22 May, 2012

Ten Myths that were Propagated by the British Missionaries

When the British came to India as beggars, with beads in their hands thinking we were primitive savages, they were in fact taken aback & shocked to see sophisticated cities, with beautiful buildings, palaces of Maharajas, wealth, food, resources etc Something they did not have back home in the UK. The Christian missionaries, who were paid agents like Macualiffe, Muller etc of the East India company,came with their venom against Hinduism & did their best to spread canards about 'evil Brahmins', who oppressed the 'native Dravidians' & 'Aryans' who drove the 'Dravidians' away into the South. The gorres also spread lies about how Brahmins wanted to destroy Sikhism in Punjab & how Hinduism was full of superstition and barbaric practises. In fact they fed us with complete and utter bullshit so to brainwash us into becoming Christians & taking up their so called Victorian ( read backward ) values.




The following is taken from a book by Sita Ram Goel ( Hindu temples & what happened to them Volume 2), that perfectly explains the reasons behind the poisoning of our minds against the Brahmins & Hinduism in general thanks to the British. The passage is a just a small part of the entire chapter which is good eye opener if you are really into Indian history like I am.


The new imperialism had three faces - Christian, British, and Communist. It was far more competent than Islamic imperialism in terms of both means and methods. But the deadliest weapon it wielded was a new type of scholarship which it used in progressive stages for disarming the Hindus ideologically.


This scholarship was a many-splendoured mansion - Anthropology, Sociology, Historiography, Linguistics, Comparative Religion, Indology, German Idealism, French Positivism, British Utilitarianism, Soviet Marxism-Leninism, and the rest. It had some fascinating facets. Its essential theme, however, was only a variation on the Christian missionary lore in as much as it believed and had proved to its own satisfaction that the white man’s world was the centre of the universe, that the white man’s civilization was the highest achievement in human history, and that the white man had to shoulder the heavy burden of civilizing the rest of mankind which was seen as wallowing in varying stages of barbarism. But simply because this scholarship had surfaced in the same area and at the same time as Modern Science, it had come to pretend that it also shared the scientific spirit. Marxism-Leninism was the culmination of this masquerade.

This is not the occasion to go into details of how the latter-day imperialism mobilized this scholarship for mounting an unprecedented assault on the Hindu intellectual elite. What we are concerned with in the present context is the portrait of Hindus and Hinduism which this scholarship proceeded to paint. The salient features of the portrait which emerged at the end of the operation were as follows:
1. The old and the most sacred scripture of the Hindus, the Rigveda, provides impeccable evidence that a race of blood-thirsty barbarians, who worshipped equally blood-thirsty gods and who styled themselves as Aryans, invaded this country in the second millenium BC, slaughtered or enslaved all those natives who could not escape to the far South or forests and mountain fastnesses in the North, and settled down to live on the fat of this fertile land for all time to come.


2. With a view to perpetuate their stranglehold on the country and its native people, the Aryans created a caste system in which they themselves constituted the higher castes - BrãhmaNas, KSatriyas, and Vaišyas- while they reduced the conquered populace to the status of Šûdras and outcaste untouchables.


3. At the same time, the Aryans concoted a priestcraft, presided over by the wily Brahmins and couched in the complex Sanskrit literature, in order to legitimize and safeguard the caste system.


4. Whatever veneer of culture the Aryans managed to acquire, was borrowed by them from the native people whom the Sanskrit literature had shamelessly described as Dãsas, Dasyus, Asuras, Nãgas, RãkSasas, and the rest.


5. That veneer of culture also took no time to come off when, at a subsequent stage, the custodians of Brahminism destroyed the shrines and slaughtered the saints of Buddhism and Jainism, simply because these rationalist and humanitarian religions questioned the iniquities and cruelties of the caste system and pleaded for a just and equalitarian social order.


6. But as the people’s protest against the primitive superstitions, the puerile priestcraft, and the cruel caste system of Brahminism continued to grow, Brahminism disguised itself in a number of new-sounding cults- Šaivism, Šãktism, VaiSNavism, etc.-and concocted a new series of Sanskrit literature - the PurãNas and the Dharmašãstras - in order to hoodwink the people and ensure the continuity of the caste system, with the crafty Brahmins sitting at its top and cornering unequal privileges as well as rich profits.


