also Rattan Maala, story of Hikikat Raah Mukaam, dates of Jyoti Jot (ascension) of the first six Gurus and praises of Niranjan Singh (grandson of Dhirmaliye), mention of year of 'fire in

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org Kartarpur' and also the year of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's visit etc. Bhai Kahan Singh wrote a lot about the Bir Sahib but he didn't say a single word about signature of Guru Arjan Dev Ji which was at the end of Bir Sahib. In the Bir Sahib there exists a signature of Guru Ji after the Raag Maala. The signature signifies the completion of that saroop. Why did he keep quite about that? Because that was not in his favor. People turn their backs on something that proves them wrong and that is exactly what Bhai Sahib did. Later Dr Balbir Singh and some other Sikhs went to see the Bir Sahib of Kartarpur and they wrote that Raag Maala is written on page 974. Type of paper and condition of the pages is the same as well as ink and all the words. Therefore, there is no proof against authenticity of the writing. The full report of these findings was published in Khalsa Samachar. Dr Balbir Singh also said Raag Maala was not added afterwards by anyone. It is part of Guru Granth Sahib. The names of the Sikhs who went to see the Bir Sahib with Dr Balbir Singh are as follows: 1. Maan Singh, member of judicial committee of Faridkot 2. Hukam Singh (Sardar Sahib) retired district and sons judge, Amritsar 3. Sodhi Jagat Singh, retired secretary of Chief Khalsa Diwan, Amritsar 4. Harminder Singh, Krishan Nagar, Amritsar 5. Mehar Singh Rawel, editor "Khalsa Advocate", Amritsar 6. Hajoora Singh, engineer, Amritsar 7. Amar Singh, police inspector, Amritsar 8. Giani Mahan Singh, editor "Khalsa Samachar", Amritsar These Sikhs carefully examined the Bir Sahib and came to the conclusion that the ink, handwriting, grammar and everything was the same. After that the S.G.P.C. sent another committee to Kartarpur Sahib who explained in their report "We examined Bir Sahib from 12:30pm till 5:45pm and we have looked at every single page and yet we did not find any of the followings: 1. Jit Dir Likh Mohammada 2. Salok Aatish Aaab 3. Rattan Maala 4. Hikikat Raah Mukaam 5. Total Pages 974 6. Ink Formula

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org These Sikhs wanted to tell the people that the comments made by Bhai Kahan Singh were wrong. In 1930 Bhai Kahan Singh corrected his mistake in Mahan Kosh by writing "The Bir Sahib that Guru Arjan Dev Ji had Bhai Gurdas Ji write became known as Gurdas Wali. This Bir is present at Kartarpur and its total pages are 975." During this short time he increased the number of pages by one. He even made some comments and claimed those to be Bhai Chaupa Singh's. But in Rehatnama of Bhai Chaupa SIngh these comments are no where to be found. Instead Bhai Chaupa Singh Ji wrote "Jo Bhog Siahi Ki Bidh Parh Pawe". This means where the ink ends that is the completion of Guru Granth Sahib which automatically claims Raag Maala to be part of Guru Granth Sahib. The next person is Kavi Bhai Santokh Singh Ji who wrote in Sooraj Parkash: "Raag Maala is not the composition of the Satguru, Mundavani is kept at the end of the Granth Sahib as the Closing Seal." He wrote this in Pauri number 40. The last lines of this pauris claim that Guru Ji himself did not write Raag Maala and it was added by some other Sikhs afterwards. First of all, he was a human being just like us so whatever he says is not a command of God. Every human being makes mistakes. As Gurbani says only the true Guru never makes mistakes. All others make mistakes. Even though Bhai Sahib spent most of his lifetime in writing Historical Granth but that doesn't mean everything he wrote is the truth. For example he wrote in Sooraj Parkash that Guru HarGobind Ji became afflicted with Seetla (Smallpox) and Mata Ganga Ji took Guru Ji to Durgiana Mandir (Hindu Temple) to please Seetla Goddess. But Guru Arjan Dev Ji says in Gurbani that his son got well because of God's grace. The Divine Guru has opened his eyes. Doubt has been dispelled; my service has been successful. || 1 || Pause || The Giver of joy has saved him from smallpox. The Supreme Lord God has granted His Grace. (Page 200) It clearly shows that Guru Ji prayed only to the One True God and denounced all Hindu gods and goddesses. Just like this Santokh Singh described Guru Gobind Singh with his ears pierced and wearing big ear rings. This is described in Rit 1, Ansoo 12, Pauri 7-8. But if we read Guru Gobind Singh Ji's Gurbani we find that Guru Ji is totally against it. Guru Ji said: "Na Jatta Sees Dharehon, Na Mundarka Sudharehon." Then in Rit 1, Ansoo 13 Bhai Sahib writes about Guru Ji's wedding that Guru Ji took rounds around fire and Hindu God Ganesha was worshipped as well as nine planets. This is totally wrong because Guru Nanak Dev Ji took rounds around Mool Mantra and rejected the idea of Hinduism. Guru Ramdas Ji composed Lavan to be read at weding in Raag Suhi. Guru Gobind Singh Ji said: "I do not accept Ganesha as important. I do not meditate on Krishna, neither on Vishnu. I do not hear them and do not recognize them. My love is with the Lotus feet of God. He is my protector, the Supreme Lord. I am dust of his Lotus feet." (Guru Gobind Singh)

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org This is basic concrete proof that it was important to Guru Ji to mention that we are not to worship these deities and that he didn't. How can Bhai Santokh Singh say Guru Ji worshipped Ganesha when he didn't believe in them? He can't! I am not trying to make Bhai Santokh Singh Ji seem bad. He was a great Sikh writer but we should not forget that every human being makes mistakes. He did not provide any proof of his hypothesis such as names of the people who added Raag Maala; the place and date or anything like that. He himself wrote that if Raag Maala is not Gurbani then he doesn't know who wrote Raag Maala which shows that he wrote it without doing any research. He wrote it because he was influenced by Sobha Singh and slipped in his opinion about Raag Maala. We as Sikhs shouldn't take these two or four lines of his and start fighting. We should trust Guru more than a human. In the "Anti Raag Maala" team there was another person Teja Singh Bhasoria. He claimed himself a Sikh but no one has spoken against Sikhism more than him. He took out Raag Maala and Bhatt Swayiyay from Guru Granth Sahib. He changed the grammar of Vaars and added two Shabads: Mundavani Mahalla 5 and Salok Mahalla 5 (Tera Kita Jato Nahin) in Kirtan Sohila. He also took out the 13th Ashtpaddi of Sukhmani Sahib. He didn't stop there. He added Guru Gobind Singh Ji's Bani in Guru Granth Sahib. He added Jaap Sahib, Shabad Hajaare (leaving out the "Mittar Pyare Noo" Shabad), Sudha Swayeyas, Akaal Ustat, Gyan Parbodh, thirty three Swayiyas and Chaupai Shaib. He changed Gurmantar "Waheguru" to "Wahguru". After making these changes, he printed his own copies of Guru Granth Sahib Ji and shipped them to different countries including Malyaisa, Burma and other islands. On his actions Sikhs became very upset and a Hukamnama was released from Akaal Takhat which declared him and his wife as anti Sikhs and was expelled from Sikhism. He did excommunicated from the Panth. Teja Singh had his own school and had full support from the British and had much power of the press. This is how he was able to print altered copies of Guru Ji. He also had received support from some Sikh kings because he arranged the marriage of Ripduman Singh who was the king of Nabha. These kings supported him because he was running a Sikh school and seemed to be very devout. They didn't know that he was actually involving in many anti Sikh activities. Teja Singh was also the first person who changed fifth Sikh symbol of Kesh (hair) to Keski (Turban). He started a new organization called "Panch Khand Diwan Khalsa" and all anti Raag Maala people were part of this organization, most of them being influenced by Teja Singh. Among his followers was a person named Kartar Singh Kalaaswalia who shortened Rehraas Sahib in Darbar Sahib after he became the head Granthi. He was also a member of Teja Singh's organization. Later on Teja Singh took out most of the Gurbani and left only 200 Shabads in Guru Granth Sahib. He claimed that this was the real Gurbani but luckily they never were successful. Some Sikhs argue that Raag Maala was not being read at Akaal Takhat Sahib which proves that it is not Gurbani. But my point is if Akaal Takhat didn't believe in Raag Maala then why did they keep it in Guru Granth Sahib?? Then why would Akaal Takhat release Hukamnama against this person who didn't believe in Raag Maala? Before British annexed Punjab all five Takhats had same Rehat Maryada. Akaal Takhat Sahib was under direct control of Nihangs and Nihang Jathebandis read Raag Maala which means Raag Maala was being read at Akaal Takhat Sahib when British took over and it is being read now. If they want to go with Akaal Takhat Sahib then

