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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ <strong>THE</strong> STRUCTURE OF AKHAND PATH PERFORMANCES Day 1: <strong>THE</strong> READING LINGUISTIC ACTS PARALINGUISTIC ACTS The reading starts on page 1. Recitation of Anand Sahib Recitation of Ardas Recitation of Hukam Installation ceremony The scripture is opened Take Hukam Offer the pudding when the last line of Ardas is read. Distribution of karah prashad after the fifth stanza of JapJi Sahib is read. Day 2: The reading reaches Recitation of Anand Sahib the middle Recitation of Ardas Offer the pudding when the last line of Ardas is read The reading reaches page 705 of the scripture Distribution of karah prashad Day 3: Bhog ceremony, Recitation of Anand Sahib Reading of pages Recitation of Ardas Offer the pudding 1426 – 30 when the last line of Ardas is read. Distribution of karah prashad before page 1430. Recitation of Hukam Speech of thanks to sponsors and reciters Recitation of Kirtan Sohila Sukhasan Ceremony Recitation of Choti Ardas Salutations Figure 16. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To accomplish a successful and favorable performance of Akhand path there is a set of linguistic and paralinguistic acts that should be completed during the fortyeight-hour period in addition to the actual reading of the scripture’s 1430 pages (Figure 16). These highly formalized acts goes by separate names and are clustered in opening, parallel and concluding units which co-jointly compose the internal structure of the performance. Similar to the daily liturgies in the gurdwara Akhand path is framed by the solemnized installation (Prakash) and restoration (Sukhasan) of Guru Granth Sahib. When the scripture has been opened the attendant should take the 270 Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008
Hukam and render the verse twice before the actual reading of the scripture starts on page one. Two days later he will repeat the Hukam at the very end of the performance before the scripture is put to rest. Many think that the Hukam pertaining to an Akhand path is predicting or at least pointing to the result that will come out from a recitation and should always be handed over to the sponsoring individual or family. In case the client cannot attend the performance the gurdwara manager will send them the divine order by mail after the reading has been completed. 469 Like other Sikh ceremonies, Akhand path always includes readings of the Ardas. As I will discuss more in detail in the following section of this chapter, the supplication consists of a standardized text that supplies a break or a textual “opening”, in which people may insert personal or collective petitions to God. Accordingly, when people are arranging Akhand path for special causes or purposes, they may formulate their wishes or requests in the supplication. The reading of Ardas is always preceded by the reading of Guru Amardas’ hymn Anand Sahib (GGS p. 917) which is believed to support the Sikh prayer and boost blissful qualities to the sacred pudding, karah prashad, which will be distributed afterwards. In the context of an Akhand path the distribution of karah prashad is often perceived as a boon from the favorable reading. These parallel acts of reciting Anand Sahib, Ardas and offering food demonstrate how separated acts are bound to precision in time and sequence within the frame of a performance. During the forty-eight hour long performance all these acts should be repeated no less than three times: in the beginning, the middle and at the very end. The actual reading from Guru Granth Sahib will only start after the Sikh prayer has been read, and the sacred pudding should be distributed when the first five stanzas of hymn JapJi Sahib have been completed. Twelve hours later, when the recitation reaches page 705, or the “middle” of Guru Granth Sahib, the pudding will again be served to participants. Consequently, when the reciter arrives at page 704, another person starts reading Anand Sahib and Ardas, so that the food distribution coincides with the reading of page 705. With a similar exactitude these three parallel acts should be carried out in the very end of the reading, but before it concludes. An individual reciter is therefore never working in solitude, but partnered by one to three persons who answer for the prayer and the additional hymns, as well as the preparation and distribution of the sacred food. During performances in the gurdwara the granthi normally starts the actual reading of Guru Granth Sahib and answers for the opening and concluding ceremonies as well as the reading of Ardas, while a reciter will take over the recitation after five or more stanzas of JapJi Sahib and other employees serve the pudding. The Sikhs may offer many theological and practical rationales of the demand for additional acts in Akhand path. Naturally, the scripture needs to be opened before a 469 When I got a Hukam from an Akhand path performed in year 2000 for a sick family member the granthi expounded the meaning of it and advised me to convey it to my family member. At that time, the Hukam reached Sweden by email; on another occasion the divine order was sent via SMS from a friend’s mobile phone, as I was not present in Varanasi. 271 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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procession to Amritsar. To honor th
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IMPLICATIONS OF SCRIPTURAL SUCCESSI
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shown that cosmologies and systems
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With the shift of authority, the sa
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divine messages and enjoy the same
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Local Sikhs will say that the Guru
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PERSONIFYING A TEXT For students of
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oth persons and inanimate “things
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they also construct and maintain so
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ciprocity, either for purely devoti
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keeping langar can be traced back t
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A JURIDICAL PERSON Perhaps the most
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Guru. In a practice-oriented approa
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large number of sites and buildings
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or on the roof terrace. One family
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gurdwara, or when they visit Sikh p
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said that people pay respect to Nis
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Nishan sahib in the courtyard, and
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Gurus and weapons that have belonge
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people”. To set up a place at whi
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emnizing Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind
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scriptures at their houses may visi
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ply the audience with an expositive
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ized undertakings, such as collecti
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edroom, between which the scripture
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ple in the ordinary social structur
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To illustrate the significances whi
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mon identity in the egalitarian com
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the time of our conversations and c
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MEDIATORS OF GURBANI In Varanasi th
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to neighboring congregations. The r
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GRACED GUIDES Whereas the above-men
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audiocassettes and distributed worl
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The performers I interviewed had ga
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for an aspiring granthi, Bhai Jiopa
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tation practices, which from a reli
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ing. He should know the full Ardas
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lieved to make his performances mor
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pages is eternal and will never be
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were hard to read and required that
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When SGPC released the first one-vo
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ture is thus conceived as a Guru to
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prior to the physical touching of b
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Sangat cleaning the road Panj Py
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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
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Page 247 and 248: congregate in the scriptural hospic
Page 249 and 250: Granth Sahib has its own life-cycle
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Page 259 and 260: night, which marks the break of a n
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Page 263 and 264: ought to an end by reading Kirtan S
Page 265 and 266: MEMORIZED HYMNS (Number of informan
Page 267 and 268: Looking at the ways in which Amritd
Page 269 and 270: etween human and God, either to see
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Page 277 and 278: (Akhand path), which is to be perfo
Page 279 and 280: RECITING THE GURU GRANTH SAHIB Sinc
Page 281 and 282: The Sikhs have developed various sy
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Page 287: of the scripture in one hour, but t
Page 291 and 292: professional reciters who read in r
Page 293 and 294: of an Akhand path performed after t
Page 295 and 296: cal savour of the divine that is be
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Page 299 and 300: The two types of nectars have power
Page 301 and 302: The Guru’s wife added sugar becau
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Page 311 and 312: DAILY SERVICES In a gurdwara there
Page 313 and 314: Whichever of these ragas they selec
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Page 317 and 318: verses and the fortieth verse of th
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Page 321 and 322: anecdotes with quoted hymns. 529 On
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Page 327 and 328: and sangat-pangat - the holy congre
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Page 331 and 332: Bhai Gurdas (1551-1636), the term V
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Page 335 and 336: devotional activities. The young ma
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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
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Amrit Kirtan[Nectar Praises (Punjab
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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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