a sikh wedding (english)
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Discover Sikh: Sikh W
edding Page 7
English Translation of the Four Marriage Hymns:
In the first round of the m
arriage ceremony the G
uru has shown the duties
of the householder life. Sing t
he B n (sacred hymns)
instead of the Vedas
and hold fast to the faith w
hich they reveal so that God m
ay free you from
all evil inclinations. Cling to the righteousness and co
ntemplate God's
Name which is the theme of all scriptures. Devote yourself to the True
Guru and all evil w
ill depart. Those m
inds are indeed b
lessed w
hich are
filled w
ith the sweetness of the N
ame. To them bliss comes effortlessly.
||1||
In the seco
nd round of the m
arriage ceremony you are to reco
gnise 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 G
uru. God is the soul of the universe, the only O
ne, being w
ithin
us and outside us. There is nothing in w
hich God does not pervade. Songs of
rejoicing are header in the company of the godly. Slave Nanak says, in the
seco
nd round divine m
usic is heard. ||2||
In the third round of the marriage ceremony the longing for God and
detach
ment
from the world wells
up.
By our
good fortune,
in godly
company, we enco
unter God w
hose purity is found through singing divine
praises. G
ood fortune has brought us into the fellowship of the saints in
which the story of the ineffable O
ne is told. God's love fills our minds and
absorbs us, as we have been blessed w
ith a good destiny w
hich is reco
rded
on our foreheads. In the third circling, says Nanak, God's love is awakened
in the heart. ||3||
In the fourth round of the marriage ceremony the mind attains divine
knowledge and union with God becomes co
mplete. This blissful state is
reach
ed through the G
uru's grace. The sweetness of the beloved pervades
our souls and bodies. G
od is dear to m
e and I to G
od on w
hom m
y m
ind is
fixed day and night. By exalting God I have ach
ieved m
y heart's desire. The
beloved (G
od) has co
mpleted the union. The bride's mind has blossomed
with the beloved's name. The beloved is united w
ith the holy bride. Says
slave Nanak,
in the fourth round I have become one with the One.
||4||2||
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Discover Sikh: Sikh W
edding Page 1
Outline of a Sikh W
edding Day:
1. Departure of Baraat:
Bara
at
is t
he t
erm
use
d t
o d
esc
ribe t
he p
art
y f
rom
th
e G
room
s si
de.
The Bara
at
will
leave fr
om
th
e G
room
's house
to
th
e
Gurd
wara
where
the w
eddin
g w
ill ta
ke p
lace.
2. Reception of Baraat:
The G
room
's p
art
y is
"receiv
ed"
by t
he B
ride's p
art
y
at
the G
urd
wara
. 3. Milni:
(m
eans
"Intr
oducti
ons"
): A
short
sta
ndin
g p
rayer
is p
erf
orm
ed b
y
the Sik
h G
ranth
i (e
quiv
ela
nt
of
Pri
est
), fo
llow
ed by th
e fo
rmal
public
intr
oducti
ons
of
the m
ain
male
rela
tives
in t
he f
am
ilie
s.
4. Tea:
Tea w
ith s
tric
t vegeta
rian s
avouri
es
and s
weets
will
be s
erv
ed a
nd
are
norm
ally t
aken s
tandin
g a
t ta
ble
s. C
hair
s are
seld
om
pro
vid
ed.
Discover Sikh: Sikh W
edding Page 6
Im
portance of Marriage:
The S
ikh w
eddin
g c
ere
mony i
s called “
Anand K
aara
j” w
hic
h l
itera
lly m
eans
“Cere
mony o
f Bliss
”.
Marr
iage i
s a s
pir
itual
identi
ty,
not
just
a l
ove a
ffair
betw
een t
wo p
eople
. The f
ocus
of
marr
iage is
not
rom
anti
c love o
r physi
cal
liais
on,
though
these
asp
ects
of
marr
iage
natu
rally
bri
ng
their
ow
n
delight.
