Making Time to Read Gurbani Daily
“O Lord of supreme ecstasy and blissful form, Your Word is so beautiful, so drenched with Nectar. With the Lord's lotus feet enshrined in his heart, Nanak has tied the Shabad, the Word of the True Guru, to the hem of his robe.” (SGGS 680||2||7||38||Guru Arjan)
In addition to required Nitnem prayers, Sikh Rehit Maryada advises reading a Sadharan Paath from Siri Guru Granth Sahib daily. Completion is meant to occur within every 2-3 months. How does one cope with fitting in one more activity in the busy schedule of today’s fast paced world?
I find the best way for me is to target a completion date, commit to reading a set number of pages daily, and choosing a time I’m least likely to be interrupted. Excel is a great way to make up a schedule and keep track of progress.
When I have a particularly hectic agenda, I like to divide my pages, reading half following prakash in the morning and before doing sukhassan in the evening, so it takes me just a few more minutes. Once when I had to finish by a certain date, I read 3 times daily, partaking of Gurbani, just as I took my meals.
If I have more time it’s nice to relax and I listen to myself read aloud leisurely for an hour or so. I find it very calming when I’m feeling overwhelmed. Alternately, Gurbani Audio Files are available for the computer, mp3, or DVD player.
Comments
i love to remember god…. i only know ” ek om kaar” i want to know gurbani also… plz help……
The Sikhism forum
http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=messages&webtag=ab-sikhism
is a great place to engage in conversations and get direct replies to questions.
Getting to know Gurbani could be likened to learning to walk. Take the first step and many baby steps thereafter until one day you find you are running along
Learning to read often begins with corrections to further understanding. We cannot translate with complete accuracy and use short form spelling of longer phonetics spellings for convenience. The usual most common spelling would be Ik Onkar – phonetically Ik oan kaar. Om is incorrect spelling usage in Sikhism although Ek is an acceptable variety of a phonetic spelling. Now you have had your first lesson
If you are nearby a gurdwara I recommend inquiry into what classes are available for learning gurbani, and who is willing and able to teach. Panjabi alphabet is not difficult to learn. I’ll post a link in the forum to an online audio learning aid.
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