Jaap Sahib
| by Guru Gobind Singh | |
| Original title | Jaap |
|---|---|
| Written | Paunta Sahib |
| First published in | Dasam Granth |
| Country | India |
| Language | Gurmukhi |
| Subject(s) | Eulogy of Almighty |
| Genre(s) | Religion |
| Meter | Chantt |
| Lines | 10 Stanzas |
| Followed by | Akaal Ustat |
Jaap Sahib (or Japu Sahib) is the morning prayer of the Sikhs. The prayer was composed by the tenth Sikh Master, Guru Gobind Singh and is found at the start of the Sikh scripture Dasam Granth. This Bani is an important Sikh prayer, and is recited by the Panj Pyare while preparing Amrit on the occasion of Amrit Sanchar (initiation), a ceremony held to admit initiates into the Khalsa. The Jaap Sahib is reminiscent of Japji Sahib composed by Guru Nanak, and both praise God.
Following are some accepted meanings of Jaap:
Jaap is a Sanskrit word meaning "to utter in a low voice, whisper, mutter (especially prayers or incantations); to invoke or call upon in a low voice".Jaap Sahib is a rhythmic hymn composed like a necklace of pearls and gems, beauteously arranged around a string: the string is the Supreme God; the pearls and gems are His attributes, excellences, and glories. It basically helps reader do a daily Greetings to Waheguru in 199 verses, just like we do hello to each other. The glories sung by Guru Sahib revolve around the following attributes of God:
The Jaap Sahib is a recitation and praise of God. It includes various names of God in various languages. Understand the fact that god has no name but is called by various names by devotees based on their experience and the blessings they have obtained from him. There is only one sole religion of humans - humanity, and the wordly path that we choose to understand the natural power, our source, source of creation - is called faith only.
All faiths are rivers and are destined to merge into one great "Ocean - the lord, the light"; whatever you may call, think, believe or perceive.
Jaap Sahib is made up of 199 verses and is the first Bani of the Dasam Granth (p. 1-10).
The Jaap Sahib begins with the words:
This line is clearly intended to authenticate Guru Gobind Singh Ji as the Author of the Dasam Granth.
Jaap is a Sanskrit word which means "to utter in a low voice, whisper, mutter (especially prayers or incantations); to invoke or call upon in a low voice." The form of the word here is Japu, which makes it a noun, meaning "meditation on nothing but the Truth; ('God') (or The True God).
The language of Jaap, is close to classical with words and compounds drawn from Sanskrit, Brij Bhasha, Arabic and Urdu. The contents of Jaap Sahib, are divided into various Chhands bearing the name of the related meter according to the then prevalent system of prosody in India.
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