Selected Editorials - The Sikh Bulletin

we exercised our Guru given right to a Sikh and implemented the SGPC’s decision on Nanakshahi
Calendar.
In August 2003, after the Singh Sabha International passed a resolution, we substituted ‘akalpurakh’ for
‘bhagauti’ in our ‘ardaas’. At this stage we also asked our granthi Singhs to implement SGPC approved
‘rehat Maryada’ (in spite of its many flaws). That did not sit well with them because it affected them
financially. Besides it is human nature not to unlearn. We feel comfortable with what is familiar.
This is what the rehat Maryada says about the practice of akhand paths in chapter vii article ix:
Akhand Path … is carried on at hard times or on occasions of elation or joy … reading must be clear and
correct … Reading too fast, so that the person listening in to it cannot follow the contents, amounts to
irreverence to the Scriptures … Whichever family or congregation undertakes the non-stop reading
should carry it out itself through its members, relatives, friends, etc., all together. The number of reciters
is not prescribed … If a person himself cannot read he should listen in to the reading by some competent
reader. However, it should never be allowed to happen that the reader carries on the reading all by
himself/herself and no member of the congregation or the family is listening in to the reading …
Placing a pitcher, ceremonial clarified butter fed lamp, coconut, etc. around, during the course of the
uninterrupted or any other reading of Guru Granth Sahib, or reading of other Scriptural texts side by
side with or in the course of such reading is contrary to the gurmat (Guru’s way).
What can be clearer than this 1. Akhandpaths should be performed only on rare occasions. 2. There is no
provision for a string of Akhandpaths, one after the other for a whole month, as Yuba City, California
does before its annual event of ‘display’ of SGGS on a float in the manner of Hindus displaying the stone
image of their favourite god or goddess (darshan) once a year; 3. or simultaneous multiple Akhandpaths
in the same room at the same time as is being done at Baru Sahib at its school in Himachal Pardesh and at
the world’s most expensive Gurdwara in Southall, England where many glass faced cubbyholes to
perform multiple Akhandpaths are lined up on either side of the main parkash of SGGS; 4. or reading
from a pothi as the akhandpaths is going on as the Nanaksarias and perhaps many deras do. Almost all of
them place butter-fed lamp, coconut and pitcher of water beside the SGGS to turn it into ‘amrit’ without
thinking how could water be affected by the reading of SGGS when it has no effect on them.
Akhandpaths have been turned into fund raising rituals having no religious value. Senior granthis also
pull rank in scheduling their turn at reading. They prefer the time when no one would be present to listen.
This way they do not have to read loud and clear or not read at all.
After the Oct. 2003 Mohali conference we urged our congregation to follow rehat Maryada, especially
when it comes to Akhandpaths and borrow Prof. Sahib Singh’s ten volume ‘SGGS DARPAN’ from us to
do sadharan path themselves while understanding its meaning. Our own granthis spread the rumour that
we are against Akhandpaths. They did the same thing when in 2004 we stopped the recitation of Chaupai
which is part of ‘triachritar’ #404 of ‘Chritropakhyan’ in the so called ‘Dasam Granth’. Even Akal
Takhat ‘Jathedar’ acknowledges that ‘Chritropakhyan’ is not the bani of Guru Gobind Singh. 1 That was
propagated as us having no respect for SGGS. No Gurdwara reform is possible without first completely
purging most of our current crop of granthis and kirtanias and at the same time creating institutions to
prepare a fresh cadre of persons knowledgeable about the correct meaning of Gurbani. We are
supposed to have no priestly order but we do have priests and as long as present system of Gurdwara
service stays in vogue we will need granthis to do ‘parkash’ and ‘sukhasan’. So we might as well train
them properly and make the proper understanding of Gurbani meaning mandatory for a granthi.
31