INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

they wish to perform Rahiras Sahib and provide a suitable space for their recital. To
aid the concentration, many emphasized the importance to take a seat on the ground
in a straight and alert position, preferably chaukri ‒ the typical sitting posture with
legs folded and drawn up without leaning against any wall. Professional reciters
often assume this posture when conducting readings from Guru Granth Sahib and
some insisted on the necessity to keep the position throughout a puja path, at least of
shorter hymns.
Yet another technique to remain focussed on the sound and meaning is to read
in company with others. A middle-aged woman, who claimed she was a lie-abed
since childhood (which caused her mother to persistently pray to God for early
morning habits), used to invite her mother whenever she undertook the discipline to
recite Sukhmani Sahib in the mornings. “I call up mum to recite with me, because
sometimes I doze off during path … so if I would miss out something [words], then
she managed it [to recite correctly].” To recite together with family members or participate
in congregational recitations becomes a method of evading human errors
and lack of concentration.
NITNEM ‒ THE DAILY ROUTINE
All Sikhs who have undergone the Khande di pahul ceremony to become Amritdhari
Sikhs are obliged to observe a daily discipline to recite a collection of hymns derived
from Guru Granth Sahib and Dasam Granth. As a part of the morning liturgy they
should read the five following compositions: the forty-versed JapJi Sahib written by
Guru Nanak which is given as an opening hymn of Guru Granth Sahib (on page 1 to
8); the three compositions Jap Sahib, Tav Prashad Savaiyye and Chaupai Sahib ascribed
to Guru Gobind Singh and included in Dasam Granth; and the forty stanzas of the
composition Anand Sahib by Guru Amardas in Guru Granth Sahib (on page 917 to
922). Performing these matins goes by the self-contained concept of panj banian ka
path, or “the recitation of five compositions/utterances”. 435
When day and night come together at dusk baptized Sikhs should furthermore
recite Rahiras Sahib, a prayer which synthesizes a set of stanzas: it opens with a couplet
(shalok) by Guru Nanak, followed by nine stanzas of Guru Nanak, Guru Ramdas,
and Guru Arjan that are given in Guru Granth Sahib (on page 8 to 12). Thereafter
comes three different poetic verses (a Chaupai, Savaiya and Dohra) of Guru Gobind
Singh and the first five stanzas and the fortieth stanzas of the already mentioned
Anand Sahib. The Rahiras Sahib concludes with Mundavani, the “seal” which ends the
Sikh scripture, and a couplet (shalok) by Guru Arjan. Before going to sleep the day is
435
Given the popularity and frequent ritual use of Sukhmani Sahib a few interviewees (non-
Amritdhari) replaced Jap Sahib or Tav Prashad Savaiyye with this composition when they explained
the notion of panj banian. Of all the texts included in the nitnem, Jap Sahib and Tav
Prashad Savaiyye are the only hymns that my interloctuors seldom recited separately in other
ritual contexts. Many considered the two texts too difficult to memorize and semantically understand.
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008