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Khoj Gurbani (www.khojgurbani.org) is a platform to study the Guru Granth Sahib. Each week this platform will present a section of the Guru Granth Sahib for worldwide study and discussion. Video, audio and written responses to the Shabad or the section would be solicited and crowdsourced. This exercise would allow eminent intellectuals and laypersons alike […]

Khoj Gurbani (www.khojgurbani.org) is a platform to study the Guru Granth Sahib. Each week this platform will present a section of the Guru Granth Sahib for worldwide study and discussion. Video, audio and written responses to the Shabad or the section would be solicited and crowdsourced. This exercise would allow eminent intellectuals and laypersons alike to engage with one another across different mediums and languages, all enabled on an online platform. A rotating Editorial Board of Sewadars would highlight the best responses, while allowing all voices to be heard. This discussion would culminate into the writing of commentaries followed by translations of the same Shabad into modern idiomatic English.

KHOJ GURBANI ​has a Vision –

“To Foster a culture in which Sikhs engage with a serious study of the Guru Granth Sahib using the latest online tools and pedagogy.”​

The need to create the same kind of excitement for the study of the Guru Granth Sahib and engage all Sikhs to participate this online platform will make it possible to study the Guru Granth Sahib, discover its deeper meanings through discussion, and finally arrive at a new translation and a commentary for the new millennium.

Online Platform and Its Features –

Successful mastery of the deeper understanding of Gurbani requires access to correct pronunciation, meaning and reflection on the Guru’s word.  The platform will take this pedagogical requirement and furnish proper tools to achieve new insights into Gurbani.

  • Pronunciation: The online platform will facilitate reading from the original text of the Guru Granth Sahib with phonetic pronunciation (Santhia) established by the long-standing Sikh tradition.
  • Dictionary: In addition, it would provide the multi-layered meaning of every word using existing and new dictionaries that will be developed.  Hovering over a word would provide its meaning in English, along with grammatical forms of the word established by Gurbani grammar.
  • Discussion Section: A discussion forum in which the nuances of each word, sentence and the entire Shabad will be discussed before a commentary is attempted.
  • Commentary Section: Insights from the discussion—both online and offline—would culminate into the joint writing of a commentary on the Shabad.  The commentary will be added to the commentary section corresponding to the Shabad.
  • Translation Section: Once the finer meanings of a Shabad have been discussed and a detailed commentary is in place (much like a Wikipedia article), one or more translations for each line of the Shabad will be added with the aim to create a fresh translation.
  • Teeka Sections: Sections featuring existing exegesis in Panjabi and English translations will be made available to enhance the aforementioned processes.

Get a hands on firsthand experience here –  http://goo.gl/A36WgT. Let us know of your reviews right here in the comment box below!

~ Deeksha Singh
~ New Delhi, 7th Jan ’14