Any human being who faithfully believes in

i. One Immortal Being,
ii. Ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak Sahib to Guru Gobind Singh Sahib
iii. The Guru Granth Sahib,
iv. The utterances and teachings of the ten Gurus and
v. Khande di Pahul bequeathed by the tenth Guru, and who does not owe allegiance to any other religion, is a Sikh.

Sikh Living

A Sikh's life has two aspects : individual or personal and corporate or Panthak .

A Sikh's Personal Life

A Sikh's personal life should comprehend:-
i. Meditation on Nam (Divine Substance) and the scriptures,
ii. Leading life according to the Gurus' teachings and
iii. Altruistic voluntary service.

Meditating on Nam (Divine Substance) and Scriptures

1. A Sikh should wake up in the ambrosial hours (three hours before the dawn), take bath and, concentrating his/her thoughts on One Immortal Being, repeat the name Waheguru (Wondrous Destroyer of darkness).
2. He/she should recite the following scriptural compositions every day :
a. The Japu, the Jaapu and the Ten Sawayyas (Quartets) - beginning "Sarawag sudh"-- in the morning.
a. Sodar Rehras should recite in the evening after sunset.
b. The Sohila - to be recited at night before going to bed.
Note: The morning and evening recitations should be concluded with the Ardas.

Joining the congregation for understanding of and reflecting on Gurbani

Gurdwara

a. One is more easily and deeply affected by Gurbani (the holy Bani bequeathed by the Gurus) participating in congregational gatherings. For this reason, it is necessary for a Sikh that he visit the places where the Sikhs congregate for worship and prayer (the Gurdwaras), and joining the congregation, partake of the benefits that the study of the holy scriptures bestows.

b. The Guru Granth Sahib should be ceremonially opened in the Gurdwara every day without fail. Except for special exigencies, when there is need to keep the Guru Granth Sahib open during the night, Guru Granth Sahib should not be kept open during the night. It should, generally, be closed ceremonially after the conclusion of the Rehras (evening scripture recitation). Guru Granth Sahib should remain open so long as a granthi or attendant can remain in attendance, persons seeking darshan (seeking a view of or making obeisance to it) keep coming, or there is no risk of commission of irreverence towards it. Thereafter, it is advisable to close it ceremonially to avoid any disrespect to it.

c. The Guru Granth Sahib should be opened, read and closed ceremonially with reverence. The place where it is installed should be absolutely clean. An awning should be above. The Guru Granth Sahib should be placed on a cot measuring up to its size and overlaid with absolutely clean mattress and sheets. For proper installation and opening the Guru Granth Sahib , there should be cushions/pillows appropriate of kind etc. and, for covering it, romalas (sheet covers of appropriate size). When the Guru Granth Sahib is not being read, it should remain covered with a romala. A whisk too, should be there.

d. Anything except the afore-mentioned reverential ceremonies, for instance, such practices as the arti (Waving of a platter with burning lamps and incense set in it in vertical circular motion) with burning incense and lamps, offerings of eatables to Guru Granth Sahib , burning of lights, beating of gongs, etc., is contrary to gurmat (the Guru's way). However, for the perfuming of the place, the use of flowers, incense and scent is not barred. For light inside the room, oil or butter-oil lamps, candles, electric lamps, kerosene oil lamps, etc., may he lighted.

e. No book should he installed like and at par with the Guru Granth Sahib . Worship of any idol or any ritual or activity should not be allowed to be conducted inside the Gurdwaras. Nor should the festival of any other faith he allowed to be celebrated inside the Gurdwara. However, it will not be improper to use any occasion or gathering for the propagation of the gurmat (The Guru's way).

f. Pressing the legs of the cot on which the Guru Granth Sahib is installed, rubbing nose against walls and on platforms, held sacred, or massaging these, placing water below the Guru Granth Sahib's seat, making or installing statues, or idols inside the Gurdwaras, bowing before the picture of the Sikh Gurus or elders - all these are irreligious self-willed egotism, contrary to gurmat (the Guru's way).

g. When the Guru Granth Sahib has to be taken from one place to another, the Ardas should be performed. He/she who carries the Guru Granth Sahib on his/her head should walk barefoot; but when the wearing of shoes is a necessity, no superstitions need be entertained.

h. The Guru Granth Sahib should be ceremonially opened after performing the Ardas. After the ceremonial opening, a hymn should be read from the Guru Granth Sahib.

i. Whenever the Guru Granth Sahib is brought, irrespective of whether or not another copy of the Guru Granth Sahib had already been installed at the concerned place, every Sikh should stand up to show respect.

j. While going into the Gurdwara, one should take off the shoes and clean oneself up. If the feet are dirty or soiled, they should be washed with water.