7. Thus the essence of Brahminism alias Hinduism has been, and remains, the economically exploitative, socially oppressive, and culturally moribund caste system, no matter how many heaven-tearing philosophies it stocks in its shop in order to hide the fraud.


8. Hinduism alias Brahminism has continued, and will continue, to suppress, or sidetrack, or subvert by means of its sly syncretism, every single idea, religious or secular, which threatens the caste system and the domination of the deceitful Brahmins.


9. Speaking scientifically and in a historical perspective, Hindus proper are only the high castes in the present-day “Hindu society”, and describing the rest of the people as Hindus is a dirty swindle.


10. Hindus alias the high caste descendants of the Aryan invaders have joined, and will continue to join, hands with any and every reactionary ideology and force - feudalism, capitalism, colonialism, American imperialism, etc. - in order to safeguared the caste system and its own stranglehold on the toiling masses of India.
We have presented in simple and straight language the lore which Christian, British and Communist imperialists came to sell with varying degrees of sophistication, in a large number of tomes, treatises, and articles in learned journals published by prestigious publishing houses such as the Oxford University Press. In any case, by now the so-called Dalit Movement is retailing this lore in the way we have summarized it, without being questioned by any of its highbrow hawkers.


The word “Hindu” was thus not only robbed of all the pride and prestige it had acquired over the past several centuries, but also made synonymous with foreign invaders who had committed no end to crimes against the native people. The word no more designated the vast majority of this country’s population; on the contrary, it became the hallmark of a small minority which had conspired to masquerade as the majority. The Buddhists, the Jains, the Sikhs, and the Animists (new name for those subscribing to tribal religions) were taken out of the fold of Hinduism at one fell sweep. Finally, the “Dravidian South” was given a call to revolt against everything associated with the word “Hindu” - religion, culture, language, etc.


This was the lore which was taught in school and college textbooks of an educational system which had been designed and was being controlled by the British establishment and the Christian missions. This was the lore which was given the pride of place in Communist pamphlets and periodicals which started to proliferate from the ‘twenties of this century onwards. And this was the lore by mouthing which a section in the Indian National Congress started strutting around as “progressive”, “radical”, “revolutionary”, "socialist", and the rest. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru became the leader of this section after a brief visit to the Soviet Union in 1927. And he started fancying himself as a great historian when his Glimpses of World History and Discovery of India, which revelled in this lore, were hailed as classics by the prestigious press in this country and abroad.


Meanwhile, Muslim historians of the Marxist schools had polished up a subsidiary thesis. Their main purpose was to salvage Islam from its blood-soaked history, and present the medieval Muslim rule in India as a native dispensation. Mohammad Habib of the Aligarh Muslim University came out with the thesis that the Islamic invaders had destroyed Hindu temples not in obedience to the tenets of Islam but out of their lust for loot. This thesis was lapped up immediately by Pandit Nehru and his progressive host in the Congress. Pandit Sunderlal picked up the hint and painted Islam and the medieval Muslim rule in glorious colours. The finishing touches were given by M.N. Roy who propounded that Islam had come to India for completing the social revolution which Buddhism had started but failed to accomplish because Brahminism had responded with fire and sword. 

But the word “Hindu” had not yet become a dirty word. It still covered the Buddhists, the Jains, and the Sikhs except for some separatist fringes which had imbibed the monothestic theology of the Muslim-Christian combine or the Leftist lore. Stalwarts of Hindu re-awakening - Swami Dayananda, Bankim Chandra, Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo - had seen through the Christian and the British game and given a strong lead which had not yet been exhausted. 

The word “Hindu” started being brought into contempt on some scale in the truncated Hindu homeland with the rise of Pandit Nehru to supreme power in the post-independence period. He was a combined spokesman of all imperialist ideologies which had visited this country in the past - Islamic, Christian, British, and Communist. Small wonder that he placed the Ministry of Education in the hands of a Muslim-Marxist combine headed by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Christian missions were given full facilities to educate the Hindus, and convert as many of them as they could manage. The missionary apparatus started building itself anew, after a period of panic experienced by it when the British Raj was drawing to its end.  

