INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

immediate space in front of the scriptural throne. 331 Facing Guru Granth Sahib they
will assume a formal posture of respect: they place the palms of their hands together
and put a monetary offering in the donation box with the right hand, 332 sometimes in
combination with the repetition of the divine name (Vahiguru) or a small prayer recited
internally in silence or aloud, and then perform matha tekna. Some worshippers
may even rub their forehead and nose (matha ragarna) against the ground before Guru
Granth Sahib, walk around the scripture clockwise with the right shoulder facing the
throne, and offer obedience to the scriptural seat on the backside by touching it and
passing their hands to the forehead and heart. In any case matha tekna is the first and
smallest obligatory act of reverence expected from all visitors in the Guru’s house,
whether they have arrived to present a prayer, listen to devotional music, prepare
food in the communal kitchen, or just meet and converse with friends. 333 When men
and women bring their infants to the gurdwara they often let the children lie on their
face before the scripture for a couple of seconds in a reverential salutation analogous
to the bowing. Like other ritual conducts the early practical training of matha tekna
grow into an embodied practice and habit that children and adults quite unreflectively
re-enact whenever they are attending the presence of the Guru. On daily visits
the enactment of matha tekna is usually an individual activity. Worshippers are free to
enter the gurdwara at any time during the day and act alone in front of the throne.
Only when the Sikh supplication (Ardas) is performed during the morning and evening
services, will the congregation do matha tekna in unison: while reading the last
line of the Ardas text, which pays tribute to the name of Nanak and pleas for prosperity
to the whole world, all participants will, from their respective location, at the same
time go down on their knees, and facing Guru Granth Sahib touch the floor with their
foreheads. When departing from the gurdwara the individual devotee may in a similar
fashion repeat matha tekna in front of the throne or moderately bow towards the
scripture before walking out.
The interior design of the two gurdwaras in Varanasi is well adjusted to the
daily ceremonies to Guru Granth Sahib and recitations of the scripture. Both places
have a special scriptural bedroom called sachkhand, literally “the realm of truth”,
which is furnished with a large four-poster bed with a canopy on top and electrical
fans to cool the air in the hot summer season. All scriptures that are not enthroned for
readings are kept in these beds, lying on white cushions covered with bedclothes
suitable to the season. 334 The bedroom may also hold attributes of the human Sikh
331
It is quite common to see people lifting the doormat just outside the gurdwara entrance to
collect the dust under it and take it to their eyes as a blessing.
332
As in many other cultures the right hand is in general considered the pure and auspicious
hand, with which one presents offerings and eat, in contrast to the left hand, which is used for
toilet and other contaminating activities.
333
On one occasion, when a drunken man roamed around in the gurdwara, instead of throwing
the man out the granthi grabbed hold of the back of his neck and forced him to bow in front of
the scripture, and then left the drunkard alone.
334
Similar to the throne the clothes in the bedroom are changed every second day in daytime.
164
Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008