One should circumambulate with the Guru Granth Sahib or the Gurdwara on one's right. k. No person, no matter which country, religion or caste he/she belongs to, is barred from entering the Gurdwara for darshan (seeing the holy shrine). However, he/she should not have on his/her person anything, such as tobacco or other intoxicants, which are tabooed by the Sikh religion.

l. The first thing a Sikh should do on entering the Gurdwara is to do obeisance before the Guru Granth Sahib. He/she should, thereafter, have a glimpse of the congregation and bid in a low, quiet voice, "Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh."

m. In the congregation, there should be no differentiation or discrimination between Sikh and non-Sikh, persons traditionally regarded as touchable and untouchable, the so-called high and low caste persons, the high and the low.

n. Sitting on a cushion, a distinctive seat, a chair, a stool, a cot, etc. or in any distinctive position in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib or within the congregation is contrary to Gurmat(Guru's way).

o. No Sikh should sit bare-headed in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib or in the congregation. For Sikh women joining the congregation with their persons uncomfortably draped and with veils drawn over their faces is contrary to gurmat (Guru's way).

p. There are five takhts (lit., thrones, fig., seats of high authority) : namely-

I. Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Amritsar,
II. Takht Sri Patna Sahib,
III. Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib, Anandpur,
IV. Takht Sri Hazur Sahib, Nanded,
V. Takht Sri Damdama Sahib, Talwandi Sabo.

q. Only an Amritdhari Sikh man or woman, who faithfully observes the discipline ordained for the Amritdhari Sikhs, can enter the hallowed enclosures of the Takhts (Ardas for and on behalf of any Sikh or non-Sikh, fallen or punished (tankhahia) Sikh, can be offered at the takhts.

r. At a high-level site in every Gurdwara should be installed the nishan sahib (Sikh flag). The cloth of the flag should be either of xanthic or of greyish blue colour and on top of the flag post, there should either he a spearhead or a Khanda (a straight dagger with convex side edges leading to slanting top edges ending in a vertex).

s. There should he a drum (nagara) in the Gurdwara for beating on appropriate occasions.

a. Only a Sikh may perform kirtan in a congregation.

b. Kirtan : singing Gurbani in the prescribed Rag in the beginning of the Shabad.

c. In the congregation, kirtan only of Gurbani (Guru Granth Sahib 's or Guru Gobind Singh's hymns) and, for its elaboration, of the compositions of Bhai Gurdas Ji and Bhai Nand Lal Ji, may be performed.

d. It is improper, while singing Shabads from Guru Granth Sahib to rhythmic folk tunes or to traditional Ragas, or in group singing , to induct into them improvised and extraneous refrains. Only a line from the Shabad should be made a refrain.

Taking Hukam (Command)

a. Doing obeisance to the Guru Granth Sahib, taking a glimpse of the congregation, an embodiment of the Guru's person, and taking the command : these constitute the view of the Satguru (Immortal destroyer of darkness, the true guru). Raising the drapery covering Guru Granth Sahib and merely taking a look or making others take a look at the exposed page, without taking command (reading the prescribed hymn) is contrary to Gurmat (Guru's way).

b. In the course of the congregational sessions, only one thing should be done at a time : performing of kirtan,delivering discourse, interpretative elaboration of the scriptures, or reading of the scriptures.

c. Only a Sikh, man or woman, is entitled to be in attendence of the Guru Granth Sahib during the congregational session.

d. Only a Sikh may read out from the Guru Granth Sahib for others. However, even a non-Sikh may read from it for himself/herself.

e. For taking the command (Hukam), the Shabad that is continuing on the top of the left hand page must be from the beginning. If the Shabad begins on the previous page, turn over the page and read the whole hymn from the beginning to the end. If the scriptural composition that is continuing on the top of the left hand page is a var(ode) then start from the first of the slokas preceding the pauri and read upto the end of the pauri. Conclude the reading at the end of the Shabad with the line in which the name 'Nanak' occurs.

f. Hukam must also be taken at the conclusion of the congregational session or after the Ardas.

