BRAHMA Brahma bom in the navel lotus of Vishnu was called the son of Lotus. (Kama M. 4, p. 1309) Brahma manifested the hymns of the Veda but extended the attachment of maya. (Wadhans M. 3, p. 559) Only the maya of three modes came out from the mouth

RANA SURAT SINGH, an epiclike poem by Bhai Vir Singh published in 1905. This poem of more than fourteen thousand lines is written in blank verse, tried for the first time in Punjabi. With all its protracted search and pang, it is ultimately a poem of complete spiritual certitude, of

GIAN (Skt.jnana), knowledge, understanding or consciousness, is what differentiates human beings from the animal world and establishes the superiority of homo sapiens over the other species. Nature has not only provided man with a qualitatively superior brain but has also endowed human mind with a dynamic inner stimulus called jagiasa

SALOK MAHALLA 9, i.e. slokas of the composition of Guru Tegh Bahadur, Nanak IX, form the concluding portion of the Guru Granth Sahib, preceding Guru Arjan`s Mundavam (GG, 142629). These slokas are intoned as part of the epilogue when bringing to a close a reading of the Guru Granth

GIAN PRABODH (Guide to Enlightenment), included in Guru Gobind Singh`s Dasam Granth, is a long poem in Braj employing sixteen different metres. It comprises two independent pans, the first, i.e. the introductory one (stanzas 1 to 125), beginning with laudation of the Almighty who is depicted as Supreme, beyond

SALOP SAHASKRITI, title of a composition comprising seventy-one verses incorporated in the Guru Granth Sahib. The term `Sahaskriti` denotes the language form, a mixture of Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit, in which these slokas have been written. `Gatha` is another word used for `Sahaskriti`. Of the seventy-one verses collected under

IBRAHIM, SHAIKH (Shaikh Farid of the Janam Sakhi), twelfth in succession from the famous Sufi saint, Shaikh Farid udDin GanjiShakar (1173-1266), held the seat of the earlier Shaikh at Pakpattan in the present Sahiwal (former Montgomery) district of Pakistan when Guru Nanak (1469-1539) was travelling in these parts. Shaikh Ibrahim,

SARANG Kl VAR, in the Guru Granth Sahib, is of the composition of Guru Ram Das. It is set to be sung in Sarang raga and hence the tide Sarang ki Var. Nine of the 22 vars included in the Guru Granth Sahib are composed in the musical mode

JAGGA, BHAI, a Khatrl of Dharni clan, was a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Arigad. As he first waited upon the Guru, he said, "Show me the light, True Master. I have been to a yogi for guidance, but he would not instruct me until I renounce

SATNAMI. The word satnami is derived from satnam, lit. the True Name , a term used in some religious traditions including Sikhism to denote the Supreme Being. Literally, a Satnami is one who believes in and worships only the True Being and as such every Sikh is a Satnami.

JAGANNATHA Jagannatha (The Lord of the •world), Madhva, who is the life of the world, the Remover of Fear, remember Him in the heart. (Ramkali M. 5, p. 897) Jagannatha (The Lord of the world has created all beings; He hath Perforated the noses of all and hath stitched

SIDH GOSTI, i.e. dicourse or dialogue with the Siddhas or mystics adept in hatha yoga and possessing supernatural powers, is the title of one of Guru Nanak`s longer compositions recorded in the Guru Granth Sahib. A goshti (gostln) seeks to expound the respective doctrines of scholars or saints participating