Bhagat Jaswant Singh Ji (June 1936 to March 2025)

Bhai Jaswant Singh Ji, known reverently as Bhagat Ji, was a Sikh scholar born in June 1936 who devoted more than 60 years to the study, teaching, and preservation of Gurbani. His life's focus was Shudh Ucharan, the correct pronunciation of Gurbani, and Santhiya, the discipline through which that pronunciation is taught. He completed his life journey in March 2025.

Spiritual Training

Bhagat Ji joined the Damdami Taksal in 1961 and studied for over eight years under Sant Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji Bhindranwale, the twelfth leader of the institution. It was Sant Gurbachan Singh Ji who affectionately gave him the name Bhagat, a title that stayed with him for the rest of his life. He later lived with Sant Kartar Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale and became one of the era's principal Santhiya teachers.

Major Contributions

• Katha recordings. Bhagat Ji took on the difficult work of recording scriptural discourses, carrying heavy Grundig recorders across regions that lacked reliable electricity, often at personal risk, so that these teachings would be preserved.
• The Steek project. In 1967, Sant Gurbachan Singh Ji blessed a team of five scholars, Bhagat Ji among them, with the mission of composing detailed meanings of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Bhagat Ji was the last surviving member of that team and carried the work forward until he completed his life journey. After his passing, Baba Jawahar Singh, a long time companion and student of Bhagat Ji, is resuming the translation seva, continuing the Steek project in his teacher's footsteps.
• Manuscript correction. More than three decades ago, at the request of the SGPC, he was among the pioneering scholars who corrected the mangals, the introductory headings of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, helping to preserve the authentic text.
• Recordings and publications. He produced what is recognised as the first ever correct pronunciation recording of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, and authored ten texts, eight of which have audiobooks and five of which have videobooks. His teachings reach seekers today through an app, a website, YouTube, and Instagram.

Legacy

Many respected Sikh scholars and preachers were students of Bhagat Ji. His lifelong service to Shudh Ucharan continues to guide seekers in pronouncing Gurbani with care and accuracy rather than reading it as casual Punjabi. Having completed his life journey in March 2025, Bhagat Ji leaves behind his recordings, his writings, and his students to carry the tradition forward. Among them, Baba Jawahar Singh, his long time companion and student, is taking up the translation seva of the Steek project, ensuring that the mission entrusted by Sant Gurbachan Singh Ji in 1967 lives on.

About Gurbani Tutor

Gurbani Tutor is primarily an education app, created with a simple mission to make Shudh Gurbani Santhiya accessible to everyone. It is focused on learning, understanding, and connecting with Gurbani.

Whether you are taking your first steps in learning Gurmukhi or seeking to refine your pronunciation and understanding, Gurbani Tutor provides a structured and welcoming path for learners of all levels.

Our lessons focus on correct Ucharan (pronunciation), reading fluency, Gurbani vocabulary, Nitnem, and deeper understanding of the teachings contained within Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. We are inspired by the rich Santhiya tradition and the teachings of respected scholars and educators who dedicated their lives to preserving the purity of Gurbani.

What's New

Recent updates across iPhone and Read Gurbani:

