GOSHTI

GOSHTI, from Sanskrit gostha (go = cow + stha = place, i.e. cowpen) means, secondarily, an assembly of people engaged in a discourse or debate on some metaphysical, theological or ethical point, thereby seeking to expound their respective views or tenets and revealing in the process their dialectical prowess and learning. The first recorded goshti in Punjabi literature is Guru Nanak`s Sidha Gosti (“A Dialogue with the Siddhas”), included in the Guru Granth Sahib in rdga Ramkall, a musical measure favourite of the yogis.This dialogue in verse brings out the quintessence of Guru Nanak`s teaching, vix.

how life lived in the world cherishing the Name of the Lord is to be preferred to sannydsa, renunciation, or hathyoga, the practice of austerities.The scope of the genre WZLS broadened in the seventeenth century to include, besides dialogue, a recital of the events of the life of a saint or mystic. This form was popularized by Manohar Das Miharban (AD 1581-1640) and his sons, Hariji and Chaturbhuj, who recorded goshtis while narrating the lifestory of Guru Nanak in their works Pothi Sach Khand and Pothi Chaturbhuj.

The Guru is presented in these goshtis in converse with a variety of people, saints and sinners, and with mythical characters. The object in each instance was to elucidate some aspect of his precept. The form was commonly employed to illustrate the teachings of holy men, saints and sufis, and their lives.