Sadharan Path (Completion of Normal Intermittent Reading of the Guru Granth Sahib):

a. Every Sikh should, as far as possible, maintain a separate and exclusive place for the installation of Guru Granth Sahib, in his home.

b. Every Sikh, man, woman, boy or girl, should learn Gurmukhi to be able to read the Guru Granth Sahib.

c. Every Sikh should take the Hukam (Command) of the Guru Granth Sahib in the ambrosial (early)hours of the morning before taking meal. If he/she fails to do that, he/she should read or listen to reading from the Guru Granth Sahib some time during the day. If he/she cannot do that either, during travel etc., or owing to any other impediment, he/she should not give in to a feeling of guilt.

d. It is desirable that every Sikh should carry on a continuous reading of the Guru Granth Sahib and complete a full reading in one or two months or over a longer period.

e. While undertaking a full reading of the Guru Granth Sahib , one should recite the Anand Sahib (the first five and the last stanzas) and perform the Ardas. One should, thereafter, read the Japuji.

Akhand Path (Uninterrupted-Non-stop-Completion of the reading of the Guru Granth Sahib)

a. The non-stop reading of the Guru Granth Sahib is carried on at hard times or on occasions of elation or joy. It takes approximately fortyeight hours. The non-stop reading implies continuous, uninterrupted reading. The reading must be clear and correct. Reading too fast, so that the person listening in to it cannot follow the contents, amounts to irreverence to the Scriptures. The reading should be correct and clear, due care being bestowed on consonant and vowel even though that takes a little longer to complete.

b. Whichever family or congregation undertakes the reading should carry it out itself through its members, relatives, friends, etc., all together. The number of reciters is not prescribed. If a person, himself, cannot read, he should listen in to the reading by some competent reader. However, it should never be allowed to happen that the reader carries on the reading all by himself/herself and no member of the family is listening in to the reading. The reader should be served with food and clothing to the best of the host's means.

c. Placing a pitcher, ceremonial clarified-butter-fed lamp, coconut, etc. around, during the course of the uninrerrupted or any other reading of Guru Granth Sahib, or reading of other Scriptural texts side by side with or in the course of such reading is contrary to the gurmat (Guru's way).

Commencing the Non-Stop Reading (Akhandpath)

While undertaking the intermittent reading of the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred pudding (Karhah Prashad) for offering should be brought and after reciting the Anand (six stanzas) and offering Ardas, Hukam should be taken.

While beginning the unbroken reading, the sacred pudding should first be laid. Thereafter, after reciting the Anand(six stanzas), offering the Ardas and taking the Hukam, reading should he commenced.

Concluding the Reading

a. The reading of the whole Guru Granth Sahib (intermmitent or non-stop) may be concluded with the reading of Mundawani or the Rag Mala according to the convention traditionally observed at the concerned place. (Since there is a difference of opinion within the Panth on this issue, nobody should dare to write or print a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib excluding the Rag Mala). Thereafter, after reciting the Anand Sahib, the Ardas of the conclusion of the reading should be offered and the sacred pudding (Karhah Prashad) distributed.

b. On the conclusion of the reading, offering of draperies, fly-whisk and awning, having regard to the requirements of the Guru Granth Sahib, and of other things, for Panthak causes, should be made to the best of means.

Karhah Prashad (Sacred Pudding)

a. Only the Karhah Prashad which has been prepared or got prepared according to the prescribed method shall be acceptable in the congregation.

b. The method of preparing the Karhah Prashad is this : In a clean vessel, the three contents (wheat flour, pure sugar and clarified butter, in equal quantities) should he put and it should be made reciting the Scriptures. Then covered with a clean piece of cloth, it should be placed on a clean stool in front of the Guru Granth Sahib. Thereafter, in the holy presence of the Guru Granth Sahib , the first five and the last stanza of the Anand Sahib should be recited aloud {so that the congregation can hear} the Ardas, offered and the Karhah Prashad tucked with the sacred Kirpan for acceptance.

c. After this, before the distribution to the congregation of the Karhah Prashad, the share of the five beloved ones should be set apart and given away. Thereafter, while the general distribution, the share of the person in attendance of the Guru Granth Sahib(Giving double share to the person in attendance (constitutes improper discrimination)should be put in small bowl or vessel and handed over. The person who doles out the Karhah Prashad among the congregation should do so without any discrimination on the basis of personal regard or spite. He should dole out the Karhah Parshad equally to the Sikh, the non-Sikh or a person of high or low caste. While doling out the Karhah Prashad, no discrimination should be made on considerations of caste or ancestry or being regarded, by some, as untouchable, of persons within the congregation.

d. The offering of Karhah Prashad should be accompanied by at least two pice in cash.

