Gurdwara


A gurdwara, gurudwara, or gurudwar 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 a gurdwara. 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.
All gurdwaras have a Langar hall, where people can eat free lacto-vegetarian food served by volunteers at the gurdwara. They may also have a medical facility room, library, nursery, classroom, meeting rooms, playground, sports ground, a gift shop, and finally a repair shop. A gurdwara can be identified from a distance by tall flagpoles bearing the Nishan Sahib, the Sikh flag.
The best-known gurdwaras are in the Darbar Sahib complex in Amritsar, Punjab, including Golden Temple, the spiritual center of the Sikhs and Akal Takht, the political center of the Sikhs.

History

Dharamsals

Origin

Sikhs believe that Guru Nanak was ordained directly by God to construct dharamsals, as per the B.40 Janamsakhi:
The above statement separates the institution of Sikh dharamsals from those of other faiths, ordaining it as an independent institution based upon Sikhism alone. The first centre was built in Kartarpur, on the banks of Ravi River in the Punjab region by the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak Dev in the year 1521. It now lies in the Narowal District of west Punjab. During the time of Guru Nanak, Sikh places of worship were known as dharamsals where kirtan was conducted by the early Sikh congregation.
The worship centres were built as a place where Sikhs could gather to hear the guru give spiritual discourse and sing religious hymns in the praise of Waheguru.

Spread

Guru Nanak would arrange early Sikh followers into various sangat congregations or parishes and instructed them to erect a dharamsal dedicated to spreading their Guru's message and teachings in their local area.
Bhai Gurdas states the following:
Guru Nanak set-up an important dharamsal in the new-found Kartarpur after settling there. Other important dharamsals were located in Khadur, Goindwal, Ramdaspur, Tarn Taran, Kartarpur and Sri Hargobindpur, all of whom had been directly founded upon the instruction of a Sikh guru. When the Manji system and the later Masand systems of preachers and dioceses was set-up, they were directed to found a dharamsal in their dedicated area of missionary work. Passionate early Sikhs would found dharamsals at various places across the Indian subcontinent and in Afghanistan as a means of expressing their devotion to the faith. Udasis were commanded by Guru Hargobind and his successors to found dharamsals in the distant reaches of the subcontinent far from the nucleus of Sikh centrality and rejuvenate the abandoned, dilapidated, or struggling dharamsals which had been founded by Guru Nanak and his followers in faraway places, which struggled due to their extreme distance from the central Sikh authority located mainly in Punjab. Guru Tegh Bahadur founded new dharamsal centres during his missionary tours of the Malwa region of Punjab and in northeastern India. Dharamsals were also established on trade routes utilized by Sikh Khatri merchants, especially upon the routes between Chitagong-to-Kabul plus Agra-to-Burhampur.

Structure and operation

The dharamsals were simple constructions and modest buildings, usually just consisting of a single humble room to house the local devotees of a locality for prayers. This was especially true in the rural areas, villages, and small towns where most of the local Sikh congregations consisted of simple peasants with little means of wealth. They were not built upon a specific axis because Sikhs believe God is omnipresent and the entire Earth is divine and equally fitting as such. The Adi Granth was installed at dharamsals after its codification and introduction in 1604. The dharamsals likely did not contain intricate and ornate furniture, fittings, and other decorative accessories, unlike modern-day gurdwaras. Dharamsals incorporated a body of water for public bathing due to the importance placed upon isnan in Sikhism. Wherever natural sources of water were not readily available, a baoli, bucket well, or rahat would be implemented and installed in the courtyard of the structure or near a pool of water. The dharamsals incorporated a langar and lodge, especially the ones on important highways and trade routes, where persons could eat and stay without discriminated based upon their religious or caste-background. This facilitated the fast spread of Sikhism throughout the Punjab. Some dharamsals contained a hospital ward where the sick and injured could receive treatment. Other dharamsals incorporated carpentry workshops to construct beds and other needed furniture. The dharamsals often contained a school where one could learn Gurmukhi, Sikh music, and interpretation of Sikh scriptures.

