INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

an oil-lamp was burning and light two additional lamps, whereupon he sat down,
facing tapasthan, to meditate and recite gurbani. Each morning this highly formalized
routine took him about thirty to forty minutes to complete.
In view of the twin concept of the Guru embodied in the Guru Granth Sahib
and the satsangat ‒ holy congregation of Sikhs – the notion of gurseva may encompass
a wide range of services for the scripture as well as religious, social and educational
activities for the congregation. The paradigm for gurseva involves a hierarchal social
relationship between the Guru and devotees, in which the ideal devotee humbly
gives action, wealth, inner thoughts, even completed recitations, to the Guru. The
devotee is expected to surrender before the Guru and provide ministration and offerings,
preferably without any thoughts of gaining something in return. “You should
obey and do seva to the one you consider your Guru,” a granthi epitomized the idea of
Guru bhakti, or devotion of the Guru. To religious Sikhs the daily ministration of Guru
Granth Sahib is the means to express devotion, submission, and loyalty to the superior
Guru dwelling in the scripture. Services intended to please and honour the Guru
are the binding force between the Guru and devotees in enduring social relationships.
A young Sikh businessman, who observed a daily routine of conducting gurseva in
the gurdwara, spoke of the scripture as a living Guru who instructed him on what to
do:
I promise that I will do seva every day in Nichibagh. If I can’t do seva I
feel like I have been injured or hurt. But when I do any of kind of seva I
feel inner satisfaction. Whenever I go there [to the gurdwara] the Guru
shows me what kind of seva I should do. I will put the rumala straight if
they are not properly arranged. If there is dust I sweep clean the floor. I
clean the lights and windows of tapasthan and take away spider webs.
In my prayer (Ardas) I give thanks to God for all. I just ask God “make
me your shoes and keep me always with you. Whatever you wish let
me do that. Keep me in your shelter.”
By attending to the Guru and the congregation as a subordinate servant the devotee
will cultivate humility which has power to banish egoism and lead to spiritual progress.
Comprised in the notion of gurseva is the practice of presenting every religious
work conducted inside or outside the gurdwara, and every material gift given to the
gurdwara, as selfless offerings to the Guru. Various forms of the seva included in Sikh
ceremonies, such as public distribution of food, material offerings of prashad, money,
clothes and other objects, and even performances of devotional music, recitations,
and propaganda speeches are to be understood as gurseva in the guise of oblation to
the Guru-scripture and the sangat. The Sikhs perform the formal reading of the Ardas
to impart which work has been completed or which object has been given. The performance
of Ardas does not only function as a marker to frame social action as a
unique event, but bestows action and material gifts a particular spiritual value by
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008