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Home | Read full Choupai Sahib | Download Gurmukhi Fonts.zip These last 2 pauris of Kabiyo Bach Benti Choupai are most often left out of Nit Nems and from the knowledge and practice of most Sikhs.
ikRpw krI hm pr jg mwqw ] gRMQ krw pUrn suB rwqw ] sRI AisDuj jb Bey dieAwlw ] pUrn krw gRMQ qqkwlw ]
The British were the main agents in shortening Kabiyo Back Benti Choupai (Chaupai Sahib) during their "British Raj" over India. The British sent a scout to Punjab to ascertain how many troops it would take to conquer the Punjab. The scout returned reporting that it would take all British troops in all of India to defeat the Punjab because the Sikhs have an unhuman bravery. Although Christian by religion they were willing to entertain that that the Sikhs derived power from their Banis, because of the unexplainable defeats in the past. It was said that the Sikhs were undefeatable because they read Choupai Sahib. Through persistance and corruption the British managed not to directly conquer the Sikhs, but they accomplished something even more devestating. They were able to infiltrate Sikh management and compromise the daily 5 Banis. They were able to shorten Choupai Sahib and take off the last 2 pauris claiming that they are optional. The claim modern day Sikh leaders and intellectuals have is, "In modern times Sikhs don't have the time to read as many Banis as they used to". This argument doesn't seem valid being that the last 2 pauris are only 4 lines and take about 15 seconds to read by a familiar practitioner. The fact is that the last 2 pauris have never been optional until recent history.
The British influence went to the extent of affecting Sikh management authorities, and printers. Nowadays, it may be difficult to find a Gutka with the entire Chaupai Sahib, and most Sikhs are not even aware that there are 27 pauris. The only NitNems (Gutkas) that have the entire Chaupai Sahib are printed by independant groups. Under the leadership of the late Baba Santa Singh printing presses were started to print "Nihang Gutkas", which are actually just the same Bani that was always practiced by the Nihangs. The duty of the Taksal is to take preserve the correct pronunciation and practice of the Banis. They print Nitnems with the entire Chaupai Sahib. The Nihangs never compromised to the British even in the face of extinction, and the Taksals have preserved the correct way of doing Banis since the Guru's time. The Nihangs and Taksals are 2 of the 5 denominations (sampardas) that were started by Guru Gobind Singh. If the Taksal's single duty is to maintain the Bani and they are printing Nitnems with the entire Chaupai Sahib, it seems clear that this was how it was practiced in the Guru's time. The British's strategy of 'Divide and Conquer' went further than the shortening of Chaupai Sahib. They took steps to eliminate the Dasam Granth and all Banis contained within it. That would include Jaap Sahib, Tav Prasad Savaiye, Choupai Sahib, (3 of the 5 Banis of the Amrit ceremony) and Ardas. Previous to the British occupation it was common place to have prakash of Dasam Guru Granth along side of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. They made it common practice to abbreviate Anand Sahib during Kirtan Divaan. Now we can find "Nitnems" which do not contain the entire Anand Sahib, rather there is 6 pauris of Anand Sahib in the Rehiras. The British also unpopularized Bana, because they didn't want Sikhs to have a strong identity. At one point Nihang Singhs were being persecuted by virtue of wearing Bana and "round" turbans. They were perceived as threats to the British infiltration because they were likely to fight back. Anyone wearing Bana and or a round turban would be picked up by British officers and 'taken away'. The British had killed all but 500 Nihangs and almost eliminated this denomination of Sikhism, the holders of the warrior spirit. Nihang Singhs used to be a nomadic Gurdwara management group and now they live mostly secluded from mainstream Sikhism and from positions of power. The Dasam Granth used to be in many Gurdwaras along side the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, and now it is mostly seen in Nihang villages and online, not to mention the many debates about its authenticity. Martial aspects of Sikhism have become mostly symbolic in modern times. The overall goal was to make Sikhism as a strictly Bakti (devotional) religion instead of the Shakti/Bakti (power/devotion) balance which it was always to have. With the Bir Ras (warrior spirit) Banis compromised, the Sikh identity disappearing, and martial aspects becoming purely symbolic the British had their way to control Sikhism. Then it was a matter of bribery, intimidation and manipulation of Sikh leaders to create a new 'modern Sikhism'. The one thing that is very striking about this history is for the first time in Sikh history the Banis have been compromised. Until the British Raj, Sikhs had given their lives to preserve every word of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib and the Siri Dasam Granth. There are many Sikh issues today; lack of leadership, terrorism backlash, womens seva issues. Amongst all issues Sikhs could always go to the Shabad Guru knowing that it was exactly how the Gurus wrote it with Their own Hands. This is one thing that stands out about Choupai Sahib. Every Sikh knows the importance of the Shabad Guru being preserved. Guru Har Rai, who was so gentle that he couldn't even harm a flower, disowned his own son for changing one word of the Adi Granth. Now a full 2 pauris have been taken out of Sikh daily practice. There are ripe complaints amonst Sikhs that the overall Panth is not united, Sikh leaders are corrupt, Sikh youth are leaving their roots, etc. This could be because some of the fundamental practices have been compromised. Bana, Bani, Simran, and Seva were given by Guru Gobind Singh so that Sikhs could have his blessing and his spirit against all odds. Now Bana is mostly out of practice and Bani has been shortened. It is important to note that we are not talking about the rearranging of different sections of Banis, but the cutting off of pauris from one continuous Bani. Lets compare it with Rehiras Sahib. Rehiras Sahib as a whole has been rearranged throughout time and depending on which Jetha is promoting which version. Some Nihang versions are much longer than most versions, but no version ends So Purakh before its 5th pauri. We all know that Tav Prasad Savaiye has 10 pauris and Anand Sahib has 40 pauris. To take off the last 2 pauris of Choupai Sahib could be compared to taking off the last 2 pauris of Japji Sahib; ending at the 36th pauri (instead of the full 38) and then reading the Slok. Even in modern times it is difficult to justify this kind of amendment to Guru Gobind Singhs 5 Banis. The common practice is to jump from the 25th pauri to the Savaiye. After the obvious conclusions drawn from the history we know to read up to the 27th pauri. So what comes after that? Different groups practice Chaupai Sahib differently. Some have a lot of the part of Dasam Granth that follows Chaupai as it's written. For the average practitioner, several Babas have made it clear that the Arril must be read. More than that, it is customary to read the Savaiye and Dohra to finish the Bani. Savaiye and Dohra are complete titles that are compiled onto Choupai from another part of the Sri Dasam Granth. This is similar to Rehiras where we have Shabads from different places in the Siri Guru Granth put together to make the Rehiras. Please note that we are not taking only parts of a complete section. The complete sections of Chaupai Sahib are as follows: Download the ending of Chaupai Sahib and insert into your NitNem as well as those in your Gurdwara
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See the research for yourself. See on both of these Dasam Granth websites exactly how Choupai Sahib begins and ends as it was originally written. · Beginning of Choupai Sahib - searchgurbani.com, sridasam.org
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