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Gurudwaras
A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths are welcomed in gurdwaras. Each gurdwara has a '' Darbar Sahib'' where the current and everlasting guru of the Sikhs, the scripture Guru Granth Sahib, is placed on a (an elevated throne) in a prominent central position. Any congregant (sometimes with specialized training, in which case they can be known by the term granthi) may recite, sing, and explain the verses from the Guru Granth Sahib, in the presence of the rest of the congregation. All gurdwaras have a hall, where people can eat free vegetarian food served by volunteers at the gurdwara. They may also have a medical facility room, library, nursery, classroom, meeting rooms, playground, sports ground, a gift shop, and finally a repair shop. A gurdwara can be identified from a dista ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gurudwara
A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths are welcomed in gurdwaras. Each gurdwara has a '' Darbar Sahib'' where the current and everlasting guru of the Sikhs, the scripture Guru Granth Sahib, is placed on a (an elevated throne) in a prominent central position. Any congregant (sometimes with specialized training, in which case they can be known by the term granthi) may recite, sing, and explain the verses from the Guru Granth Sahib, in the presence of the rest of the congregation. All gurdwaras have a hall, where people can eat free vegetarian food served by volunteers at the gurdwara. They may also have a medical facility room, library, nursery, classroom, meeting rooms, playground, sports ground, a gift shop, and finally a repair shop. A gurdwara can be identified from a dist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sikhs
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' has its origin in the word ' (), meaning 'disciple' or 'student'. Male Sikhs generally have ''Singh'' ('lion'/'tiger') as their last name, though not all Singhs are necessarily Sikhs; likewise, female Sikhs have ''Kaur'' ('princess') as their last name. These unique last names were given by the Gurus to allow Sikhs to stand out and also as an act of defiance to India's caste system, which the Gurus were always against. Sikhs strongly believe in the idea of "Sarbat Da Bhala" - "Welfare of all" and are often seen on the frontline to provide humanitarian aid across the world. Sikhs who have undergone the ''Amrit Sanchar'' ('baptism by Khanda'), an initiation ceremony, are from the day of their initiation known as Khalsa, and they m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takht (Sikhism)
A takht, or taḵẖata ( pa, ਤਖ਼ਤ) literally means a throne or seat of authority and is a spiritual and temporal centre of Sikhism. There are five Takhts, which are five gurudwaras that have a very special significance for the Sikh community. The first and the most important was established by Guru Hargobind in 1609, 'Akal Takht' (the Throne of the Timeless God) and is just opposite the gate of Harmandir Sahib – The Golden Temple, Amritsar. While the Harmandir Sahib, or Golden Temple, represents Sikh spiritual guidance, the Akal Takht symbolizes the dispensing of justice and temporal activity. It is the highest seat of temporal authority of the Khalsa and the seat of the Sikh religion's earthly authority. There, the Guru held his court and decided matters of military strategy and political policy. Later on, the Sikh Nation (Sarbat Khalsa) took decisions here on matters of peace and war and settled disputes between the various Sikh groups. The Sarangi singers sung the b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nanded
Nanded is a city in Maharashtra state, India. It is the tenth largest city in the state and the seventy-ninth most populous city in India. It is the second largest city in Marathwada region. It is the district headquarters of Nanded district. The last Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh spent his last days in Nanded and passed his guruship to the sacred text Guru Granth Sahib before his death here in 1708. Location Nanded is located on the banks of river Godavari in west-central India. Nanded district borders Latur district, Parbhani district and Hingoli district to the west and Yavatmal district to the north. The district is bordered by the Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Nirmal and Adilabad districts of Telangana state to the east and Bidar district of Karnataka state to the south. Nanded has two parts: Old Nanded occupies the north bank of the Godavari river; New Nanded, to the south of the river, encompasses Waghala and neighbourhoods. Etymology From a copper plate inscription ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirtan
Kirtana ( sa, कीर्तन; ), also rendered as Kirtan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts, connoting a musical form of narration or shared recitation, particularly of spiritual or religious ideas, native to the Indian subcontinent. With roots in the Vedic ''anukirtana'' tradition, a kirtan is a call-and-response style song or chant, set to music, wherein multiple singers recite or describe a legend, or express loving devotion to a deity, or discuss spiritual ideas. It may include dancing or direct expression of ''bhavas'' (emotive states) by the singer. Many kirtan performances are structured to engage the audience where they either repeat the chant,Sara Brown (2012), ''Every Word Is a Song, Every Step Is a Dance'', PhD Thesis, Florida State University (Advisor: Michael Bakan), pages 25-26, 87-88, 277 or reply to the call of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dharamshala (type Of Building)
A dharamshala, also written as dharmashala is a public resthouse or shelter in the Indian subcontinent. Just as sarai are for travellers and caravans, dharamshalas are built for religious travellers at pilgrimage sites. In Nepal there are dharamshalas especially built for pilgrims as well as dharamshalas for locals. Etymology ''Dharamshala'' (Devanagari: धर्मशाला; ITRANS: Dharmashaalaa; IAST: Dharmaśālā) is a word (derived from Sanskrit) that is a compound of ''dharma'' (धर्म) and ''shālā'' (शाला). A loose translation into English would be 'spiritual dwelling' or, more loosely, 'sanctuary'. Rendering a precise literal translation into English is problematic due to the vast and conceptually rich semantic field of the word ''dharma'', and the cultural aspect of India. In common Hindu usage, the word ''dharamshala'' refers to a shelter or rest house for spiritual pilgrims. Traditionally, such ''dharamshalas'' (pilgrims' rest houses) were common ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narowal District