08 May, 2012

Guru NanakDevji & the Janeu







"The Divine Thread started everything. 
The knower of the Thread is a yogi, his Knowledge is 
beyond the scope of the Vedas. 
Pearls stringed together form an ornament. The Divine Thread holds together the Universe. 
The Yogi wears this Thread when he becomes aware of his Divinity. 
Established in highest state of Yoga, the yogi discards the external thread. 
The wearer of the Thread of Knowledge is never unclean. The Thread exists within him. 

Knowledge is the greatest purifier." 
--- Brahma Upanishad ---
 



It is a well known fact that Guru Nanak Devji studied the Upanishads, Vedas  & Puranas with the help of sants, sadhus, mystics & yogis of the time. In the Shri Adi Granthji, is Nanak Dev ji saying exactly what the above sanskrit shloka is describing in the Upanishads, which was known thousands of centuries before His birth? He was born a Brahmin of the Vedi or Bedi clan who are students of any one particular Veda; there are Dvi-Vedis who study two Vedas, there are Tri-Vedis who study three Vedas & finally there are the Chatur-Vedis who study all the four Vedas - my point is that the neo-sikh talibanis, have suppressed & shamelessly distorted the famous shloka of Guru Nanak Devji regarding the Janeu of Spirituality - was Guruji actually saying the same  as what was already mentioned in the Upanishads by the ancient Rishis? The bigotted Tat Khalsa Singh Sabhias were quick to include this shloka and make into a canard and into an incident within the Janamsakhis of Guru NanakDevji simply to bash Hindu traditions with. But this is what Guruji actually wrote down in Asa Di Vaar :


''Make compassion the cotton, contentment the thread, modesty the knot and truth the twist; This is the sacred thread of the Soul; if you have it then go ahead and put it on me; It does not break, it cannot be soiled by filth,it cannot be burnt or lost; Blessed are those mortal beings ( Yogis ) O Nanak who wear around their necks''.


Okay lets take a closer look at the above shloka written by Guru Nanakji & lets see how much similar it truly is to the original shloka of the Brahma Upanishad. Is there any rejection at all of the sacred thread or Janeu as far as Guruji is concerned? It certainly doesn't seem so.In fact Guruji seems to be eager to wear the spiritual thread as described in the Upanishad shloka.Nowhere is Guruji stating that he rejects wearing of any Janeu, but insists on the one that is simply described in the Upanishads by Rishis of long ago.


My argument : How does Guruji & Sikhi become non-Hindu when He was repeating exactly the same words mentioned in the Hindu Upanishads texts when describing the Janeu or sacred thread ?  So why is it that the anti-Hindu bigots of the Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha seem to make such a big hue & cry about this particular shloka of Asa Di Vaar whenever they want to paint a separate identity of Sikhi ? By the way, this shloka was written by Guruji during his later years & not at the time of His receiving the Janeu from His Guru Pandit Dayal as is wrongly told to all of us by the Neo Sikhs.Remember, He was only 8 years old when his father arranged the Janeu ceremony for Him. 







05 May, 2012

Amritsar - An ancient City - by Tanveer Singh

I happened to be surfing the net & found this exceptional article that I would like to share with you all, about Amritsar & its Vedic history. Written beautifully by another Tanveer Singh, I'm happy to note that there are Sikhs who are waking up to the Sanatan Dharmic heritage & boldly stating all true facts to get back at the Taliban Sikh brigade.





 Read the entire article here : 
 source: http://www.trinetra.org.uk/#/amritsar-the-ancient-city/4552288421

03 May, 2012

Hindu Khalsa Flags - Part 2

Continuing with my last post on the Hindu-Khalsa flags & how the final 'Sikh' flag evolved under the SGPC. Today it is unimaginable that there was a time when a traditional Saffron flag with the motif of Durga Mata flew above the Shri Harimandirji, thanks to the fraud of Tat Khalsa. As is seen in most of the earlier paintings that the Khanda was not the emblem at all of the 'Sikhs' during the time of the Gurus - upto the 10th Guru in fact - until the SGPC decided to give Sanatan Sikhi a different colour set apart from its Hindu heritage that had continued during the time of all the Gurus. Though, however, Khanda is the assortment of the various weapons of Hindu Goddess Shakti Durga & still the present 'Sikh' emblem is very much a part of Hindu tradition that was prevalent several centuries ago.