Exposition of Gurbani ( Gurbani Di Katha)

a. The exposition of the Gurbani in a congregational should he carded out only by a Sikh.

b. The object of the exposition should only be promoting understanding of the Guru's tenets.

c. The exposition can only be of the ten Gurus' writings utterances,, Bhai Gurdas's writings, Bhai Nand Lal's'- writings or of any generally accepted Panthak book or books of history (which are in agreement with the -. tenets) and not of a book of any other faith. However, illustration, references to a holy person's teachings or contained in a book may be made.

Expository Discourse (Vikhian)

No discourse contrary to the Guru's tenets should be delivered inside a Gurdwara.

Gurdwara Service

In the Gurdwara, the schedule of the congregational service generally is ceremonial opening of the Guru Granth Sahib, Kirtan, exposition of scriptures, expository discourses, recitation of Anand Sahib, the -Ardas the raising of Fateh slogan and then the slogan of Sat Sri Akal and taking the Hukam.

Living in Consonance with Guru's Tenets (Gurmat Rehni)

A Sikh's living, earning livelihood, thinking and conduct should accord with the Guru's tenets. The Guru's tenets are:

a. Worship should be rendered only to the One Timeless Being and to no god or goddess.

b. Regarding the ten Gurus, the Guru Granth Sahib and the ten Gurus' word alone as saviours and holy objects of veneration.

c. Regarding ten Gurus as the effulgence of one light and one single entity.

d. Sikhs don't believe in caste system, untouchabililty , Jantar Mantar Tantar (Magic spells) omens, horoscopic dispositions , Shradh, Ancestor worship, Pind, Patal,Fasting,Tilak, Janju, Tulsi, Malla, Gor, Math, Marhi, Idolatery,

Not owning up or regarding as hallowed any place other than the Guru's place- such, for instance, as sacred sports or places of pilgrimage of other faiths.

Not believing in or according any authority to Muslim seers, Brahmins' holiness, soothsayers, clairvoyants, oracles, promise of an offering on the fulfilment of a wish, offering of sweet loaves or rice pudding at graves on fulfillment of wishes, the Vedas, the Shastras, the Gayatri, the Gita, the Quaran, the Bible, etc. However, the study of the books of other faiths for general self-education is admissible.

e. The Khalsa should maintain its distinctiveness among the professors of different religions of the world, but should not hurt the sentiments of any person professing another religion.

f. A Sikh should pray to God before launching off any task.

g. Learning Gurmukhi (Punjabi in Gurmukhi script)) is essential for a Sikh. He should pursue other studies also.

h. It is a Sikh's duty to get his children educated in Sikhism.

i. A Sikh should, in no way, harbor any antipathy to the hair of the head with which his child is born. He should not temper with the hair with which the child is horn. He should add the suffix "Singh" to the name of his son & "Kaur" to the name of his daughter. A Sikh should keep the hair of his sons and daughters intact.

j. A Sikh must not take hemp (cannabis), opium, liquor, tobacco, in short, any intoxicant. His only routine intake should be food.

k. Piercing of nose or ears for wearing ornaments in forbidden for Sikh men and women.

l. A Sikh should not kill his daughter; nor should he maintain any relationship with "daughter-killer."

m. The true Sikh of the Guru shall make an honest living by lawful work.

n. A Sikh shall regard a poor person's mouth as the Guru's cash offerings box.

o. A Sikh shall not steal, form dubious associations or engage in gambling.

p. He who regards another man's daughter as his own daughter, regards another man's wife as his mother, has coition with his own wife alone, he alone is a truly disciplined Sikh of the Guru. A Sikh woman shall likewise keep within the confines of conjugal rectitude.

q. A Sikh shall observe the Sikh rules of conduct and conventions from his birth right upto the end of his life.

r. A Sikh, when he meets another Sikh, should greet him with "Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh" (Rendered into English:The Khalsa is Waheguru's; victory too is His !). This is ordained for Sikh men and women both.

s. It is not proper for a Sikh woman to wear veil or keep her face hidden by veil or cover.

t. For a Sikh, there is no restriction or requirement as to dress except that he must wear Kachhehra (A drawer type fastened by a fitted string round the waist, very often worn as an underwear.) and turban. A Sikh woman may or may not tie turban.

