INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

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emarked that not even the Sikh Gurus wanted mukti but only to “get a place and sit at God’s feet”. Those who have been graced with spiritual knowledge desire nothing but to express devotion to God. As was reflected in some responses, the spiritual gains of devotion are considered incomprehensible to ordinary humans, and to have no other intention but to praise and thank God is an ultimate goal in itself. To fully engage in worship acts without desires, not even the wish for a favourable rebirth or spiritual liberation, is considered a sign of humbleness in compliance with the Guru’s teaching and the divine will. It is an effort to stay detached from worldly desires and completely sublimate the self to the divine, while living an active social life for others in the world. To sustain a devotional relationship to God and the Guru ‒ who illuminates the spiritual path and burns the self-centeredness that keeps humans alienated from God ‒ becomes both the means and the end in itself. As the eternal Guru dwells within the divinely revealed words and teaching enshrined in the Guru Granth Sahib, devotional Sikhs will continue to recite, sing, explicate, and meditate upon the verses in the scripture and honor the physical text. The human-divine activities of “writing” and “reading” religious action will continue, and these processes mark the end. 494 Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008
SAMMANFATTNING PÅ SVENSKA (SUMMARY IN SWEDISH) Sikhernas heliga skrift, Guru Granth Sahib, står onekligen i centrum för deras religiösa liv. Skiften ligger till grund för religiösa föreställningar och värderingar och i dess närvaro utförs nästan varje sikhisk ritual och ceremoni. I den mest belysande definitionen är ett sikhiskt tempel – gurdwara ‒ den plats där Guru Granth Sahib dagligen görs närvarande för att hålla ett kungligt hov. Tidigt på morgonen installeras skriften på en upphöjd och utsmyckad tron för att ta emot tillbedjare. Under dagen besöker sikherna gurdwaran för att ödmjukt närma sig skriften och framföra böner och offergåvor, som om de fick audiens hos en kunglig regent. I gudstjänster reciterar och sjunger sikherna hymner från skriften och utforskar dess semantiska innehåll genom muntliga exegetiska utläggningar för förståelse och vägledning i det sociala livet. Efter skymningen förs skriften ceremoniellt till ett speciellt sovrum där den placeras på en himmelssäng för nattlig vila. Sikhernas användning av Guru Granth Sahib antyder att de har tagit uppfattningen om en helig skrift längre än någon annan religiös tradition genom att behandla Guru Granth Sahib som en levande guru. Att vara sikh – en lärjunge till gurun ‒ innebär att utveckla både ett religiöst, didaktiskt, och socialt förhållande till den heliga skriften. Avhandlingen Inside the Guru’s Gate: Ritual Uses of Text among the Sikhs in Varanasi undersöker sikhernas religiösa praktik utifrån en lokal sikhisk kommunitet i Varanasi i norra Indien. Undersökningen är baserad på mer än tre års fältarbete med eget deltagande, observation och intervjuer med lekmän och religiösa specialister som är verksamma vid två sikhiska gurdwaras i Varanasi. Studiet av sikhismen har länge negligerat sikhernas religiösa praktik i offentliga och privata sfärer till förmån för historiska, teologiska, politiska aspekter av traditionen. De mest enkla, självklara och samtidigt betydelsefulla religiösa handlingar som sikherna utför dagligen i hemmet och i gurdwaran har givits liten uppmärksamhet i forskarstudier, om inte handlingarna har kunnat framalstra storslagna symboliska meningar som bekräftat sociologiska eller historiska teorier. På liknande vis har forskare närmat sig Guru Granth Sahib främst utifrån ett historiskt och textligt perspektiv, som en samling av de mänskliga guruernas skrivna verk, medan minimalt intresse har visats för samtida föreställningar om skriftens roll och identitet i sikhernas religiösa liv och de muntliga traditionerna att förmedla och framföra guruernas hymner. Den etnografiska studien Inside the Guru’s Gate är ett försök att belysa ett negligerat fält i studiet av sikhismen genom att lyfta fram religiösa handlingar som lekmän och specialister inom en sikhisk församling i Varanasi själva anser betydelsefulla. Undersökningen inriktar sig på sikhernas mångfasetterade religiösa bruk och förhållningssätt till Guru Granth Sahib och andra texter som lokalt tillskrivs gurbani status, det vill säga ord som har yttrats och nedtecknats av de mänskliga sikhiska guruerna. Genom religiösa diskurser och rituella handlingar skapar och bekräftar lokala sikher föreställningar om Guru Granth 495 Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008
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Kristina Myrvold INSIDE THE GURU’
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Kristina Myrvold INSIDE THE GURU’
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Published on www.anpere.net in May
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PREFACE My research on the Sikhs in
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Singh Mann. He has provided me much
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CONTENTS PREFACE CONTENTS LIST OF F
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3. FROM MANTRAS TO UNBROKEN READING
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Seeking Divine Assistance 426 The H
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L I S T O F F IGURES 1. Sikh popula
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INTRODUCTION When I first arrived a
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on Sikh conceptualizations and inte
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and suffer from physical or mental
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language and society. 10 In respons
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should focus on the culture-specifi
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At the same time an oral transmissi
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take up a great deal of space. The
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compositions for those who lived an
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debates, Douglas (1970) observed th
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itual theorists in recent decades h
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Humphrey & Laidlaw’s claim to pre
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their reasons and motives for engag
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ety. 75 Instead I made the study ce
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had witnessed and confirmed that I
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a method, which implies patience, h
