Rules to Adhere to when path is held.... !

[SAadmin]

source: The society of Saints

Rules to Adhere to when path is held.

There are certain rules which need to be followed when Path is held. These are as follows:

1.) At the Gurdwara where Maharaj Ji is kept an essence stick should always be burning;

2.) During the night, by the side of maharaj there should always be a jyot lit;

3.) Flowers should be arranged in the presence of Maharaj and perfumed scent should also be sprayed there;

4) One should avoid talking in the room where Maharaj is placed;

5) No matter what the occasion may be, an Akhand patt should always be accompanied by recitation of Japji sahib and Mool Mantra;

6.) A seat for reciting japji sahib should be on the left hand side of the seat of Maharaj as Japji sahib is written on the left side of the Guru Granth Sahib.

7.) Before a path commences, it is started with Ardas all the pathis should be present;

8.) After doing ardas and taking Mukh Vakh one should start the Akhand patt. It begins with Ikonkar SatNam. One should not ask permission form the sangat to begin as that is not correct.

9) Whilst Akhand patt is being performed, another person should be present to recite Mool Mantar continously. He also serves to make sure the essence stick is burning.

10) If many akhand patts are being recited at the same time and it is not possible to have someone doing japji sahib for each one of them then at least one japji sahib recitation should exist;

11) On any Akhand patt, asa di avar should be performed in the morning, and rehras sahib and kirtan sohila should be recited in the evening.

12) On bhog while ardas is being performed "choor" should always be served over Maharaj. Everybody should listen to ardas while standing and a sikh should do ardas.

13) On bhog of any akhand patt a "rumala" ( set of clothes for Siri Guru Granth Sahib) should be offered;

14) Parsad should be prepared in the beginning middle, and end of any patt. Only in the middle of sehaj patt and for patt performed on someone's death ceremony, parsad is not prepared;

15) Before the beginning and after the end of patt, kirtan should be performed;

16) After bhog, arti should be performed;

17.) For sampat akhand patt karah parsad should be prepared each day and for sahej path, everyday in the beginning, during middle and at the end do parsad;

18.) Each patt should be recited such that it is easily audible to the sangat.

19) On any patt water, burning essence stick , coconut, jot, flowers should be kept;

20) On bhog offer a minimum of 1.25 rupees (or denomination of currency applicable) should be offered. Normally five rupees (or denomination of currency applicable) are appropriate which go along with the Guru Granth Sahib;

21) While preparing prasad one should recite the entire anand sahib. It should then be placed on the right hand of the Sikh seated in front of siri guru granth sahib when it is made;

22) Parsad should always be cooled before bhog (taking out portion for God). Bhog should not perform on hot prasad;

23) When bhog is to begin during ardas, an unused cloth should be placed over the prasad whilst Mool mantra is being recited;

24) When bhog is performed, there should be no spoon or other utensil left in the parsad;

25) On any bhog of path, kirtan & arti should be performed. Only on the first path of a death ceremony these are not performed;

26) The place where Maharaj is placed should be cleaned each day before Guru Ji is seated there. The place should be open such that natural light and air can circulate there;

27) The room where maharaj is kept should also be clean and decorated;

28.) Multicolored Rumalas should not be placed over the Guru Granth Sahib, and likewise the pathi singh should also wear simple coloured clothes. The pathi singh should taken brahmcharay during akhand patt time.

29) While path is being performed the person reciting should sit away from the "Manji Sahib" (cot on which maharaj ji is placed), such that his feet are not under the "Manji Sahib" and his elbows and arms are not resting on it. The person reciting from Guru granth sahib should not rest his hand on pages. If it's necessary a cloth should be placed on to the page. Each page should always be turned overleaf with the right hand from the top end corner;

30) Akhand patt should be recited within 16 "pahir" (1 pahir has 3 hours). Bhog of patt on someone's death should be held on the 10th day, for sadak patt it should be held on the 7th day, and for paths whenever;

31) The ardas for middle state of the path should be started after 705 pages have been completed, that is at the beginning of "Jat Sri Var", and then the final bhog should commence when 18 dasvees is recited followed by Japji sahib and then Anand Sahib. After ardas is completeld, the call of "Fateh" is made and upon taking of the "Hukham Nama", prasad can be distributed;

32) Whenever one is going to read from the Guru Granth sahib whether it is for sahej patt or akhand patt, always wash the five parts of body by doing "panj ishnana". If one has visited the lavatory then they should always bathe before sitting to start recitation. This is how respect is shown towards Bani.

