The rabāb's echo
still shapes
Sikh sacred music today

A welcoming community where the Sikh repository of sacred poetry—Sri Guru Granth Sahib (ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ)—is approached through its musical design, supported by the string instrument tradition, (displaced by the Western-originated harmonium), so learners of any background can sing with refined understanding. In this way, the revival of a living tradition meets a global classroom: human teaching at the centre.

Sikhs approach the Sri Guru Granth Sahib as more than a book: it is the living Guru in utterance—the Shabad‑Guru (Word‑Guru). The collection gathers Gurbānī (Revealed verse) authored by Guru Nānak and the succeeding Gurus, alongside selected poet saints. Most of this poetry is musically signposted—set to raga and tala—so it can be sung as intended. Forms you may meet include the shabad (generic name for song‑poem), shalok (couplet), paurī (stepped stanza, often in a vār or ballad‑ode), chhant (strophic song‑form), and asṭpadi (eight‑verse stanza). In Sikh understanding, singing and reflecting on these utterances is a direct way to sit in the Guru's presence.