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division which grants women an acti
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O N E THE SIKHS IN VARANASI IN SEA
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the life and deeds of Guru Nanak. T
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ies and how these processes are ins
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particular ethnic background. The s
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appeared before Guru Tegh Bahadur w
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NANAK-PANTHIS AND PUNJABI SINGHS In
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who were “wholly of a worldly and
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litical actions would creep into th
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POST-PARTITION In the Census report
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to move to the house of their husba
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taught through individual reading p
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The historical presence of Punjabi
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more inclined towards ritual worshi
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propagate the Sikh religion. For Ba
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The Khalsa ceremony itself is pregn
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sify their religion as a synthesis
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vented Jhulelal as the prime God of
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HISTORY OF THE GURDWARA COMMITTEE A
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venerated family members, who natur
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the city testify that Sabharwal was
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near the airport in the outskirts o
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thorities consequently shut up the
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campus. This changed drastically wi
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Another popular non-profit organiza
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micro-discursive accomplishment tha
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identity to maintain a separate tra
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The Valaitvali Janam-sakhi carries
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events are plotted according to a m
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Gurus. Other Nirmala establishments
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of the story. This is accomplished
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Ram pursued this knowledge from the
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The three pandits are also attribut
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transformation of those in the soci
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assistance. It held a small room ar
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commemoration day of Guru Tegh Baha
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nectar-water. 233 Subsequently, all
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often epitomize key persons and mom
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Guru Gobind Singh meditates in the
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living moment during which examples
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T W O INSIDE THE GURU’S GATE CON
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don’t have a guru there will be d
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speaking of interaction contexts th
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Nanak perceived himself as a messen
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K: So were the Sikh Gurus of divine
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irth in the form of Guru Nanak Dev
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During his life time he waved the c
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“Nanak says” within individual
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answers are indicative of the exten
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procession to Amritsar. To honor th
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IMPLICATIONS OF SCRIPTURAL SUCCESSI
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shown that cosmologies and systems
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With the shift of authority, the sa
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divine messages and enjoy the same
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Local Sikhs will say that the Guru
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PERSONIFYING A TEXT For students of
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oth persons and inanimate “things
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they also construct and maintain so
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ciprocity, either for purely devoti
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keeping langar can be traced back t
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A JURIDICAL PERSON Perhaps the most
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Guru. In a practice-oriented approa
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large number of sites and buildings
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or on the roof terrace. One family
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gurdwara, or when they visit Sikh p
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said that people pay respect to Nis
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Nishan sahib in the courtyard, and
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Gurus and weapons that have belonge
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people”. To set up a place at whi
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emnizing Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind
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scriptures at their houses may visi
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ply the audience with an expositive
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ized undertakings, such as collecti
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edroom, between which the scripture
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ple in the ordinary social structur
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To illustrate the significances whi
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mon identity in the egalitarian com
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the time of our conversations and c
