INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

nectar-water. 233 Subsequently, all these relics – natural or manmade ‒ have been displaced
to a religious context in which they are arranged and labeled in modes to
evoke memories of the past and enduring devotional bonds with the human Gurus.
An everyday shirt that Guru Tegh Bahadur once wore is now titled “the Respected
Shirt” (Chola Sahib) and framed in a glass case as a memento. The well (Bauli Sahib) is
similarly enclosed with marble edges and its water used like Ganga-nectar (Ganga
amrit) to be ingested for purifying and curative purposes.
Altogether these objects and spaces in Nichibagh Gurdwara create a narrative
in themselves without relying on verbal discourses ‒ the “seat” of Guru Tegh Bahadur,
the Ganga water that sprung forth by his power, the shirt which he left behind
when he separated from Varanasi, and the letters he wrote to the community thereafter.
The ways in which people engage with relics also suggest that these objects are
not merely monumental representations of the past but believed to manifest an enduring
presence and power of the human Gurus. When people are entering Nichibagh
Gurdwara the minimal ritual procedure would include gestures of veneration to
the relics and the place where Guru Tegh Bahadur meditated: firstly they give offerings
and pay respect to Guru Granth Sahib seated in the centre of the gurdwara, and
then continue to tapasthan to repeat the ritual pattern in front of the relics. Upon leaving
the gurdwara visitors will receive food, blessed by the Guru-scripture, and take a
sip of the Ganga nectar from the well. The Guru’s deeds in the past are believed to
benefit and act upon followers through the relics and continue to instill attitudes of
veneration. Guru Tegh Bahadur is certainly not believed to be present in any physical
sense, but for devotees the power and effects of his deeds are available in a similar
way as three hundred and forty years ago.
PORTRAITS AND NARRATIVE PICTURING
Another way of making the past present is achieved through memorable artefacts, in
other words, manmade objects and visual renderings intentionally displaced and
exhibited for the purpose of commemorating and glorifying Sikh virtues, deeds and
dedications in history. 234 Consistent with Sikh theology the formless God cannot be
visually depicted nor invoked in any man-made art form to be worshipped, except
for the divine words mediated and recorded by the Gurus. For this reason, iconographic
representations of the divine, and iconolatry of any type has been widely
233
The granthi, for example, recounted how a man from Bombay was cured of cancer by conducting
selfless service (seva) in Nichibagh Gurdwara and drinking Ganga-water from the well
for forty days in a row. After he returned to Bombay and was medically examined he was declared
free from cancer.
234
Included in the category of “memorable artefacts” are elegant gifts that have been given to
sacred sites by devoted Sikhs in history. The Harimandir Sahib in Amritsar, for example, preserves
a set of precious gifts, such as arms, canopies, flywhisk, and jewels, which have been
presented to the shrine by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and other renowned Sikhs. These articles are
carefully wrapped and locked in a treasury, and only displayed to the public at special ritualized
occasions (Madanjit Kaur 1983: 133 ‒ 137).
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008