INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

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Amritdhari Sikhs. 352 The major part of the respondents had gone through the ceremony in the local gurdwaras of Varanasi where the initiation had been arranged as a special program in connection with the festival Vaisakhi and the anniversary celebrating the birthday of Guru Gobind Singh. Only four interlocutors alleged they had traveled to other places, such as Patna Sahib or Harimandir Sahib at Amritsar, to go through the ceremony. As suggested by the data provided in the interviews, the Khalsa ceremony was organized sporadically in Varanasi during the 1970s and 1980s to become annual events during the 1990s. 353 On all of these occasions the ceremony was administered by saintly persons invited from Delhi, Punjab or the nearby Patna Sahib. 354 Two Amritdhari Sikhs who were interviewed had undergone the ceremony more than thirty years back, while the majority took initiation during the 1990s and had followed the normative code of conduct all between three to eight years. The data suggests an accelerating trend of adopting an Amritdhari identity, which may be a result of propaganda campaigns carried out in Varanasi districts and elsewhere at peaceful times subsequent to the political conflicts in the 1980s. Looking at the ways in which local Sikhs are reasoning about past or future adoptions of an Amritdhari identity, the decision to undergo the baptism seems to be exclusively motivated by strong religious convictions. Many said they were inspired by the devotion expressed in acts and speeches of significant people ‒ a pious cousin or friend, a saintly elder, or a group of pious Sikhs at a gurdwara. After witnessing the commitment of others they strongly felt an inner desire to go on the religious path. The Khalsa ceremony and ideals evoked various meanings depending upon their social backgrounds and the ways in which they chose to underline and interpret the norm. In general terms, the Khande di pahul did not imply a change of religious identity for individuals born into Sikh families ‒ they were regarded as Sikhs both prior and subsequent to the initiation. For these people taking amrit was more about complying with the Guru’s order and to refine an already existing religious identity to be internally oriented towards the Guru and God. For low caste Hindus converting to the Sikh religion, on the other hand, the Khalsa ceremony was seen as an opportunity to elevate their social status and signified a formal change of religious and social identity, even if they maintained customs of origin beside the new Khalsa life. 352 The statistic seems to display a rather high percentage of Amritdhari Sikhs and does not represent the Sikh community in Varanasi at large. The investigation was limited to a small group of community members, judged as active in gurdwara activities and selected for interviews. 353 According to the interviews, the Khande di pahul ceremony was arranged on at least two occasions in the 1970s (Nichibagh Gurdwara in 1971 and Gurubagh Gurdwara in 1975). One interlocutor said the initiation was performed in Varanasi in 1989. During the 1990s there was at least four occasions on which local Sikhs took amrit (1992, 1994, 1997 and 1998). 354 Whether the organizer of the Khande di pahul ceremony is a musician (ragi) or reciter (granthi) by profession he will in this context go by the honorific term “sant” to indicate his spiritual progression. 180 Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008
To illustrate the significances which local Sikhs may attach to the Khalsa ceremony and identity, I will here quote six responses of interlocutors relating their personal interpretations: 1. A young woman If you don’t take amrit you are not a complete Sikh of the Guru. You have to take amrit to become a complete Sikh. 2. A young man Taking amrit is like adopting a discipline. If you are eating meat and drinking alcohol, you make a plan to quit these things. After taking amrit you totally stop. Taking amrit is not a miracle, it takes time to get used to the discipline, after one or two years you start to see the effect of it. 3. A middle-aged woman It is important to be a Sikh of the Guru. Being Amritdhari you have to follow the daily discipline (nitnem), get up early in the morning and do recitations of five hymns (panj banian ka path) and in the evening recite Rahiras Sahib and Kirtan Sohila. Every Amritdhari has to do this. If you can not read then you should at least listen to it. We have to wear dagger (kirpan), bracelet (kara), shorts (kacchera), comb (kanga) and uncut hair (kesh). We have to always cover the hair, not keep it open. We cannot take food that has been tasted by other people, only food prepared by other Amritdharis. I can eat only with those who have taken amrit, not with others. In my family all has taken amrit. 4. A middle-aged man This is a gift of the Guru. Every Sikh has to take amrit and follow the Guru’s order. They will become complete (pakka) Sikhs. Others who do not follow the Gurus’ order, they will go according to their own will and be incomplete (adhura). 5. An elderly man If you don’t take amrit you cannot be a perfect Sikh. After taking amrit you become a Sikh of Guru Gobind Singh ji who will be your father from that day. Mata ji, his wife, will be the mother of all Sikhs who have taken amrit. A Sikh who has taken amrit has to do recitations of five hymns [panj banian ka path] every day and that will bring about a change in him. He will get up before four in the morning to recite the name of God, Vahiguru, Vahiguru, Vahiguru... 181 Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008
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Kristina Myrvold INSIDE THE GURU’
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Kristina Myrvold INSIDE THE GURU’
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Published on www.anpere.net in May
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PREFACE My research on the Sikhs in
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Singh Mann. He has provided me much
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CONTENTS PREFACE CONTENTS LIST OF F
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3. FROM MANTRAS TO UNBROKEN READING
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Seeking Divine Assistance 426 The H
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L I S T O F F IGURES 1. Sikh popula
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INTRODUCTION When I first arrived a
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on Sikh conceptualizations and inte
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and suffer from physical or mental
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language and society. 10 In respons
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should focus on the culture-specifi
