INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

and genuine. Preserving the original content and form gurbani hymns are one of
many reasons as to why many Sikhs take up a conservative attitude towards the
insertion of popular music in Sikh kirtan and generally hold that film tunes and other
trendy melodies should be expelled from the devotional scene. The tune and rhythm
of a contemporary musical setting should preferably emanate from the poetic metre
and form of the scripture. As a vehicle to convey the Gurus’ words and teaching,
however, kirtan is not necessarily viewed as a musical genre to be distinguished from
other Indian performance traditions. Quite differently, emic notions of kirtan will
label it as a distinct worship form which cannot be subsumed within music theories
or categories. For a professional ragi the staged performance certainly provides an
opportunity to display musical skill, but for the audience it is primarily a devotional
act to praise God and engage in gurbani. Touching upon the literal meaning of kirtan,
an elderly Sikh woman described the term as way “to praise the qualities of God and
whatever God has given to us”. As she added, “if kirtan comes in you, the Guru will
become happy. Kirtan is the food for my soul.” In the degenerated time of kaliyug it is
spiritual nourishment and the principal means for worship. One informant (answer 4)
drew the parallel to simran, the practice of meditating and reciting the divine name.
What distinguishes the two worship forms for one another is merely the musical
components ‒ the use of instrument and melody in kirtan ‒ and participatory aspects.
Simran is primarily a practice in solitude (except for nam-simran programs, see 4.3.
this chapter), while kirtan is a public event in which the performer and the assembly
of Sikhs interact and even merge.
Ultimately the power of kirtan lies within the sphere of aesthetic and spiritual
experiences. The majority of the respondents paid notice to individual feelings that
kirtan has the capacity to evoke in an assembly of listeners. One interlocutor (answer
7) even defined kirtan in terms of internal feelings that arouse through the language
of music. The combination of music and vocal components activates aesthetical forces
that kindle the flame for spiritual longing in the human heart and soul and generate a
“taste” (ras) of the essence of the Guru’s words and teaching. In this understanding
the experience of kirtan is a spiritual experience of intensity and immediacy that transcends
ordinary conscious strivings. Sikhs will say they are automatically drawn
closer to the worship of God and feel closer to God (answer 4) by listening to gurbani
set to music. The idiom of kirtan as spiritual nourishment, or “food for the soul”,
attempts to capture this religious experience that simultaneously is emotional, sensual
and intuitive.
As a public and shared worship form, kirtan is considered to have the advantage
of giving all people ‒ literate and illiterate ‒ an equal chance of gaining the spiritual
benefits invoked by singing and listening to gurbani and, not the least, the enjoyment
of that experience. Because of its aesthetical power kirtan entices people to go
to the gurdwara and dedicate time to devotional practices in the busy hours of everyday
life. “If there would not be any kirtan in the gurdwara, then there would be no
gatherings at all, but when there is kirtan, people sit down to listen and go into deep
concentration (samadhi lagana),” a male respondent said. Expressions of the similar
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008