Amritsar : The 26th foundation day of Gurudwara Sahib, Guru Nanak Dev University will be remembered for some other Himalayan reasons also, along with the glittering celebrations loaded with divinely laced discourse, creativity and content.
History would be feeling blessed when varsity Gurudwara stood witness to the much awaited and much cherished moment of Guru Panth with its different sects, gracing the formal though preliminary attempts of bridging the gap and paving the way for reunion of Guru Panth with Udasi Panth.
The saint scholar and majestic figure Swami Brahmdev Ji ‘Udasi’ representing the total spirit of Udasi panth was received with great love and open chests in the presence of university scholars. Gurudwara sahib, analyzing the backdrop of Khalsa traditions, understanding the mystery behind the bliss of Sikh Masters endorsing and affirming the faithfull relations with Udasi panth and acknowledging the role and contribution of Udasi panth in the service of Guru panth, conferred 4th Annual Bhai Nand Lal ‘Goya’ Sanmaan-2011 to Swami Brahmdev Ji Udasi. Singh Sahib Gyani Jaswinder Singh (Head Priest, Sri Harmandir Sahib),Gyani Amir Singh (Chief, Jwaddi Taksaal), Baba Nihaal Singh Ji (Chief,Panth Akali Tarna Dal, Hariyaan Velaan), Dr. Inderjit Singh (Registrar, GNDU), Bhai Baldeep Singh Ji (Anad Foundation, Sultanpur Lodhi) and Prof. Surjit Singh (Shaheed Sikh Missionary College) did the favour of honouring Swami Ji with this prestigious award on the behalf of Guru Sangat.
The critics see this honour as a spirituo-cultural resurgence and a revolutionary step taken forward to glorify the future of Khalsa Panth gaining its strength by recollecting its lost arm. After receiving the award Swami Ji detailed the wonderful moments of sweet bonding of Udasi panth with Guru panth in our past beating millions of moons and suns in their brightness and nullified all misconceptions with his master class scholarly dialogue and impact and influence he carry with his personality and appealed Guru Panth to take a step forward to be in more proximity with Udasis to establish “Shabad” as the centre of World spirituality by collaborative efforts. Swami ji is held in high esteem among the learned souls for his scholarly publications like ‘Gyan ki Godhdi’ and on the subject matter of “Charitropakhyaan” and true advocacy for reinventing the united face of Guru Panth. Presently he is busy in writing a Mahakaav involving all the faculities of a Mahakaavi. A Letter of Appreciation was also read in appreciation of Swami ji’s efforts.
Bhai Baldeep singh (a noted vocalist, founder – Anad Foundation,Sultanpur Lodhi and carrier of age long tradition of Gurmat Musicology finding its link with reciters of times when Guru Nanak was deputed by Sri Akal to cause the dawn of Bani on earth ) recited the rarest of the rare compositions of ancient gurmat sangeet finding their close proximity to the Guru Arjan Sahib’s times. He stressed to extend our quest and passion to create a die-hard inquisitiveness to learn the actuals of traditions of gurmat sangeet. He shared his deep pain regarding the state of affairs and trends plaguing the so called established and so throned structures/circles/institutes and personalities gathering name and fame under the labels of patrons and trainers of gurmat musicology. He explained the difference between singing and reading a gurmat text. He further clarified that the current generation have gone typsy turvy from the basic foundations of sikh sangeet and we are just blindly borrowing the idea from other traditions while fakely presenting it as a gurmat sangeet and which actually is diagnosed as ‘shota khyal’ or ‘bda khyaal’ later on. He said there are limitless number of ustaads,gurmat sangeet experts and instrument designers mushrooming these days but everyone is unaware of the protocol,tools,expertise and skills required to carve those instruments of Master’s Times, And it is a pity and so ridiculous of those who have no connection with the sangeet tradition and even then they are boasting about themselves as masters of the subject ,has literally nothing to mean .
Principal Sukhwant Singh, Jwaddi Taksal enthralled the congregation with his soul nourishing recitations in ‘mishrat raag’. Professor Harpal Singh Pannu captured the attention and all human faculties of the students and placed them in the time as if everybody is accompanying the Guru Nanak during his “chojs” on earth. This is the kind of mastery with which he enlifted the spirit of everybody in the congregation while reading the puratan janam-sakhi in the original script and in his own mesmerising fashion. He established the need and importance of janam-sakhi to re-engineer the dilapidated structure of sikh historiography as it is the charisma of janam saakhis, it’s mysticism, it’s symbolism which creates a sense of ‘wonder’ around Guru Nanak and tell us how He conversated with life on earth. Saakhi is the vibration of the Guru’s feet on earth. He said without saakhi we will limit Guru Nanak mere to a social reformer what actually the present structures designated for learning and research for history are doing these days applying the lifeless models of research crushing the cosmicity of universe within a human .
Prof. Ajaib Singh Brar, Vice Chancellor ; GNDU , S.Harbans Singh Malhi; Manager,Sri Harmandir Sahib, Bibi Kiranjot kaur (Member.SGPC) , Madam Sukhbir Kaur Mahal, Principal, Khalsa College for women,Amritsar , S.Balwant Singh Dhillon, (Director, Centre for Guru Granth Sahib studies ,GNDU) , Madam Gurpreet Kaur and Madam Shashi Bala (H.O.Ds of Music and Religious Studies Department, GNDU) and representative of other socio-religious organizations graced the function.
As the students of Guru Nanak Dev University are constantly striving hard to reinvent the ‘Lost Paradise’ of sikh civilisation, united Sikh Panth and also to promote the serious sense of scholarship. Their initiative have been strongly recommended and received with grace among the academicia, public, media, scholars, theologians ,literary personalities, students and researches et all and to carry forward and further glorify this legacy Gurudwara Sahib organised a range of exhibitions from an exhibition on wall painting of Baba Atal Sahib (By S.Santokh Singh Seharyaar ),an exhibition on selected Sikh paintings of noted painter Bibi Phoolan Rani, an exhibition on the heritage of ancient Sikh Musicology by Jwaddi Taksal,a rarest exhibition on selective and most esteemed publications in the world literature to inspire the students for serious academics , a book exhibition from Bhagat Puran Singh Pingalwara, Amritsar to an exhibition depicting extra ordinary human valour and glorious heritage of Khalsa tradition (by Dharam Prachar Committee, Amritsar ). All this inspired the students a lot to realign their creative potential.
Gurpreet Singh, Coordinator (Foundation Day -2012) congratulated everybody on auspicious occasion of foundation day of Gurudwara Sahib and also welcomed and thanked them for their support. He added further that Gurudwara sahib will continue to work on its mission of realising “SHABAD “as the centre of all university academics by variety of spirtuo-scholarly means.