Ceremonies pertaining to Birth and Naming of Child

a. In a Sikh's household, as soon after the birth of a child as the mother becomes capable of moving about and taking bath (irrespective of the number of days which that takes), the family and relatives should go to a Gurdwara with Karhah Prashad (sacred pudding) or get Karhah Prashad made in the Gurdwara and recite in the holy presence of the Guru Granth Sahib such hynins as "Parmeshar dita bana" {Sorath M. 5} (The Almighty Lord has granted support. [Sorath M. 5, Guru Granth Sahib P. 628]), "Satguru sache dia bhej" {Asa M. 5} (The true Lord has sent this gift. [Asa M. 5, Guru Granth Sahib P. 396]) that are expressive of joy and thankfulness. Thereafter if a reading of the holy Guru Granth Sahib had been taken up, that should be concluded. Then the holy Hukam (command) should be taken. A name starting with the first letter of the Shabad of the Hukam (command) should he proposed by the Granthi (man in attendance of Guru Granth Sahib) and, after its acceptance by the congregation, the name should be announced by him. The boy's name must have the suffix "Singh" and the giri's, the suffix "Kaur".

After that the Anand Sahib (short version comprising six stanzas) should be recited and the Ardas in appropriate terms expressing joy over the naming ceremony he offered and the Karhah Prashad distributed.

b. The superstition as to the pollution of food and water in consequence of birth must not be subscribed to, for the holy writ is : "The birth and death are by His ordinance; coming and going is by His will. All food and water are, in principle, clean, for these life-sustaining substances are provided by Him."

c. Making shirts or frocks for children out of Guru Granth Sahib 's draperies is a sacrilege.

Anand Sanskar : (Sikh Matrimonial Ceremony and Conventions)

a. A Sikh man and woman should enter wedlock without giving thought to the prospective spouse's caste and descent.

b. A Sikh's daughter must be married to a Sikh.

c. A Sikh's marriage should be solemnized by Anand marriage rites.

d. Child marriage is taboo for Sikhs.

e. When a girl becomes marriageable, physically, emotionally and by virtue of maturity of character, a suitable Sikh match should be found and she be married to him by Anand marriage rites.

f. Marriage may not be preceded by engagement ceremony. But if an engagement ceremony is sought to he held, a congregational gathering should be held and, after offering the Ardas before the Guru Granth Sahib, a kirpan, a steel Kara and some sweets may be tendered to the boy.

g. Consulting horoscopes for determining which day or date is auspicious or otherwise for fixing the day of the marriage is a sacrilege. Any day that the parties find suitable by mutual consultation should be fixed.

h. Putting on floral or gilded face ornamentation, decorative headgear or red thread band round the wrist, worshipping of ancestors, dipping feet in rffiik mixed with water, cutting a berry or jandi (Prosopis spieigera) bushes, filling pitcher, ceremony of retirement in feigned displeasure, reciting couplets, performing havans (Sacrificial fire), installing vedi (a wooden canopy or pavilion under which Hindu marriages are performed), prostitutes' dances, drinking liquor, are all sacrileges.

i. The marriage party should have as small a number of people as the girl's people desire. The two sides should greet each other singing sacred hymns and finally by the Sikh greetings of Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh.

j. For marriage, there should be a congregational gathering in the holy presence of Guru Granth Sahib. There should be hymn-singing by ragis or by the whole congregation. Then the girl and the boy should he made to sit facing the Guru Granth Sahib. The girl should sit on the left side of the boy. After soliciting the congregation's permission, the master of the marriage ceremony (who may be a man or a woman) should bid the boy and girl and their parents or guardians to stand and should offer the Ardas for the commencement of the Anand marriage ceremony.

The officiant should then apprise the boy and the girl of the duties and obligations of conjugal life according to the Guru's tenets.

He should initially give to the two an exposition of their common mutual obligations. He should tell them how to model the husband-wife relationship on the love between the individual soul and the Supreme Soul in the light of the contents of circumambulation (Lanvan) Shabads in the Suhi measure (Rag) section of the Guru Granth Sahib.

