ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>GRANTH&#298</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="GRANTH*"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279GRANTH&#298, from the Sanskrit <i>granthika</i> (a relater or narrator), is a person who reads the <i>granth</i>, Sanskrit <i>grantha</i> (composition, treatise, book, text). The terms are derived from the Sanskrit <i>grath</i> which means "to fasten, tie or string together, to compose (a literary work)." In Sikh usage, <i>granth</i> refers especially to the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, the Scripture, and the term <i>granth&#299</i> is used for the officiant whose main duty it is to read the Holy Book in public.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <i>granth&#299</i> is the principal religious official of Sikhism, but should not be thought of as a "priest" in the usual sense. Priestly offices of other major South Asian and Western religious systems typically rest on conceptions of a fundamental separation between their officers and those to whom they minister. Hereditary Br&#257hma&#7751 priests are distinct in virtue of having inherited unique religious properties such as specific texts and temples, or at least a religious rank or status that sets them inherently apart from those they serve. Priests, ministers, and rabbis in the Judeo-Christian tradition are often thought of as receiving a "calling" or "election" that others have not heard, and are ritually "ordained" into a special ministerial group within the community that sets them apart from "lay" members and entitles them to special esoteric knowledge not generally accessible. But the office of Granth&#299 is defined by common practice and the role of Granth&#299 in any ritual can in principle be taken by any Sikh. There is no ordination of a Granth&#299 apart from initiation as a Sikh, and the relationship between a Granth&#299 and any other Sikh is one of perfect equality of status and religious importance.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Granth&#299 is the custodian of the Holy Book in the <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i>, the Sikh place of worship. He ceremonially opens it in the morning and closes it in the evening. In addition, he performs morning and evening services, which include the recitation of specific <i>b&#257&#7751&#299s</i> or compositions from Scripture, and leads the <i>ard&#257s</i> or supplicatory prayer. He may also perform or lead <i>k&#299rtan</i>, i.e. devotional singing of the hymns. He conducts the rites of passage, and performs <i>p&#257&#7789h</i> or complete reading of the Scripture on behalf of the <i>sa&#7749gat</i> (local Sikh community) or individuals and families, in the <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> or at private homes. In small villages or urban localities, he is responsible for maintaining and managing the <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> with public donations and offerings. Larger <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> have their local managing committees with Granth&#299s employed on regular salary. Since Sikhs do not have a hereditary priestly caste or class nor an hierarchical body of ordained priests and clergymen, any person competent to perform the duties and acceptable to local community can be appointed a Granth&#299. He should of course be a baptized Sikh of blameless character, leading a simple life of a householder according to the ideals and traditional code of Sikh conduct. Ideally, a Granth&#299 is fundamentally an ideal for a Sikh in general stressing piety and humility. The Sikh Granth&#299s generally wear turbans of white, black, blue or yellow colour, long shirts or cloaks and <i>ch&#363&#7771&#299d&#257r</i> trousers, in the manner of breeches with folds at the ankles. They carry a white sash or scarf hung loosely around the neck. Their duties and obligations are set out by example rather than by rule or dogma.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Historically, the first Granth&#299 of the Sikh faith was the venerable Bh&#257&#299 Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 (1506-1631), who was so designated by Gur&#363 Arjan to attend upon the &#256di Granth (Holy Granth) as it was installed for the first time in Harimandar at Amritsar. This was the origin of the office. Since copies of the &#256di Granth began to be made immediately after the completion of the first recension and as the number of <i>sa&#7749gats</i> increased, more Granth&#299s were needed for service. The office of Granth&#299 became particularly significant after the &#256di Granth was proclaimed Gur&#363 by Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh (1666-1708) just before his death. The most eminent Granth&#299 after Bh&#257&#299 Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 at Harimandar, the Golden Temple of modern days, was Bh&#257&#299 Man&#299 Si&#7749gh, appointed to the exalted station by Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh's widow, M&#257t&#257 Sundar&#299, in 1721. He met with a martyr's death in 1737. During the subsequent period of persecution and turbulence, while the Sikhs were fighting a guerilla battle for survival, hiding in hills, forests and deserts, Sikh shrines were looked after by priests of the Nirmal&#257 and Ud&#257s&#299 sects who being recluse <i>s&#257dh&#363s</i> were spared by the persecuting Mu<u>gh</u>al and Af<u>gh</u>&#257n rulers. Most of these early custodians or <i>granth&#299s</i> were dedicated men and some of them were eminent scholars, too. But later, as large <i>j&#257g&#299rs</i> or land grants were made to these shrines by Sikh rulers, corruption crept in and the <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> had to be freed from the hold of <i>mahants</i> (as the custodians called themselves) by launching a prolonged agitation. Ever since, the <i>granth&#299s</i> are by and large <i>amritdh&#257r&#299</i> (baptized) Sikhs. They are addressed respectfully as <i>b&#257b&#257j&#299, gi&#257n&#299j&#299</i> or <i>bh&#257&#299j&#299</i>. There exist several institutions for the training of Granth&#299s, the best known among them being the Sh&#257h&#299d Sikh Missionary College at Amritsar run by the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee, a democratically elected body legally entrusted with the management of the shrines and the conduct in general of religious affairs of the Sikhs.</p> </ol><p class="CONT">Murray J. Leaf<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>