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comparatively speaking in less time,

and, in some cases, with less sustainedeffort than a t athletics.

Games have a greater show valuetoo. A little encouragement willarouse the necessary interest inathletics as well.

Will the Panjabis, to whatevercommunity they, belong, make the

necessary effort to discover talent

DlIClIMBIIR '57

and make available to potential

athletes opportunities of righttraining in order that they may winfor India its rightful place in theathletic contests of the world.?

Interest in athletics will alsoserve to broaden the outlook of thePanjabis in social matters and help toremove their bigotry, which they are

now ,displaying in the matter of

language and other communal issues.

rdas or he Sikh Congregational Prayer

RDAS is a Sanskrit word, fromthe root, ard to ask, to beg, to

pray, and as, means wish, hope,desire. To ask for what you desire is,ardii8, that is, prayer. Prayer to Godis a basic religious activity in Sikhreligion. He, Who has the power toconfer fearlessness and solace, before

Him, pray. · God is omniscient, Heis omnipotent, He can right that whichhath gone wrong; Nanak, therefore,

K A P U R SINGH

advifles, in humility stand up andpray before Him alone and noother. ,** In all difficulties pray toGod, for, verily God helpeth man outof his troubles. *** He Who is theOverlord of the earth; He, Who is theKing of kings; He Who governs allthe universE'S; He Who is omnipotent

and almighty; before that true Lightpray that He may end yoursufferings. ****

·.ukkdata bAa; bkanjno tiB age kar ardas-Guru Granth. S ri Rag V.

ape jii. e kare ap ape n •• .., lis age niinaka kkal. Nee a.dlU-Ibid. Var aru IV.· · ·k i ta loflie kam 8 0 had pai akkie, kiiraj de. 8avar-Ibid. Var Sri Rag Pauri IV.

ak. vas khan sultan, jake vas ha' Bakal jahan jaka kia sab kic4 hoe, tiB t . bii har nahko., koh benanti apne atgur pai . - Ib id . Gauri. V

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T K 8u:a aav 11 :

The institution of prayer is almostwholly alien to Hinduism and Hindureligious tradition. The basic activityand rite of the Vedic religion orBrahmanism is yajna or sacrifice, theessence of which is persuasion of adeity to do what the sacrificer desires.

t is the right technique that is ofsupreme importance in a yajna andnot the mental atti tude, which is the

essence of prayer. The basic activityof Hinduism is pUja or worship whiohis genenerally that of a sanctified icon,the area in which divine life has beeninspired through specified rituals.Puja is not an act of prayer. t is an .oct of homage inoluding that ofentert.ainment. A devotee may askfor a boon a t the feet of the idol,

prarathana but the fulfilment of thiswish is clearly oontingent upon theefficacy of his worship. The God s

feet are washed and he is offeredbetel nuts, as would be done in thecase of an honoured guest. The iconis ceremoniously awakened from hisbed in the morning with music andi t is offered flower garlands, incense

and food of which i t eats the subtlepart, leaving the gross food, 8UprasMfor the worshipper. In large temples,the icon.god is taken to bed a t nightto join his wives, or saktiS and he isentertained by dancers, the ev s f

during the day.

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Ab.eDce E Prayer i ant r iam

In the comparatively modernVedic cult of tantrism the iconicalformalised deity is simply compened,through appropriate rites, to perform

what the agent desires. In all this,the basic elemen ts of prayer areessentially lacking. The ba.sic activityof Buddhism is meditation and thatJainism, tapas austerities, both of~ i c h are essent.-ially non·theisticsolitary and indi vidualistic practicesand Buddhism and J ainism being

essen tially asocial religions, thequestion of a congregational practiceof religion does not arise in theircase. Indeed, in Buddhist caityiisJain monastries and larger Hindutemples the devotees do congregate

to listen to religioU discourses andexposition of religious te i ts , but thisis not a religious activity as such; i tis only subsidiary to the practice ofreligion.

Congregational practice of a basioactivity of religion is likewise foreignto early Hinduism. though i t developed in some medieval sects, such as

the Caitanya and the Vallabhacarya.Ordinarily, a Hindu worshipper goesto the temple alone, or with friendsand family, makes bis offerings anddeparts. Sometimes, he may lingerthere to watch the act of worship hyregular devotees in a well·endowed

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temple, but he and others form an

audienoe and not a congregation.The basic activity of Sikhism is

simran communion with God throughthe yogic dicipline of Name: itsobligated and mandatory context issevii, loving service of fellow beingsand prayer is the prescribed vitalityof this activity. Prayer supportssimran which grows and matures in

the social con text. Congregationalprayer is, thus, an essentially Sikhinstitution in India.

