Sikhism . Gurbani Class. A Philosophic Approach to Gurudwara activities

In Sikh religion, going regularly to Gurudwara is very important.
In the Gurudwara, we do many activities.
But what is the hidden philosophic meaning behind these activities?
By understanding the deeper meaning, we can perform these activities with greater commitment.
Bowing the head:
To stop using our incorrect mind; and to use the wisdom of our Gurus.
Also, to surrender ourselves to the will of Guru.
- ‘Gur ki mat tu le iyanne’. (Sukmani sahib)
- ‘Aisi mat deeje mere thaakur, sadaa, sadaa tudh dhiyaai’. (673).
- ‘Tu samrath vadaa, meri mat thodi raam’. (547).

Sangat: Participating in sangat is one of the benefits of visiting the Gurudwara. When a group of people pray together, our mind gets attuned to God easily.

Mil saadh sangat bhaj keval naam. (Rehras sahib, GGS:12).
Mere madho ji, sat sangat miley so tariyaa. (Rehras sahib, GGS:10)

Kirtan: To sincerely praise God and His creation. This can come from a sense of amazement or ‘Wah’.

‘Keerat prabh ki gaavo meri rasnaa’. (1298).
‘Ustat man mein kar nirankaar’. (Sukhmani sahib).
‘Aisaa kirtan kar man mere, eha uha jo kaam tere’. (236).

Akhand paath: To remember God in an unbroken ‘akhand’ manner.

‘Saas saas simro gobind, man antar ki utre chind’. (Sukhmani sahib).
‘Din raati araadho piyaaro, nimakh naa kije dheela’. (498).

Ardaas:

To request God to protect us from sins and evil.
To praise the qualities of our Gurus.
To thank God for the things He has given us.
To make a humble request to God, for the things we want.
To ask for God’s pardon for our mistakes.
- ‘Hamri karo haath de rashaa, puran hoe chit ki iccha’. (Choupaye Patsahi 10).
- ‘Jo maange thaakur apne te, soi soi deve’. (681).
- ‘Pitaa mero badho dhani agmah.’ (507).
- ‘Maango daan, thaakur naam’. (713).
- ‘Jetaa samund sagar neer bhariyaa, tete avgun hamare’. (156).
- ‘Ham avgun bhare, ek gun nahi’. (1405).
- ‘Mein murakh ki ketak baat hai, kot apraadhi tariyaa re’. (612).

Hukam Naama: This is God’s message to us. We should try to remember it and act on it, through out the day.

‘Tis kaa hukam bujh sukh hoi’. (Sukhmani sahib).
‘Tera kiya meetha laage’. (394).

Parshaad: This shows that God has given us his gift or kirpa. It indicates that everything that we have got is a gift from God.

‘Nanak prabh sarnagati, kar parshad gur dev’. (Sukhmani sahib).
‘Je parsaad chhatti amrit khaaye’. (Sukhmani sahib).

Langar: This has many hidden meanings such as:

It gives food to our body, just as ‘kirtan/paath’ gives food to our mind.
It gives food to poor people, who cannot afford it at home.
Because the rich and poor sit in the same line, it indicates equality.
It gives us an opportunity to offer our ‘daan’ or charity.
It gives us an opportunity to do ‘sevaa’ or selfless service of others.

These philosophic meanings of our activities are important. Performing these activities with this philosophic understanding can give us ever-lasting happiness.

Generous contributions of Satnam Kaur and colleagues

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