Most Fortunate Sikhs

pauVI ]

Pauree:

DMnu Dnu Bwg iqnw Bgq jnw jo hir nwmw hir muiK khiqAw ]

Blessed, blessed is the good fortune of those devotees, who, with their mouths, utter the Name of the Lord.

Dnu Dnu Bwg iqnw sMq jnw jo hir jsu sRvxI suxiqAw ]

Blessed, blessed is the good fortune of those Saints, who, with their ears, listen to the Lord's Praises.

Dnu Dnu Bwg iqnw swD jnw hir kIrqnu gwie guxI jn bxiqAw ]

Blessed, blessed is the good fortune of those holy people, who sing the Kirtan of the Lord's Praises, and so become virtuous.

Dnu Dnu Bwg iqnw gurmuKw jo gurisK lY mnu ijxiqAw ]

Blessed, blessed is the good fortune of those Gurmukhs, who live as Gursikhs, and conquer their minds.

sB dU vfy Bwg gurisKw ky jo gur crxI isK pViqAw ]18]

But the greatest good fortune of all, is that of the Guru's Sikhs, who fall at the Guru's feet. ||18||

Shabads from the movie "Nanak Naam Jahaz Hai"

Prabh Joo Tho Keh Laaj Hamaari - Shabad compiled by Guru Gobind Singh Ji

Re Man Aiso Kar Sanaeasa - Shabad compiled by Guru Gobind Singh Ji

Raag Kedara- Guru Ramdas Rakho Sharnai

The Tobacco Fields

Once Guru Gobind Singh's horse balked at the sight of tobacco plants. At that time a man seeking peace of mind bowed before him. The Guru told him that he could not attain peace because of his tobacco cultivation. even the horse found the tobacco repulsive. the peasant then resolved to cultivate grains instead of tobacco.

All Human Beings are equal

The moment child Gobind Rai was born in Patna, Pir Bhikhan Shah of Thaska offered his prayers facing East instead of towards the West contrary to his daily practice. He left for Patna immediately. On arrival at (Guru's) residence, Pir placed two bowls of milk and water before the divine child. The new-born Divine Being put his hands on both the bowls thus signifying the entire humanity springs from the same divine fountain: How can some be good and others evil

Guru's Blessings

Gangu Shah sought Guru Amar Das Sahib's help for his livelihood. With the Guru's blessings he flourished as a banker in Delhi. But he had a setback when he turned away a needy person sent by the Guru. Gangu begged for pardon and fell at the Guru's feet in Goindwal. Thereafter, he never sent back any person.

Sri Harimandir Sahib

Also called Darbar Sahib is known to English-speaking world as the Golden Temple on account of its scenic beauty and the golden coating on its exterior above the first-floor level. It was built under the direction and direct supervision of Guru Arjan Dev ji, who according to current tradition, got it's foundation laid by a well-know Muslim divine, Mir Muhammad, better known as Hazrat Mian Mir of Lahore, on the first of Magh 1645 Bikrami corresponding to 28th December 1588. On completion in about 10 years time, it became the venue for the daily religious services - Kirtan and discourse. When Guru Arjan Dev ji had compiled the compositions of the Gurus including his own and of a numbr of Hindu and Muslim saints into a single volume, now known as the Adi Granth or Guru Granth Sahib, he installed it in the Harimandir on 16th August 1604. Baba Buddha was appointed the first officiant. The routine and liturgy set by Guru Arjan Dev himself is still operative with very little change. Kirtan commences in the Harimandir between 2 am and 3 am depending on the season and continues incessantly, with only ardas or supplicatyory prayer injtervening occasionally, upto 10pm or 11pm. The Holy Book is then taken in procession to a room in the Akal Bunga for rest, and is brought back to the Harimandir again is a procession at about 5 am. the intermission is used for daily cleaning up of the premises. 

Religious service and significance apart, the architectural design and beauty of the harimandir has its own attraction. Standing in the middle of the pool of Nectar on a plinth of hard stone reached from the bank over a bridge, it provides a rare atmosphere of coolness, calmness and serenity. Its square shape and appropriate dimensions give it perfect geometrical symmetry and compactness. Four doors opening one on each side signify free access from all sides to all irrespective of caste or creed. Of particular interest to common vistiors as well as to connoiseurs of art is the beauty of its interior including intricate floral designs embossed on metal or inset in stone and painting or filiree work on walls and ceiling which are simply enchanting. But the present build and heauty are not wholly original. Harimandir has ha dits share of persecution suffered by the community as a whole. After Guru Hargobind had to leave the town subsequent to the first battle of Amritsar in 1629, no Guru graced the harimandir with his presence. Only Guru Tgegh Bahadur came on a visit in 1664, but he too was not allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum. Massa Ranghar, the appointed Kotwal of Amritsar after the execution of Bhai Mani Singh in 1737, befouled the sarovar and desecrated the Harimandir. In 1762, Ahmad Shah Abdali had the Harimandir blown up with gunpowder. It was reconstructed by Dal Khalsa through Bhai Des Faj of Sursingh village. The reconstruction was completed by 1776. The present appreance of the Harimandir dates from the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1801 - 39), although the work of interior decoration continued long after his death. But the Sikh rulers left the religious management with Udasi and Nirmala priests who had been looking after Sikh shrines during the troubled period when baptised Sikh suffered persecution of the creellest kind and were not permitted openly to serve their places of worship. Although Maharaja Ranjit SIngh appointed Giani Sang Singh and, after his death in 1832, his son Bhai Gurmukh Singh as managers yet their responsibility extended only to the beautification of Darbar Sahib. After the annexation of the Punjab by the British in 1849, the practice continued. While the government appointed a sarbarah, the religious administration remained with the mahants and pujaris. Several Malpractices and mismanagement had crept in, which even the Singh Sabha Movement failed to rectify. It was only at the beginning of the Gurdwara Reform (or Akali) Movement (on 15th October 1920) that the harimandir was liberated from the malignant control of the priestly order and brought under panthic management. At present the Harimandir alone with Sri Akal Takht Sahib and other holy shrines in Amritsar are managed directly by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee under section 85 of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925.