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At the same time an oral transmissi
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take up a great deal of space. The
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compositions for those who lived an
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debates, Douglas (1970) observed th
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itual theorists in recent decades h
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Humphrey & Laidlaw’s claim to pre
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their reasons and motives for engag
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ety. 75 Instead I made the study ce
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had witnessed and confirmed that I
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a method, which implies patience, h
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division which grants women an acti
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O N E THE SIKHS IN VARANASI IN SEA
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the life and deeds of Guru Nanak. T
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ies and how these processes are ins
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particular ethnic background. The s
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appeared before Guru Tegh Bahadur w
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NANAK-PANTHIS AND PUNJABI SINGHS In
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who were “wholly of a worldly and
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litical actions would creep into th
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POST-PARTITION In the Census report
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to move to the house of their husba
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taught through individual reading p
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The historical presence of Punjabi
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more inclined towards ritual worshi
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propagate the Sikh religion. For Ba
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The Khalsa ceremony itself is pregn
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sify their religion as a synthesis
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vented Jhulelal as the prime God of
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HISTORY OF THE GURDWARA COMMITTEE A
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venerated family members, who natur
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the city testify that Sabharwal was
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near the airport in the outskirts o
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thorities consequently shut up the
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campus. This changed drastically wi
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Another popular non-profit organiza
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micro-discursive accomplishment tha
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identity to maintain a separate tra
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The Valaitvali Janam-sakhi carries
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events are plotted according to a m
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Gurus. Other Nirmala establishments
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of the story. This is accomplished
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Ram pursued this knowledge from the
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The three pandits are also attribut
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transformation of those in the soci
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assistance. It held a small room ar
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commemoration day of Guru Tegh Baha
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nectar-water. 233 Subsequently, all
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often epitomize key persons and mom
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Guru Gobind Singh meditates in the
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living moment during which examples
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T W O INSIDE THE GURU’S GATE CON
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don’t have a guru there will be d
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speaking of interaction contexts th
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Nanak perceived himself as a messen
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K: So were the Sikh Gurus of divine
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irth in the form of Guru Nanak Dev
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During his life time he waved the c
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“Nanak says” within individual
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answers are indicative of the exten
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Page 149 and 150: IMPLICATIONS OF SCRIPTURAL SUCCESSI
Page 151 and 152: shown that cosmologies and systems
Page 153 and 154: With the shift of authority, the sa
Page 155 and 156: divine messages and enjoy the same
Page 157 and 158: Local Sikhs will say that the Guru
Page 159 and 160: PERSONIFYING A TEXT For students of
Page 161 and 162: oth persons and inanimate “things
Page 163 and 164: they also construct and maintain so
Page 165 and 166: ciprocity, either for purely devoti
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Page 169 and 170: A JURIDICAL PERSON Perhaps the most
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Page 173 and 174: large number of sites and buildings
Page 175 and 176: or on the roof terrace. One family
Page 177 and 178: gurdwara, or when they visit Sikh p
Page 179 and 180: said that people pay respect to Nis
Page 181 and 182: Nishan sahib in the courtyard, and
Page 183 and 184: Gurus and weapons that have belonge
Page 185 and 186: people”. To set up a place at whi
Page 187 and 188: emnizing Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind
Page 189 and 190: scriptures at their houses may visi
Page 191 and 192: ply the audience with an expositive
Page 193 and 194: ized undertakings, such as collecti
Page 195 and 196: edroom, between which the scripture
Page 197: ple in the ordinary social structur
Page 201 and 202: mon identity in the egalitarian com
Page 203 and 204: the time of our conversations and c
Page 205 and 206: MEDIATORS OF GURBANI In Varanasi th
Page 207 and 208: to neighboring congregations. The r
Page 209 and 210: GRACED GUIDES Whereas the above-men
Page 211 and 212: audiocassettes and distributed worl
Page 213 and 214: The performers I interviewed had ga
