INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

all the desires and tasks are accomplished. O God, Thy saint, Thou
blessest with Thine Name. 564
The Guru rids man of the afflictions of births over births and lend
support to the dried up soul. Having his vision, the mortal is blest and
dwell he on the God’s name. 565
The event of death was also included in the category of sadness. The granthi plays an
important role in death ceremonies and is responsible for Ardas readings before and
after the cremation. In these situations he mainly used one hymn of Guru Tegh Bahadur,
included at the very end of the Sikh scripture:
Only then one should worry, if a thing, not expected to happen, comes
to pass. This is the way of the world. None is ever stable, O Nanak.
Whosoever is born, he must perish. Every one shall fall today or tomorrow.
Nanak, sing thou the Lord’s praises and lay aside all other entanglements.
566
Any of these lines could be used in Ardas performances at the cremation ground or in
memorial services in the gurdwara, but for most part he would use only the two last
lines.
The method of choosing separate verses from the Guru Granth Sahib for inclusion
in the textual opening of Ardas is in no way exceptional for the granthis. In daily
life lay Sikhs read the Ardas text after each gurbani recitations in the morning and
evening and include additional verses or lines from the Sikh scripture according to
individual choosing. An elderly Amritdhari woman, for instance, was very found of
the following hymn composed by Guru Arjan:
Within home and without, I have Thine support, O Lord. Thou art ever with
Thy slave. O my Beloved Lord, take pity on me, that I may utter God’s Name
with love. The Lord is the only support of His slave. Whatever Thou doest or
causeth to do, O Lord, in that I deem my welfare to life. Pause. The Lord is my
honour, the Lord is my emancipation, and merited gospel of the World Cherisher
is my wealth. Slave Nanak seeks the protection of the Lord God’s feet,
this way of life he has learnt from the saints. 567
She had memorized the whole hymn and interposed it in the textual opening of her
daily prayers. An elderly Sikh man, who frequently emphasized the importance of
564
GGS: 1146.
565
GGS: 618.
566
GGS: 1429.
567
GGS: 677.
331
Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008