CommllDal Worship

The Sikh c()ngregational prayer isIJ product of communal composition,and has developed through variousstages of Sikh history as t result ofIJ

consensus of Sikh opinion. Theopening part of this prayer, rdatingto the invocation of the first nineSikh Gurus, is an excerpt from aPanjabi composition of Guru GobindSingh. It is called Var Sri Bhagautijiki, which is an abbreviated metricalversion of a chapter of MarkandeyaPuran called, Durgasaptsati, 700

versesof

whichhave

beell condensedinto 55 stanzas. The story of thetext describes a titanic struggleduring the hoary age of mythology,between the opposing forces of eviland good, in which divine aid weighsthe scales in favour of the good.The opening stanza of this tL allslaled

DECEUBltR ' 6

composition is an original composi.

tion of Guru Gobind Singh, asthe traditional manglacarna divineinvocation, and is not a part of theadapted version.

At the time of the prayer, thewhole congregation must stand inhumility, with palms joined in theorien tal fashion, facing the throne ofthe Guru Granth which is usually

there, but when i t is not there, thewhole congregation must face anyonedirection of the oompass. Anyonemember of the congrpgation, irrespec.tive of sex or social station, for, thereis no ordained priestly class a.mongstthe Sikhs, may lead the prayer. Theleader then cites the prayer,pronouncing it audibly and in

meABul'ed tones and the rest of thecongregation formally associate them-splves with the prayer by repeating

in unison, Glory be to God(valieg iiT U), a t prescribed intervals.

This is a translation of the Sikhcongregational prayer:

'Formless.form. To God, the

abiding Victory.Compo.itioD o the lOtb KiDI

'To begin with, we invoke thedivine Spidt of God and we rememberGuru Nanak. (This Spirit) whichthen inspired Gurus Angad, AmarDas and Ram Das .

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TUB S I K H RBVIBW

We oall upon the Gurus, Arjun,

Har Gobind, and Hari Rai.Let us invoke the blessed

Har Krishan whose vision heals thepains.

Let us call upon Guru TeghBahadur that the Kingdom ofHeaven* may come to earth.

May, (the God and the Gurus)help

us everywhere.Tenth

King,Gobind Singh, may He help useverywhere.

The Spirit of all the ten Kingsenshrined in the visible Body andthe Word of the Guru Granth,ooncentrate npon that, and say sires,Glory be to God.

The congregation: Glory be to God.

Five Beloved Ones, FourPrinces *** Forty Saved Onesthose who have remained steadfast insuffering, those who have keptconstant remembrence of God, thosewho renounoed the sense pleasures,those who have constantly lived inthe Divine Presence, those who haveloved their neighbours by sharing .

their possessions with them, those

who have turned a blind eye to thefaults and failings of others, thosewho have 8ssuaged the hunger andwant of the hungry and the needy,those who have persevered in theirfight in the cause of justice,concentrate your minds on thestruggle and achievements of those,0, revered members of the Order of

the Khalsa, and say, Glory be to GodThe congregation: Glory be to God.

The Singhs of o t h i h e sexes,who courted martyrdom in the causeof religion and underwent unspeakablesufferings by being dismemberedalive, broken on the wheel, sawedalive, and boiled alive and those whomade s80rifies in the service of thecentres of the Sikh religion, thegurdvari.i8 but never wavered in theirfaith and remained steadfast in thecause of Sikhism to the last hair oftheir body and to their last breath,0, revered members of the KhalsaOrder, concentrate your minds on theglorious deeds of those, and utter,Glory be to God .

*Literally the NiD8 'treasureB ' wbiob idiom signifies spiritual abundance and materia)prosperity.

· ·The firat five initiatell, reprellontative art-be mankind, the original member o f h Order of theKhalsa.

· · ·Tho four Bans of Guru Oobind Siri gb, who all laid down their live. in tho cauae otreligion.· · · ·For ty Sikhs, who aft er a momentary wavering, laid down their livea n the oauae of relia.ion,

in 1740 A.D. ill the battle of Mukatasar, In the Indian Punjab.

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The congregation: Glory be to God:

Think of the Four Seats ofAuthority of the Religion,. and ' allthe centres from where the goodReligion is preached. and say, 'Glorybe to God.

The congregation: Glory be to God.'

First, we pray on behalf of .allthe creatures of God:.* May thepresence of God be progressively feltin the hearts of all the sentientcreatures, and may tli.e whole creation

become happy and prosperousthereby. (Then) may God showerHis blessings upon and grantprotection to each and every memberof the Order of the Khalsa, whereverhe is.