• Gurmukhi typeface picker. Switch between GuruGranthUni (the new default) and Noto Sans Gurmukhi anytime. On the web, find the toggle in the Read Gurbani toolbar. On iPhone, open About Us → Gurbani Typeface. The other face is used as an automatic fallback for any glyph the chosen font doesn't cover.
• More Amrit Banis. 118 additional banis across 10 categories: Beant Bani (Dukh Bhanjani Sahib, Karhalay, Pahray, Salok Sahaskriti, Sukhmana Sahib, etc.), Bhagat Bani, the full 22 Vaaran cycle, Beant Dasam Bani (Zafarnama, 33 Svaiye, Khalsa Mehima, Bara Maha), Panj Granthi, Das Granthi, Ardas, Astotar, Kavach, and Gurbani Pothi.
• Bhai Gurdas Sahib Ji Vaaran & Bhai Nand Lal Sahib Ji. Both auxiliary granths are bundled with the app and live in the Read Gurbani granth picker on the website. Together that's 13,525 more verses with English steeks.
• Sri Dasam Granth English steeks. 34,784 verses in Sri Guru Dasam Granth Sahib Ji now carry SSK English translation, refreshed from the gursevakdb project.
• Cross-Granth search. The iPhone search tab now indexes Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Sri Guru Dasam Granth Sahib Ji, Bhai Gurdas Sahib Ji, and Bhai Nand Lal Sahib Ji in one place.
• Sehaj Paath audio improvements. The Read Gurbani player now has a draggable scrubber with current/total time, an improved Auto-advance toggle that resumes the next Ang cleanly, and prev/next Ang movers at both the top and bottom of the page.
• Multiple Punjabi steeks per line. Both the iPhone readers (SGGS, Sri Dasam Guru Granth Sahib Ji, and every Nitnem bani) and the website's Read Gurbani page now offer two new toggles: Punjabi Steek (Prof Sahib Singh for SGGS-derived banis, Das Granthi for Dasam-derived banis) and Classical Steek 1 (Faridkot Wala Teeka) for SGGS-derived banis. Each one renders inline beneath the Gurbani line when a match exists.
• iCloud sync for everything Sangat care about. Notes, Favourites, and now reader settings (dark mode, font sizes, steek toggles, daily reminders, search defaults) all follow you to a new device or survive a fresh install. Notes + Favourites also share in bulk to Apple Notes, Mail, Messages, or Files from the share button in each list.
• Resume where you left off. The SGGS and Sri Dasam readers remember the line you were last reading, so re-opening Sri Mukhvak drops you straight back to the same spot instead of the top of the Ang. Synced across devices via iCloud.
• Bani-to-bani flow on the web. The Banis directory reader now has Prev / Next bani buttons at the top and bottom, a Back-to-top button on long banis like Sri Sukhmani Sahib, and your filter toggle choices persist across banis and reloads so you don't have to set them again every time.
• Daily reminder toggle. About Us → Daily Reminders flips the evening Nitnem reminder and the gentle missed-day nudges on or off. On by default; off any time without affecting your saved progress.
• Quiz pools expanded. Four groupings: Daily Quiz (same 10 questions for Sangat worldwide), Favourited Words, Nitnem Bani Quizzes (now strictly scoped to lines within each bani, with no leakage from shared Angs), and Random Shabads from SGGS (fair-play random lines from anywhere in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji).
• Search default updated. The search default match mode is now Anywhere across both the iPhone app and the website, so consonant-skeleton queries land lines starting from any word in the line.
• Hukamnama picker (iPhone). Tap Hukamnama on Home and pick Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji or Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji. The reader opens on a random ang in a temporary session so it doesn't disturb the ang you were already studying. First time? Start from the bottom shabad (or the first complete shabad you come across as you scroll up), the same etiquette used when receiving Hukam in person.
• Extra Nitnem from the Amrit Bani Gutka (iPhone). Open the Nitnem checklist → Add Banis → Browse Amrit Bani Gutka to pick from 118 banis across 10 categories. Added banis show up on the Nitnem ring (so 7 + 1 reads as 8 of 8 today) and contribute to your streak going forward, without retroactively breaking past days.
• Abhiyas inline Undo (iPhone). Every Abhiyas Log row has an inline Undo button so you can drop the last count without opening the counter sheet. The Abhiyas Challenge counter card adds an Undo Last button too, and Reset Progress / Delete Challenge are tucked behind the ellipsis menu in the top-right with confirmation prompts so they're hard to tap by accident.
• Game stats system (iPhone). Every game now tracks your Best Score and a Daily Streak flame, with an optional speed bonus. Hitting 100, 500, 1,000, or 5,000 lifetime correct answers in any game brings up a Milestone Shabad card as a small reward.
• More archival Literature (iPhone). Resources now points to additional treasured Gurmat reads from archive.org: Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji (Braham Dev Ji and Mehron steeks), Tarna Dal Nitnem Gutka, Dussehra Mahatam Pothi, Gurmukh Darshan by Giani Kirpal Singh Ji, the Taksali Steek Pehli Pothi (Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji) by Sant Gurbachan Singh Ji Bhindranwale, Gurmukh Parkash by Sant Gurbachan Singh Ji, and Sampooran Sarab Loh Granth.

