INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

more Spartan decoration in the Guru’s room, others had constructed embellished
worship places with framed posters of the Sikh Gurus and Harimandir Sahib, brass
statues of religious insignia, flower bouquets, oil-lamps, incense holders, and other
religious paraphernalia. Some spaces would shelter portraits of ancestors and icons of
deities or saints who by tradition served as protectors of the family. To provide the
text a resting place (sukhasan) for the night the families had either built a separate bed
in the same room or placed the scripture on a palanquin at night.
Religious Sikhs often perceive the construction of a domestic gurdwara as if
they are inviting an honorable guest, who will be involved in the socio-religious life
of the family. In a large Punjabi family, for instance, the members had constructed a
commodious gurdwara on the upper floor and said they were ”following the Sikh
code of conduct in the house”, even though none of the family members were Amritdhari
Sikhs at the time of our conversations. The woman of the house, responsible
for household duties, had adjusted all family meals to food offerings presented to
Guru Granth Sahib. At 10 in the morning she would give the scripture milk and two
hours later offer the text a family lunch from the domestic kitchen. Before the Sukhasan
ceremony at 7.30 pm she presented the text with dinner and at night kept a
glass of water beside the scriptural bed “because just like we get thirsty in the night
similarly Baba ji might get thirsty”, she said. How these meals were offered to Guru
Granth Sahib she explained in plain words:
First of all we take out the food for Baba ji [Guru Granth Sahib]. We
have special pots and plates for the food of Baba ji. After taking out
food I go upstairs [to the gurdwara] and place the food in front of Baba
ji. Then I perform an Ardas. In that [Ardas] I take the name of ten Gurus
and ask Baba ji to accept our food. I offer food by touching the vegetables
and chapattis with a dagger (kirpan).
By conducting bhog lagana (See previous section this chapter) all food prepared in the
family kitchen was shared and sanctified by the Guru before consumption. The individuals
I interviewed were of the undisputed opinion that a symbolic portion of all
meals prepared at houses which host Guru Granth Sahib must first be presented to
the Guru before family members and other guests can eat.
Rigorously these families would perform the daily Sikh liturgies according to
the Sikh code of conduct, but personalized and adjusted the ceremonies to the needs
and routines of their family. The majority did Prakash of Guru Granth Sahib before
sunrise and Sukhasan after sunset, and some would bring forward or delay the services
with a few hours owing to their own working and sleeping habits. The duty to
carry out the daily ministration of Guru Granth Sahib was distributed differently
between the family members, although in most cases the women of the house were
responsible for the ritual enactment. In three of the eleven domestic gurdwaras I
visited the mother of the house was alone in charge of both the morning and evening
ceremonies, even if the women emphasized the desire to have the whole family gath-
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008