He should explain to them the notion of the state of "a single soul in two bodies" to be achieved through love and make them see how they may attain union with the Immortal Being discharging duties and obligations of the householders' life. Both of them, they should be told, have to make their conjugal union a means to the fulfillment of the purpose of the journey of human existence; both have to lead clean and Guru-oriented lives through the instrumentality of their union.

He should then explain to the boy and girl individually their respective conjugal duties as husband and wife.

The bridegroom should be told that the girl's people having chosen him as the fittest match from among a lot, he should regard his wife as his better half, accord to unflinching love and share with her all that he has. In situations, he should protect her person and honour, should be completely loyal to her and he should show much respect and consideration for her parents as for his own.

The girl should be told that she has been joined matrimony to her man in the hallowed presence of the Guru Granth Sahib and the congregation. She should ever harbor for him deferential solicitude, regard him the lord master of her love and trust; she should remain firm in loyalty to him and serve him in joy and sorrow and in every clime (native or foreign) and should show the same and consideration to his parents and relatives as she does to her own parents and relatives.

The boy and girl should bow before the Guru Granth Sahib to betoken their acceptance of these instructions. Thereafter, the girl's father or the principal relation should make the girl grasp one end of the sash which the boy wearing over his shoulders and the person in attendance the Guru Granth Sahib should recite the matrimonial circumambulation stanzas {Lavan of the Fourth Nanak, Guru Ram Das Sahib in the Suhi Rag of the Guru Granth Sahib } (Pp. 773-4). After the conclusion of the recitation of each of the stanzas, the boy, followed by the girl holding the end of the sash, should go round the Guru Granth Sahib while the ragis or the congregation sing out the recited stanza.

The boy and girl, after every circumambulation, should bow before the Guru Granth Sahib in genuflexion, lowering their forehead to touch the ground and then stand up to listen to the recitation of the next stanza. There being four matrimonial circumambulation stanzas in the concerned hymn, the proceeding will comprise four circumambulation with the incidental singing of the stanza. After the four circumabulation, the boy and girl should, after bowing before the Guru Granth Sahib, sit down at the appointed place and the Ragis or the person who has conducted the ceremony should recite the first five and the last stanza of the Anand Sahib. Thereafter, the Ardas should he offered to mark the conclusion of the Anand marriage ceremony and the Karhah Parshad, distributed'.

k. Persons professing faiths other than the Sikh faith cannot be joined in wedlock by the Anand Karaj ceremony.

l. No Sikh should accept a match for his/her son or daughter for monetary consideration.

m. If the girl's parents at any time or on any occasion visit their daughter's home and a meal is ready there, they should not hesitate to eat there. Abstaining from eating at the girl's home is a superstition. The Khalsa has been blessed with the boon of victuals and making others eat by the Guru and the Immortal Being. The girl's and boy's people should keep accepting each other's hospitality, because the Guru has joined them in relationship of equality (Prem Sumarag).

n. If a woman's husband has died, she may, if she so wishes, finding a match suitable for her, remarry. For a Sikh man whose wife has died, similar ordinance obtains.

o. The remarriage may be solemnized in the same manner as the Anand marriage.

p. Generally, no Sikh should marry a second wife if the first wife is alive.

q. Amritdhari Sikh ought to get his wife also Amritdhari

Funeral Ceremonies (Antam Sanskar)

a. The body of a dying or dead person, if it is on a cot, must not be taken off the cot and put on the floor. Nor must a lit lamp be placed beside, or a cow got bestowed in donation by, him/her or for his/her good or any other ceremony, contrary to Guru's way, performed. Only Gurbani should be recited or "Waheguru, Waheguru" repeated by his/her side.

b. When some one shuffles the mortal coil, the survivors must not grieve or raise a hue and cry or indulge in breast beating. To induce a mood of resignation to God's will, it is desirable to recite Gurbani or repeat "Waheguru".

c. However, young the deceased may be, the body should be cremated. However, where arrangements for cremation cannot be made, there should be no qualm about the body being immersed in flowing water or disposed of in any other manner.

d. As to the time of cremation, no consideration as to whether it should take place during day or night should weigh.

e. The dead body should be bathed and clothed in clean clothes. While that is done, the Sikh symbols-Kangha, Kachha, Kara, Kirpan-should not be taken off. Thereafter, putting the body on a plank, Ardas about its being taken away for disposal be offered. The hearse should then be lifted and taken to the cremation ground. While the body is being carried to the cremation ground, hymns that induce feelings of detachment should be recited. On reaching the cremation ground, the pyre should be laid. Then the Ardas for consigning the body to fire be offered. The dead body should then he placed on the pyre and the son or any other relation or friend of the deceased should set fire to it. The accompanying congregation should sit at a reasonable distance and listen to kirtan or carry on collective singing of Shabads or recitation of detachment-inducing Shabads. When the pyre is fully aflame, the Kirtan Sohila (prescribed preretirement night Scriptural prayer) be recited and the Ardas offered. (Piercing the Skull half an hour or so after the pyre has been burning with a rod or something else in the belief that will secure the release of the soul-kapal kriya-is contrary to the Guru's tenets). The congregation should then leave.

