Japuji Sahib

Guru Granth Sahib starts with Japuji. The meaning of Japuji stands for inspiration for recitation of God's name. This Ban! is uttered by Guru Nanak the founder of the Sikh faith. It is known as the beginning and the crux of the ideology presented by Guru Nanak. It is also known that the essence of the whole of the Ban! of Guru Granth Sahib exists in Japuji. It is credited to having been uttered as the very first Bani in the Sikh tradition. The Sikh tradition holds that after Guru Nanak's entering into Vaeen Nadee and coming into face to face with God, Japuji was the first Ban! uttered by Guru Nanak.

Japuji is the presentation of the Divine attributes before the worshipper in the pure form and is the expression of God's timeless existence and knowledge. To know the Divine existence as the eternal truth, to tread upon it's path and finally to become truth Itself is an essential message of Japuji. A truthful person who craves to know the vastness of the attributes of God and the vastness of His world, for him Japuji is a very helpful medium. To realize the Eternal Truth, a Sikh has to become truthful, for that he covers deep and difficult passages of spiritual journey and Japuji shows the way. Because Japuji teaches how to merge the individual existence into the real existence of God and how and what to become to be liked by Him.

The Sikh way of life starts with listening, reading and discussing the content of Japuji. It is almost difficult to understand the complete Sikh ideology without understanding Japuji. After recitation of God's name in the wee hours of morning the day for a Sikh starts with the recitation of Japuji. According to the Sikh code of conduct a Sikh is ·supposed to recite five Banis daily, amongst these Banis Japuji is the first and most important. In the Sikh tradition right from the time of Guru Nanak this Bani is recited every morning.