'May the supplies of the Khaltlaever remain replenished.

'May the Sword of the Kbalsa beever victorious.

May the royal tit.le of theKbalsa*** be universally recognizedand honoured.

May victory attend upon all justendeavours of the Panth, the KhalsaCommonwealth.

DECII:MBS 67

May tbe fums and armaments be

our oonstant ally.May the Order of the Khalsaachieve ever.expanding progress and

supremacy.'Sires, say, Glory be to God:

The congreation: Glory be to God.'May God grant to the Sikhs, the

gift of faith, the gift of the uncuthair, the gift of discipline, the gift of

discrimination, the gift of mutualt.rust, the gift of self confidence andthe supreme gift of all gifts, thegift of communion with God, theName, and may tbe Sikhs freeiycentre around the dip in the holytank of Amritsar.

'May the government centres, thebA-nners, the cantonments of theKhalsa ever remain inviolate.

May the cause of truth andjustice prevail everywhere and a t alltimes.

'Sire . utter 'Glory be to God.The CongregaHon: Glory he to God.

May the passions in the minds ofthe Sikhs remain calm and rea.sonflow dear. And may reason alwaysbe guided by the light of God.

-The four fl ate ofautbority compeWlot to xegeti_ and guide the Sikh.;n matters of fa ith and

religion, ~ e Aka' Tak:hat at Amritaar, the Kesb Garh at AU8odpur the JI l l l Dl Allt.ban at PatDa. and HSf-tirSahib at Nand.d, D O C 3 ~ .

· · arhat kt;iiZ.ii signifies the whole of mankind and all sentient oreatures in the Sikh

idiom in contradistiuction to the term S miik khiilsii. which signifies all th e members of theOrder of the Khalsa..

· · ·birad ki paij Sanskrit, biruda which melOns royal titles and surnames, regKlpretentions and claim.. Kh7i. aii i a birvda.

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TUB SIKB RIIVIlllW

'God, Almighty, our Protector and

Helper ever, restore to us the rightand privilege of unhindered manage.

ment and free service of and accessto the Nankana Sahib, and othercentres of the Sikh religion, thegurdaviira8, out of which w havebeen evicted.

'God, the Helper of the helpless,the Strength of the weak, the

Support of the fallen, the true Fatherof all. Lord God.'

Here, the specific purpose and occa·sions foc the prayer i. stated by the leader

in suitable term. and the blessings andair of God are besought.

'God, forgive us our remissnesses,extend Thy helping hand to all andeveryone.

'Grant us the company of t h o ~

who may help keep Thy name freshin our hearts.

'May Thy Dame, the religionpreached by Nanak, ,prevail andprosper, forever and forever.

'May Thy will be done wherein liesthe good of all. The Khalsa is ofGod. and to Him the victory.*

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Here the whole congregation bow to

God by touching the ground wIth theirforeheads. as is the oriental fashion. andthen the whole congregation stand np andchant in unison the following two Iit .nic . 1oouplets

(1) The will of God hath ordained

the Order of the Khalsa.

Tbis is the final commandmentto all the S i k h ~Accept Granth

as the Guru. Deem the reveredGuru Granth as the visiblebody of all the Gurus. He, whohath disciplined his soul, shallbehold confirmation thereof inthe Revelation itself . **

(2) The Kha.lsa will rule and noneshall sllcoessfully defy them.All shall have to petition for

their lliance, after bitterfrustration, for the world willevt'otuully he redeemed throughthe protection that the Orderof the Khalsa alone affords. ***

The whole congregation then shout afull throated cry of Sat Sri Aklil, the

Eternal God is the only Reality, and the

prayer is over, and the whole congregationthen take their seats.·

*This transla.tion has been made from the congregational )Jrayer approved by tbeShiromani Gurd Ivara Pr .bandhak Committee, Amritsar, included in the hymnal, Sundargutka

Amritsa.r. 1951. deep, 169·73.**agya bha'i akal ki tiib. calaa pa;"th, sab 8ikhan ko hukarn hai gu,u mania; granth guru

granth j ma ia parga gura; ki deh. ja;,. co hirda Budh hai lchaj sabad mai leh***raj karega khalsa yaqi ra"e na kai, khllar hoe sab milenge bace Barn jo hoe

****rhis article forms a ohapter i n the forthcommiIlg book by the author. The Balsnkhi ofGuru Gobind Singh, puhlished by the Hind PubJisbera Ltd., Jullundur, Pb., Price Re. 10/. only.