Games

Games for kids and Sangat to make Brahamvidya learning fun and easy, organized by skill level. Multiple-choice quizzes, a memory match game, and more, all in the Games hub. The tap-to-hear Gurmukhi Letters and Muharni sound boards now live under Learn.

• Best Score, Streaks, and Milestone Shabads. Every game now tracks your Best Score and a Daily Streak flame, with an optional speed bonus you can toggle on or off when you want pure accuracy. Cross 100, 500, 1,000, or 5,000 lifetime correct answers in any game and a Milestone Shabad card appears as a small reward from Nitnem.
• Beginner. Name the Letter, Letter Quiz, and Muharni Quiz.
• Intermediate. First Letter Match, Memory Match (with a timer to beat), Akhar Sound Race, and Gurbani Scrabble.
• Advanced. Tukh Completion (fill in the blank, or pick the odd-one-out for Jaap Sahib lines, with a per-bani source drill-down), Bani Identifier, Sentence Unscramble, Punctuation Master, and Shabad Kavach (spell a shabad to fire the cannon at the falling vices).
• Pothi quizzes. Test yourself after reading with the Balupdesh Quiz and the new Character Pothi quiz (three levels, in Punjabi and English). The answer options are shuffled each time, so the correct one is never in the same spot.

What's Coming

Sangat-requested features being built next:

• Storytelling. A new section for short AI-illustrated Sakhian and curated YouTube videos on Gurmat history, drawn from trusted Sangat sources.
• More games. A Sangat-suggested Sakhi Quiz and a Bani Order game. (The Muharni Quiz and Shabad Kavach are now live in the Games hub.)

Gurbani Vocabulary, on every device

The Gurbani Vocabulary builder is the shared backbone of Gurbani Tutor across iPhone and web. The same curated word list, the same arth, the same Ang references. From it we build the Gurbani Quiz in both places, with bani-by-bani pools (Sri Japji Sahib, Sri Jaap Sahib, Sri Tav Prasaad Savaiye, Sri Chaupai Sahib, Sri Anand Sahib, Sri Rehrass Sahib, Sri Kirtan Sohila Sahib, plus Sri Sukhmani Sahib Ji) drawn from the verified lines of each bani.

On iPhone, the same vocabulary lets you star words, pin Gurbani lines for review, scribe notes on any verse, and watch your daily Nitnem, Simran, and Abhiyas progress in three concentric rings. The quiz tracks your best streak across sessions.

Also Recommended

For a deeper, complementary learning experience, please also download the Learn Shudh Gurbani app by Gursevak.com.

With Gratitude

We are deeply thankful to the following Singhs for their invaluable contributions in creating, refining, and updating the Gurbani database that powers this app:

• Bhai Santokh Singh (Bhai Sukhdeep Singh)
• Bhai Randip Singh
• Bhai Jagneet Singh
• Bhai Gursevak Dot Com Singh
• Bhai Gurjot Singh
• Bhai Irvanjit Singh
• Bhai Yadevinder Singh (Surrey BC)
• Bhai Jaiinder Singh (Surrey BC)
• Bibi Satbir Kaur
• Bhai Harloveleen Singh

And the beant Gursevaks who did, and are doing, loving seva. Your contributions, big and small, make this resource possible.

Feedback

Your suggestions and corrections help us improve. We would love to hear from you.

Also Visit

Gursevak.com is a companion website by the same Sangat that records the Nitnem audio you hear in the readers.

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