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org why don't they start believing in Kes as the fifth Kakkar because Akaal Takhat Sahib does not recognize "Keski" as fifth Kakkar. The truth is these person were successful in anti Sikh activities because they had power of press and support from British. Some Dhirmalls were also against Raag Maala. They said that Sher Singh Bhasoria has checked the ink of Guru Granth Sahib and it is not the same with Raag Maala. But the fact is Mr. Sher Singh was a blind man. How could a blind man check for the ink? He couldn't even see then how did he do this checking? Dhirmall used Sher Singh to prove his point but he is wrong because Sher Singh was blind. Dhirmalls were never given any respect in Sikhism because Guru Ji rejected them then why should we trust them anyways? We shouldn't take their words about Gurbani. Bhai Randhir Singh also didn't believe in Raag Maala. There are a few related reasons that may have aid his belief. First, he took Amrit along with Maulvi Karim Baksh and his family Teja Singh Bhasoria who didn't believe in Raag Maala. Bhai Randhir Singh took Amrit in village called Bakkapur near Falour which is well stated in his book "Jail Letters". People question that only Panj Pyare have the right to give Amrit not one person. I do not mean Teja Singh directly gave Bhai Sahib Amrit but Panj Pyare were from Teja Singh's school and organization "Panch Khand" and they told their own Rehat Maryada. Second, Bhai Randhir Singh believed that Gur Mantra was "Wahguru" not "Waheguru" because that's what he was told by Teja Singh. Some people ask about written proof. As I have said earlier Bhai Kahan Singh Nabha was associated with Teja Singh also and he played a great role in writing literature for Teja Singh's organization. Teja Singh was a preacher and Kahan Singh was a writer. In Mahan Kosh Bhai Kahan Singh Nabha wrote GurMantar as "Wahguru" not Waheguru. Read about Amrit in Mahan Kosh and you will see this. This proves that Teja Singh believed that MoolMantar was Wahguru which he told Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh. Bhai Sahib was a complete Gursikh but he was also a human. Humans make mistakes. As Gurbani says "Bhulan Andar Sab Ko Abhul Guru Kartaar". Only Guru never forgets and makes mistakes. This panktee clearly tells us that only Guru Sahibs do not make mistakes. Bhai Sahib Ji was a human being just like other GurSikhs like Sant Gurbachan Singh Ji Bhindranwale, Bhai Veer Singh Ji etc. I am not comparing each other. They were all GurSikhs but Bhai Sahib Ji made a mistake by not believing in Raag Maala which he corrected afterwards. But I would like to ask one question. Bhai Sahib Ji wrote many books. Does he ever mention in any of his books that Raag Maala is not Gurbani? I don't know any. So I ask anti-Raag Maala for written proof that Bhai Sahib Ji didn't believe in Raag Maala. Bhai Sahib Ji believed in Raag Maala and Gur Mantra "Waheguru" after finding out about anti Sikh activities of Teja Singh. After Bhai Sahib's release, Babu Teja Singh tried to meet his old friend after twenty years and came to his house to resurrect their old friendship. Bhai Sahib was not there at that moment. When he came to know later of Babu Ji's visit, Bhai Sahib wrote him a letter politely declining to meet him. "Babu Teja Singh Ji, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh. You, dear Sir, have come to see this humble servant of the Panth after one fifth of a century, i.e., 20 years. I was no

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org less eager to have the chance of meeting with you and talking together. But I was deeply pained when I learnt that you have been excommunicated from the Panth by a congregation at Sri Akaal Takhat. What is even more distressing, you continue to disregard the authority of the Panth. It is now my request that you should be obedient to the Command of the Guru Panth and return to its shelter. Then we shall meet like brothers. It is my hope that you will accede to my request and thereby please the hearts of all of us. I am confident that you will not defy the Guru Panth and will abide by the tradition coming down through generations. Your sincere well wisher (s) Randheer Singh" Furthermore, when Bhai Randhir Singh met Sant Gurbachan Singh Ji on 19th February 1960 in Ludhiana, Bhai Randhir Singh Ji said in his own words that he believed in Raag Maala after reading spiritual meanings of Raag Maala provided by Sant Gurbachan Singh Ji. Bhai Sahib Ji admitted that he was mistaken (Read biography of Sant Kartar Singh Ji Bhindranwale). The following page is taken directly from this book.

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org Sant Gurbachan Singh Ji wrote in "Gurbani Paath Darpan" that in village Ghungraane Kartar Singh was reading Guru Granth Sahib and Arjan Singh was doing the translation. Bhai Randheer Singh Ji was sitting in Sadh Sangat too. Many other famous Sikhs like Jathedar Gurdial Singh Boparai, Sant Ajaib Saingh and Sant Hazoora Singh were also sitting there with Sant Giani Gurbachan Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale. Sant Ji wrote that when Kartar Singh reached Raag Maala Arjan Singh asked if he should continue translating Raag Maala. In reply Jathedar Gurdial Singh Boparai said "If I was in your place I would've read it by now." Then Arjan Singh translated Raag Maala and Bhog ceremony took place after reading Raag Maala in the presence of Bhai Sahib Randheer Singh Ji. There are many other incidents which show that Raag Maala was read in the presence of Bhai Sahib and he did not leave the Sangat. But now some ignorant people stick their fingers in their ears and run out of the Gurudwara when the hear Raag Maala being read. These stories are ignored by anti Raag Maala people. They say someone made them up. They only say it because these true stories don't go in their favor. They are not brave enough to accept the truth. Just like Bhai Randhir Singh, Bhai Jodh Singh also accepted that Raag Maala is Gurbani after seeing the Bir Sahib at Kartarpur Sahib. Bhai Jodh Singh was Principal of Khalsa College, president of Chief Khalsa Diwan and principal of Sikh Missionary College. Bhai Jodh Singh's name is ignored by anti Raag Maala people because he accepted it as Gurbani. Madan Singh have written many wrong things about Taksaal and about Sant Gurbachan Singh Ji. He writes that " Jathedar Bhai Mohan Singh Nagoke summoned a joint meeting of the saints and scholars in 1945 AD at Sri Akal Takhat Sahib with the sole objective of resolving the issue once and for all. Jathedar Nagoke himself performed the initial ardas (prayer) and affirmed that if it is proved after mutual discussion and debate that Ragmala is not Gurbani, it would never be read at the Akal Takhat Sahib. The proRagmala group could not give clear cut proof to establish that Ragmala is Gurbani. They walked out in disgust. Thereupon Jathedar Nagoke declared that in the interest of maintaining Panthic unity the reading of Ragmala was to be optional." The above lines are 100% false because the meeting never took place. I have talked to many Sikhs who stayed with Sant Gurbachan Singh Ji and they all said the meeting was never held at Akaal Takhat Sahib to discuss Raag Maala. If pro-Raag Maala people couldn't give a proof then why didn't Jathedaar and other Jethbandis decide to take it out and declare it as not part of Guru Granth Sahib and make it "not Gurbani"? Why was it made optional? Had the meeting taken place the Jathedaar would have released a Hukamnama declaring Raag Maala as not part of Guru Granth Sahib. The meeting never took place. He further writes: "After a few days, Master Tara Singh, who was President of Shiromani Akali Dal, sent a special emissary Giani Lal Singh of Sikh Missionary College Amritsar (exchairman Punjab Public Service Commission Patiala) to Giani Gurbachan Singh to ascertain as to whether he would be abiding by the decree of Akal Takhat Sahib. Giani Lal Singh returned after a weeks stay at Bhinder Khalan, with a written message that Jatha Bhindran bows before the decree of Akal Takhat Sahib."