Page 215 and 216: for an aspiring granthi, Bhai Jiopa
Page 217 and 218: tation practices, which from a reli
Page 219 and 220: ing. He should know the full Ardas
Page 221 and 222: lieved to make his performances mor
Page 223 and 224: pages is eternal and will never be
Page 225 and 226: were hard to read and required that
Page 227 and 228: When SGPC released the first one-vo
Page 229 and 230: ture is thus conceived as a Guru to
Page 231 and 232: prior to the physical touching of b
Page 233 and 234: Sangat cleaning the road Panj Py
Page 235 and 236: order to keep the route pure in hon
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Page 241 and 242: establishes new bonds between the G
Page 243 and 244: the ashes in large bedecked urns an
Page 245 and 246: tion conducted the cremation ceremo
Page 247 and 248: congregate in the scriptural hospic
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Granth Sahib has its own life-cycle
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T H R E E FROM MANTRAS TO UNBROKEN
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ogy has made it possible to mass-pr
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The ultimate learning of gurbani is
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social life and mind. As such, reci
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night, which marks the break of a n
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the hair is veiled and the feet are
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ought to an end by reading Kirtan S
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MEMORIZED HYMNS (Number of informan
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Looking at the ways in which Amritd
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etween human and God, either to see
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India, the notion of chilla denotes
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able to complete and make a promise
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ecited after the Guru Granth Sahib
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(Akhand path), which is to be perfo
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RECITING THE GURU GRANTH SAHIB Sinc
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The Sikhs have developed various sy
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work in Varanasi I quickly lost cou
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formance has been located to the do
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of the scripture in one hour, but t
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Hukam and render the verse twice be
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professional reciters who read in r
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of an Akhand path performed after t
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cal savour of the divine that is be
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(path), music (kirtan) and distribu
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The two types of nectars have power
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The Guru’s wife added sugar becau
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water. An elderly Amritdhari woman,
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the musical components of kirtan sh
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and genuine. Preserving the origina
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standings and experiences of gurban
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DAILY SERVICES In a gurdwara there
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Whichever of these ragas they selec
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mind and affects the audience’s p
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verses and the fortieth verse of th
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to understand. Because of the scrip
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anecdotes with quoted hymns. 529 On
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moral point or a religious idea in
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discussions in the congregation and
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and sangat-pangat - the holy congre
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- “This will happen. I have decid
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Bhai Gurdas (1551-1636), the term V
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liable to spirit possession and oth
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devotional activities. The young ma
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the name. The musician may lead the
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Simran sadhna on cassette In additi
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modern interpretations of the Sikh
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Guru Gobind Singh when he formed th
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ATTENTIVE BODY POSTURE The most dis
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Thy command. Thine condition and ex
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all the desires and tasks are accom
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easons and motives. In the textual
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The rendering of Ardas thus stands
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God. Seva has power to cultivate hu
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of the divine name, to emphasize th
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heavy mud. When Sikhs became aware
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Although the perfect devotee should
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eing presented as offerings to the
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F O U R PRACTICES IN TIMES OF ORDE
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following descriptive account on Si
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pregnancy. 590 When a newly wed cou
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themes of a written gurbani hymn de
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ery, unless she falls ill or for so
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It is noteworthy that the amrit giv
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while uttering the name of God (Vah
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identify the bearer’s geographica
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as to how to wash, dry and comb the
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code of conduct. As he said, all ha
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When a Sikh couple and good friends
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the woman. Emotionally these suhag
