ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>GURDW&#256R&#256</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="GURDWR"> <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">&#65279GURDW&#256R&#256, lit. the Gur&#363's portal or the Gur&#363's abode, is the name given to a Sikh place of worship. The common translation of the term as temple is not satisfactory for, their faith possessing no sacrificial symbolism, Sikhs have neither idols nor altars in their holy places. They have no sacraments and no priestly order. The essential feature of a <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> is the presiding presence in it of Sikh Scripture, the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. Ending the line of personal Gur&#363s, Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh, N&#257nak X, had installed the sacred volume in 1708 as his eternal successor. The Holy Book has since been the Gur&#363 for the Sikhs and it must reign over all Sikh places of worship where religious ceremony focusses around it. The basic condition for a Sikh place to be so known is the installation in it of the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. Every Sikh place by that token is the house of the Gur&#363. Hence the name Gurdw&#257r&#257 (<i>gur+dw&#257r&#257</i>= the gur&#363's door) .</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A second characteristic of a <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> is its being a public place open to all devotees to pray individually or to assemble in congregation. Its external distinguishing mark is the Nish&#257n S&#257hib or the Sikh flag, saffron or blue in colour, that flies day and night atop the building, or, more often, separately close to it. In early Sikhism, the place used for congregational prayers was called <i>dharams&#257l&#257</i>, the abode of <i>dharma</i>, different from the modern usage which generally limits the term to a resting place. According to the Janam S&#257kh&#299s, Gur&#363 N&#257nak wherever he went, called upon his followers to establish <i>dharams&#257l&#257s</i> and congregate in them to repeat God's Name, and to recite His praise. He himself established one at Kart&#257rpur on the bank of the River R&#257v&#299 where he settled down at the end of his extensive preaching tours. "I have set up a <i>dharams&#257l</i> of truth, " sang Gur&#363 Arjan (1563-1606) . "I seek the Sikhs of the Gur&#363 (to congregate therein) so that I may serve them and bow at their feet" (GG, 73) . In the time of Gur&#363 Hargobind (1595-1644), <i>dharams&#257ls</i> began to be called <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i>. The change of nomenclature was significant. Gur&#363 Arjan had compiled in 1604 a Book, <i>poth&#299</i> or <i>granth</i> (later Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib) of holy hymns. Besides his own, he had included in it the compositions of his four spiritual predecessors and of some of the Indian saints and s&#363f&#299s. "The <i>poth&#299</i> is the abode of the Divine, " said he (GG, 1226). This first copy of the Granth he installed in the central Sikh shrine, the Harimandar, at Amritsar. Copies of the Granth began to be piously transcribed. The devotees carried them on their heads for installation in their respective <i>dharams&#257ls</i>. Reverently, the Book was called the Granth S&#257hib and was treated as a sacred embodiment of the Gur&#363s' revealed utterances. The <i>dharams&#257l</i> where Granth S&#257hib was kept came to be called <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i>. The designation became universal after the gur&#363ship passed to the holy Book, although the central shrine at Amritsar continued to be called Harimandar or Darb&#257r S&#257hib.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; During the second half of the eighteenth century and after, as the Sikhs acquired territory, <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> sprang up in most of the Sikh habitations and on sites connected with the lives of the Gur&#363s and with events in Sikh history. Most of the historical <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> were endowed by the ruling chiefs and nobility with liberal grants of land. This well-intentioned philanthropy, however, in many cases led to the rise of hereditary priesthood, which was brought to an end through a sustained agitation culminating in securing from the Punjab Legislative Council legislation called the Sikh Gurdw&#257r&#257s Act, 1925, providing for the management of the major historical Sikh shrines by a body known as the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee elected through adult franchise under government auspices. This kind of democratic control is a unique ecclesiastical feature. Most of the shrines not covered by the Gurdw&#257r&#257s Act are administered by committees chosen by local <i>sa&#7749gats</i>. Men and women of good standing in the Sikh community may be elected to the <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> committee and anyone, male or female, may become president. As Sikhism has no priesthood, the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee provides guidance to the community in religious matters.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The main function of the <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> is to provide Sikhs with a meeting-place for worship. This mainly consists of listening to the words of the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, singing them to musical accompaniment and hearing them expounded in <i>kath&#257</i>, or lectures and sermons. The <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> also serves as a community centre, a school, a guest house for pilgrims and travellers, occasionally a clinic, and a base for local charitable activities. Apart from morning and evening services, the <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> hold special congregations to mark important anniversaries on the Sikh calendar. They become scenes of much eclat and festivity when celebrations in honour of the birth anniversaries of the Gur&#363s and of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 take place. The aspect of Sikhism most closely associated with the <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i>, other than worship, is the institution of Gur&#363 k&#257 La&#7749gar or free community kitchen which encourages commensality. <i>Sev&#257</i> or voluntary service in Gur&#363 k&#257 La&#7749gar is considered by Sikhs a pious duty.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> and its hospitality are open to non-Sikhs as well as to members of the faith. The Sikh <i>rahit mary&#257d&#257</i> or code of conduct, however, contains certain rules pertaining to them. For example, no one should enter the <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> premises with one's shoes on or with head uncovered. Other rules in the <i>rahit mary&#257d&#257</i> concern the conduct of religious service and reverence due to the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. Rules also prohibit discrimination in the <i>sa&#7749gat</i> on the basis of religion, caste, sex or social position, and the observation of idolatrous and superstitious practices.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Unlike the places of worship in some other religious systems, <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> buildings do not have to conform to any set architectural design. The only established requirement is the installation of the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, under a canopy or in a canopied seat, usually on a platform higher than the floor on which the devotees sit, and a tall Sikh pennant atop the building. Lately, more and more <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> have been having buildings imitating more or less the Harimandar pattern, a mixture of Indo-Persian architecture. Most of them have square halls, stand on a higher plinth, have entrances on all four sides, and have square or octagonal domed sanctums usually in the middle. During recent decades, to meet the requirements of larger gatherings, bigger and better ventilated assembly halls with the sanctum at one end have become accepted style. The location of the sanctum, more often than not, is such as to allow space for circumambulation. Sometimes, to augment the space, verandahs are built to skirt the hall. Popular model for the dome is the ribbed lotus topped by an ornamental pinnacle. Arched copings, kiosks and solid domelets are used for exterior decorations. For functions other than purely religious, a <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> complex must provide, in the same or adjacent compound, for Gur&#363 k&#257 La&#7749gar and accommodation for pilgrims.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Patwant Singh, <i>Gurdwaras in India and around the World</i>. Delhi, 1992<BR> <li class="C1"> Arshi, P.S., <i>The Sikh Architecture</i>. Delhi, 1984<BR> <li class="C1"> Madanjit Kaur, <i>The Golden Temple: Past and Present</i>. Amritsar, 1983<BR> <li class="C1"> Teja Si&#7749gh, <i>Sikhism: Its Ideals and Institutions</i>. Bombay, 1938<BR> <li class="C1"> Cole, W.Owen and Piara Singh Sambhi, <i>The Sikhs:Their Religious Beliefs and Practices</i>. Delhi, 1978<BR> <li class="C1"> Prakash Singh, <i>The Sikh Gurus and the Temple of Bread</i>. Amritsar, 1964<BR> <li class="C1"> Prat&#257p Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Gurudw&#257r&#257 Sudh&#257r arth&#257t Ak&#257l&#299 Lahir</i>. Amritsar, 1975<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Fauj&#257 Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>