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org Companions of Sant Gurbachan Singh Ji told me that Laal Singh was sent to get signature of Sant Ji on SGPC Rehat Maryada. SGPC wanted Sant Ji to prove their version of Rehat Maryada which Sant Ji denied and Laal Singh returned a week later empty handed. Sant Ji never raised the issue of Raag Maala because he never wanted Sikhs to fight and never challenged the authority of Akaal Takhat Sahib although he never agreed with it. But even if Sant Ji agreed with it then why would he write books on Raag Maala and provide Sikh Panth with such beautiful spiritual meanings of Raag Maala that no one could ever come up with. Sant Jernail Singh Ji believed in Raag Maala but Sant Ji punished his nephew Swaran Singh by for reading Raag Maala at Akaal Takhat Sahib. This shows that Sant Ji never wanted to force anything on anyone unlike anti-Raag Maala people who always tried to force their beliefs on other Sikhs. Anti-Raag Maala people don't bow to Akaal Takhat's decisions. Raag Maala is being read now at Akaal Takhat Sahib and anti-Raag Maala people don't. WHY? They say it was not being read before. As I have said earlier that Raag Maala was being read at Akaal Takhat under control of Nihang Jathebandis until 1849. Later British took over and control of Gurdwaras was given to Brahmins. That time British bought some fake Sikhs and had them start this controversy and question Raag Maala. It was a tactic of British to weak the Sikh power which is derived from Gurbani and Gurdwaras. Raag Maala is Gurbani. Bhai Shamsher Singh Ashok was also among these people who tried to prove that Raag Maala is not Gurbani. He wrote that "Raag Maala is written by some poet named Alam who wrote a love story of Madhwanal Kaam Kandlan by reading some old Kaam Kandlan story in Sanskrit. Supposedly he wrote Raag Maala in his own words by reading some other Raag Maala in Sanskrit. The story states that an unknown Sikh wanted to memorize the names of all Raagas and Raag Maala. Perhaps he didn't have any scratch paper to write on so he wrote it on the last blank page of Guru Granth Sahib. But this mistake was done unintentionally and afterwards Sikhs started printing it in every copy of Guru Granth Sahib. None of the Sikhs ever questioned it in first two centuries because Sikhs had been busy in wars and other stuff so no one had time to pay attention to this matter." Now if you are a Sikh, you would never buy this story of Shamsher Singh. First of all, the name of the Sikh is not given who did this unforgettable thing. Secondly, if Bir Sahib written by Bhai Gurdas Ji had one blank page left then did all the Birs had one blank page left? How did that Sikh get Guru Granth Sahib? Was it only one copy that existed or were there more? If there was one copy then how did he get it and why has the name of this famous Sikh (who had the only copy of Guru Granth Sahib that existed) is unknown? If there were more copies then why did Sikhs make copies of that Guru Granth Sahib? That unknown Sikh added Raag Maala to Guru Granth Sahib he had but how did Raag Maala appeared in other copies such as Bir Sahib in Kartarpur? The year or place is not given. But we have to take something in consideration which is that the unknown Sikh didn't have any extra or scratch paper so he wrote it in Guru Granth Sahib. This is the lamest story ever written. According to the story this event happened in the first century of the Khalsa because then the Khalsa was fighting with foreign invaders and Muslims. We all know the Sikh history in 18th century. Those Sikhs were real Sikhs and one with

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org Guru. Those Sikhs would never do something like this to disrespect Guru Granth Sahib. Was the last blank page for anyone to write on whatever they wanted? Sikhs during that time respected Guru Ji so much. All of them had a lot of Banis memorized because Gutkas were not widely used at that time. Some Sikhs had the whole Guru Granth Sahib memorized. Those Sikhs recited many Banis while fighting with Muslims. My whole point is Sikhs who were one with Guru in 18th century would never do something like this which shows disrespect to the Guru. Those Sikhs had complete faith in Guru and this is why they were able to fight although they were very few in numbers. Sikhs in 18th century were real Sikhs and they followed exactly what Guru Ji told them. This is why they were able to sacrifice and end the Moughal empire. And Shamsher Singh expects people to believe that one of those Singhs accidentally wrote Raag Maala in Guru Granth Sahib thinking of it as a notebook? How ignorant of him! If a Sikh wrote Raag Maala in Guru Granth Sahib during the time of Guru Ji then why didn't Guru Ji punish him just like Raam Rai? If he wrote it without telling Guru Ji and Guru Ji didn't know about it then it means, Guru Ji is not omniscient and he fooled Guru Ji which is impossible. If he wrote it after Guru Ji then there were many powerful Sikhs like Bhai Mani Singh Ji, Baba Deep Singh Ji, Bhai Taru Singh Ji and many other. Why didn't these Sikh do anything about it? These Sikhs were one with Guru Ji. Did they not know about it? How could they have not known if they were one with Guru Ji? This all doesn't make any sense. No Sikh wrote it afterwards. Raag Maala is Gurbani. In addition to this story Bhai Shamsher Singh Ashok wrote that Pandit Tara Singh had written the same thing as he did. Pandit Tara Singh wrote that Guru Ji took the Raag Malla written by Alam and added more to it and wrote it in Guru Granth Sahib. This is wrong because first they said some Sikh wrote it and now they are saying some poet named "Alam" wrote it and Guru Ji copied it. But first we have to know who this poet Alam was and how he is related to Raag Maala? Did Guru Ji copy his Raag Maala or did he copy Guru Ji's Raag Maala? As far as the name goes there was only one poet Bhai Alam in Guru Gobind Singh Ji's Darbar who wrote the story of Kaam Kandlan. Guru Gobind Singh Ji had 52 poets in his darbar and their names are: 1) Udeyar 2) Anirai 3) Amritrai 4) Allu 5) Aaasa Singh 6) Alam 7) Iswardas 8) Sukhdev 9) Sukha SIngh 10) Sukhia 11) Sudama 12) Senapat 13) Sheyam 14) Heer 15) Hussain Ali 16) Hansraam 17) Kallu 18) Kuvraysh 19) Khan Chand 20) Guniya 21) Gurdas 22) Gopal 23) Chandan 24) Chanda 25) Jamal 26) Tehkan 27) Dharam Singh 28) Dhanna Singh 29) Dhayan Singh 30) Nannu 31) Nishchal Das 32) Nihal Chand 33) Nand Singh 34) Nand Lal (Gurbakash Singh) 35) Pindi Das 36) Ballab 37) Ballu 38) Bidhi Chand 39) Bulland 40) Brikh 41) Bridge Lal 42) Mathura 43) Maddan Singh 44) Maddan Gir 45) Mallu 46) Maan Das 47) Malla Singh 48) Mangal 49) Raam 50) Rawal 51) Roshan Singh 52) Lakha "According to some scholars Alam was one of the poets of Akbar. He wrote Raag Maala about 91 years before the Bir Sahib was compiled. When he heard about Guru Arjan Dev Ji compiling the Bir Sahib, he went to Guru Ji and

