Sanskrit, jnani, a term which goes back to the
ancient upanishadas and the Bhagwad Glta, where it stands for, a man
of gnosis, one who has achieved the supreme realization. He is thus
spoken of as 'one with God1 and it is this term which has been inducted
into the Sikh Scripture and the Sikh usage. It stands, originally,
for a Sikh who has achieved a mastery over the understanding of the
Sikh doctrines and has practiced these doctrines in his life to achieve
complete realization of their inner truths. One who can expound the
Sikh scripture properly is also referred to as a giani. During the
recent years the term has been considerably devalued, both literally
as well as on the political level. The Universities in the Punjab
confer the academic Degree of Gyani on any person who passes through
a cheap examination in Punjabi Language and literature, not necessarily
the Sikh scripture, and in the post-Independence era, a Sikh is contemptuously
referred to as a giani by the non-Sikhs with the twin object of denigrating
him, as well as avoiding the formal courtesy of addressing him as
a Sardar--the courtesy-title reminiscent of a period when the Sikhs
were the rulers in this part of India.
