• • • Jap ji is a prayer at the beginning of the, considered the holy scripture of Sikhs. It was composed by, the first Guru in the line of ten Sikh Gurus. Jap ji begins with and is followed by 38 pauris (stanzas) and ends with a final at the end of this composition. Jap ji is believed to be the first composition of Guru Nanak, and is now considered the comprehensive essence of Sikh faith. It is regarded amongst the most important or 'set of verses' by the Sikhs, as it is the first Bani in. Notable is Nanak's discourse on 'what is true worship' and what is the nature of God'.
In Jap ji it is stated that God is indescribable; the only true form of worship is worship of Nam (inner Word, Sound, Power), realization of God, and to remain always in the Holy Will of that loving God, accomplished with the grace of the True Guru. Related to Jap ji is the Jaapu Sahib (::ਜਾਪੁ), the latter is found at the start of and was composed. Japji is chanted in the Sikh tradition at the initiation ceremony and during the ceremony.
Contents • • • • • Meaning of Jap(u) [ ] Following are some accepted meanings of Jap: • A conventional meaning for Jap(u) is to recite, to repeat, or to chant. • Jap also means to understand. Gurbani cites Aisa Giaan Japo Man Mere, Hovo Chakar Sache Kere, where the word Jap means to understand wisdom. Content [ ] The Japji Sahib opens with hymn that 'one cannot clean the mind just by cleaning the body, by silence alone one cannot find peace, by food alone one cannot satisfy one's hunger, to be purified one must abide in love of the divine'. Hymn 2 asserts that by God's command the ups and downs in life happen, it is He who causes suffering and happiness, it is He whose command brings release from rebirth, and it is His command by which one lives in perpetual cycles of rebirth from. With good in past life and His grace is the gate of mukti (liberation) is found; in Him is everything, states Hymn 4.