INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

of an Akhand path performed after the death of a family member, the chief mourners
will make a pecuniary donation and take fruits, food, kitchen equipment, bedding,
and even a bed to the inner sanctum of the gurdwara to be offered in the name of the
deceased. These articles, symbolizing domestic appliances of the departed, are to be
used by the community in the gurdwara. The size and value of the material gifts vary
depending on the ability and wishes of the individual family. The far most significant
offering of all, however, is the recitation itself. At the very end of a Khulla path and
before closing an Akhand path the individual reciter or the granthi will perform the
Ardas, in which he or she imparts the fulfilled recitations as an offering to God. The
intercessor will plead forgiveness for all errors committed and state for whom and
which reason the recitation was executed. Depending upon individual beliefs and
motives, the path may be presented either as a vow that was carried out to seek divine
assistance in a needy situation, a votive offering to express thanks to God for divine
help already received, or just an act of devotion. In either case, the supplication establishes
a communicative link between humans and God, through which the completed
path may be presented as an offering to the divine. The oblation in speech sanctifies
both the recitation and the purpose for which it was executed. A recitation which has
not been presented and offered to the divine by means of the supplication is generally
considered incomplete. The presence of the sangat, or the holy congregation, during
the performance of Ardas is believed to strengthen the qualities of this sanctification.
“God lives in the congregation (sangat)… by reading Ardas in the sangat you receive a
blessing by the congregation”, one man commented on the bhog ceremony. This is one
reason as to why individual families invite the circle of relatives and friends to hear
the final pages of Guru Granth Sahib and partake in the ending prayer.
In line with standard procedures of any Sikh ceremony the bhog ceremony will
conclude with the taking of a Hukam and distribution of karah prashad, which is seen
as reciprocal gifts for the recitation completed and offered. In cases when people
arrange Akhand path to celebrate the reception of divine gifts, such as a child who is
born from the fulfilment of prayers to God and not by natural means, it is customary
to arrange a large free kitchen (langar) to the whole congregation. Both the recitation
and the generous distribution of food are regarded as acts of thanksgiving for the
godly blessings received.
DIVINE WORDS INGESTED
To Sikhs the Gurus’ words are the highest spiritual power and teaching appropriated
through readings and memorization, and instantly reproduced in recitations. But
Sikhs will also ascribe material dimensions to language by figuratively and literally
referring to verses of Guru Granth Sahib as an amrit, a “nectar”, which can be internalized
in the body by being drunk and has power to purify humans and their environment
both morally and physically. The notion of gurbani as a material substance to
be imbibed by worshippers is not an invention of local Sikhs but is contained in the
Sikh scripture itself. Etymologically the term amrit is a Sanskrit adjective meaning
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008