INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

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Dan ‒ donations Dandaut ‒ the bodily act of saluting by full prostration Darshan ‒ auspicious sight Dastar bandhi ‒ the turban-tying ceremony Dhamalak bhanana ‒ the act of breaking an earthen pot on the cremation ground Dhan ‒ accolade to glorify the Sikh Gurus Dharamsala ‒ place of worship in the early Sikh community, the hospice inside a gurdwara Dhol ‒ drum Dholki ‒ small drum Diksha ‒ the initiation in which a disciple receives a particular mantra from the teacher as a religious instruction Diya or Dipak ‒ vessel holding oil for a light Doli ‒ traditional palanquin in which the bride was escorted Gaddi ‒ seat, throne, position of authority Ghi ‒ clarified butter Gian ‒ spiritual knowledge Giani ‒ a wise and learned man Gotra or Got ‒ exogamous sub-division of a caste group, family, sub-caste, clan Granth ‒ book Granthi ‒ the custodian of the Sikh scripture and the gurdwara Gurbani ‒ the Guru’s utterances, compositions credited the status of being composed by the Sikh Gurus. Gurbani Sangit ‒ music of the Guru’s utterances Gurbhakti ‒ devotion to the Guru Gurdwara ‒ the gate or threshold of the Guru, the Sikh place of worship Gurmantra ‒ the mantra of the Guru Gurmat ‒ the teaching of the Guru Gurmukh ‒ a faithful follower of the Guru Gurmukhi ‒ the script of Punjabi in which the Sikh scripture is written Gurpurub ‒ festivals commemorating the Sikh Gurus and significant events in the Sikh history Guru ‒ spiritual preceptor Guru-ghar ‒ the house of the Guru Guru Granth Sahib ‒ the sacred scripture and guru of the Sikhs Guru Panth ‒ the Guru manifested in the community of Sikhs Gutka ‒ small prayer book with gurbani hymns Havan ‒ fire sacrifice Hukam ‒ the divine order or command Hukam-nama ‒ letter of command by the historical Sikh Gurus Ishnan – bath Jadutona ‒ practice of magic Jagadi jot – manifested light 506 Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008
Jap – meditation and repetition of God’s name Janam-sakhi – hagiographic work on the life and deeds of Guru Nanak Jat ‒ a Punjabi agricultural caste Jati or Zat ‒ position fixed by birth community or caste group, tribe, genus, race Jivanmukt – a liberated person who is physically alive Jot ‒ light or spiritual light Joti jot – merge light into light, the death of a pious person Jot rup/sarup ‒ the bodily form or manifested shape of spiritual light Jutha ‒ tasted, edibles made impure by the touch of saliva Kacchaira ‒ shorts, one of the five Sikh symbols Kalgi ‒ a plume attached on the turban Kacchi bani – unripe bani, compositions falsely attributed to the Guru Kaliyug – the dark age, the fourth and last era of the cosmic cycle Kangha – comb, one of the five Sikh symbols Kangha samskar ‒ the ceremony of fixing a comb in the first hair of a small child Kapal kriya ‒ the act of cracking the skull of the dead person during cremation Kara – iron or steel bracelet, one of the five Sikh symbols Karah Prashad – Consecrated food prepared in an iron dish Kar-seva – collective work service free of charge Katha – story-telling, exegesis, discourse Kathakar – the one who performs katha Kesh – unshorn hair, one of the five Sikh symbols Keski – a small under-turban Khalsa – the order instituted by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 Khanda – the double-edged sword Khandan ‒ broken, destroying, contradicting, used for acts contradicting the rahit Khande di pahul ‒ the nectar of the double-edged sword, the Khalsa initiation ceremony Khatri – a Punjabi merchantile caste Khulla path – broken recitation of the complete Sikh scripture Kirpan – dagger, one of the five Sikh symbols Kirtan – devotional Sikh music Kurahit – transgression or violation of the Sikh code of conduct Langar – common kitchen for serving meals in the gurdwara Lavan – the act of circumambulating the Sikh scripture during a wedding ceremony Man – the human mind and heart Mangalcharan ‒ an opening panegyric, verse, or prayer to religious performances Mangna ‒ betrothal ceremony Manji Sahib ‒ the string-bed or lectarn on which Guru Granth Sahib is placed, a seat of authority Manmukh – a self-willed person whose face is turned towards him- or herself Masia‒ new-moon day of the lunar calendar Mata – mother, a title of respect given to an elder and knowledgeble woman 507 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
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where Vadbhag Singh continues his s
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connection with this event Kuku ji
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pected decline in a business is sus
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F I V E CONSTRUCTING MEANINGS CONT
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interpretation of activities define
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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 and 512: life... that I do not have to suffe
Page 513 and 514: SAMMANFATTNING PÅ SVENSKA (SUMMARY
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: GLOSSARY OF SELECTED FOREIGN TERMS
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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