Painting circa : 18th century - of a Hindu Khalsa army



Khalsa flags bearing the Hindu Goddesses of war



Sketch of Shri Harimandirji ca 19th century ( 1874 AD). The flags hoisted at the top  have the tulwar, kattar & dhal

Close up of the above image

A clearly visible Saffron flag carried by the Hindu Khalsa of Guru Gobindji's army




Wall painting. Temple of Bairagis, Hoshiarpur circa:19th century- 10th Guruji with the Hindu Khalsa holding a simple flag 


circa: 18th century - 10th Guruji with his Khalsa army & a red-saffron flag


circa: end 17th century-early 18th century - a very simple flag


circa: 18th century - 10th Guruji with the Khalsa carrying a saffron flag  that has the symbols of dagger, sword & dhal


circa : 18th century - the 4 Sahibzadas - the flag is yellow & simple background



circa: 18th century - 10th Guruji with his army- a simple yellow flag with sword, dagger & dhal


A close up of the flag

Painting circa: 19th century - Baba Deep Singhji - the Khanda symbol  is visible  at the top of his turban but in the background the old styl of flag is visible also.


Closer view of the flag in the background

Guru Gobind Singhji inspiring the Hindu Khalsa army at Anandpur Sahib. Painting : 1930s
A close up of the flag carried by the Khalsa & the dhal shield & tulwar sword is visible behind the bird.





A very ancient Khanda belonging to the Chola tradition of India

circa: late 19th- early 20th century Khalsa military turban badge. The emblem  consists of a khanda sword above a chakra, two crossed curved swords, two axes within the chakra. 
circa: 19th century - Maharaja Ranjit Singhji with Hari Singhji. Behind is the shield, two tulwars & a bow across




Closer view 



circa: late 19th - early 20th century - the 10 Gurujis. Emblem at the top of the painting has two tulwars, a bow, a dhal & a trishul at the centre. While both the emblems at the bottom of the painting have two axes, two tulwars & trishul at the centre of the dhal.
Closer view of the emblem at the top of the painting



Closer view of the emblem at the bottom of the painting
Painting circa: late 19th - early 20th century - all ten Gurujis.  The emblem at the top has two swords, a bow, a Chakra & trishul, while the two emblems at the bottom of the painting have two battle axes, a bow, two swords, a Chakra & trishul spear at the centre.



Shiv Swaroopi Hindu Sant with the Addh Chand.
Shiv Swaroopi Akali Nihang

Shiv Swaroopi Akali Nihang


Closer view of the painting with a Nihang & all the Hindu weapon symbols 

1912 - Vancouver, British Columbia. The emblem is part of a letterhead of a mining company run by Sikh immigrants in Canada. Visible in the emblem is a large Khanda, two banners, two curved tulwar swords & a Chakra.



1904 : Golden Temple- The Photo shows schoolboys at Shri Harimandirji . They are wearing turbans which were  of a common style all over Northern India. There are Hindus as well standing in the background, one is a Brahmin teacher while there are some who haven't covered their heads. It seems like all Gurudvaras of the time, the Shri Harimandirji was also a great centre of learning, where there were Brahmin teachers & Hindu murtis also were inside the HariMandirji before the Christian Missionaries under the British threw them out to make the complex a Christian centre in 1906. In the far background, the Miri Piri flags are visible  - having the Dhal, Kattar & Khanda.
A close up where the symbols are very visible. Flags bear the shield, tulwar & dagger.


To be continued....


21 April, 2012

Satnam WaheGuruJi





Bhai Gurdas has coined, ‘Waheguru’ by combining the first letters of various incarnations or Avatars of Lord Shri Hari ( Vishnu ) of different Yugas in Vedantic philosophy in his Pauri # 49 in Var # 1 as follows: 


Bhai Gurdas, Pauri 49, Var 1.

