Alphabetical Index

GURMAT PRACHARAK LARI (series of books to propagate the Sikh way of life) was founded in 1919 at Rawalpindi by Giani Sher Singh, an adept in traditional Sikh learning and an influential political leader. In this series, Giani Sher Singh planned to publish one book every month in Punjabi and one book every quarter in Urdu on Sikh history and theology or presenting in simple translation portions of the gurbdm. The first book in this category was Giani Sher Singh`s own Guru Granth ie Panth, published in December 1919.

GURMAT SANGIT or sacred music of the Sikhs. The founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak (1469-1539), composed his religious verse to settings of Indian ragas mostly from the classical tradition. Successive Gurus followed his example and considered divine worship through music the best means of attaining that state which results in communion with God. Religious music is that musical expression which is appropriate to and presented as a definite part of a formal service of worship. Devotional music may have religious texts, but is performed primarily by individuals usually in secular surroundings.

GURMAT SUDHAKAR (lit. Sikh principles explained and illustrated : Sudhdkar= the moon, i.e. the illuminator) is an anthology by Bhai Kahn Singh, of Nabha, of excerpts from old Sikh historical texts and manuals of stipulated conduct. The work, first published in 1899, is divided into sixteen chapters. The opening chapter comprises verses from Guru Gobind Singh, the second from Bhai Gurdas and the third passages from the Janam Sakhi of Bhai Bala. The fourth chapter is culled from Gurbilds Chhevin PdtshdJu. Chapters five is based on Var 1 from Bhai Gurdas.

GURMAT TRACT SOCIETY, dedicated to propagating Sikh religion and history, was founded at Lahore in 1925 by Giahl Kartar Singh Piukh, who changed his pen name from "Piukh" to "Hitkari" in 1929. It published low priced monthly tracts in Punjabi, in Gurmukhi script, for distribution among the Sikh masses. The themes usually were the lives of the Gurus, Sikh teachings, Sikh shrines and persons of importance in Sikh history. The Society planned to publish books and pamphlets in LIrdu and Hindi as well.

GURMUKH (gur = Guru; mukh = face), a word employed in Sikh Scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, in several distinct shades of signification. The gurmukh is, for instance, the Primordial Guru (God) who created all forms; it is He, too, who strings them into one thread oan gurmukhi kio akdrd ekahi suli provanhdrd (GG, 250). Gurmukh is also the Guru who instils the awe of the Fearless One, and through the Word shapes the misshapen (minds).

GURMUKH SINGH (1799-1870), son of Fateh Singh , belonged Lo the village of Turig, near Amritsar. In 1816, he joined Maharaja Ranjit Singh `s army. He was given command of 100 horse and placed under Misr Divan Chand and, after the latter`s death in 1825, under Desa Singh Majlthia. Gurmukh Singh served as commandant in the Ramgarhia Brigade and took part in several battles including those of Multan (1818), Kashmir (1819), Mankera (1821) and Peshawar (1822). He also fought in the first AngloSikh war of 184546 in which his brother, Nidhan Singh, was killed. Gurmukh Singh died in 1870.

GURMUKH SINGH, a kahar or water carrier of Kandola village in Jalandhar district of the Punjab, was a close confidant of Bhai Maharaj Singh , leader of the anti British revolt of 184849. During the second AngloSikh war, Gurmukh Singh assisted Maharaj Singh in procuring supplies of food and fodder for the Khalsa army. He also used to cook for him and this earned him the epithet langan (lit. a cook).

GURMUKH SINGH GIANI, BHAI (d. 1843), a man of letters and an influential courtier in Sikh times, was the son of the celebrated scholar, Bhai Sant Singh, who had been the custodian of Sri Darbar Sahib at Amritsar. Gurmukh Singh was trained in Sikh religious lore at Amritsar under the care of his father. When the father, saddened by the death of his younger brother, Gurdas Singh, quit his office and retired to Amritsar to devote him self to reading and expounding the Scripture, Gurmukh Singh succeeded to his position at the court. He took over his father`s work at Sri Darbar Sahib after the latter`s death in 1832.