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org presented his Raag Maala which Guru Ji accepted. Since the compilation had been completed, Guru Ji put it at the end." First of all there has never been poet Alam of Akbar because Akbar wrote the names of all of his poets in his book of law. He even mentions the names of all his scholars, Pirs, and singers but the name "Alam" does not appear anywhere. Secondly, if Alam wrote Raag Maala 91 years before the Bir Sahib was written then he was probably 25 years old the time he wrote it. So according to this when Guru Ji compiled the Bir Sahib, Alam was probably around 115 years old. So how did he get to Guru Ji? He was too old to walk all the way to Guru Ji. But even if we assume that he was able to walk to Guru Ji and Guru Ji accepted his Raag Maala then what is the problem? It is Gurbani automatically because Guru Ji accepted it just like Guru Ji accepted other Banis of Bhagats and saints. If Guru Ji accepted it then why can't we accept it? Another problem with the above statement is that Guru Arjan Dev Ji left some space for Ninth Guru's Bani because Guru Ji knew that more Gurbani would be added to the Bir Sahib. But why didn't Guru Ji know about Alam? Did Guru Ji not know that Alam was going to come to Him to present his Raag Maala? If Guru Ji didn't know then that means Guru Ji is not omniscient. But that's impossible. If we assume that Alam wrote Raag Maala and had been dead the time Bir Sahib was being compiled then how did Guru Ji find his Raag Maala? Did Guru Ji send any of his Sikhs to his house to obtain Raag Maala? Nothing is known about this because it never happened. Some people say Alam wrote it 21 years before the Bir Sahib was compiled but this is also wrong and does not make any sense because Akbar wasn't alive then. For more proofs read "Raag Maala Parbodh" by Sant Tehal Singh Ji. I highly recommend it. According to the Damdami Taksaal, Alam was one of the poets in Guru Gobind Singh Ji's Darbar who copied Guru Ji's Raag Maala. He wrote his Raag Maala in 1717 which is 1774 Bikarmi. One line of a poem written by Alam in which he clearly states the nature of his writing. He writes:

Translation: Some is mine, the rest is stolen from others. Combined, this is my style of thought. Alam was accustomed to copying Guru Ji's Bani and changing it to make his own poetry. For instance, he copied Guru Gobind Singh Ji's Bani Chrittar number 91 and changed it to make his own. The following lines explain his way of writing (these lines are in Punjabi because I want people to see the real difference. English doesn't really show the difference).

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org The following lines are written by Alam.

Now you can clearly see that Alam copied Guru Gobind Singh Ji not Guru Ji copied Alam. The poet Alam was also influenced greatly by another one of Guru Ji's poets Tehkan Singh. It is believed that they were probably close friends and Alam was influenced by Tehkan Singh. For example the following words are from Tehkan Singh's poem:

Alam changed this verse and made it:

Some Sikhs question that why he would copy somebody else's work but as mentioned before Alam often changed other's poetry and made his own because in these times it was a common thing. For instance, one of Alam's writings is Madhwanal but he copied Guru Ji's story and changed it to make his own. Guru Gobind Singh Ji described this story in Chrittar 91. According to Guru Gobind Singh Ji there was a Brahmin named Madhwanal. He had an affair with a woman named Kaam Kandlan or Kaama. When the King of the city named Rao found it out he exiled Madhwanal. He didn't kill him because he was a Brahmin. Madhwanal went to Kamawati City. He went to Kaam Kandlan's house and told her everything. Kaama insisted to go with him but he refused to take her and left alone. Then Madhwanal went to a country ruled by Bikram Rai and told him everything. Bikram Rai promised him to get his lover back and declared war on Rao. After a long time Bikram Rai sent a message to Rao to negotiate and then they both ended the war. The whole story was written by Guru Gobind Singh Ji and it was copied by Alam and changed a little bit. This is another proof that Alam copied Guru Ji. Another thing is that Maadwanal story was originally written in 991 Hijri in Sanskrit which does not contain Raag Maala. Guru Ji presented this story in Dasam Granth in his own way which was later copied and distorted by Alam. Some scholars say that Raag Maala is part of Maadwanal but this is wrong because Maadwanal Kaam Kandlan was written in a Sanskrit Granth which does not have Raag Maala in it. Alam later tried to translate it by using Guru Ji's story and copied Raag Maala which he wrote in 1717.

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org If we take it even further, we find many more proofs of Raag Maala being Gurbani. Guru Nanak Dev Ji started Gurmat Sangeet and Gurbani was sung in Ragas according to time. Gurmat Sangeet has considered only six Ragas and others are considered their musical relatives. Alam was a poet not a musician. If you read his Kaam Kandlan story which he copied off of Guru Ji's original work, he writes that Kaama sang Ragas and Raganis all together at the same time while dancing. According to Gurmat Sangeet, it is impossible because Raagas cannot be sung at the same time, only one Raag is sung at one time. This shows that Alam knew little about music. The second reason is that Alam wrote many names of Ragas which are fake. Those names of Ragas are not found in any music school. Look at his Raag Maala below and see how it differs from Guru Ji's Raag Maala. It clearly shows that Alam forgot some names of Ragas and made up his own. I don't want to give you the whole Raag Maala here just first Shabad and one last Shabad is given. Left side is Alam's work and right side is Guru Ji's work.