ਸਤਿਜੁਗ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਵਾਸਦੇਵ ਵਵਾ ਵਿਸਨਾ ਨਾਮੁ ਜਪਾਵੈ।
Satijougi Satigur Vaasadayv Vavaa Visanaa Naamu Japaavai.
सतिजुगि सतिगुर वासदेव ववा विसना नामु जपावै ।
In Satyug, Visnu in the form of Vasudev is said to have incarnated and ‘V’ Of Vahiguru reminds of Visnu.
1 ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ : ਵਾਰ ੧ ਪਉੜੀ ੪੯ ਪੰ. ੧

ਦੁਆਪੁਰਿ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਹਰੀ ਕ੍ਰਿਸਨ ਹਾਹਾ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਜਪਾਵੈ।
Duaapari Satigur Haree Krisan Haahaa Hari Hari Naamu Japaavai.
दुआपरि सतिगुर हरी क्रिसन हाहा हरि हरि नामु जपावै ।
The true Guru of dvapar is said to be Harikrsna and ‘H’ of Vahiguru reminds of Hari.
2 ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ : ਵਾਰ ੧ ਪਉੜੀ ੪੯ ਪੰ. ੨

ਤ੍ਰੇਤੇ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਰਾਮ ਜੀ ਰਾਰਾ ਰਾਮ ਜਪੇ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਵੈ।
Taytay Satigur Raam Jee Raaraa Raam Japay Soukhu Paavai.
तेते सतिगुर राम जी रारा राम जपे सुखु पावै ।
In the the treta was Ram and ‘R’ of Vahiguru tells that rembering Ram will produce joy and happiness.
3 ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ : ਵਾਰ ੧ ਪਉੜੀ ੪੯ ਪੰ. ੩

ਕਲਿਜੁਗਿ ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰ ਗੋਵਿੰਦ ਗਗਾ ਗੋਵਿੰਦ ਨਾਮੁ ਅਲਾਵੈ*।
Kalijougi Naanak Gur Gobind Gagaa Gobind Naamu Alaavai.
कलिजुगि नानक गुर गोबिंद गगा गोबिंद नामु अलावै ।
In kalijug, Gobind is in the form of Nanak and ‘G’ of Vahiguru gets Govind recited.
4 ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ : ਵਾਰ ੧ ਪਉੜੀ ੪੯ ਪੰ. ੪

ਚਾਰੇ ਜਾਗੇ ਚਹੁ ਜੁਗੀ ਪੰਚਾਇਣ ਵਿਚਿ ਜਾਇ ਸਮਾਵੈ।
Chaaray Jaagay Chahu Jougee Panchaain Vichi Jaai Samaavai.
चारे जागे चहु जुगी पंचाइण विचि जाइ समावै ।
The recitations of all the four ages subsume in Panchayan i.e. in the soul of the common man.
5 ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ : ਵਾਰ ੧ ਪਉੜੀ ੪੯ ਪੰ. ੫

ਚਾਰੋ ਅਛਰ ਇਕੁ ਕਰਿ ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜਪੁ ਮੰਤ੍ਰ ਜਪਾਵੈ*।
Chaaro Achhar Iku Kari Vaahaguroo Japu Mantr Japaavai.
चारो अछर इकु करि वाहगुरू जपु मंत्र जपावै ।
When joining four letters Vahiguru is remembered,
6 ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ : ਵਾਰ ੧ ਪਉੜੀ ੪੯ ਪੰ. ੬

ਜਹਾਂ ਤੇ ਉਪਜਿਆ ਫਿਰਿ ਤਹਾਂ ਸਮਾਵੈ ॥੪੯॥੧॥
Jahaa Tay Oupajiaa Dhiri Tahaa Samaavai ॥49॥1॥
जहा ते उपजिआ फिरि तहा समावै ॥४९॥१॥
The jiv merges again in its origin.
7 ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ : ਵਾਰ ੧ ਪਉੜੀ ੪੯ ਪੰ. 

From the Sanskrit term : GuRu : 
Gu means darkness & ignorance
Ru means light & enlightenment
Guru means the One who through guidance & giving us knowledge, removes our ignorance so that we are enlightened to the truth, the wonder of the true Sanatan Dharma. The tradition of Guru is an ancient one which stretches as far as the Vedic era. Spiritual teachers known as Gurus & Acharyas were honoured as the enlightened ones, who had the gift of the revered Mother Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge & Light.
Wah - means 'wow' as in awe of the great Cosmic Divine play of the Niraakar Akaal Purakh, the Supreme Being, who cannot be put into a straight-jacket of One whose Divine energy is limited, as in the belief system of the Christians & Muslims but the One whose energies are limitless, the One who is formless & yet has the Divine power to appear before us in many forms; the one who is birthless but is the One who can take countless births in limitless forms. He is the Supreme Being Paramatma - Wahe Guru. This is the true essence of Sanatan Dharma, the philosophy & the mystical teachings of this beautiful heritage which today's Neo-Sikhs have failed to follow & ignore.

