INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

the name. The musician may lead the tuneful chanting for several minutes in order to
create a religious atmosphere and engage the congregation in meditation.
A far more formalized activity is the nam simran program organized in the
gurdwara or at a private house by a group of devotees who have undertaken the
discipline to sing and repeat the gurmantra jointly for one and a half hours each Sunday
morning at 4:00. 547 As briefed in the introduction to this section, participants
intentionally cut themselves off from the social reality to create a separate space in
which precedence is given to the auditory sense. Seated in a dark room they will start
singing gurbani hymns to music, and then pass into a more intensive unison chanting
of the gurmantra under control of the breath. The distinct breathing technique follows
a fairly standardized pattern: while inhaling the person will utter the first syllable –
Vahi ‒ and omit the last vowel, followed by an exhalation of the two following syllables
– gu ru ‒ with long intonation on the ending vowel if nam simran is performed at
a slow speed. During a practical demonstration of the method, a younger man said
that “Vahi” should emanate from the inside, as if being pulled out from the belly
button, whereas the sound of “guru” flows from the mouth. When repeating at a
hurried pace the first syllable is replaced by the sound of an exaggerated inhalation
and a sharper pronunciation of the consonants ‒ “gru” ‒ when breathing out. Among
a few Amritdhari Sikhs in Varanasi this simran technique is occasionally exercised in
ordinary greetings and frame conversations. When two friends meet they will embrace
each other, and adjust their breathing to one anothers, to repeat the name of
Vahiguru in unison for a couple of minutes. They will start everyday talk only after
they have jointly exclaimed the Khalsa ovation. During nam simran programs the
chanting rhythm alternates: it starts with the singing of devotional songs and repetitions
of the gurmantra at a slow tempo, and after some minutes gradually increases to
a faster rhythm. The continuous oscillation between slow and fast repetitions should
not move participants into trance-like states but make them enter into an experience
of the divine while retaining consciousness and concentration. The control of space
and oscillation of rhythms are seen as modes to prevent participants from sinking
into drowsiness or engaging in the surrounding environment.
The nam simran gathering constitutes an interesting blend of traditional oral
performance and the modern technology of audio-recordings. Each Sunday program
in Varanasi is structured on a 90-minutes long recording of a simran sadhna, or “simran
practice” on cassette, which the local Sikhs play back and sing along. The simran
cassettes in use are recordings of live performances, fully embedded in a traditional
context of a sadh sangat, an assembly of true devotees who have gathered for singing
and chanting the divine name under direction of one or a group of pious Sikhs. The
date and place of the recorded event is often specified on the tape cover, along with a
picture of the saintly leader(s).
547
During my fieldwork the nam simran program continued throughout the year, except for the
periods of morning processions preceding the birth anniversaries of Guru Nanak and Guru
Gobind Singh.
319
Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008