Now you know the difference. Some of the names of Ragas don't exist and notice the difference in the last line. In Gurbani the numbers are 18,10,20 which add up to 48. There are 48 sons of six Ragas in Gurmat Sangeet which was started by Guru Nanak Dev Ji. But Alam writes 48 and 36 which doesn't make any sense at all. Also Guru Ji named it Raag Maala which claims it to be musical but Alam didn't name it anything. People started calling it Alam's Raag Maala afterwards. The above proofs were taken from "Guru Granth Sahib Kosh" written by Bhai Veer Singh Ji. For more details, read it yourself. It talks about Raag Maala in the end. Another note Bhai Veer Singh Ji made was that there are many different Raag Maalas. In his book he provided eleven different Raag Maalas. If you read Bhai Ji's work you can get more proofs. Another mistake in Alam's work is that his words are singular but Guru Ji's Raag Maala's words are plural. Guru Ji says that all ragas and Raganis sing God's glorious praises but Alam says only Kaama is singing all the Ragas at the same time which shows his lack of knowledge of singing ragas according to time. Going back to where we started if we assume that Raag Maala was added in one Guru Granth Sahib by an unknown Sikh then how was it added to different copies of Guru Granth Sahib at different places and yet no name of place, date and any

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org other information is given. This is a very poor argument by those who don't believe in Raag Maala. After all the previous questions were answered, Shamsher Singh Ashok said that Raag Maala had no spiritual meaning. But I would like to say if he never understood the meaning of Raag Maala then whose fault is it? Did he ever try to search for true meanings? How many religious teachers did he go to to ask the spiritual meanings? If there are no spiritual meanings then what kinds of meanings are there? He could never even translate Raag Maala. We should pray to Guru Ji to give us purity of mind so that we can understand Gurbani. Gurbani is like a sky in which a bird (humans) can only fly (enjoy) but can never find its limits. Sant Gurbachan Singh Bhindranwale gave more than ten different meanings of every Shabad in Guru Granth Sahib and even then he said there are many more that go into more depth. There are spiritual meanings of Raag Maala and I have read them personally. If anyone of you want to read those meanings then get the called "Raag Maala is Gurbani" by Damdami Taksaal. it is a very good book. Raag Maala includes 84. In other words it has 6 Ragas, 30 Raganis and 48 sons which adds up to 84. This means if anyone recites Gurbani from Mool Mantra and ends after reading Raag Maala with love and devotion, he/she will be free of the cycle of death and birth. Some Sikhs raise another question on Raag Maala. They say: "Some supporters of Raag Mala assert that when the original volume of Sri Guru Granth Sahib was completed, some Sikhs petitioned to the Satguru, to bless them with some prem maala which would help them in their deliverance from the cycle of birth and death. Acceding to their supplication, Guru Sahib himself composed Raag Mala and put it at the end! What logic! What a clever justification constructed by Raag Mala supporters! The whole of Dhur-ki-Bani contained in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, which is all full of praises of the Lord and Naam, could not help the Sikhs attain salvation. And, Raag Mala, wherein not an iota of Naam or God's Praise exists, should help them to reach the highest State of Divinity! Then why take the pains to read the whole of Sri Guru Granth Sahib when we can achieve our ultimate goal by reading Raag Mala alone?" Now if we read it carefully, it says "Prem Maala which would help them". Now it helps which means everything is not up to Raag Maala. If you read the spiritual meaning of Raag Maala, you can understand clearly that the above comment is 100% wrong. I ask these people who made this comment if they ever even have read Raag Maala. Those people don't even read Raag Maala in the Gurdwara then how can they understand the true meanings? If they are sitting inside the Gurdwara and Baba Ji starts reading Raag Maala, they quickly leave the building and walk outside. How can they learn about Raag Maala if they just walk out? They say it just talks about Ragas and their offspring. Well, literary it does but Gurbani has many different meanings. Every meaning is more and more spiritual. If they try to open their minds, do some research and study Raag Maala from someone who knows the real meanings, then they would learn that Raag Maala is Gurbani. Similarly, Sikhs requested Guru Arjan Dev Ji to bless them with Barah Maaha (THE TWELVE MONTHS) in Raag Maajh even though there were Barah Maaha in Raag Tukhari

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org composed by Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Now should we just read the Barah Maaha by Guru Arjan Dev Ji because it is easier to understand? Does the other Barah Maaha not help? Well, they both do help and we should read both of them. But my point is if Guru Ji could compose another Barah Maaha to help Sikhs to achieve salvation then why could he not compose Raag Maala? There are some other things in Gurbani that these people never question some such Shabads include Rahao (Pause) four times yet there is no Rahao in Raag Tukhari. Then these people would ask what is the point of having four Rahao in one Shabad? We shouldn't question Gurbani. It is the way Guru Ji wrote it and we should learn to respect it. Some other points to look at in Gurbani:

Now I ask those people to give me spiritual meanings of these. Do they have any meanings? If we take above lines literally they don't. But only Guru Ji knows for what purpose he wrote these lines and only Guru Ji knows the true meanings. It's just like saying "Ramkali Mahalla 3" and then asking for spiritual meaning. Now they question Raag Maala but I think after a while they will question the above lines too and say what's the point of having these lines in Guru Granth Sahib. Even if these lines don't have any spiritual meanings they are there and we read them because Guru Ji wrote them. If reading these lines don't hurt anyone then reading names of Raags at the end don't hurt anyone either. If we shouldn't read Raag Maala because its just names of Raags then we shouldn't read the above lines and all other lines that come in the beginning of every Bani. Some Sikhs say old Birs don't include Raag Maala but in fact all the Birs have Raag Maala written in them whether you talk about Kartarpur Bir or Birs written by Baba Deep Singh Ji. One of the Birs written by Baba Deep Singh Ji is present at Abchal Nagar Hazoor Sahib and that Bir includes Raag Maala at the end. All the old Bir Sahib have Raag Maala such as Aadi Bir Sahib of Bhai Gurdas Ji and Boore Sandhu Bir samat 1662. These two Birs include signature of Guru Arjan Dev Ji at the end after Raag Maala. Another Bir Sahib of Bhai Banno Ji includes Raag Maala although an extra Shabad of Bhai Surdaas, one Shabad of Miran Bai and other stuff like Ratan Mala, Hakkikat Rah Mukaam etc. was added into it afterwards. It also has signature of Guru HarGobind Sahib Ji but right before the two extra Shabads start. Guru Ji signed the Bir Sahib before the extra Shabads. This shows that He signed the completion of the Bir Sahib.

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org Bir Sahib of Bohat tehseel Phalia also includes Raag Maala in the end and it has handprint of Guru Arjan Dev Ji as a signature. One Bir Sahib in Gujrat which is known as Bir of Pindi Lalla includes not only Raag Maala but also Gurbani of ninth Guru Ji. It was completed a month after Guru Ji's martyrdom. There are two Birs in Gujrat which are handwritten and they both include Raag Maala. Bir Wassu was written during the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh which also includes Raag Maala. There are three old Birs in Jammu and the oldest one was written in 1722 and all three of them have Raag Maala. One Bir Sahib in Dehradoon was written in 1659. This Bir was completed by Guru Har Rai Ji and it was sent with Ram Rai to Delhi. This Bir does not include Gurbani of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji but does have Raag Maala in it. Bir Sahib in Patiala was written in 1661 and it was approved by Guru Har Krishan Ji and it does have Raag Maala. Bir Sahib of Damdama Sahib also includes Raag Maala and all other old Birs. If you still don't trust me, then go look yourself. You wouldn't find me wrong here. All of the old Bir Sahibs have Raag Maala written and many of them have the signature of Guru Ji. How can this be wrong? It can't, of course because Raag Maala is of the Guru. Guru Ji wouldn't sign anything they didn't believe in. Anti-Raag Maala people wrote some Saroops of Guru Granth Sahib without Raag Maala and claim these to be ancient Birs but these Birs are not approved by anyone neither they have any history. Reading Raag Maala is not bad at all. Whole Gurbani is written in Ragas and when we read names of Ragas while reading Gurbani then how can does it do harm to recite all the names at the end. Guru Ji sang Gurbani in Ragas. Did he not? And Bhai Mardana Ji played Rabaab. Some Sikh brothers question that Siri Raag comes first in Guru Granth Sahib but Raag Bhairo comes first in Raag Maala? Guru Ji himself answered this question. During the time of Guru Ji there were two main Sampardas or schools. One was "Vaishno" and other was "Shaaiv". Guru Ji declared Siri Raag amongst all other Ragas and Bhai Gurdas Ji supported that. Siri Raag has special significance. For instance by singing Raag, candles are lit themselves. By singing Malaar Raag, clouds cover the sky and rain starts falling. One time Bhai Hakko Ji did Kirtan in Darbar Sahib and it is said that the sky was covered with clouds but rain didn't fall. On this Bhai Hakko Ji said, we don't have complete faith in Gurbani. If there was Bhai Mardana Ji in my place it sure would have rained but due to lack of complete faith there was no rain. Siri Raag is held as most important because if sung with full devotion it has the power to rejuvenate anything (it can breath life into the dead). According to Shaaiv samparda Bhairo Raag comes first. The reason Bhairo Raag is placed first in Raag Maala is because it is sung in the morning. Bhairo Raag is the first Raag that is sung in the morning. All other Ragas are sung afterwards. Since Bhairo Raag is sung in Amrit Wela, it is put in the first place because Amrit Wela has a lot of significance in Sikhism. According to Guru Ji Siri Raag is placed first but showing respect to other sampardas and respecting their beliefs, Guru Ji accepted both ideas because they both don't show anything wrong. Also, Gurbani is written in six Ragas and in those Ragas, Bhairo comes first and Siri Raag is fifth. Since Siri Raag is held most significant, it was written first. But Raag Maala is like "Table of Contents". It is a list of Ragas in order. Raag Bhairo

