Synopsis "RAHRAAS Sahib: Ration of Life (in English)"
All renderings attempting to explain the Divine path are quite difficult to comprehend. The 'Rahraas Sahib', which is such a work, was passed on to us many centuries ago. Languages are not static but dynamic and Punjabi language is no exception to this. This fact has not helped in the matter but has rather made it more complex. The collection of renderings of Guru Sahibs contained in 'Rahraas Sahib' is recited by the Sikhs world-over as evening prayer. It clarifies the ultimate objective of human life and explains the path of spirituality to be followed by an individual for its achievement. In this book, the commentary, in black print, attempts explain in simple language the essence of the message contained in the prayer of this most modern & universal religion. Apart from the commentary, this book also contains the translations, of the original Punjabi renderings of Guru Sahibs, into English. All the available translations are narrative in nature and therefore, make it impossible to relate them to each word of the original rendering in Gurumukhi script. This effort has been made with the idea of setting right this imbalance. The translation, in coloured print, is given in as many words as in the original rendering. Owing to the limitation of the difference in the grammar of the two languages, some words have been added, in the translation, to clarify the complete meaning. These additional words are mentioned in brackets. The commentary and the translation have been interspersed in such a manner that they complement each other for better comprehension by the reader. For easier segregated reading, the translation, in blue print, has been aligned right. However, where there is a direct instruction to be followed by human beings, the translation, in bold print, has been colored red and has been center-aligned. Sikhism has certain concepts, which if not unique, are quite special to it. Few such important concepts are 'Guru', 'Baani/Gurbaani', 'Hukam', 'Maaya', 'Man', 'Haumain', 'Naam/Shabad', 'Sat/Sach/Waheguru' and 'Simran'. Understanding these concepts in right perspective would be a pre-requisite for anyone interested in gaining an in-depth familiarization with the youngest religion of this world. These concepts have been explained in the book. The words and phrases that have special meaning attached to them have also been clarified. The renderings of various Guru Sahibs that constitute 'Rahraas Sahib' are a means for exploration of life's objective. Their import is of such spell-bounding proportions that one wonders whether the worldly life's engagements that everybody is bogged down with, are worth the pain and labor involved therein. The aim of this book is to enable a person to rise above all this and have a view of life from a point of totality. It is better that one gets aware of this at the earliest, because coming to grips with this situation towards the end of life may be too late.
