Is Guru Granth Sahib a compilation of Hindu & Islamic texts into one?
The notion that the Sikh Gurus ‘borrowed’ from other religious texts is totally false. Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji rejects time and time again all other religious texts, so why would it include passages from them? Guru Arjan Sahib Ji personally overlooked all aspects of the compilation of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and whose Shabads are the most. These were direct revelations from God as was all the Baani from all the Gurus and Bhagats.
This is very much contrary to some other texts that was compiled many years after the prophet ascended the heavens. In fact the prophet was illiterate so how could he have written down or understood any alleged revelations to him?
Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is the only religious scripture written by its prophets, i.e. the Guru’s themselves. No other religion can claim this. The Quran was written not by a prophet, but 30 years after Hazrat Muhammad passed away. Hazrat Muhammad himself was illiterate, so did not write anything. But the Kaa’ba and the Hajj is also a form of big idol worship. The Bible was written by the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, none of them contemporaries of Jesus and written at least 60 years after Jesus.
Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji says:
ਆਖਣੁ ਵੇਖਣੁ ਬੋਲਣਾ ਸਬਦੇ ਰਹਿਆ ਸਮਾਇ ॥
ਬਾਣੀ ਵਜੀ ਚਹੁ ਜੁਗੀ ਸਚੋ ਸਚੁ ਸੁਣਾਇ ॥
ਹਉਮੈ ਮੇਰਾ ਰਹਿ ਗਇਆ ਸਚੈ ਲਇਆ ਮਿਲਾਇ ॥
ਤਿਨ ਕਉ ਮਹਲੁ ਹਦੂਰਿ ਹੈ ਜੋ ਸਚਿ ਰਹੇ ਲਿਵ ਲਾਇ ॥੩॥
“In speaking, in seeing and in words, remain immersed in the Shabad. The Word of the Guru’s Baani vibrates throughout the four ages. As Truth, it teaches Truth. Egotism and possessiveness are eliminated, and the True One absorbs them into Himself. Those who remain lovingly absorbed in the True One see the Mansion of His Presence close at hand. ||3||”
(Ang 35)
Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji does not narrate the life story of Guru Nanak Sahib Ji, but each and every word is dedicated to the Glory of the Almighty Divine Being only. It is not a reproduction of earlier religions, but the Divine Word (Gurbaani) came to the Gurus, and 15 Bhagats, 17 Bards, & 4 devotees (who all shared the same Dharam of Naam & Gurmat), direct from God. Guru Nanak Sahib Ji stated that it was not his philosophy, it was not his understanding and it was not his thinking, but the Word was coming to him direct from God and he was simply delivering His message to the world.
Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji was not written by the devotees after the Gurus had gone, but it was dictated and compiled by the Gurus themselves. Thus it is the Authentic Divine Scripture. No body is allowed to change even a comma or a period out of 1430 angs (pages). The Seventh Nanak’s son, Ram Rai, changed the meaning of only one verse to please the Emperor, Aurangzeb, upon which he was excommunicated for ever by his father (the Seventh Nanak), thereby establishing the fact that no one could ever change the God’s Word, the Gurbaani.
Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is numerically structured which acts as a central locking system. The numerical system ensures that no one can add their own hymns or Baani into Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. The poetic beauty of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji ensures that no person can add an extra word to the Recorded Revealed Word of God, which would disrupt the flowing poetry. The Tenth Nanak made five copies of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji which he dictated and signed. One Volume was taken by Ahmed Shah Abdali and the whereabouts is unknown. However the other four Volumes are preserved at the Takhat Sahibaans (Sri Hazoor Sahib, Sri Patna Sahib, Sri Akaal Takhat Sahib, & Sri Kesgharh Sahib).
Max Arthur Macauliffe, an English writer, delivered a speech at Akaal Bunga, Amritsar in 1899:
“There is another point to the merit of the Sikh religion that the founders of other religions in this world never wrote even one line with their own hands. You might have heard that there was a very famous Greek philosopher called Pythagoras who had many followers, but he never left behind anything written by him from which we could have known about the principles of his sect. After him came the second Greek philosopher named Socrates who was born in 500 B.C. He became a very famous religious leader who claimed that he was receiving Divine instructions from God within himself, which persuaded him to do good and prohibited from doing any evil deeds. But he too never left anything behind written by him, which could have shed light on his philosophy and its principles. Whatever we know about him has only come through the writings of his follower, Plato. Besides there came Mahatma Buddh in India and he never wrote anything with his hands. Then came Christ who did not write anything himself either. His teachings are only known through the Bible, which was written by others. Then Muhammad who was illiterate who also did not write down anything. However the Sikh Gurus acted quite opposite to all these religious leaders that they themselves dictated their message of Truth and compiled Guru Granth Sahib. In this respect the Sikh religion is far ahead than others.”