PAATH or PATH, from the Sanskrit patha which means reading or recitation, is, in the religious context, reading or recitation of the holy texts. In Sikhism, it implies daily repetition of scriptural texts from the Guru Granth Sahib. The Sanskrit language ( , ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. ... The Harimandir Sahib, known popularly as the Golden Temple, is a sacred shrine for Sikhs. ... Illuminated Guru Granth folio with nisan (Mool Mantar) of Guru Gobind Singh. ...

Background

Paath is the recitation of Gurbani. It may be done individually or in a group; it can be the recitation of one’s Banis or any part of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, alone or with others listening or reciting along. The person reciting Gurbani should pronounce every syllable correctly so that the Naad, the sound current may be produced and affect the consciousness of the one reciting and the one listening. Sikh Holy Texts Bani is the term used by Sikhs to refer to various sections of the Holy Text that appears in their several Holy Books The important Banis are listed below: Japji Sahib 1. ... Illuminated Guru Granth folio with nisan (Mool Mantar) of Guru Gobind Singh. ...

Gurbani may be recited in the Sadh Sangat at any time, whether or not one is in the presence of Siri Guru Granth Sahib. A beautiful form of recitation in a group is to divide into groups of men and women with each reciting an alternate sutra. (A sutra is a complete line of poetry.) In the Gurmukhi each sutra is separated by two vertical lines (//). Gurbani should be recited rhythmically and meditatively.

Sikh’s daily religious regimen

Reading of certain banis is part of a Sikh’s nitnem or daily religious regimen. Path of these prescribed texts is performed from a handy collection, called gutka (missal or breviary) or from memory. Three of the banis, Guru Nanak’s Japji and Guru Gobind Singh’s Jaap Sahib and Savaiye — constitute the Sikhs mandatory morning path or devotions, and two — Rehras and Kirtan Sohila — evening path. Individuals add certain other texts as well such as Shabad Hazaare, Anand Sahib and Sukhmani. A Sikh (IPA: [siːk] or [sɪk]; Punjabi: , , IPA: [sɪk. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Guru Nanak (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ, Devanagari: गुरु नानक) (20 October 1469 - 7 May 1539), the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Gurus of the Sikhs, was born in the village of Talwandi, now called Nankana... Japji Sahib consists of the Mool Mantra, a set of 38 hymns and a final Salok which appear at the very beginning of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Holy Book of the Sikhs. ... An artists impression of Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (Punjabi: )(Born in Patna, Bihar, India, on December 22, 1666 as Gobind Rai – October 7, 1708, Nanded, Maharashtra, India) was the tenth and last of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Guru on November 11, 1675 following in... Jaap Sahib is the morning prayer of the Sikhs. ... A Sikh (IPA: [siːk] or [sɪk]; Punjabi: , , IPA: [sɪk. ... Evening prayer of the Sikhs. ... To remove the fear of death. ... Anand Sahib: This Bani is part of the Nitnem or prayer which are read by Amritdhari Sikhs in the morning. ... Sukhmani Sahib is the name given to the set of hymns divided into 24 sections which appear in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Holy Scriptures on page 262. ...

The path is also performed individually and more particularly in sangat from the Guru Granth Sahib itself. The Holy Volume is ceremonially installed under coverlets on a decorated seat resting on a raised platform, with a canopy above, and is opened by the pathi or reader who sits reverentially behind. Usually, another person stands in attendance, waving the flywhisk over the Holy Book. The pathi should have bathed and be dressed in clean clothes. Besides the reading of one single hymn to obtain vak or hukamnama (lesson or command for the day) or of some passages, three forms of complete path of the Guru Granth Sahib are current: Akhand Path (unbroken recitation completed in forty-eight hours), Saptahik (completed in a week) and Sadharan or Sahij (taken in slow parts with no time-limit for completion). A rarest variety is Ati Akhand Path, hardly ever practised, in which a single participant reads within the prescribed 48 hours the entire text. Illuminated Guru Granth folio with nisan (Mool Mantar) of Guru Gobind Singh. ... A Hukamnama refers to a hymn from the Guru Granth Sahib which is given as an order to Sikhs. ... Illuminated Guru Granth folio with nisan (Mool Mantar) of Guru Gobind Singh. ...

Sampat Path

Another variety is the sampat path. No time-limit is specified for it. Different schools and different groups or pathis have their own schedules. But the commonest factor in this variety of path is that a whole shabad or a portion of it from the holy text will be set apart for repetition after every full stanza or apportioned section of it has been recited. Time-limit will thus be variable, depending upon the length of the verse or verses chosen for repetition. The hymn or portions of it chosen for repeated recitation will be governed by the occasion or purpose of the path. At certain places even the Mul Mantra is repeated with the chosen line or lines. The relay of pathis (readers) in this instance will naturally be larger than in the case of a normal akhand path. Shabad: Word Shabad is the term used by Sikhs to refer to a hymn or paragraph or sections of the Holy Text that appears in their several Holy Books. ... Illuminated Adi Granth folio with nisan (Mool Mantar) of Guru Gobind Singh. ...

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cole, W. Owen and Sambhi, P.S., The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Delhi, 1978 T. S.

External Article

• Concepts In Sikhism - Edited by Dr. Surinder Singh Sodhi