Gurdwaras

As the Sikh population continued to grow, Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh guru, introduced the word "gurdwara". Gurdwaras evolved out of the earlier Dharamsal centres.
The etymology of the term gurdwara is from the words gur and dwara , together meaning 'the gateway through which the guru could be reached'. Thereafter, all Sikh places of worship came to be known as gurdwaras. According to Raj Sadosh, the term Gurdham refers to a place that had been visited by the Sikh gurus.
The use of 'sahib', as sometimes appended in the term Gurdwara Sahib, derives from a loanword of Arabic origin, meaning "companion" or "friend".
Kanwarjit Singh Kang classifies gurdwaras into two distinct categories:
  1. Community gurdwaras - which are constructed by Sikhs to meet their religious and social requirements
  2. Historical gurdwaras - which are constructed by Sikhs at sites of historical importance in the history of Sikhism
Some of the prominent Sikh shrines established by the Sikh gurus are:
  • Nankana Sahib, established in the 1490s by first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev, Punjab, Pakistan.
  • Sultanpur Lodhi, established in 1499 became the Sikh centre during Guru Nanak Dev time Kapurthala District, Punjab.
  • Kartarpur Sahib, established in 1521 by the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev, near River Ravi, Narowal, Punjab, Pakistan.
  • Khadur Sahib, established in 1539 by the second Sikh Guru, Guru Angad Dev ji, near River Beas, Amritsar District, Punjab, India.
  • Goindwal Sahib, established in 1552 by the third Sikh Guru, Guru Amar Das ji, near River Beas, Amritsar District Punjab, India.
  • Sri Amritsar, established in 1577 By the fourth Sikh Guru, Guru Ram Das ji, District Amritsar, Punjab India.
  • Tarn Taran Sahib, established in 1590 by the fifth Sikh Guru, , District Tarn Taran Sahib, Punjab India.
  • Kartarpur Sahib, established in 1594 by the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev, near river Beas, Jalandhar District, Punjab India.
  • Sri Hargobindpur, established by the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev, near river Beas, Gurdaspur District, Punjab India.
  • Kiratpur Sahib, established in 1627 by the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind, near river Sutlej, Ropar District, Punjab, India.
  • Anandpur Sahib, established in 1665 by the ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, near river Sutlej, Punjab, India.
  • Paonta Sahib, established in 1685 by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, near river Yamuna, Himachal Pradesh India.
By the early 20th century, a number of Sikh gurdwaras in British India were under the control of the Udasi mahants. The Gurdwara Reform Movement of the 1920s resulted in Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee taking control of these gurdwaras.

Panj Takht

The Panj Takht which literally means five seats or thrones of authority, are five gurdwaras which have a very special significance for the Sikh community. They are result of the historical growth of the religion of Sikhism and represent the centers of power of the religion.
A gurdwara has a main hall called a darbar, a community kitchen called a langar, and other facilities. The essential features of a gurdwara are these public spaces, the presence of the holy book and eternal Sikh guru the Granth Sahib, the pursuit of the Sikh Rehat Maryada, and the provision of daily services:
  • Shabad kirtan: singing hymns from the Granth Sahib. Strictly speaking only Shabads from Guru Granth Sahib, Dasam Granth, and the compositions of Bhai Gurdas and Bhai Nand Lal, can be performed within a gurdwara.
  • Paath: religious discourse and reading of Gurbani from the Guru Granth Sahib, with its explanations. There are two types of discourse: Akhand Paath and Sadharan Paath.
  • Sangat and pangat: providing a free community kitchen called a langar for all visitors, regardless of cultural, religious, regional, caste, or class affiliations.
Other ceremonies performed there include the Sikh marriage ceremony, Anand Karaj; some of the rites of the death ceremony, Antam Sanskar; and most of the important Sikh Festivals. The Nagar Kirtan, a Sikh processional singing of holy hymns throughout a community, begin and conclude at a gurdwara.
Gurdwaras around the world may also serve the Sikh community in other ways, including acting as libraries of Sikh literature and schools to teach children Gurmukhi, housing the Sikh scriptures, and organizing charitable work in the wider community on behalf of Sikhs. Many historical gurdwaras associated with the lives of the Sikh Gurus have a sarovar attached for bathing.
Gurdwaras have no idols or statues.