ADDRESS
| Dewaan: | Service in a Gurdwara. |
| Giani: | Someone learned in the Sikh religion. Often leads the congreation in prayers, such as Ardas, or in singing kirtan. |
| Granthi: | A cermonial reader of the Guru Granth Sahib, Duties include arranging daily religious services, reading from the Sikh scriptures, maintaining the gurdwara premises and teaching and advising community members. A granthi is not equivalent to a minister or priest as there are no such religious intermediaries in the Sikh religious tradition. |
| Gurbani Kirtan: | The singing of Shabads and inspirational songs. |
| Guru Granth Sahib: | The Guru Granth Sahib is sacred scriptures containing the teachings of the ten Sikh Gurus written, during that period, by scholars including Muslim and Hindu. The Sikhs respect the Guru Granth Sahib as to be their eleventh and final Guru. The core teaching is the belief in one pantheistic God. This is emphasised in the opening sentence of the Sikh scriptures and reflects the base belief of all who adhere to the teaching of the religion – Ek Onkar (One God). The teaching’s of the 10 Guru’s is on the basis of interfaith acknowledgement, understanding, respect and harmony. By definition a Sikh must accept and respect the beliefs, customs and rituals of all other religions. |
| Guru Ka Lungar: | Blessed communal vegetarian meal. |
| Jathedar: | Team leader of a sub-group providing a volunteer service for the Gurdwara and Sungath reporting to the organisation / committee. |
| Katha: | An instructional or inspirational talk illuminating the Guru’s teaching. |
| Kirtan: | The devotional singing of sacred shabads (hyms) from the Guru Granth Sahib. |
| Nagar Kirthan: | Religious Parade through town. Its purpose - Apart from the normal method of celebrating our religious date in history it is a good way of advertising who we are, the identification between us and other similar looking ethnic groups. For a Scottish Nagar Kirtan it communicates that we are Scottish Sikh’s. This is our home, this is our religion and this is our culture. It is a good method of creating awareness and breaking down barriers of alienation. It contributes in bringing communities together to take part in cultural activities. |
| Nitnem: | The daily Sikh prayers. |
| Prakash: | A short ceremony performed when the Guru Granth Sahib is formally opened everyday. |
| Ragi: | A musician who is trained in performing kirtan. |
| Seva: | Community service. A central aspect of Sikh theology, Selfless service, which is bringing one closer to God. |
| Sewadar: | Servant. Individual volunteer service. Providing an area of expertice reporting to the organisation / committee and or a personal contribution such as cleaning, maintenance, cooking etc., |
| Sri Akhand Path: | Approximately 48hrs continuous reading of Sri Guru Granth Sahib with Lungar being served in the afternoon and evenings. |
| Surpuhnch: | Elected head of community council, chairperson, Panchayat. |
| Vaisakhi: | Vaisakhi is the beginning of the year in the traditional calendar of South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and other countries in this South Eastern Asian region). It is the first day of the first month, Vaisakhi, and a major harvest festival. Generally it falls on the 13th April. |
| Does it have any special significance for Sikhs? | Yes. On Vaisakhi in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth and last human Guru of the Sikhs established the Order of the Khalsa by initiating five of his Sikhs, and then becoming initiated himself too. This event holds paramount significance in the history of the community. Sikhs derive their formal, consolidation identity from this day, including their five articles of faith, distinctive physical appearance and the names Singh and Kaur. Thus, Vaisakhi has a special spirit of hope, rejuvenation and commitments for Sikhs. Sikhs all over the world celebrate by organising religious services, including the full reading of the Sikh scripture – Guru Granth Sahib and community service. Culturally there are activities like parades, martial arts, sports festivals and song and dance performances. Families come together during this important festive occasion. |