Approaching the Guru

It is an extraordinary miracle that the Guru is so easily available, but we must know how to approach the Guru in order to derive the maximum benefit. Here are a few hints:

• A Specific Room

The first and foremost thing to do is to make a place for the Guru in your home. It is important to allocate a specific area where you want to enshrine the Guru Granth Sahib. This is the place where you will be reading, reciting, singing and, most importantly, listening to the Gurbani. Soon, you will realise that the room will acquire a special vibe, the atmosphere will be charged and it will make simran or remembrance easier and spontaneous for you.

• Installation

Guru Arjan Dev ji placed the Guru Granth Sahib on a peerhee (a small bed) and spread a cover over it. That is the tradition followed till date. It is significant because it inspires reverence in the heart of the devotee. Just as you would take care of anything valuable, you will want to do all that is necessary for the home of your Guru to be the best in every respect. It will neither add anything to the Guru’s stature nor take anything from it. Vada na hovey ghaat na jaaye. The Guru is not dependent on your respect or lack of it. But, the love and devotion you extend toward your Guru will go a long way in creating that atmosphere in which you can gain something from the Guru. It is like taking a well-scrubbed pot to fetch water from the well. Your pot makes no difference to the water of the well, but it certainly makes a lot of difference to what you bring from it. So, make sure that your pitcher is clean, empty, and face up. Then the Gurbani will flow into it and you will start overflowing with it.

• Parkash and Waaq (Hukamnama)

The tradition to do parkash in the morning and sukhasan in the evening is also very meaningful. Parkash means to open the Guru Granth Sahib randomly and read the shabad that is on that particular page. This is the best way to begin the day. It helps you put things in perspective. It has the power to lift you to a higher level of consciousness so that the problems that seemed too big a moment ago seem to have become small if they have not totally evaporated. As you listen to the order of the day, you will be surprised many times because it seems as if it is meant only for you. As you proceed, you will find much more than you ever imagined.

• Sukhasan

In the evening, after the evening prayer, you put the Guru Granth Sahib to rest. The shabad you read at the close of the day stays with you throughout the night. It revolves in your head and resounds in your heart, giving you guidance and enhancing your experience.

• Akhand Path and Sahaj Path

The tradition of reading the entire Guru Granth Sahib non-stop is called Akhand Path. Reading is done on rotation so that there is no interruption in the continuous flow of the Gurbani. The reading is completed in forty-eight hours. This has its own charm as it is like a flowing river from which you can take a drink any time you like.

Sahaj Path is done leisurely during the day over a period of time. It gives you more time to listen and absorb the Gurbani. Akhand Path and Sahaj Path are usually done by trained pathis (readers of the Guru Granth Sahib) to make sure that they pronounce the Gurbani correctly.

• Pronunciation

The Guru Granth Sahib is written entirely as poetry. The grammar of the Guru Granth Sahib is extremely intricate. It is not an easy task to learn the correct pronunciation of the words and the right intonation. You need to listen to the Gurbani being recited and sung before you attempt to read it yourself. If you mispronounce the words or miss the delicate nuances of intonation, you may not understand it at all, or worse still, you may derive the wrong meaning from it. Fortunately, audio and video tapes and CDs are available that give you a taste of the Gurbani.

• Surrender

The tradition to bow your head before the Guru is very significant. It implies that you surrender your head at the feet of your Guru, and are ready to accept his order unconditionally. Bowing your head before the Guru is symbolic of complete surrender. Unfortunately, it has become a hollow ritual for most people who never go beyond bowing their head to read and listen to what the Guru is saying.