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org comes first and Siri Raag comes fifth. This is the order they come in the list. So Raag Bhairo was written first by order and Siri Raag on fifth place. Some Sikhs question that Raag Maajh and Tukhari is not in Raag Maala but it is in Gurbani. Why? Guru Ji had many smart people with him who were great singers and knew all the ragas. Guru Ji himself was expert in singing ragas. When Guru Ji went to the grandson of Guru Amar Das Ji to take Gurbani Pothis, Guru Ji sang at his door in ragas. There are many ragas and not all of them are in Guru Granth Sahib. All ragas are sung according to the time. Ragis often sing by mixing many ragas. Raag Maajh is a mixture of five ragas: Sorath, Bilawal, Sarang, Dhanasri and Natt. These five ragas combined make Raag Maajh and these five ragas are included in Raag Maala. Some people call Raag Maajh a Raagni. Since it is from Maajha country it is called Maajh. Raag Maajh is considered a Raagni in Gurmat. Tukhari is mixture of ragas too. It is mixture of Bhairo, Ramkali, and Todi. It is started by Gurmat Sangeet (Music) and is not included in other music schools. Another thing there are many ragas that are not in Guru Granth Sahib, should they not be included too? If Guru Ji included more names of ragas in Raag Maala then why does it hurt people? Names of ragas are put before Gurbani but the fact is that the names are there because of Gurbani not Gurbani is there because of Ragas. Guru Ji sang Gurbani in Ragas according to time and month and in whichever Raag it was sung, Guru Ji wrote it in Guru Granth Sahib. Gurmat Sangeet accepts only six pure ragas which are included in Raag Maala and Gurbani was composed in only two of these ragas. Again not that Guru Ji purposely didn't compose Gurbani in other four Ragas, it was because of time. when it was not the right time to sing a Raag, Guru Ji didn't sing it and therefore, Gurbani was not composed in that Raag. Guru Granth Sahib Ji is not a musical book that explains all ragas. Raag Maala includes Ragas which are accepted by Gurmat Sangeet whether or not Gurbani was composed in those ragas but we can still sing it. Another question people ask is that Mundavani is the closing seal of Gurbani and everything after that is not Gurbani. They say the word Mundavani is derived from the word Mundana, i.e., to close. Well this argument is totally wrong because there is a Shabad after Mundavani which starts with "Slok Mahalla 5" "Tera Kitta Jato Nahin". If Mundavani was the closing seal then why did Guru Ji write this Shabad. People accept this Shabad and say this is a closing Shabad with Mundavani and Raag Maala is not Gurbani. But if Mundavani means "to close" then why do we need the whole Shabad of Mundavani? Why don't we just read "Mundavani" and not read the whole Shabad because Mundavani means "to close"?? The next Shabad "Slok Mahalla 5" "Tera Kitta Jato Nahin" is a separate Shabad because number "1" comes after it and Mundavani Shabad also has "1" at the end. If "Tera Kitta Jato Nahin" Shabad was part of Mundavani Shabad then there would be "2" at the end of this Shabad which would show that this Shabad is the second pauri of Mundavani Shabad. Since these two Shabad have "1" at the end, it shows that these two Shabads are separate. If "Tera Kitta Jato Nahin" Shabad is Gurbani which comes after Mundavani then so is Raag Maala. But lets find out what Mundavani really means.

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org Mundavani does not mean to close. It means a "riddle" or "puzzle". If you read the Mundavani Shabad carefully you will recognize that there is a puzzle inside. If Mundavani is the closing seal then the same word Mundavani comes on page 645. The Shabad is

Which translates to: SHALOK, THIRD MEHL: Upon the plate, three things have been placed; this is the sublime, ambrosial food of the Lord. Eating this, the mind is satisfied, and the Door of Salvation is found. It is so difficult to obtain this food, O Saints; it is obtained only by contemplating the Guru. Why should we cast this riddle out of our minds? We should keep it ever enshrined in our hearts. The True Guru has posed this riddle. The Gurus Sikhs have found its solution. O Nanak, he alone understands this, whom the Lord inspires to understand. The Gurmukhs work hard, and find the Lord. || 1 || If Mundavani is the closing seal then what about this Mundavani? This Shabad and the last Shabad are very similar and you can try to compare them with each other. Madan Singh says this Mundavani in the Shabad means something else and the land Mundavani means "to close". How ridiculous? These two are the same words and have same meaning. Guru Ji wrote it a different way just like Guru Ji wrote many words in different ways. For example means God and also means God. But these words words are written different ways. Just like these words Mundavani is also written in different ways but has the same meaning. This clearly shows that Mundavani does not mean "to close", instead it means a "riddle". Madan Singh further states that "Tera Kita Jato Nahin" Shabad is a Manglacharan. He says there is Manglacharan in the beginning and Manglacharan at the end. But this argument is false because Manglacharan always comes before the Shabad starts. Why would it come at the end. Raagi Singhs sing Manglacharan before they start Kirtan. In Guru Granth Sahib Guru Ji have used many Manglacharan like

