Max Arthur MacAuliffe
(1838 - 1913)
The Sikh Religion: its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors
Max Arthur Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion: its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1909, Six volumes bound in three
Three volumes, containing six parts as issued:
Vol. I, pp. 471, Guru Nanak, his life and writings.
Vol. II, pp. 351, The lives and hymns of the second, third and fourth Gurus.
Vol. III, pp. 444, The life of Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru, and his hymns, photograph of his shrine.
Vol. IV, pp. 421, The lives of the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth Gurus and the hymns of the ninth Guru, Teg Bahadur; photographs of the Akal Bunga and the Baba Atal tower, Amritsar.
Vol. V, pp. 351, The life of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru; his compositions; his stance against idolatry; his epistle to the Emperor Aurangzeb; a discussion of the musical measures of his hymns; photographs of the shrine at Fatagarh, Muktsar, the temple at Nander, and an Akali.
Vol. VI, pp. 453, Supplementary religious texts, including the Bhagats of the Granth Sahib, the life and hymns of Jaidev and of Namdev, Kabir, and Rav Das, a photograph of Namdev's shrine at Ghuman, and of two Sikh holy men, index.
Bound in publisher’s original navy-blue cloth, lettered and ruled in gilt on spines, with Clarendon Press device stamped in gilt on lower portion of spine panels (each)
8.5 x 6.25 in (21.8 x 16 cm) (each)
THE FIRST AUTHORISED ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE SIKH SCRIPTURES — MACAULIFFE’S SIX-VOLUME MAGNUM OPUS, OXFORD 1909
The preface opens: 'I bring from the East what is practically an unknown religion.' While, crucially, presenting the newness and distinctness of Guru Nanak and the Sikh religion, Macauliffe also made connections and drew analogies between it and Western religion and philosophy. In a lecture given in Paris, he stated that he was 'not without hope that when enlightened nations become acquainted with the merits of the Sikh religion, they will not willingly let it perish in the great abyss in which so many creeds have been engulfed.'
The Sikh community was the first to embrace Macauliffe’s translation of the Guru Granth Sahib. As early as 1897, he had begun to publish portions of his work as he progressed. In 1900, his partial translation of Sikh scripture was published as Holy Writings of Sikhs, with the assistance of Pratap Singh Giani, a Sikh scholar. In his preface, he also recognises his obligation to the Rajah of Nabha, Sir Rajinder Singh; the late Maharajah of Patiala, Rajah Ranbir Singh; the Rajah of Jind; and Sardar Ranjit Singh of Chichrauli. For example, the Rajah of Nabha "has at great expense commissioned a professional musician to transpose the thirty-one Indian rags, or musical measures, to which the hymns of the Gurus were composed into European musical notation" (preface, p. xxvi). However, it would take sixteen years from his resignation from the Civil Service until the ultimate publication of his magnum opus.
Max Arthur Macauliffe (1841-1913)
Macauliffe was born in Limerick, Ireland, and received his education at Queen's College, Galway. In 1862, he enlisted in the Indian Civil Service and was assigned to the Punjab in 1864. He was appointed deputy commissioner at Ferozpur in 1882 and divisional magistrate in the same district in 1884. In 1893, he resigned from his position in the ICS and converted to the Sikh religion, despite not assuming its external signifiers. However, he was born Protestant. He was ridiculed by his employers at the time for having "become a Sikh". He resided in Amritsar and developed a profound interest in the Sikh religion. He had initiated the study of the languages of the Guru Granth Sahib and published four articles on Sikhism in the Calcutta Review between 1875 and 1881.
Dr. Ernest Trumpp, a German missionary and scholar who had acquired knowledge of Arabic, Sanskrit, Hindi, and Sindhi, was commissioned by the India Office to translate the Granth into English. However, the partial translation, which was published in 1877, was deemed unacceptable and even offensive by a significant number of Sikhs. Trumpp had abandoned the project after seven years of frustration. With the support of Sikh scholars and other community members, Macauliffe initiated a new translation. Rajah Bikram Singh of Faridkot, Rajah Hira Singh of Nabha, Maharajah Rajinder Singh of Patiala, and Rajah Ranbir Singh of Jind, among others, provided him with financial support. He did not perceive his labours as anti-imperial, despite the fact that he perceived them as serving the political interests of the Sikhs. In a pamphlet with the significant title A lecture on the Sikh religion and its advantages to the state, he viewed the Sikhs as potential allies for the British.
Macauliffe, who was unmarried, passed away in West Kensington, London, on March 15, 1913. In his memoirs, MacAuliffe's personal attendant observed that he could be heard reciting the Sikh morning prayer, Japji Sahib, on his deathbed ten minutes prior to his passing. Macauliffe Memorial Society was established by the Sikhs of Rawalpindi to raise funds for the establishment of a library in his memory. The Sikh Educational Conference passed a vote of condolence, but the amount collected was insufficient. Sir Michael O'Dwyer, the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, was one of the individuals who subscribed and submitted a letter of support. Khalsa College, Amritsar, ultimately received the funds to establish an annual Macauliffe Memorial Medal for the most outstanding student in Sikh theology and history. Despite this, the medal is still occasionally bestowed. (Partially adapted from the Dictionary of Irish Biography).
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