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Gurdwara

Place of worship in Sikhism

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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 (Sri Harmandir Sahib), the spiritual center of the Sikhs and Akal Takht, the political center of the Sikhs.

Description

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 (the Sikh code of conduct and convention), and the provision of daily services:

  • Shabad kirtan: singing hymns from the Guru 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 (eco-friendly pool) attached for bathing.

Gurdwaras have no idols or statues.

Customs

Many gurdwaras are designed to seat men on one side and women on the other, although designs vary, and the divided seating is far from mandatory. They do not generally sit together but on separate sides of the room, both at an equal distance from the Guru Granth Sahib, as a sign of equality. Worshippers are offered Karah Parshad (sweet flour and ghee-based food offered as prashad) in the hall, which is usually given into cupped hands by a sewadar (gurdwara volunteer).

In the langar room, food is cooked and served by the volunteers in the community. Only lacto-vegetarian food is served in the langar hall, to suit the visitors from different backgrounds so that no person may be offended. All people belonging to different faiths sit together to share a common meal, regardless of any dietary restrictions. The main philosophy behind the langar is two-fold: to provide training to engage in seva and an opportunity to serve people from all walks of life, and to help banish all distinctions between high and low or rich and poor.

Architecture

Gurdwara buildings do not have to conform to any set architectural design. The only established requirements are: the installation of the Guru Granth Sahib under a canopy or in a canopied seat, usually on a platform higher than the specific floor on which the devotees sit, and a tall Sikh pennant flag atop the building.

In the 21st century, more and more gurdwaras (especially within India) have been following the Harimandir Sahib pattern, a synthesis of Indo-Islamic and Sikh architecture. Most of them have square halls, stand on a higher plinth, have entrances on all four sides, and have square or octagonal domed sanctums usually in the middle. During recent decades, to meet the requirements of larger gatherings, bigger and better ventilated assembly halls, with the sanctum at one end, have become accepted style. The location of the sanctum, more often than not, is such as to allow space for circumambulation. Sometimes, to augment the space, verandahs are built to skirt the hall. A popular model for the dome is the ribbed lotus, topped by an ornamental pinnacle. Arched copings, kiosks and solid domelets are used for exterior decorations.

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