Healing through words 😄

When someone asks me, “What is the longest book you have ever read?” my answer isn’t a novel with hundreds of pages.

It is Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the central and eternal scripture of Sikhism.A holy Book 📚

For anyone unfamiliar with it, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is much more than a book for Sikhs. It is revered as the eternal Guru, the spiritual guide of the Sikh faith. Its verses speak about devotion, humility, equality, love, truth, compassion and the way we live our lives.

The first time I read it, I didn’t want to simply turn the pages and say that I had finished a book.

I wanted to understand.

So, I read it with the meaning of each line.

And somewhere along the way, I realised I wasn’t simply reading a scripture.

I was experiencing a journey.

There were moments when I paused after a few lines and simply sat quietly. Some words felt too deep to rush past. Some meanings made me reflect on life, relationships, ego, happiness, pain and the strange way we humans spend so much of our lives searching outside for what may already be waiting quietly within us.

It took time.

A lot of time.

But perhaps some journeys are not meant to be hurried.

Unlike a novel, I wasn’t wondering, “What happens next?”

I was often wondering, “What does this mean for me?”

And that made every line personal.

There was something beautiful about reading slowly, understanding each verse, and allowing the words to stay with me long after I had closed the book.

I cannot describe it simply as finishing the longest book I have ever read. It was as if I visited inside myself.

Because when I reached the end, I didn’t feel as though something had ended.

I felt as though something had quietly begun.

A deeper curiosity.

A moment of reflection.

A different way of looking at myself and the world around me.

Some books entertain us.

Some books teach us.

And then there are those rare books that make us pause in the middle of our busy lives… and quietly look within.

For me, reading Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji with the meaning of each line was not about reaching the last page. It was about discovering something on every page and perhaps discovering a little more of myself too.

And that is why, even though it was the longest book I have ever read, it remains one of the most beautiful journeys I have ever taken.

Quote from Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji
“There is but One God. True is His Name… He is without fear, without enmity, unborn and self-illuminated. By the Guru’s grace He is obtained.”
— Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Ang 1 🙏