The Gurdwara

Gurdwara means the door of Guru Ji. Its essential feature is the presence of the scripture. There are no idols or altars, and the Sikh Rehat Maryada forbids statues and bowing to pictures. The early meeting places were called dharamsalas. The name changed around the time of Sri Guru Hargobind Ji, as copies of the Granth spread.

There is no set architecture. The outer sign is the Nishan Sahib. Inside, the scripture rests under a canopy on a raised seat. Anyone may enter, whatever their country, religion or caste, provided they remove their shoes, cover their head and carry no tobacco or intoxicants.[EoS][Src]

Each morning the scripture is ceremonially opened. This is commonly known as prakash, a word meaning light. It stays open while someone can attend it, and after Rehras it is closed and put to rest, which is commonly called sukhasan. At Harmandir Sahib, this practice is traced in the Encyclopaedia of Sikhism to Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji in 1604.

The usual service runs: opening, kirtan, exposition, discourse, Anand Sahib, Ardas, the call of Sat Sri Akal and the hukam. On entering, a Sikh bows to the scripture and sits on the floor. The Rehat Maryada says no one should have a special seat, and that all, whether Sikh or not, should be treated without distinction.[Src][EoS][Web][Web]

A granthi reads the scripture in public, looks after it, leads services and conducts rites. The word is not the same as priest. Any Sikh acceptable to the sangat may fill the role, with no ordination beyond initiation. Sikhism has no priestly caste, and Baba Buddha Ji, appointed by Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji in 1604, is remembered as the first.

The role has changed over time. During eighteenth-century persecution, Udasi and Nirmala custodians looked after many gurdwaras. Hereditary control by mahants ended with the reform movement and the Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925, under which the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee manages many historic gurdwaras. Others are run by locally chosen committees.[EoS][EoS][EoS]

The word hukamnama has two uses. Historically it means letters from the Gurus and, today, edicts from the Takhts. In a gurdwara, the daily hukam, also called vak, is the hymn read after Ardas. By the code's rule, the reader takes the hymn continuing at the top of the left-hand page and reads it from its beginning. The SGPC publishes the daily hukam from Harmandir Sahib on its website.[EoS][Src][Web]

Services end with kara prashad, a warm sweet food of equal parts wheat flour, sugar and ghee, cooked while reciting Bani. It is placed before the scripture, touched with a kirpan after Ardas and shared. The first shares are set aside for five Sikhs, in the name of the Panj Piare. All then receive it on cupped hands, with no distinction of caste or status.[EoS][Src]