Narowal District ( Punjabi and ur, ), is a district in the province of Punjab of Pakistan. Narowal city is the capital of the district. During the British rule, Narowal was the town of Raya Khas tehsil of Sialkot District. Narowal District formed in 1991, when the two tehsils of Narowal and Shakargarh were split off from Sialkot District. Administration The district is administratively divided into the following three tehsils (subdivisions), which contain a total of 74 Union Councils: Geography The district is bounded by on the northwest by Sialkot, by India on the north by Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, on the southeast by the Gurdaspur district and Pathankot district, on the south by Amritsar district, and on the southwest by Sheikhupura district in Pakistan. The total area of the district is approximately 4,623 square kilometres. Prior to the creation of Zafarwal Tehsil in July 2009, Narowal Tehsil occupied 1,065 square kilometres while the remaining area ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guru Nanak Dev
Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential figure to the disciple (or '' shisya'' in Sanskrit, literally ''seeker f knowledge or truth'' or student, with the guru serving as a "counselor, who helps mold values, shares experiential knowledge as much as literal knowledge, an exemplar in life, an inspirational source and who helps in the spiritual evolution of a student". Whatever language it is written in, Judith Simmer-Brown explains that a tantric spiritual text is often codified in an obscure twilight language so that it cannot be understood by anyone without the verbal explanation of a qualified teacher, the guru. A guru is also one's spiritual guide, who helps one to discover the same potentialities that the ''guru'' has already realized. The oldest references to the concep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Punjab Region
Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Geography of Pakistan, Pakistan and northwestern Geography of India, India. Punjab's capital and largest city and historical and cultural centre is Lahore. The other major cities include Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Multan, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Sialkot, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, and Bahawalpur. Punjab grew out of the settlements along the five rivers, which served as an important route to the Near East as early as the ancient Indus Valley civilisation, Indus Valley civilization, dating back to 3000 BCE, and had numerous Indo-Aryan migration, migrations by the Indo-Aryan peoples. Agriculture has been the major economic feature of the Punjab and has therefore formed the foundation of Punjabi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ravi River
The Ravi River () is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of five rivers associated with the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two other rivers were allocated to India. Subsequently, the Indus Basin Project was developed in Pakistan, which transfers waters from western rivers of the Indus system to replenish the portion of the Ravi River lying in that country. Many inter-basin water transfers, irrigation, hydropower and multipurpose projects have been built in India. History According to ancient history traced to Vedas, the Ravi River was known as ( sa, इरावती). The Ravi was known as Purushni or Irawati to Indians in Vedic times and as Hydraotes ( grc, ’ϒδραωτης) to the Ancient Greeks. Part of the Battle of the Ten Kings was fought on a river, which according to Yaska (Nirukta 9.26) refers to the Iravati River (Raavi River) in the Punjab. Geography The Ravi R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kartarpur, Pakistan
Kartarpur ( Punjabi , Urdu: ; Punjabi : ਕਰਤਾਰਪੁਰ) is a town located, near Lahore in the tehsil Shakargarh, Narowal District in Punjab, Pakistan. Located on the right bank of the Ravi River, it is said to have been founded by the first guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, where he established the first Sikh commune. Geography Kartarpur is located at . It is located in Narowal, Punjab, Pakistan. It has an average elevation of 155 metres (511 feet). History The first guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, founded Kartarpur in 1504 AD on the right bank of the Ravi River. The name ''Kartarpur'' means "city of Creator or God", from Punjabi "ਕਰਤਾਰ" (Kartar) meaning 'Creator' or 'Lord of Creation' and "ਪੁਰ" (Pur) meaning 'City'. Here all people, irrespective of their religion or caste, lived together, representing the first 'Sikh commune'. After his travels for about 20 years, Guru Nanak settled in Kartarpur along with his family. Following his death in 15 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guru Har Krishan
Guru Har Krishan (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਕ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਨ, pronunciation: ; 7 July 1656 – 30 March 1664) was the eighth of the ten Sikh Gurus. At the age of five, he became the youngest Guru in Sikhism on 7 October 1661, succeeding his father, Guru Har Rai. He contracted smallpox in 1664 and died before reaching his eighth birthday. It is said that he died because he contracted smallpox while successfully curing his followers. He is also known as Bal Guru (Child Guru),HS Singha (2009), The Encyclopedia of Sikhism, Hemkunt Press, , pages 96–97 and sometimes spelled in Sikh literature as Hari Krishan Sahib. He is remembered in the Sikh tradition for saying "Baba Bakale" before he died, which Sikhs interpreted to identify his granduncle Guru Tegh Bahadur as the next successor. Guru Har Krishan had the shortest reign as Guru, lasting only two years, five months and 24 days. Biography Har Krishan was born in Kiratpur (Shivalik Hills) in northwest Indian subc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