GURMUKH SINGH LAMMA, a commander in Maharaja Ranjit Singh `s army, born in 1772, was of humble origin, his father, Pardhan Singh, being a money-changer in the small town of Khiva, situated on the right bank of the River Jehlum. Lamma in Punjabi means tall, but the cognomen Lamma was not conferred on Gurmukh Singh on account of his height, for he was of middle stature, but from his taking command of the contingent of Mohar Singh Lamma who was exceptionally tall.

GURMUKH SINGH MUSAFIR, GIANI (1899-1976), poet and politician, was born the son of Sujan Singh on 15 January 1899 at Adhval, in Campbellpore district, now in Pakistan. Gurmukh Singh attended the village primary school and went to the city of Rawalpindi to pass the middle school examination. He trained as a junior vernacular teacher and took up, in 1918, appointment at Khalsa High School, Kallar, where Master Tara Singh , who later became famous as a political leader, had been the headmaster during 1914-16. His four years there as a teacher earned him the epithet Giani, `Musafir` being the pseudonym he had adopted.

GURMUKH SINGH, BABA (1888-1977), a Ghadr revolutionary, was born in 1888 to a poor peasant, Hoshnak Singh , of the village of Laltori Khurd, in Ludhiana district. Second of three brothers, he was sent to school at Ludhiana. His ambition was to join the army, but he could not be enlisted owing to medical reasons. In 1914, he boarded the ship Komagata Maru, hired from a Japanese firm by Baba Gurdit Singh , to go to Canada. But events stalled Gurmukh Singh `s plans. The ship was not allowed to land at the Canadian port and was obliged to return to India. At the Indian port of Budge Budge, however, a worse fate lay in store for the ship`s passengers.

GURMUKH SINGH, SANT (1849-1947), with titles such as Patialevale, Karsevavale or simply Sevavale commonly added to the name as a suffix, was born in an Arora family in 1849 at the village of Dialgarh Buna, in the princely state of Patiala. His parents, Karam Singh and Gurdet, were a pious couple. From his father, Gurmukh Singh learnt to read the Guru Granth Sahib. He was of a quiet nature and spent most of his time reciting gurbdm.

GURMUKHI is the name of the script used in writing primarily Punjabi and, secondarily, Sindhi language. The word gurmukhi seems to have gained currency from the use of these letters to record the sayings coming from the mukh (lit. mouth or lips) of the (Sikh) Gurus. The letters no doubt existed before the time of Guru Angad (even of Guru Nanak) as they had their origin in the Brahmi, but the origin of the script is attributed to Guru Angad. He not only modified and rearranged certain letters but also shaped them into a script. He gave new shape and new order to the alphabet and made it precise and accurate.

GURNE KALAN, village 8 km south of Lahira (29°56`N, 75°48`E) in Sangrur district of the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Tegh Bahadur who, according to Bhal Santokh Singh, Sn GurPratap Suraj Granth, stayed here for three days while on his way from Talvandl Sabo to Dhamtan. A small gurdwara managed by a nahant commemorates the visit.

GURPRANALI, a distinct genre in Punjabi historical writing, providing in prose or in verse chronological information about the lives of the Gurus and of the members of their families. The genre records in the main dates of their birth, marriage and death. Occasionally, the dates of some major events are also mentioned. The genre gained vogue in Sikh times in the first half of the nineteenth century and has continued to claim adherents in the twentieth. For the history of early Sikhism, the gurprandlis along with janam sdkhis constitute serviceable source material. 

GURPURB, a compound of two words, i.e. guru, the spiritual preceptor, and purb, parva in Sanskrit, meaning a festival or celebration, signifies in the Sikh tradition the holy day commemorating one or another of the anniversaries related to the lives of the Gurus. Observance of such anniversaries is a conspicuous feature of the Sikh way of life. A line frequently quoted from the Guru Granth Sahib in this context reads "bdbdmd kahdmd put saput kareni it only becomes worthy progeny to remember the deeds of the ciders" (GG, 951).Among the more important gurpurbs on the Sikh calendar are the birth anniversaries of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh, the martyrdom days of Guru Arjan and Guru Tegh Bahadur, and of the installation of the Holy Book in the Harimandar at Amritsar on Bhadon sudi 1, 1661 Bk/16 August 1604.