Those who will repeat this Jap Mantra ‘Waheguru’ will be merged back into the Supreme Consciousness.



20 April, 2012

Puraatan Kirtan Shabads

Sama Veda : Shabd is Brahm and "Silence" too is Brahm 
Brahm alone is vibrating everywhere.

ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਨਾਦੰ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਵੇਦੰ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਰਹਿਆ ਸਮਾਈ ॥
guramukh naadhan guramukh vaedhan guramukh rehiaa samaaee ||

The Guru's Word is the Sound-current of the Naad; the Guru's Word is the Wisdom of the Vedas; the Guru's Word is all-pervading.

ਗੁਰੁ ਈਸਰੁ ਗੁਰੁ ਗੋਰਖੁ ਬਰਮਾ ਗੁਰੁ ਪਾਰਬਤੀ ਮਾਈ ॥
gur eesar gur gorakh baramaa gur paarabathee maaee ||

The Guru is Shiva, the Guru is Vishnu and Brahma; the Guru is Paarvati and Lakhshmi.
~Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji p. 2





Above: Raga Basant - Shabad rendition in the Shastriya style

Unknown to many Neo-Sikhs of today, the entire Shri Adi Guru Granthji including the Shri Dasam Granth of Shri Guru Gobind Singhji is written & compiled according to the prescribed Ragas taken from the traditional Hindu Vedic scripture known as Sama Veda - an ancient treatise which deals with the science of musical notes, Ragas, dance and theatre. The Shabads which are all arranged in chapters in the Shri Adi Granth bear the names of the Ragas. Each of these Ragas are unique & each Shabad must be sung in the specific Raga given by the Bhatt Brahmins,who were Raagis ( classical singers ). Further, to the Raga for each Shabad or hymn of the Shri Adi Granthji, they are also set to a specific numerical notation known as Tala or rhythm. This is an ancient tradition that goes back to the Vedic era & all the 31 Ragas mentioned in the Shri Adi Granthji are taken from the Hindu scriptures.

The first of the Ragas of the Shri Adi Granthji is the Shri Raga, followed by the Moolmantra & Japji Sahib. Towards the end of the Shri Adi Granth, there is special mention of hierarchy of Ragas known as Ragamala - the rosary of Ragas. It also contains ‘Barah-maha’ – the constant longing of the soul for the eternal God expressed over a period of twelve months. The Ragamala is usually meant to be read after the Mundavani chapter & then Bhog is served as sacred food or offering. 

Nowadays, this ancient tradition is slowly disappearing from all the Gurudvaras, where most of the 'Granthis' are busy 'singing' or reading the Banis in a very loud & monotone style while seated in front of the loudspeakers. It is more about making money, fooling the masses & self importance that the 'Granthis' are busy with - it is about going to the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom. The pre-Singh Sabha tradition of singing the Banis in their relative Ragas has now more or less disappeared, when the Raga in the form of sacred Naad (sound) accompanied by the sacred Shabda ( Naam ) was sung in a divine style, enabling the devotees in the Gurudvara to reach a spiritual climax. The Raga of the Shabad is designed to set a particular mood of devotees in the Gurudvara which makes it easy for them to reach out spiritually to the Supreme Akaal Purush. 

Shabd in Sanskrit is word along with sound - the first Primordial sound is known as AUMKAR. According to the Vedas, the Shabd existed by itself in a formless state. Nothing existed before this since before its manifestation, there was no form whatsoever, nor the sun, nor the moon, nor sky nor the Earth. All manifestation is the result of Shabd & without this nothing exists. The Rishis & Sadhus describe it as Mul or the Root of all manifestations. Shabd according to these ancient ascetics is the primal cause of birth, death & dissolution & again the re-creation of the Cosmos.

