Abstract

Our Universe is dotted with over 100 billion galaxies, and each one contains roughly 100 billion stars. It is unclear how many planets are orbiting these stars, but it is certain that at least one of them has evolved life. In particular, there is a life form that has had the capacity and audacity to speculate about the origin of this vast universe2. Humans have been staring up into space for thousands of generations, to have a rational and coherent description for the creation and evolution of the universe. Bhagat Kabir, a saint-poet of Sri Guru Granth Sahib raises a very pertinent question in this regard; ਓਇ ਜੁ ਦੀਸਹਿ ਅੰਬਰਿ ਤਾਰੇ ॥ ਕਿਨਿ ਓਇ ਚੀਤੇ ਚੀਤਨਹਾਰੇ ॥ ੧ ॥ ਕਹੁ ਰੇ ਪੰਡਿਤ ਅੰਬਰੁ ਕਾ ਸਿਉ ਲਾਗਾ ॥ ਬੂਝੈ ਬੂਝਨਹਾਰੁ ਸਭਾਗਾ ॥ (ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ, ਸਗਗਸ, p 329) The stars which are seen in the sky , who is the painter who painted them? ||1|| Tell me, O Learned person, what is the sky attached to? Very fortunate is the person who knows this. (Gauree, Kabir Ji, SGGS, p 329) Gurbani offers an elegant explanation of the origin and creation of the universe, making it one of the greatest achievements of human intuition, intellect and spirit. It is the consequence of an insatiable curiosity, a fabulous imagination, keen observation and logical thinking. Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru, in his hymns of Jap(u), Aasa di Var, Sidh Gosht and Maru Sohilé, and Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh guru, in his hymns of Gauree Sukhmani have enunciated incredible understanding of the mystery of creation. It is fascinating to note that some of the concepts/ideas expressed in these hymns were not known to modern science until the eighteenth century. In this way, one can safely observe that the Sikh Gurus’ ideas were the forerunner of the modern scientific tradition. The ideas about the physical world (Creation), as presented in these hymns and discussed hereafter, might help us to confirm the above premise.