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MEDIATORS OF GURBANI In Varanasi th
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to neighboring congregations. The r
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GRACED GUIDES Whereas the above-men
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audiocassettes and distributed worl
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The performers I interviewed had ga
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for an aspiring granthi, Bhai Jiopa
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tation practices, which from a reli
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ing. He should know the full Ardas
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lieved to make his performances mor
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pages is eternal and will never be
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were hard to read and required that
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When SGPC released the first one-vo
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ture is thus conceived as a Guru to
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prior to the physical touching of b
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Sangat cleaning the road Panj Py
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order to keep the route pure in hon
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ered. In equally many homes the you
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ises do not satisfy these requireme
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establishes new bonds between the G
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the ashes in large bedecked urns an
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tion conducted the cremation ceremo
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congregate in the scriptural hospic
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Granth Sahib has its own life-cycle
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T H R E E FROM MANTRAS TO UNBROKEN
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ogy has made it possible to mass-pr
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The ultimate learning of gurbani is
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social life and mind. As such, reci
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night, which marks the break of a n
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the hair is veiled and the feet are
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ought to an end by reading Kirtan S
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MEMORIZED HYMNS (Number of informan
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Looking at the ways in which Amritd
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etween human and God, either to see
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India, the notion of chilla denotes
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able to complete and make a promise
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ecited after the Guru Granth Sahib
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(Akhand path), which is to be perfo
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RECITING THE GURU GRANTH SAHIB Sinc
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The Sikhs have developed various sy
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work in Varanasi I quickly lost cou
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formance has been located to the do
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of the scripture in one hour, but t
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Hukam and render the verse twice be
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professional reciters who read in r
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of an Akhand path performed after t
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cal savour of the divine that is be
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(path), music (kirtan) and distribu
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The two types of nectars have power
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The Guru’s wife added sugar becau
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water. An elderly Amritdhari woman,
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the musical components of kirtan sh
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and genuine. Preserving the origina
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standings and experiences of gurban
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DAILY SERVICES In a gurdwara there
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Whichever of these ragas they selec
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mind and affects the audience’s p
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verses and the fortieth verse of th
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to understand. Because of the scrip
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anecdotes with quoted hymns. 529 On
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moral point or a religious idea in
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discussions in the congregation and
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and sangat-pangat - the holy congre
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- “This will happen. I have decid
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Bhai Gurdas (1551-1636), the term V
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liable to spirit possession and oth
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devotional activities. The young ma
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the name. The musician may lead the
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Simran sadhna on cassette In additi
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modern interpretations of the Sikh
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Guru Gobind Singh when he formed th
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ATTENTIVE BODY POSTURE The most dis
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Thy command. Thine condition and ex
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all the desires and tasks are accom
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easons and motives. In the textual
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The rendering of Ardas thus stands
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God. Seva has power to cultivate hu
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of the divine name, to emphasize th
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heavy mud. When Sikhs became aware
