INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

a sonic atmosphere in the gurdwara. Without intermission the repetitions continued
until twenty minutes into the New Year. Then they all stood up to read a supplication
for peace and prosperity of the commenced year and concluded the celebration with
the Sukhasan ceremony of Guru Granth Sahib. Most of the participants went home at
about 01.00 in the night, but two middle-aged men and their sons decided to carry on
with the practice until the break of amritvela one hour later. When I left Nichibagh
Gurdwara that night only a murmuring sound from rapid repetitions of Vahiguru
echoed from the Guru’s house.
3.5. ARDAS – THE SIKH SUPPLICATION
Readings of the Sikh supplication Ardas virtually frame all religious events in the Sikh
life. As many of my friends recurrently stated, “Everything begins and ends with an
Ardas”, even human life itself. When a baby is born the text will be read for future
protection and prosperity of the child, just like a last (antim) Ardas is recited for the
peace of a departed soul after the cremation alongside the river Ganga. The reading
of Ardas can be applied to almost any situation or event, feelings or wishes of individuals
and families, and it is read in connection with all congregational activities.
Etymologically the word Ardas seems to be derived from the Persian arzdasht,
meaning a written petition or appeal addressed to a superior authority. 553 According
to McLeod (2003), the word Ardas has come to gain mainly three meanings in the
Punjabi language: historically it was used in secular administrative contexts for a
monetary contribution to a sovereign; within a religious framework the Sikh Gurus
used the word for a supplication to God and it came to designate the act of laying a
petition before the Guru; and in common parlance the word signifies a respectful
request. 554 In terms of content Ardas is one of the few religious texts ceremonially
performed that is not drawn from Guru Granth Sahib.
The standardized and sanctioned text in use today consists of two separate
parts: the first is a prelude to the composition Var Sri Bhagauti Ji Ki (also called Chandi
di Var) – a poem written as a trilogy about goddess Durga, which is included in
Dasam Granth and dates back to the end of the seventeenth century. Var Sri Bhagauti
Ji Ki is an invocation and tribute to the timeless God and all the human Sikh Gurus up
to the ninth Guru, Tegh Bahadur, since it is popularly believed that his son, Gobind
Singh, was holding the pen. At some point in history, the preclusive extract reproduced
in the Sikh supplication came to include the names of Gobind Singh and
Guru Granth Sahib as well. The second part of the Ardas text is a much longer section,
which epitomizes memorial events and deeds of faith and sacrifice in the Sikh history,
and recounts symbols, places of worship, and values that are held significant in
553
McGregor, 1997: 54. According to another etymology the term Ardas is derived from Sanskrit
root ard, which means “to beg”, and as which signifies wishes, hope or desires (Bhupinder Singh
1999: 100).
554
McLeod 2003: 194.
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008