Guru ka Langar

The Langar maryada is carried out each day in due earnest and humility. Sangat members volunteer and offer Langar Sewa for preparation and serving Langar to the Sangat. Langer is available to all that visit the Gurdwara Sahib and consists of a vegetarian meal with freshly made bread, rice and sweets.

Sahaj Path

Sahej or Sadharan Paath is the complete reading of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib from start to finish accomplished at the reader’s pace. A Sahej Paath may be fulfilled by one or more readers. The pace of the paath is undetermined and will depend entirely on the reader(s). Some dedicated Sikhs who have the Guru Granth Sahib installed at their home, carry out a Sahaj paath on a continuous basis at home. They begin one Sahaj paath and in some cases take up to one year to read the whole of the holy Granth. After they have carried out the bhog of the paath, they begin another paath. So in this way, they are continuously readingGurbani at home for a little while perhaps on a daily basis. The Sahj Path can be held at the Gurudwara or at your home.

Sukhmani Sahib Path

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. Each section, which is called an Ashtpadi (asht means 8), consists of 8 hymns per Ashtpadi. The word Sukhmani literally means Peace in your mind. This set of Hymns or Bani is very popular among the Sikhs, who frequently recite it in their places of worship called Gurdwaras and at home. The full recital takes about 90 minutes and is normally undertaken by everyone in the congregation. According to Sikh doctorine, this Bani is believed to bring peace to one’s mind and compoundly peace to the world. This set of 192 hymns were compiled by the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji.

Gurbani Kirtan

Gurbani Kirtan or Shabad Kirtan  is one of the important aspects of Sikhism that refers to the singing of the Sacred Hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib accompanied by music. The Sikhs place huge value on this type of singing and a Sikh is expected to listen to and/or sing Guru-Kirtan as frequently as possible.

Traditionally the music used to accompany Kirtan has been Indian Classical Music, which is based on Ragas and taal (rhythmic beat patterns). Traditionally the Indian musical instruments the Harmonium and Tabla have been used for this type of music. The Sikh scripture contains 31 Ragas and 17talas which form the basis for Kirtan musical compositions.

The Guru has pronounced that Kirtan is the magical formula to keep the human soul afloat in the dark era of Kaljug provided the devotee sings the pure melodies with his or her heart closely focused on the meaning and true spirit of the Gurbani thus:

ਕਲਜੁਗ ਮਹਿ ਕੀਰਤਨੁ ਪਰਧਾਨਾ ॥ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਜਪੀਐ ਲਾਇ ਧਿਆਨਾ ॥Kaljug meh kīrṯan parḝẖĝnĝ. Gurmukẖ japī­ai lĝ­ė ḝẖi­ĝnĝ.
In this Dark Age of Kali Yuga, the Kirtan of the Lord's Praises are most sublime and exalted.
Become Gurmukh, chant and focus your meditation. (SGGS p1075)