AND

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org These Manglacharans come before Gurbani starts. This rule is used throughout Guru Granth Sahib then why would Guru Ji put it at the end? It does not make any sense because Manglacharan is sung or written before the opening. If Mundavani means "to close" then why would Guru Ji put a seal and then write Manglacharan afterwards. Madan Singh is making stupid points. Raag Maala is Gurbani. The next question our brothers ask is that Raag Maala does not have Guru Nanak's name in it. They argue that Gurbani has "Nanak" name in the end of every Shabad but Raag Maala doesn't? Well, this argument is wrong too because if we carefully read JapJi Sahib we find that there are twelve Pauris that don't have Nanak name in them. If you read Pauris 6, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 23, 28, 29, 30 and 36 you will not find name of Guru Nanak. So these Pauris are not Gurbani either and we should leave them out???? There are many Shabads in which there is not name of any author, neither Nanak nor any other. For example in the Saloaks of Bhagat Farid Ji on page 1384 from Saloak 125 to 130 there isn't any trace of name of any author. On page 1425, Shabad 17 and page 1426, Shabad 22 there exists no name of author. This doesn't mean these Shabads are not Gurbani. If we read these Shabads then what is wrong with reading Raag Maala. If someone writes a poem and uses Guru Nanak's name in it, does his poem become Gurbani? Absolutely not. Raag Maala is Gurbani. There is no Rahao (Pause) in Raag Maala? There isn't Rahao in JapJi Sahib, Barah Maha, Anand Sahib and in whole Raag Tukhari. There is no Mahalla in the beginning of Raag Maala? We know there isn't and it is right because there is no Mahalla in JapJi Sahib. There is no Mahalla in the beginning nor in the end. Madan Singh has taken these arguments little further and says that even though there is no Mahalla in JapJi sahib but we do know the author and he gives an example from Bhai Gurdaas Ji's Vaars. We all know JapJi Sahib is Gurbani and it was composed by Guru Nanak Dev Ji but just because Raag Maala doesn't have Mahalla in it does not mean it is not Gurbani. For example, many people use "Kachhi Bani" and write Mahalla in it. Take a look at the following verse :

Some stupid people made these lines and added Mahalla in it but it does not become Gurbani. On one hand Madan Singh says it is the message that matters then on the other hand he says there is no Mahalla.

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org Furthermore he says although in many Pauirs of JapJi Sahib there is no name of Guru Nanak but JapJi Sahib should be taken intact as one Bani with comparison to Raag Maala not Pauri by Pauri. Now, consider the following line:

Above lines are not Gurbani. Even though there is Nanak name in it. So it means just because there is no Nanak name or name of any other author doesn't mean it is not Gurbani. JapJi Sahib was not completed at one place by Guru Ji. Instead some Pauris were composed some place and some others were composed at some other place. For example, Pauri no. 16 "Panch Parvaan" was composed by Guru Nanak while talking to Sidhhas and Pauri no. 22 "Pattallan Pataal" was composed at Mecca which means Guru Ji connected these Pauris afterwards and made it JapJi Sahib. But some people can question that maybe those Pauris which do not include Nanak name in were written afterwards by some person. Madan Singh is doing the same thing. First he talks about Mahalla and when he is given an answer he quickly jumps to author's name and Rahao which is as same as what psuedo Gurus do. They never stay on one questions. They keep jumping from one question to another and say "My mind is already made up don't confuse me with the facts." This is what Madan Singh does. At last, I just want to say if Gurbani does not have Rahao, Mahalla and name of the author it does not mean it is not Gurbani. It stays Gurbani. Some Sikhs say names of Ragas are not important. Guru Ji taught us to attach ourselves with Amrit Naam not names of any Ragas? To prove this they give quotes from Gurbani. Raag Naad Sab Sohney Jau Laagey Sehaj Dhyan Raag Naad Chhod Har Seviay Taa Darghey Payeeay Maan. (pg. 849) Beauteous are the melody and music, if through Guru's word, one fixes his attention on the Lord. One attains the honor in the Lord's Court only when one rises above and gives up the means of the worldly melody and music. Now do you notice that the above quote is talking about worldly music but we as Sikhs sing Gurbani in ragas. If only Amrit Naam is important, then what's the point of singing Gurbani. Why did Guru Ji sing Gurbani in Ragas? There are names of Ragas in the beginning of every Bani. For instance "Ramkali Mahalla 3", "Raag Maajh Mahalla 5" etc. If we read these names then what bad does it to do to read all the names all together at the end. This is very poor argument made by Sikh brothers. Anti-Raag Maala people say that: "In the fifth line of Ragmala the word Pun has been used. This is a derivation of Sanskrit word Punah. On the other hand, in Sri Guru Granth Sahib wherever the

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org derivation of Sanskrit word Punah has been used it occurs in its prevalent Punjabi version, i.e., as Phun . No where it has been written as Pun ." This is very wrong. So I think it all boils down to just one word or what? If we assume this word has not been used then what about other words? Why don't they believe in other words and accept them as Gurbani? Gurbani is written in many languages not just in Gurmukhi. If Guru Ji used Sanskrit word then what is the problem? Guru Ji wrote many Shabads in Sanskrit. But sticking to the point, following Shabad is on page 992 in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji by Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

You can clearly see that the word "Pun" is used in the Shabad. Furthermore, Bhai Gurdaas Ji used this word frequently. Take a look.

These are just two proofs but Bhai Sahib has used this word in Vaar 37 Pauree159, Pauree 220, Pauree 231, Pauree 235, Pauree 327, Pauree 340, Pauree 341, Pauree 355, Pauree 379, Pauree 410, Pauree 491, Pauree 537, and Pauree 659. Now I ask these people if these Pauris are not Gurbani either? To take this further Guru Gobind Singh Ji used this word in his Gurbani. I would state part of one Shabad which is easily accessible. The whole Shabad can be found in Amrit Kirtan Pothi on page 238.

So again, anti-Raag Maala people are wrong as always. They will never be able to change Sikhi and Gurbani. Raag Maala is Gurbani. Madan Singh in his anti-Raag Maala book states that:

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org "If we closely study Shabad, Ashtpadia, Chhand in Sri Guru Granth Sahib we find that there is a unique system if serialization of stanzas with numbers. When a band or couplet ends, it is given a number to indicate its position in the hymn, and that it can now stand alone, and is complete in its meaning. Stanzisation does not stand alone but it is not the same in Raag Maala. See the following couplet where the last line of Band (couplet) describes that from the next Band will start Deepak Rag.

This way the couplet does not stand alone as is the system followed in Sri Guru Granth Sahib." Well, I still don't find this argument very strong. Perhaps he should have spent more time studying Raag Maala. In JapJi Sahib in Pauree 35 Guru Ji says:

Now the first line says "This is the religion of Dharam Khand". But the question is "what is that religion?" In order to understand it fully you have to read the previous Pauree which is 34th. So as you can see Pauree 34 does not stand alone because Guru Ji talks about it in the next Pauree. Guru Ji starts talking about Gyan Khand in 35th Pauree because Guru Ji says "Now I talk about Gyan Khand." So shouldn't the Pauree start from the second line since the first line talks about the previous Pauree? Furthermore, this Pauree number 35 does not stand alone either. Look at the next Pauree .

Now, Guru Ji already talked about Gyan Khand in 35th Pauree then again 36th Pauree talks about Gyan Khand also which means these Paurees do not stand alone. One is leading to the other. In Sukhmani Sahib Slok comes first and then Ashtpadi which goes into more depth and explains the meanings of Slok in more details. You can easily tell what Ashtpadi will talk about after reading the Slok. For example:

From reading the above Slok one can easily guess what the next Ashtpadi will be. Now look at the Ashtpadi.

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You can see that Slok talks about "Brahmgyani" which further leads to the Ashtpadi. This is exactly the same way as Raag Maala. Thus Raag Maala is Gurbani. Guru Ji wrote Gurbani the way He wished and wanted to. Who are we to question it? What right do we have to dislike the way Gurbani is written? Guru Ji does not need us. We need Guru Ji. So walk on the true path of Guru Ji and believe in every single word of Gurbani. Raag Maala has no historic significance? Yes, it does. Guru Arjan Dev Ji wrote Raag Maala and added it at the end of Guru Granth Sahib. According to Guru HarGobind Ji Ragas, Raganis and their sons came to Guru Arjan Dev Ji and requested him to put them in order and make a garland of them. Based on their request Guru Ji composed Raag Maala. Guru HarGobind Ji wrote this in Gur Bilas on page 74-75. You can read the whole Gur Bilas but to prove my point I will give a few Shabads.

