INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

During his life time he waved the canopy of the Guru’s seat on the
head of Lahina (Guru Angad) and merged his own light onto him.
Guru Nanak now transformed himself. This mystery is incomprehensible
for anybody that awe-inspiring (Nanak) accomplished a wonderful
task. He converted (his body) into a new form. 255
From a religious standpoint the image of Nanak’s “light” merging in that of Angad
signifies the transfer of spiritual power to the successor. The guruhood was conferred
on the disciple only when he was invested with the divine radiance which Nanak
brought into the world. The tradition relates that the expression of this mystical shift
of authority assumed ritual forms in the Sikh court.
It is clear from the above quoted verse that Guru Nanak is considered responsible
for both the nomination and formal installation of Guru Angad by placing a
canopy above his seat and thereby making himself a disciple to the new Guru. Following
this model it was the incumbent Sikh Guru who appointed an heir before
vacancy occurred. The nomination of a successor remained exclusively in the hands
of the reigning Guru while the formal investment ceremony could be performed by
the Guru or his representatives. From the time of the third Guru up to the sixth Guru
the formal installation was assisted by Baba Buddha, a contemporary disciple appointed
as the first granthi at Harimandir Sahib. During a standard ceremony the
Guru in office would indicate his successor by requesting him to occupy the Guru’s
seat, a low stool (manji or chawki) bedecked with a royal canopy which represented
the place of authority and teaching. To publicly affirm the election the becoming
Guru would then be offered symbols, which were similar to coronations of royalties
and aimed to demonstrate the Guru’s spiritual and political authority and simultaneously
changed the status of the disciple. 256 The Guru presented his nominee with an
offering of sacred food and placed five paisa coins and a coconut in front him. The
tradition maintains that this ritual act was performed with respect to the successor by
all the Gurus, with exception of Arjan, Guru Har Krishan and Guru Tegh Bahadur.
What ritual instruments were used for the formal investiture remains uncertain, although
a traditional account would assert that the Guru handed over two objects to
his successor: a pothi (a book or volume) with religious compositions and a seli or
woollen cord which was a Sufi insignia of renunciation. 257 Analogous to the cultural
custom of giving a turban to the male chief mourner at the death of his father to symbolize
the succession of paternal authority (dastar bandhi), the withdrawing Guru
might have tied a turban on the head of his successor. At least in theory these symbols
should be imposed by the Guru, or some of his representative, who conferred the
255
Var 1:45, translation by Jodh Singh 1998: 75. In the Guru Granth Sahib the courtly bards Satta
and Balwand similarly write that the Gurus shared the same divine light and only changed
bodies (GGS: 699).
256
See Bell 1997: 83ff.
257
The seventeenth century Valaitvali Janam-sakhi informs that Guru Angad was ceremonially
given a pothi when he ascended to the office of the Guru (Kirpal Singh 1990: 57).
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008