Mool Mantar

The Mool Mantar begins the Guru Granth Sahib Ji and defines the basic belief of the Sikhs.

This is the English translation.

Ek Onkar There is only One God
Sat Naam Truth is his name
Karta Purkh He is the creator
Nir Bhau He is without fear
Nir Vair He is without hate
Akaal Moorat He is immortal, without form
Ajooni He is beyond birth and death
Saibhang He is self-illuminated
Gur Parsaad He is realised by the kindness of the true Guru.

Sikh National Anthem

The Sikh national anthem was written by Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Sikhism is the only religion with it’s own national anthem.

This is the English translation.

Deh Shiva bar mohe ihai Grant me this boon O God
Shubh karman the kabhu na taroo May I never refrain from the righteous acts
Na daroo ar siyoo jab jah laroon May I fight without fear all foes in life’s battles
Nischai kar apni jeet koroo With confident courage claiming the victory
Ar Sikh hao apne hi mum ko May thy glory be grained in my mind
Eh lalch hou guna tau uchroo and my highest ambition be singing thy praises
Jab aav ki audh nidhann nanay When this mortal life comes to end
Aut he rann me tab joojh maroo May I die fighting with limitless courage

Lavan, marriage hymn by Guru Ram Das Ji

The Sikh marriage ceremony is performed using the Lavan, the hymn composed by Guru Ram Das Ji, the 4th Sikh Guru. There are four stanzas in the hymn and for each stanza the groom and bride circle the Guru Granth Sahib Ji re-affirming that the Guru is the centre of their lives.

This is the English translation.

By the first circling the Guru has shown the duties of the householder life. Sing the bani instead of the Vedas and hold fast to the faith which they reveal so that God may free you from all evil inclinations. Cling to the righteousness and contemplate God’s name which is the theme of all scriptures. Devote yourself to the True Guru and all evil will depart. Those minds are indeed blessed which are filled with the sweetness of the Name. To them bliss comes effortlessly.

In the second circling you are to recognise that God has caused you to meet the True Guru who washes away the self-centredness of those that sing God’s praises. I stand reverently face to face with the Guru. God is the soul of the universe, the only One, being within us and outside us. There is nothing which God does not pervade. Songs of rejoicing are header in the company of the godly. Slave Nanak says, in the second round divine music is heard.

In the third circling longing for God and detachment from the world wells up. By our good fortune, in godly company, we encounter God whose purity is found through singing divine praises. Good fortune has brought us into the fellowship of the saints in which the story of the ineffable One is told. God’s love fills our minds and absorbs us, as we have been blessed with a good destiny which is recorded on our foreheads. In the third circling, says Nanak, God’s love is awakened in the heart.

In the fourth round the mind attains divine knowledge and union with God becomes complete. This blissful state is reached through the Guru’s grace. The sweetness of the beloved pervades our souls and bodies. God is dear to me and I to God on whom my mind is fixed day and night. By exalting God I have achieved my heart’s desire. The beloved (God) has completed the union. The bride’s mind has blossomed with the beloved’s name. The beloved is united with the holy bride. Says slave Nanak, in the fourth round I have become one with the One.

From “Teach Yourself Sikhism” by W. Owen Cole.

Ardaas

Ardaas is the common prayer and through it, Sikhs remember and respect the sacrifices made by the Gurus and Sikhs to uphold religious freedom and the Sikh faith. It is recited whenever starting or ending any reading of Guru Granth Sahib Ji or any other important task.

This is the English translation.

God is one. All victory is of the wondrous Guru (God).

May the respected sword (God in the form of the Destroyer of evil doers) help us!

Ode of the respected sword recited by the Tenth Guru.

First remember the sword (God in the form of the Destroyer of evil doers); then remember and mediate upon Guru Nanak.

Then remember and mediate upon Guru Angad, Guru Amar das and Guru Ram Das: May they help us!

Then remember and mediate upon Guru Arjan, Guru Hargobind and Respected Guru Har Rai.

Remember and mediate upon respected Guru Har Krishan, by having the sight of whom all pains vanish.

Remember and mediate upon Guru Teg Bahadur; and then nine sources of wealth will come hastening to your home.

Oh Respected Gurus. Kindly help us everywhere.

May the kind, the respected Tenth Guru Gobind Singh Ji assist us everywhere.
Think and mediate upon the divine light of the Ten Kings contained in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji and turn your thoughts to the divine teachings of and get pleasure by the sight if the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Wahe Guru.

Think of the deeds of the Five Beloved Ones, of the four sons (of Guru Gobind Singh Ji); the forty Martyrs; of the brave Sikhs of indomitable determination; of the devotees steeped in the colour of the Name; of those who were absorbed in the Name; of those who remembered the Name and shared their food in companionship; of those who started free kitchens; of these who wielded their swords (for preserving truth); of those who overlooked others shortcomings; all the aforesaid were pure and truly devoted ones. Wahe Guru.

Think of and remember the unique service rendered by those brave Sikhs men as well as women, who scarified their heads but did not surrender their Sikh Religion. Who got themselves cut to pieces from each of the joints of the body; Who got their scalps removed; Who were tied and rotated on the wheels and broken into pieces; Who were cut by saws; Who were flayed alive; Who sacrificed themselves to upkeep the dignity of the Gurdwaras; Who did not abandon their Sikh faith; Who kept their Sikh Religion and saved their long hair till their last breath; Wahe Guru.

Turn your thoughts to the five seats of Sikh Religion and all the Gurdwara. Wahe Guru.

First the entire respected Khalsa make this supplication that they may mediate on Your Name; and may all pleasures and comforts come through such mediation.

Wherever respected Khalsa is present, give Your protection and grace. May the free kitchen and sword never fail; Maintain the honour of your devotees; Confer victory on the Sikh people; May the respected sword always come to our assistance; May the Khalsa always get honours; Wahe Guru.

Kindly confer upon the Sikhs the gift of Sikhism, the gift of observing Sikh laws, the gift of divine knowledge, the gift of firm faith, the gift of belief and the biggest gift of Name and of having bathed in the respected Tank of Nectar.

O God! May the choirs, the mansion and the banners exist forever, may the truth ever triumph; Wahe Guru.

May all the minds of all the Sikhs remain humble and their wisdom exalted. O God! Your are the protector of wisdom.

O Immortal God, the constant Helper of His Sikhs, kindly confer the gift of visiting, maintaining, controlling, worshipping, without restrictions, the Gurdwara of Nanakana Sahib Ji, the Gurdwaras, and Guru Mansions of which the Khalsa has been deprived.

O True Father, Wahe Guru! you are the honour of the meek, the Power of the Helpless ones, the shelter of the shelter less, we humbly make prayer in your presence. We have offered prayers as contained in substitute the occasion or prayer here. Kindly pardon our errors and shortcomings in reciting the above Gurbani.

Kindly fulfil the objects of all. Kindly cause us to meet those true devotees by meeting them, we may remember and mediate upon Your Name. O God! through the True Guru Nanak, may Your Name be exalted and may all prosper according to your will.

WaheGuru Ji Ka Khalsa, WaheGuru Ji Ki Fateh (the Khalsa belongs to God; all victory is the victory of God)