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ing a married woman and which she s
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their parents are requested to stan
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ide’s brother then escorts her to
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his bed to make him prepared for th
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When the relatives from Punjab arri
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The dead body is brought into the c
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did not require the attention of ot
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Sikh woman said: “We used to ask
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hand path of the Guru Granth Sahib
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On the thirteenth day or the sevent
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ation of a deceased person justifie
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solar Gregorian calendar, while mos
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in the Sikh history: the birth of G
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The Nanakshahi samat jantri which i
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particular deity or deities in the
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a main attraction on anniversary da
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the practice of simran and during t
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Children representing the panj pyar
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pants who represent different Sikh
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Nagar kirtan is a means for propaga
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Immediately after Arti, the granthi
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In the evening of the gurpurub the
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on North Indian festivals. 665 In t
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ulate the fire for an uneven number
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At Varanasi, like many other places
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customary Arti ceremony was perform
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about the humble Bhai Kanhaiya, off
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punishments for misdeeds they have
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The most common approach to allevia
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One verse which stood out remarkabl
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water from Sitala Mandir near river
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as they are believed to be unsatisf
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But Mata ji’s death was not defin
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was the shadow of a Muslim girl, a
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BABA VADBHAG SINGH When I first met
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The enemy is no longer a human iden
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where Vadbhag Singh continues his s
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connection with this event Kuku ji
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pected decline in a business is sus
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F I V E CONSTRUCTING MEANINGS CONT
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interpretation of activities define
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action. 714 These constructs may in
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CONTEXUALIZATION AND ENTEXTUALIZATI
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texualization can be achieved throu
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Another discourse somewhat relevant
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As Austin argues, performative utte
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nous “performativist” to the mo
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and religious ceremonies, discourse
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concern for the formal character of
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the human Gurus, Guru Granth Sahib
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Satnam Vahiguru in a repetitive man
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Examples of STATED REASONS FOR PERF
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shall arrange Akhand path “for th
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name of the deceased. Some said the
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etween the two references. The gurb
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Guru, which is always adaptable to
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variations with the eternal “cano
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engaging in religious action. The w
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ealization is presented in terms of
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divine writing (likhna). 802 The fo
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with the divine words through conti
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life... that I do not have to suffe
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SAMMANFATTNING PÅ SVENSKA (SUMMARY
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minoritet i en hinduisk pilgrimssta
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GURPURUBS IN THE NANAKSHAHI CALENDA
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POH (DECEMBER/JANUARY) Prakash diva
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Divali Katak People perform puja to
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GLOSSARY OF SELECTED FOREIGN TERMS
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Jap - meditation and repetition of
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Ragi - a professional singer of kir
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REFERENCES ABBREVIATIONS GGS Guru G
Page 531 and 532:
Amrit Kirtan[Nectar Praises (Punjab
Page 533 and 534:
Anand, G. S. 1970. ”Guru Tegh Bah
Page 535 and 536:
Briggs, Geo. W. 1997 (1920). The Ch
Page 537 and 538:
Fenech, Louis E. 2003. “Conversat
Page 539 and 540:
Hein, Norvin. 1972. The Miracle Pla
Page 541 and 542:
Kaushal, Molly (ed.). 2001. Chanted
Page 543 and 544:
― (ed.). 1990. India through Hind
Page 545 and 546:
Nijhawan, Michael. 2006a. “Ritual
Page 547 and 548:
Schildkrout, Enid. 2004. “Inscrib
Page 549 and 550:
Singh, Gurnek. 1998. Guru Granth Sa
Page 551 and 552:
Veidlinger, Daniel. 2006. “When a
Page 553 and 554:
LUND STUDIES IN HISTORY OF RELIGION
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