Test summary of mythOrder Description
, The Japji 21-22, of the Guru Granth Sahib [graded: 10 marks; 10% of total grade]
read and make notes on a brief excerpt (sections 21-22), of the first hymn of the Sikh sacred scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib; this hymn is called the Japji, which Sikhs read at the beginning of each day). Here is the text:
“The Hymns of Guru Nanak” 21-22, in Selections from the Sacred Writings of the Sikhs, Tercentenary Edition, trans. Trilochan Singh et al, Revised by George S. Fraser, Introduction by S. Radhakrishnan, Foreword by Arnold Toynbee, UNESCO Collection of Representative Works: Indian Series, 40-41 (Hyderabad: Orient Longman, 2002 [1960]) Link to Library Reserves
Then, turn over notes and write a brief (maximum, 500 words) summary of this text in your own words. In summary, answer the following three questions in sections of roughly equal length (a paragraph or so):
What does the text say (how would you summarize its purpose, contents and parts)?
How might the author, Guru Nanak, make the text sound effective or convincing (can you suggest one or two literary techniques and how they work)?
Why might Nanak have chosen to compose this text? In other words, try to bracket the place of inspiration and ask yourself, as a historian: If this text were a “solution,” what might have been a real, community problem(s) that it solves?