INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

In the Guru Granth Sahib the passage of time and the ever renewing cycles of hours,
days, months, seasons and years are recurrent themes. Time (kal) itself is considered a
part of the creation of the eternal (akal) God and subordinated a divine order. “The
fifteen lunar days, the seven days of a week, the months, seasons, days and nights,
come over and over again; so the world goes on. The months, the days and the moments
are auspicious for those upon whom the Lord casts His Glance of Grace.”
These words were penned by Guru Amardas who, like the other Sikh Gurus, saw
nature as the general source for periodicity and order of time. The twenty-four hours
alternating day and night is divided into eight watches; 639 a week is made up by
seven days which have their own characteristics; 640 the waxing and waning of the
moon generates fifteen day periods and altogether constitute twelve months with
changing moods and yearnings in humans. 641 A period of two months creates a season
in a cycle of six seasonal periods that join together in a year. In the Gurus’ compositions
the sense of time presents a natural cycle that was created by God and
structures human life in harmony with a divine order.
The ways by which humans appreciate the pace of time are through the observance
of calendric rituals or festivals. In the following I will pay attention to Sikh
festivals which lead the congregation around a cyclic year and heightens the significance
of certain dates and seasons. I will also describe a few festivals that are not
necessarily considered to be a part of the Sikh tradition but which Sikh individuals
and families observe as members of a broader North Indian culture.
THE SIKH ALMANAC
The calendar situation in India presents a complex picture since there are several
regional and religious calendars used side by side. In 1957 the government of India
introduced the Indian National Calendar which includes 365 days and 12 months
with Sanskrit names. This calendar was a variant of the lunar-solar Saka calendar that
is reckoned from the year 78 A.D. and begins with the new-moon day in month
Chaitra (March/April). Another lunar-solar calendar widely used in northern India is
the Vikrami era, which is said to be named after Maharaja Vikramiditya who ruled
over Ujjain more than 2000 years ago. This calendar is calculated from 58 B.C. and
begins with the month Karttika (October/November). 642 Beside these calendars some
festivals, such as Christmas, Republic Day and other civil holidays are set after the
639
GGS: 76, 146, 375.
640
GGS: 841.
641
GGS: 838. See also Guru Nanak’s hymn Barah Maha (Twelve Months) in Rag Tukhari on page
1107 in Guru Granth Sahib, and Guru Arjan’s compositions with the same title in Rag Majh on
page 133.
642
To find a corresponding year in a Saka era for a year in the Common Era one subtracts 78
years of the Saka year. When converting dates of the Common Era to Vikrami dates one adds 57
years (or more correctly 56.7 years). Thus, April 2007 was according to the Saka era 1929 and
according the Vikrami era 2064.
392
Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008