INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

the hair is veiled and the feet are bare will a Sikh unfold the cloth and pay respect to
the book by taking the cover to the forehead and bow.
The outer space is another important consideration. Many interlocutors said
the gurdwara or the private house provided the two best places for gurbani recitations
for several reasons. Firstly, a recitation should be conducted in a pure and
peaceful place for respect of the sacred hymns. Families with a gurdwara at their
house did most of the daily readings within the bounded space around the Guru
Granth Sahib. Others committed to recitations from sanchis or gutkas for fixed time
periods would temporarily set aside a separate and clean room in the house. For
instance, when the daughter of one family was doing puja path in her room, the other
family members were advised to not enter the room without ablutions, especially if
they had contracted pollution by attending funeral ceremonies and the like. Her
mother, not privileged a secluded space for her daily recitation of the composition
Sukhmani Sahib, used set off to Gurubagh Gurdwara at dawn since she considered
the family house too “noisy” with people coming and going and not “proper” for
gurbani recitals. Secondly, many Sikhs believe that gurbani recitals have power to
purify and bless both people and material objects confined within the space of a
recitation. “People arrange path for purity of the house and also for purity of their
minds”, one woman said. This notion comes distinctly forth in the practices related
to readings gurbani anthologies such as Sankat Mochan or Dukh Bhanjani Sahib: some
keep a pot of water beside them, believing that the words being recited materialize
and convert the water into purifying nectar-water, which they later sprinkle onto
family members and objects in the house.
All the same, when a puja path does not demand the physical presence of the
Sikh scripture it can be acted out almost anywhere. The prayer Rahiras Sahib, which
ought to be recited in the evening and during the most hectic working hours of trading
people, is frequently enacted in outdoor spaces. At the shop, hospital, or while
attending a social function, the devout Sikh temporarily leaves the duties or the
party to find a secluded spot appropriate for a reading in privacy. “Guru Maharaj ji
told us that God is everywhere and therefore you can do path at any location”, a man
in his twenties said. Instructively he added, “but if you are doing path in the gurdwara
you must face Guru Granth Sahib ji and not turn your back to Guru Maharaj ji.”
The ability to mentally focus on enunciation and the meanings of the recited
words is another reason as to why Sikhs create and regulate recitation spaces. “You
should do path attentively (dhyan se), nothing else should come to your mind”, an
elder Sikh woman informed. Since the oral-aural recitation is an act of worship, the
devotee is expected to take out time only for devotion to God without distracting
attention from the reading or listening. All thoughts and feelings should be directed
towards the recitation, performed from beginning to end without pauses for any
other talk or actions. In general people pay great respect to friends and family members
committed to gurbani recitations by leaving them alone, in their room or a corner
of the house, for as long as they are reading. A host throwing a party in the evening
is considered extremly courteous if he or she considerately asks the guest if
243
Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008