The word Bani or Gurbani refers specifically in Sikh context to the sacred compositions of the Gurus and the holy Saints and Sufis as incorporated in the scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib. Gurbani is the revealed word. Revelation is defined as the way God discloses and communicates Himself to humanity through the enlightened soul of Guru as it is expressed by Guru Nanak:- As the lords word comes to me, O Lalo, so do I deliver it.(SGGS-722.)
Guru Arjan says:-
”I myself knew not what to speak; all I speak is what the Lord commandeth(SGGS-763.)
It is in this sense that Bani is revelation for the Sikhs. Hence being Word Divine, Bani is sacred and the object of utmost veneration. The Bani is all in the spiritual key. It is poetry of pure devotion love and compassion. It is lyrical rather than philosophical, moral rather than cerebral. It prescribes no social code, yet it is the basis of Sikh practice as well as Sikh belief. It is the source of authority, the ultimate guide to the spiritual and moral path pointed by the Gurus.