INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

eing presented as offerings to the Guru. Through Ardas the Guru is informed on the
acts conducted which thereby bestow sanctification. Material gifts that are offered by
the kirpan and have been “accepted” and returned by the Guru, such as karah prashad
and langar, are regarded as enhanced with even more value since the items have been
intimately exchanged between devotees and the Guru.
The various types of seva can be perceived as devotional devices to seek divine
favours through the mediating link of the Guru. According to a common saying, for
every rupee one gives in offerings one will receive another rupee in return from the
divine donor. To give donations and do services for others in the society from a true
heart is to express thanks to God for what has been given and present requests for
divine protection and welfare of family members in this life and the life hereafter. The
belief that a powerful divine master and human servants are exchanging favours
through the agency of the Guru becomes explicit in material offerings that make an
integral part of ceremonies. For instance, when a family member falls ill it is customary
to give money, food or medicine to the poor and needy, while reading prayers for
the sake of the afflicted. The first time a newborn child is introduced to the gurdwara
families often present large sums of money and sweets to the community for the
child’s well-being. A death is similarly followed by a “death donation” from the
mourning party, which consists of dry food (flour, rice, sugar, lentils, etc.,), money,
blankets, mattresses, kitchen utensils, clothes and other articles utilized in an ordinary
human life. In the name of the deceased some of these items are given to the
gurdwara for public use and others distributed among poor people. Special days of
the solar and lunar calendar, such as full moon day (puranmashi) or the first day of the
solar month (sangrand), are held to be particularly favourable for donations of money
and food to the gurdwara. For whichever reason the offering of seva is done, it is held
to be a good action that will grant religious merits and divine support to the donor.
Individuals may take a pledge to perform seva, either as an advance promise if God
will offer assistance or as an act of thanksgiving for favours already received. A middle-aged
woman exemplified:
When people want something from God, they want their children to be
healthy, then they say ‘if my wishes will be fulfilled [by God], then I
will give langar to whole sangat in the Gurdwara’. When we ask something
from God we are buttering God with seva. If we are true from the
inside God will listen to us. God will do seva for us.
The commitment to do selfless service for the Guru, sangat or the society is therefore
integrated in religious performances. In case an unbroken recitation of Guru Granth
Sahib (Akhand path) is organized for a sick person, for instance, family members will
promise to do seva, such as feeding poor children or arranging marriages for orphans,
as return gifts if the sufferer gets relief. The underlying idea is that God’s kindness
bestowed upon a person or a family should be reciprocated by means of seva to thank
the divine giver and protector and avoid human vices in times of happiness.
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008