Coming back home, a reading of the Guru Granth Sahib should be commenced at home or in a nearby Gurdwara, and after reciting the six stanzas of the Anand Sahib, the Ardas, offered and Karhah prashad (sacred pudding) distributed. The reading of the Guru Granth Sahib should be completed on the tenth day. If the reading cannot, or is sought not to, be completed on the tenth day, some other day may be appointed for the conclusion of the reading having regard to the convenience of the relatives. The reading of the Guru Granth Sahib should he carried out by the members of the household of the deceased and relatives in cooperation. if possible, Kirtan may be held every night. No funeral ceremony remains to be performed after the "tenth day."

f. When the pyre is burnt out, the whole bulk of the ashes, including the burnt bones, should be gathered up and immersed in flowing water or buried at that very place and the ground levelled. Raising a monument to the memory of the deceased at the place where his dead body is cremated is taboo.

g. Adh Marg (the ceremony of breaking the pot used for bathing the dead body amid doleful cries half way towards the cremation ground), organised lamentation by women, foorhi (sitting on a straw mat in mouming for a certain period), diva (keeping an oil lamp lit for 360 days after the death in the belief that that will light the path of the deceased), Pind (ritual donating of lumps of rice flour, oat flour, or solidified milk (khoa) for ten days after death), kirya (concluding the funeral proceedings ritualistically, serving meals and making offerings by way of Shradh, Budha Marna (waving of whisk, over the hearse of an old person's dead body and decorating the hearse with festoons), etc. are contrary to the approved code. So too is the picking of the burnt bones from the ashes of the pyre for immersing in the Ganga, at Patalpuri (Kiratpur), at Kartarpur Sahib or at any other such place.

Other Rites and Conventions

Sewa (Voluntary Service)

1. Sewa is a prominent part of Sikh religion. Illustrative models of voluntary service are organised for imparting training, in the Gurdwaras. Its simple forms are : sweeping and plastering the floors of the Gurdwara. serving water to or fanning the congregation. offering provisions to and rendering any, kind of service in the common kitchen-cum-eating house. dusting the shoes of the people visiting the Gurdwara, etc.

a. Guru Ka Langar : The philosophy behind the Langar (Guru's kitchen-cum-eating-house) is two-fold : to provide training to the Sikhs in voluntary service and to help banish all distinction of high and low, touchable and untouchable from the Sikhs' minds.

b. All human beings, high or low, and of any caste or color may sit and eat in the Langar. No discrimination on grounds of the country of origin, color, caste or religion must be made while making people sit in rows for eating. However, only Amritdhari Sikhs can eat off one plate.

Panthak Rehni (Facets of Corporate Sikh Life)

The essential facets of Panthak life are :

1. Guru Panth (the Panth's Guru status)
2. The ceremony of Amrit Sanchar (Khande di Pahul)
3. The statute of chastisement for aberrations
4. The statute of collective resolution (Gurmata)
5. The appeal against local decisions

Guru Panth (Panth's Status of Guruhood)

The concept of service is not confined to fanning the congregation, service to and in the Guru ka Langar etc. A Sikh's entire life is a life of benevolent exertion. The most fruitful service is the service that secures the optimum good by minimal endeavor. That can be achieved through organised collective action. A Sikh has, for this reason, to fulfil his Panthak obligations (obligations as a member of the entity, the Panth), even as he/she performs his/her individual duties. This corporate entity is the Panth. Every Sikh has also to fulfil his obligations as a unit of the corporate body, the Panth.

a. The Guru Panth (Panth's status of Guruhood) means the whole body of committed Amritdhari Sikhs. This body was fostered by all the ten Gurus and The tenth Nanak Guru Gobind Singh Sahib gave it its final shape and invested it with Guruhood.