Guru AmarDasji :  ''Both the creation and the dissolution are from Shabd, 
And Shabd again is the cause of re-creation.''

Guru NanakDevji : ''With the True Word, one knows the Truth, 
With the True Sound, one sings the glory of the Lord.  It can be seen without eyes,
It can be heard without ears.
 ''

Bhagat Kabir : '' All sing of the Shabd without realizing that It is Videh or the Bodiless, No tongue can describe It, but soul may contact It within.'' 

Kabirji has described the sacred Shabd or Naam as one which is free from physical existence & can be only  apprehended by the soul when it is free from bodily attachments. 
The Upanishadic sages have described Shabd as "Pranav" or that which can be heard through the Pranic vibrations, without the help of tongue, lips and palate, for It is reverberating of Itself in and out of space. In Chhandogya Upanishad, it is mentioned that Naad (heavenly music) springs from the Universal Sun (of Brahmand ) and that this secret was given by Angiras Rishi to Lord Krishna, the son of Devki.
  
Guru Amar Das tells us, in Raga Bhairon, that Bhakt Prahlad was saved by 
Shabd :
It (Shabd) has been the saving lifeline in all the ages,
Prahlad, the son of the demon-king, knew neither Gayatri nor any rituals,
He became one with God through contact with the Shabd.
In the holy Shri Gita, Lord Krishna mentions: 
Though under the sway of the senses, one feels drawn toward the Cosmic Being
  by force of the habit acquired in previous births; nay, even the seeker of enlightenment  transcends the Shabd Brahm.
The  yogi,  however,  who  diligently  takes  up  this practice,
  attains perfection in this very life with the help of latencies of many births
  and being thoroughly purged of sin, forthwith reaches the supreme goal.
In the Rig Veda and the Atharv Veda there are hymns in praise of Shabd. In Hansa Upanishad of the latter it is given that one who does japa of the Hansa Mantra, millions of times, comes to the realization of Naad. It is also stated that Naad consists of ten different types of melodies, nine of which are to be passed over, and the tenth, which resembles the sound of the thunder of distant clouds, is to be meditated upon and practiced, for It takes one to Par-Brahma.

All our Gurus as well as Sadhus & Yogis have time & again laid emphasis on Shabd & Naad. 

Guru NanakDev ji :  With stone-deaf ears thou hast lost all thy wits, 
For thou hast not got contact with the Shabd,
And by slavery to the Mind thou hast forfeited thy human birth;
Without the Master-soul, one remains blind to the Reality.
Dhun or the Sound Current is both true knowledge and true meditation
and remains indescribable all the same. 
The mind when attuned with the Sound becomes detached 
and gets engrossed, In the heart of the Light within is a delectable Sound, that makes one fully absorbed in Akaal Purukh.

These are the beautiful divine words of our Gurus & Rishis who encouraged us to utter the Naam or mantra or listen to the Naam Shabd being sung by musicians who are vocalists & trained in the Raga system. 
What is nowadays the trend is that most 'Granthis' have begun singing out of tune, Shabad kirtans which are set to Bollywood tunes or just plain non -Raga tunes which display no skill, nor take the devotee to the heights & realms of Parabrahma - where is the spiritualism gone nowadays? The Puraatan Raagis who are skilled vocalists are nowhere to be seen nor heard, but instead they have been replaced by out of tune 'Besure' groups of vocalists all screeching at the top of their voices, beating away at the tablas & fanning away at the harmoniums. With the 'noise' these Granthis create, I wonder how easy it is for any devotee to sit there & experience the Divine realms of Supreme Brahman. It has become more of a Qawwali style singing with no rules in the singing styles. No particular Raga is sung for the Shabad Kirtan, but one that resembles a Bhangra / Qawwali song. 

The tradition of Shabad Kirtans bear roots in Sanatan Dharmic traditions & the Gurus constantly surrounded themselves with experienced Raagis like the Bhatt Brahmins, who were experts at singing in the classical styles at Shri Harimandirji, Amritsar. This beautiful tradition is being destroyed by the 'Paattre' Granthis of Punjab today. 

Here is an example of the deterioration that has crept into our heritage : 


Please bring back our Raagis & the pure Shastriya Sangeet music for our Shabads & Kirtans which are so part of the Sikhi heritage.