A gurdwara or gurudwara is a place of assembly and worship in Sikhism, but its normal meaning is "place of guru" or "home of guru". Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as Gurdwara Sahib. People from all faiths and religions are welcomed in gurdwaras. Each gurdwara has a Darbar Sahib where the Guru Granth Sahib is placed on a takht in a prominent central position. Any congregant may recite, sing, and explain the verses from the Guru Granth Sahib, in the presence of the rest of the congregation.
The Guru Granth Sahib is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth, its first rendition, was compiled by the fifth guru, Guru Arjan (1564–1606). Its compilation was completed on 29 August 1604 and first installed inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar on 1 September 1604. Baba Buddha was appointed the first Granthi of the Golden Temple. Shortly afterwards Guru Hargobind added Ramkali Ki Vaar. Later, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru, added hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur to the Adi Granth and affirmed the text as his successor. This second rendition became known as the Guru Granth Sahib and is also sometimes referred to as the Adi Granth.
The following outline is provides an overview of Sikhism, or Sikhi.
The Akhand Kirtani Jatha, alternatively romanized as the Akhand Keertanee Jathaa and abbreviated as AKJ, is a jatha and sect of Sikhism dedicated to the Sikh lifestyle. The Jatha follows a strict discipline in keeping the Rehat of Guru Gobind Singh. They also enjoy an active style of Keertan recited by Sikhs in a collective manner in front of Guru Granth Sahib. This style of Keertan is relatively simple, and the entire congregation devotionally participates in singing along.
Nitnem is a collection of Sikh hymns (Gurbani) to be read minimally 3 different times of the day. These are mandatory and to be read by every Amritdhari Sikh as expressed in the Sikh Rehat Maryada. Optionally additional prayers may be added to a Sikh's nitnem. There are five hymns (Five Banis) to be done during Amrit Vela, the Rehras Sahib hymn for the evening and Kirtan Sohila for the night. The morning and evening prayers should be followed by an Ardaas.
A Granthi is a person, female or male, of the Sikh religion who is a ceremonial reader of the Guru Granth Sahib, which is the holy book in Sikhism, often read to worshipers at Sikh temples called a Gurdwara.
Paath or Path, from the Sanskrit patha which means reading or recitation, is, in the religious context, reading or recitation of the holy texts. In Sikhism, comprehension of what is being read is considered more important than ritual recitation Guru Granth Sahib.
The principal Sikh scripture is the Adi Granth, more commonly called the Guru Granth Sahib. The second most important scripture of the Sikhs is the Dasam Granth. Both of these consist of text which was written or authorised by the Sikh Gurus.
Anand Karaj is the Sikh wedding ceremony, meaning "Act towards happiness" or "Act towards happy life", that was introduced by Guru Amar Das. The four laavaan were composed by his successor, Guru Ram Das. Although the recitation of Guru Amar Das' stanzas in Sikh ceremonies is a historical and enduring tradition, the practice of circumambulating around the Guru Granth Sahib to conduct a marriage ceremony is a relatively recent innovation that supplanted the tradition of circumambulating around the sacred fire (havan) in the early twentieth century.
The principles of Sikhism state that women have the same souls as men and thus possess an equal right to cultivate their spirituality with equal chances of achieving salvation. Women participate in all Sikh religious, cultural, social, and secular activities including lead religious congregations, take part in the Akhand Path, perform Kirtan, perform Gatka and work as a Granthis.
An Akhand Path is the continuous and uninterrupted recitation of the Guru Granth Sahib, also known as Akhand Path Sahib.
Rehat refers to the rules and traditions which govern the unique Sikh lifestyle and determines correct Sikh orthodoxy and orthopraxy. The Sikh Rehit Maryada is a code of conduct and conventions for Sikhism. The final version of the Rehat Maryada was controversially approved by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar in 1945. The Rehat Maryada was created to provide guidance to Sikhs on practical and functional aspects of daily life, including the operations of Sikh Gurdwaras, and religious practices to foster cohesion throughout the community. Rehitnāma is a Punjabi term that refers to a genre of Sikh religious literature which expounds upon specifying an approved way of life for a Sikh.
Gurpurab, alternatively spelt as Gurpurb or Gurpurub, in Sikh tradition is a celebration of an anniversary of a Guru's birth marked by the holding of a festival.
Naam Karan refers to the Sikh ceremony of naming a child, typically conducted at a Gurdwara, a Sikh place of worship.
Sahej Paath or Sadharan Paath or even Khula Paath, literally means easy or simple recitation. It is a paath (recitation) which may be started and ended at any time; with as many or as few people participating as desired. The recitation of the Guru Granth Sahib is started at the beginning of the Granth Sahib and the whole of the 1430 pages of the Guru Granth is read in a slow fashion over from seven days to, in some cases, over several months. It is a slow, intermittent, non-regular, and non-urgent reading of the whole of the Guru Granth Sahib. Any paath which exceeds a week's length is referred to as a Sahej Paath.
Sikh practices are guidelines laid out by the Gurus for the practice of the "Sikh way of life". The Gurus emphasise that a Sikh should lead a disciplined life engaged in Naam Simran, meditation on God's name, Kirat Karo, living an honest life of a house-holder, and Vand Chaako, sharing what one has with the community. This translates into hard work, honest living, love of fellow humans and through them service of the God, the primal power. This way of life is said to have been stripped of complications, myths, jargon, rituals and exploitation of man by man in the name of religion. No benefits are gained by where and to which family the person is born to – All have to undertake the rigours of Simran (meditation) and Sevā to progress spiritually. The Guru Granth Sahib asks the Sikh to "Practice truth, contentment and kindness.
The Sikhs engage in various rites and services. Sikh rites include activities they consider essential to the group practice of Sikhism or the expression of egalitarianism, such as kirtan or taking karah parshad. Many rites in Sikhism involve prayer (ardas) or reciting scripture (paath). Some Sikh rites are meant to be practiced in a gurdwara congregation, while others are practiced at home or in other contexts.
Antam Sanskar refers to the funeral rites in Sikhism. Antam means "final", while sanskar means "rite".
A Balmiki temple is called an Ashram, which means a hermitage or monastery. It is the communal house for Balmikis. The function of the Ashram is to serve as a center for building up devotees' commitment and for transmitting the Ramayana's message, and the focal point for the whole community to preserve their culture and traditions.
The 52 Hukams are a set of instruction in Sikhism set by Guru Gobind Singh in Nanded, Maharashtra, India in 1708. These edicts sum up the ideal way of life of the Khalsa and serve as a code of conduct for the Khalsa Panth. Members of the Khalsa aim to follow all the 52 edicts.
