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SAKHI, VYAKHYA AND THE SELF: SOME REFLECTIONS ON 'CHAUBOLEMAHLA 5'Prabhsharanbir Singh

Online Publication Date: 01 December 2008

To cite this Article Singh, Prabhsharanbir(2008)'SAKHI, VYAKHYA AND THE SELF: SOME REFLECTIONS ON 'CHAUBOLE MAHLA5'',Sikh Formations,4:2,143 — 155

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Prabhsharanbir Singh

SAKHI, VYAKHYA AND THE SELF:

SOME REFLECTIONS ON ‘CHAUBOLE

MAHLA 5’

This essay probes the interplay between gurbani, sakhi and the human self. It attempts toshow that a study of textual nuances (in this case the meaning of the word Chaubole) cansometimes be helpful in detheorizing varied conceptualizations of language, subjectivityand love in relation to the human body-self. While many of the prevalent methodologicaltechniques in scriptural analysis are informed by the culture of modernity and are foundedon supposedly universal notions of language as a tool of rational communication, I arguethat this need not always be the case. The language of the Guru Granth Sahib, forexample, stirs multiple effects in the human subject that urge us to tread a path of spirituallove. Sakhis are seen here not as mere myth, which conveys meaning through metaphor, butas vehicles that deliver the force of spiritual teachings right up to the door of the reader’ssubjectivity. This force empowers the subject’s spiritual quest and it exists in the form of acharged language that retains the capability of transforming the self. This is one reasonwhy I have chosen to write this essay in a language other than English. Interpretive frame-works imposed by the global spread of English through several centuries of colonialism canonly be counteracted by resurrecting the particularities of oppressed, silenced and muti-lated languages.

The essay seeks to challenge two major strands of interpretation of Sikh Scripture:sampardai (traditional) and adhunik (modern), through an intimate reading of Chau-bole, a bani by Guru Arjun, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs. My basic postulate is thatthe singular nature of the verses of the Guru Granth Sahib demands a differentmethod of interpretation, which is strictly speaking not a method, but rather anorientation of one’s own self towards gurbani in order to let it become inhabitedby the transformative powers of scriptural verse. The word Chaubole is used as thetitle of the bani in such a way that its exact meaning remains indeterminate. Chaubolais the name of a Chhand (a particular type of poetic composition). Although it hasaround seven different versions, the Chaubole bani does not match with any of theversions of Chaubola Chhand. Instead, it is constructed according to an altogetherdifferent form of poetic composition called Dohra. This leads one to question why

ISSN 1744-8727 (print)/ISSN 1744-8735 (online)/08/020143-13

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DOI: 10.1080/17448720802538790

Sikh Formations, Vol. 4, No. 2, December 2008, pp. 143–155

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the title of this bani is Chaubole, since there does not seem to be any apparent reasonto do so.

Sampardai interpretation connects the origin of this bani with a particularinstance in the life of Guru Arjun Dev Ji, specifically a dialogue that took placebetween four persons – Samman, Musan, Jamal and Patang. On the other hand, amodern interpreter, Prof. Sahib Singh rejects this story and insists that the title ischosen because this bani is composed in Chaubola Chhand. However, Sahib Singhfails to notice that the applied Chhand in this bani is not Chaubola but Dohra. Ihave tried to revive an altogether different meaning of the term Chaubola,wherein it means ‘to speak with a lover’s enthusiasm’ and seems to be more inaccordance with the spirit of this bani.

My examination of Sahib Singh’s motivation behind such an interpretation ledme to a critique of the modernist/orientalist methods of studying scripture thathe has applied in his works. The modernist stance, which has its roots in imperialistdiscourse, borrows its methodology from the natural sciences and regards scriptureas an object of study that can be analyzed by a Cartesian subject. This modernist/colonialist method of interpretation has also been functional in neutralizing thepolitical potential contained within the Sikh scripture. This approach mistakenlytakes the process of translation as being transparent and tries to adjust every languagein its supposedly universal theoretical frameworks.

Taking a lead from Jacques Derrida’s statement (2002) that in order to fight thecolonial principle one has to treat every language differently, I have endeavored tofind an alternative way to comprehend Sikh scripture – one that gives credence tothe transformative aspect of the verses of Guru Granth Sahib which repeatedly callthe subject to open itself up to experience a union with a lover, a theme that ispresent in Chaubole as well. Such a reading requires a subject that is fluid, openand always ready to be transformed, whereas modernist reading presupposes astatic and isolated subject.

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S A K H I , V Y A K H Y A A N D T H E S E L F 1 4 5


Notes

1

2 Encyclopedia of Sikhism‘PHUNHE, plural of phunha, a word derived from the Sanskrit punha meaning‘again’, is the name of a poetic metre in which a particular term or phraseoccurs repeatedly in each chhand or may be in each verse of a poem; in theGuru Granth Sahib it is the title of a composition comprising twenty-three qua-trains, following the Gatha verses. The term repeated in Guru Arjan’s Phunhe isHarihan which is also said to be another name of the Phunha poetic measure.According to a tradition, Harihan was also the name of Guru Arjan’s Sister-in-law (wife’s sister). These verses were, it is said, addressed by the Guru to heras she wanted, in compliance with a Punjabi custom, to hear some verses fromthe bridegroom (Guru Arjan) at the time of his marriage. Modern exegetes inter-pret the term to signify he hari (O Hari, i.e. O God)’.

3

References

Derrida, Jacques. 2002. Who’s afraid of philosophy? Right to philosophy I. Trans. Jan Plug.Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Heidegger, Martin. 1959. An introduction to metaphysics. Trans. Palph Manheim. NewHaven: Yale University Press.

Nabha, Bhai Kahan Singh. 1998. Mahan kosh. Delhi: National Book Shop.



Padam, Piara Singh. 1987. Guru Granth Sanket Kosh. Patiala: Punjabi University.Sampardai, Nirmala. Faridkot Wala Teeka. http://www.ik13.com/faridkot_wala_

teeka.htm.Singh, Bhai Vir. 2003. Sri Guru Granth Sahib Kosh. Amritsar: Singh Brothers.Singh, Giani Gian. 1999. Twarikh Guru Khalsa. Patiala: Language Department Punjab.Singh, Harbans. 1997. The encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Vol. III. Patiala: Punjabi University.Singh, Pashaura. 2000. The guru Granth Sahib: Canon, meaning and authority. New Delhi:

Oxford University Press.——— 2006. Life and work of Guru Arjan. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.Singh, Prof. Sahib. 1971. Sri Guru Granth Sahib Darpan. 10 Vols. Jalandhar: Raj.Singh, Sant Kirpal. 1995. Sampardai Teeka. Amritsar: Bhai Chatar Singh Jeevan Singh.

Prabhsharanbir Singh. [email: [email protected]].



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