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Although the perfect devotee should
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eing presented as offerings to the
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F O U R PRACTICES IN TIMES OF ORDE
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following descriptive account on Si
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pregnancy. 590 When a newly wed cou
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themes of a written gurbani hymn de
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ery, unless she falls ill or for so
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It is noteworthy that the amrit giv
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while uttering the name of God (Vah
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identify the bearer’s geographica
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as to how to wash, dry and comb the
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code of conduct. As he said, all ha
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When a Sikh couple and good friends
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the woman. Emotionally these suhag
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ing a married woman and which she s
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their parents are requested to stan
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ide’s brother then escorts her to
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his bed to make him prepared for th
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When the relatives from Punjab arri
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The dead body is brought into the c
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did not require the attention of ot
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Sikh woman said: “We used to ask
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hand path of the Guru Granth Sahib
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On the thirteenth day or the sevent
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ation of a deceased person justifie
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solar Gregorian calendar, while mos
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in the Sikh history: the birth of G
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The Nanakshahi samat jantri which i
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particular deity or deities in the
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a main attraction on anniversary da
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the practice of simran and during t
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Children representing the panj pyar
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pants who represent different Sikh
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Nagar kirtan is a means for propaga
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Immediately after Arti, the granthi
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In the evening of the gurpurub the
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on North Indian festivals. 665 In t
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ulate the fire for an uneven number
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At Varanasi, like many other places
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customary Arti ceremony was perform
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about the humble Bhai Kanhaiya, off
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punishments for misdeeds they have
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The most common approach to allevia
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One verse which stood out remarkabl
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water from Sitala Mandir near river
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as they are believed to be unsatisf
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But Mata ji’s death was not defin
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was the shadow of a Muslim girl, a
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BABA VADBHAG SINGH When I first met
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The enemy is no longer a human iden
Page 461 and 462: where Vadbhag Singh continues his s
Page 463 and 464: connection with this event Kuku ji
Page 465 and 466: pected decline in a business is sus
Page 467 and 468: F I V E CONSTRUCTING MEANINGS CONT
Page 469 and 470: interpretation of activities define
Page 471 and 472: action. 714 These constructs may in
Page 473 and 474: CONTEXUALIZATION AND ENTEXTUALIZATI
Page 475 and 476: texualization can be achieved throu
Page 477 and 478: Another discourse somewhat relevant
Page 479 and 480: As Austin argues, performative utte
Page 481 and 482: nous “performativist” to the mo
Page 483 and 484: and religious ceremonies, discourse
Page 485 and 486: concern for the formal character of
Page 487 and 488: the human Gurus, Guru Granth Sahib
Page 489 and 490: Satnam Vahiguru in a repetitive man
Page 491 and 492: Examples of STATED REASONS FOR PERF
Page 493 and 494: shall arrange Akhand path “for th
Page 495 and 496: name of the deceased. Some said the
Page 497 and 498: etween the two references. The gurb
Page 499 and 500: Guru, which is always adaptable to
Page 501 and 502: variations with the eternal “cano
Page 503 and 504: engaging in religious action. The w
Page 505 and 506: ealization is presented in terms of
Page 507 and 508: divine writing (likhna). 802 The fo
Page 509 and 510: with the divine words through conti
Page 511: life... that I do not have to suffe
Page 515 and 516: minoritet i en hinduisk pilgrimssta
Page 517 and 518: GURPURUBS IN THE NANAKSHAHI CALENDA
Page 519 and 520: POH (DECEMBER/JANUARY) Prakash diva
Page 521 and 522: Divali Katak People perform puja to
Page 523 and 524: GLOSSARY OF SELECTED FOREIGN TERMS
Page 525 and 526: Jap - meditation and repetition of
Page 527 and 528: Ragi - a professional singer of kir
Page 529 and 530: REFERENCES ABBREVIATIONS GGS Guru G
Page 531 and 532: Amrit Kirtan[Nectar Praises (Punjab
Page 533 and 534: Anand, G. S. 1970. ”Guru Tegh Bah
Page 535 and 536: Briggs, Geo. W. 1997 (1920). The Ch
Page 537 and 538: Fenech, Louis E. 2003. “Conversat
Page 539 and 540: Hein, Norvin. 1972. The Miracle Pla
Page 541 and 542: Kaushal, Molly (ed.). 2001. Chanted
Page 543 and 544: ― (ed.). 1990. India through Hind
Page 545 and 546: Nijhawan, Michael. 2006a. “Ritual
Page 547 and 548: Schildkrout, Enid. 2004. “Inscrib
Page 549 and 550: Singh, Gurnek. 1998. Guru Granth Sa
Page 551 and 552: Veidlinger, Daniel. 2006. “When a
Page 553 and 554: LUND STUDIES IN HISTORY OF RELIGION
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