Siri Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifht Guru went to Gobindwal Sahib to collect the 'pothi" from his maternal uncle baba Mohan Ji. He sat on the bare ground of the street in front of his uncle's house and after singing kirtan in praise of God he obtained the pothi. He carried the pothi and arrived in Amritsar Sahib where he placed it in a palki, a platform which has four handles each carried by four men, and walked all the way to Amritsar without shoes. From here one is taught that whilstt taking siri guru granth sahib from one place to another there should be at least five singhs accompanying the Guru, all without shoes. One should be doing "choor", one spraying water en route to destination, one ringing a bell and one singing the hymns, while the fifth person is actually carrying the holy book of the Guru on his head. After placing the pothi at Harmander Sahib the sangat recited kirtan the whole night to show their respect. Siri Guru Arjan Dev Ji appointed Bhai Gurdas to write the bani of the previous four Gurus, his own bani, and the bani of other bhagats. Thus the writings prepared formed the Guru Granth Sahib. The parkash of Guru Granth Sahib was done for the first time in Bhatro Sadi Ikcomb Samat 1661 Vikrami. The holy book was taken from Siri Ramar to Siri Harmander Sahib and choor was done all the way. Guru Arjan Dev Ji appointed baba buddha Ji to take position of head granthi . He was the first Granthi of Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. From that day onwards Siri Guru Arjan Dev Ji started sitting in the sangat at Siri Harmandir Sahib, at a lower level to the holy book. He by showing such respect gave Sikhs the moral that "Those who fortunes open, in their temple like mind God resides.

At night in Siri Akaal Takth Sahib. Siri Guru Granth Sahib on a "Palang", a big cot and he himslef would lay a sheet on the floor under the palang on which he would sleep. Even today the customer is still the same, a mat and a sheet are laid in remembrance of Satguru. Once Siri Guru Har Rai Ji was sitting on a palang in Kabul. Then sangat there came and start doing kirtan while sitting on the floor. Satguru ji on hearing the kirtan got up quickly and while doing so hurt his knee by hitting it against the palang. When Sikhs enquired with Guru ji as to why he had stood up, Guru Ji replied that while kirtan is being performed, to sit on the palang is a great disrespect. Guru Ji explained to the Sikhs that if respect was not shown to bani then how would hold the same. Thus, the satguru themselves the importance of paying respect to bani such that we could learn from them.

[karmjeet]

wow beautiful , that's a very beautiful maryada . i would try to post some maryada as stated by Baba Nand Singh ji in anand chamatkar .

if akhand paths with such maryada are done they can kaya palat the world.

baba nand singh ji used to say that one single akhand path done with 100% maryada has the power of waking up the dead " mirtak ko jeevalanhar "

waheguru ..............

[SAadmin]

In Addition:

Seating and Positioning of SGGS during Path or Katha

In the room of Maharaj one should always sleep on the floor and not at the same level. One should never sit on or against a cushion whilst in the presence of the Guru. While preparing Manji Sahib for Siri Guru Granth Sahib, always place an extra beneath the Guru. The number of sheets under the Granthi Singh should be less than those under the Guru. In the presence of Maharaj the only other sheet that can be laid at any other place is where Kirtan is performed, or under pothiya. One should never sit on the stage where kirtan is performed, or where sangat is sitting and having langar. These are some teaching passed on by Mahapursh.

According to these customs whenever Sant Bhindranvaley Mahapursh sat to listen to Gurbani he would make the Singh reading Gurbani sit on a higher place than the sangat. A sheet would be laid where katha and kirtan would be held, which would be removed immediately once they had been performed. Mahapursh would always sit on a mat along with the rest of the sangat. During katha, the Granthi would sit on the right hand side and Mahapursh would always sit on the left hand side facing the sangat. The order of the fifth Guru is,

Go to Darbar Sahib, bathe, wear clean clothes, and light the holy candle(jot) with butter which you have purchased with your honest earnings. If you go in this way then your seva is fulfilled.

These are some of the rituals of Harmandir Sahib. Everyone while doing patt and while learning it’s meaning should follow these rituals. Who ever follows these rules prescribed by Satguru sache patshah, is blessed with many boons. Mahapursh who do katha parchar should also have certain necessary points within them whilst giving their sermons. They should

a) Present bani sweetly;

Explain meanings in detail according to the interest and level of those who are listening;

c) Be Truthful;

d) Be skilled in preaching;

e) Be able to give correct morals according to katha being given;

f) Know about the history and how other religions are practiced;

g) Have patience;

h) Not be restless;

i) Be easily understood;

j) Be contented with where they stand and with whatever they have achieved;

k) Be a strong believer in their faith and follow what they preach.

The thirteen good attributes for listeners of katha are.

a.) should have devotion;

b.) should be polite;

c.) should have a caring nature;

d.) should have ability to understand meanings explained;

e.) should not be idle or lazy;

f.) should have questions;

g.) should be sweetly spoken;

h.) should have a control over desires;

i.) should have awareness of the purpose of katha;

j.) should be free of cunningness;

k.) should serve lovingly;

l.) should not seek limelight, and should be free of scandals;

m.) and should follow what they have heard in their daily lives.

If a vidvan, the reader of meanings, and a listener have these thirteen habits then one achieves purity in life, and gains all the teachings of knowledge from Mahapursh

[SAadmin]

mega bump

[Koi]

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