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This proves that Raag Maala is Gurbani. Guru HarGobind Ji himself says so. Should we not trust our own Guru? We all should and have complete faith in Gurbani. The meticulous uniform system of numbering of all the Shabads in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, has not been used in Raag Maala. Raag Maala has no system of numbering as each portion has been numbered as one (1) which reveals nothing and is confusing? These twelve ones (1) represent different Chaupai and Dohras. This rule is used in Guru Granth Sahib before Raag Maala. if you read Shabad Hazaare you can clearly see that number "1" is written four times, one after every Shabad. Here is the Shabad. MAAJH, FIFTH MEHL, CHAU-PADAS, FIRST HOUSE: My mind longs for the Blessed Vision of the Gurus Darshan. It cries out like the thirsty song-bird. My thirst is not quenched, and I can find no peace, without the Blessed Vision of the Beloved Saint. || 1 || I am a sacrifice, my soul is a sacrifice, to the Blessed Vision of the Beloved Saint Guru. || 1 || Pause || Your Face is so Beautiful, and the Sound of Your Words imparts intuitive wisdom. It is so long since this sparrow-hawk has had even a glimpse of water. Blessed is that land where You dwell, O my Friend and Intimate Divine Guru. || 2 || I am a sacrifice, I am forever a sacrifice, to my Friend and Intimate Divine Guru. || 1 || Pause || When I could not be with You for just one moment, the Dark Age of Kali Yuga dawned for me. When will I meet You, O my Beloved Lord? I cannot endure the night, and sleep does not come, without the Sight of the Beloved Gurus Court. || 3 || I am a sacrifice, my soul is a sacrifice, to that True Court of the Beloved Guru. || 1 || Pause || By good fortune, I have met the Saint Guru. I have found the Immortal Lord within the home of my own self. I will now serve You forever, and I shall never be separated from You, even for an instant.

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org Servant Nanak is Your slave, O Beloved Master. || 4 || I am a sacrifice, my soul is a sacrifice; servant Nanak is Your slave, Lord. || Pause || 1 || 8 || This Shabad is on page 96 and you can see "1" comes after 1,2,3 and 4. So why having "1" more than once is not okay? This is the way Guru Ji wrote it. Look at another Shabad on page 81-82. SIREE RAAG, FOURTH MEHL, VANAJAARAA ~ THE MERCHANT:

ONE UNIVERSAL CREATOR GOD. TRUTH IS THE NAME. BY GURUS GRACE:

The Name of the Lord, Har, Har, is Excellent and Sublime. He created everyone. The Lord cherishes all beings. He permeates each and every heart. Meditate forever on that Lord. Without Him, there is no other at all. Those who focus their consciousness on emotional attachment to Maya must leave; they depart crying out in despair. Servant Nanak meditates on the Naam, the Name of the Lord, his only Companion in the end. || 1 || I have none other than You, O Lord. In the Gurus Sanctuary, the Lord is found, O my merchant friend; by great good fortune, He is obtained. || 1 || Pause || Without the humble Saints, O Siblings of Destiny, no one has obtained the Lords Name. Those who do their deeds in ego are like the prostitutes son, who has no name. The fathers status is obtained only if the Guru is pleased and bestows His Favor. By great good fortune, the Guru is found; embrace love for the Lord, day and night. Servant Nanak has realized God; he sings the Lords Praises through the actions he does. || 2 || In my mind there is such a deep yearning for the Lord, Har, Har. The Perfect Guru has implanted the Naam within me; I have found the Lord through the Lord Gods Name. || 1 || Pause || As long as there is youth and health, meditate on the Naam. Along the way, the Lord shall go along with you, and in the end, He shall save you. I am a sacrifice to those, within whose minds the Lord has come to dwell. Those who have not remembered the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, shall leave with regret in the end. Those who have such pre-ordained destiny written upon their foreheads, O servant Nanak, meditate on the Naam. || 3 || O my mind, embrace love for the Lord, Har, Har. By great good fortune, the Guru is found; through the Word of the Gurus Shabad, we are carried across to the other side. || 1 || This is the half of the Shabad but you can look at the full Shabad yourself to check the numbering. You can see clearly how "1" comes after 1, 2 and 3 and it goes up to 6. In JapJi Sahib "1" comes after Mool Mantar and then same number comes after first Pauri. Then again "1" comes after Slok. Guru Ji wrote numbers the way he wants. Is it really the numbers that make Gurbani "Gurbani" or is it the message? You guys think about it. If you go to Abchal Nagar Hazoor Sahib to see the Bir Sahib written by Baba Deep Singh Ji, you will find that Raag Maala is written in Pauris and these Pauris are numbered as 1, 2, 3... and after each number "1" is written. So this argument is wrong. Plus numbers are not confusing at all, it's just a mere excuse to not believe in Guru Ji.

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org Moreover, Bhai Mani Singh Ji, writer of the Damdami Bir, wrote in his book called Shaheed Bilas that Raag Maala is Gurbani He writes:

Anti-Raag Maala people say Raag Maala has no spiritual meanings like they have grasped the meanings of every single word of Gurbani before Raag Maala. Sant Gurbachan Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale gave the Sikh Panth beautiful meanings of Raag Maala which cannot be found else where. Perhaps these people could learn something after reading the spiritual meanings. These meanings are taken directly from the book "Raag Maala is Gurbani" by Damdami Taksaal. I scanned the pages.

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So to summarize this, we can say: 1. Raag Maala in Guru Granth Sahib is not written by any poet called Alam 2. Raag Maala is in all old Birs signed by Guru Ji

Raag Maala GursikhiJeevan.Com DamdamiTaksal.Org 3. Same numbering system is used in Raag Maala as in other Shabads of Gurbani 4. No one inserted Raag Maala afterwards 5. Raag Maala is not part of any Madhwanal Kaam Kandlan story 6. Rahao is neither in the beginning (JapJi Sahib) nor in the end (Raag Maala) 7. Some Shabads in Guru Granth Sahib don't have name of the author 8. Mahalla is neither in the beginning (JapJi Sahib) nor in the end (Raag Maala) 9. Guru Arjan Dev Ji himself composed Raag Maala which is further supported by Guru HarGobind Ji and Bhai Mani Singh Ji. 10. Guru Ji started Gurbani with sound "S" (Satnaam) and ended it with the same sound (Bees). Therefore, Raag Maala is Gurbani and will always be Gurbani. I request my brothers and sisters to study Raag Maala carefully and clear your doubts. Do not stay in the darkness. Do not say I don't believe in Raag Maala because my parents said so. My whole point is we are human beings and all human beings make mistakes but correcting these mistakes is what makes us Sikhs. Guru Ji will dispel the darkness of our minds if we want that to happen. I have answered all the questions to the best of my ability. If one or two questions were left which I don't know about then try to find the answers yourself and email them to me too. Don't keep on holding to one or two questions that were left out. Pray to Guru Ji to clear our doubts. We all should have complete faith in Gurbani and believe that every single word in Guru Granth Sahib is Gurbani starting from Mool Mantra to Raag Maala. That's about it. Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.