The S
ikh m
arr
iage
is a
ll a
bout
love,
but
what
kin
d o
f lo
ve?
It i
s th
e L
ove
of
the Soul-
bri
de fo
r G
od,
that
longin
g t
o m
erg
e w
ith
the
Infi
nit
e.
A
Sik
h
marr
iage
is
two
people
tr
yin
g t
o h
elp
one a
noth
er
in t
his
merg
er.
The h
ighest
lo
ve i
s ass
isti
ng a
noth
er
in
the m
erg
er
of
the s
oul w
ith
the
infi
nit
e,
help
ing
the
Belo
ved
to
find
the
true
purp
ose
of
their
lif
e.
The f
our
nupti
al
rounds
(Laavaa’n
) w
ere
wri
tten b
y t
he f
ourt
h S
ikh G
uru
, G
uru
Raam
Daas
Ji,
for
his
ow
n w
eddin
g.
In t
hem
he t
ells
us
that
the f
irst
com
mit
ment
is f
or
one t
o b
e t
rue t
o o
ne's o
wn s
oul,
to b
e c
om
mit
ted t
o
righte
ousn
ess
, be on th
e sp
irit
ual
path
and com
munic
ate
w
ith th
e so
ul
thro
ugh p
ers
onal sp
irit
ual pra
cti
ce.
Then t
he G
uru
tells
the c
ouple
that
they h
ave m
et
the T
rue G
uru
, th
ey c
an
get
out
of
their
ego identi
ficati
on a
nd s
acri
fice t
o t
he u
nit
y,
to t
he m
erg
er,
and
rise
above
their
pers
onaliti
es
and
judgem
ents
. Com
mit
to
th
e
inst
ituti
on o
f m
arr
iage a
s part
of
one’s
spir
itual path
. Next,
the c
ouple
are
told
that
they h
ave b
een b
less
ed t
o b
e a
part
of
the
Saadh S
angat
(the C
om
pany o
f th
e H
oly
), a
nd t
hat
their
liv
es
should
be a
n
exam
ple
of
serv
ice and div
init
y to
all aro
und th
em
, to
fu
lfil th
e gre
at
dest
iny t
hey h
ave b
een g
iven.
Fin
ally,
the G
uru
says
that
the m
erg
er
has
taken p
lace w
ith t
he I
nfi
nit
e,
because
one h
as
follow
ed h
is a
dvic
e.
Each h
as
insp
ired t
he o
ther
tow
ard
s th
at
merg
er.
Discover Sikh: Sikh W
edding Page 5
7. Departure of Doli:
Aft
er
the m
arr
iage c
ere
mony h
as
finis
hed t
he b
ride
and g
room
alo
ng w
ith c
lose
rela
tives
and f
riends
go t
o t
he b
ride’s
pare
nta
l hom
e.
When th
e bri
de and gro
om
arr
ive at
the house
th
en th
e bri
de’s
si
sters
, fr
iends
and f
am
ily e
njo
y t
easi
ng t
he g
room
and t
he p
art
y a
nd a
sk
for
money t
o e
nte
r th
e h
ouse
. It
is
all in a
hum
ouro
us
and f
un a
tmosp
here
.
The b
ride t
hen d
epart
s fr
om
her
pare
nt's
house
(a v
ery
sad a
nd t
ouchin
g
occasi
on).
In s
om
e c
ase
s, s
he c
hanges
into
new
clo
thes
that
are
pre
sente
d
to h
er
by t
he g
room
's f
am
ily b
efo
re d
epart
ing.
Discover Sikh: Sikh W
edding Page 2
5. The Sikh W
edding Ceremony (
Anand K
aara
j):
This
is
the f
orm
al
part
of
the cere
mony and alw
ays
takes
pla
ce in
a G
urd
wara
. Ple
ase
obse
rve th
e
rule
s applicable
whic
h a
re d
esc
ribed in t
he “
Vis
itin
g a
Gurd
wara
” p
am
phle
t.
Als
o d
esc
ribed h
ere
is
the c
loth
ing t
o b
e w
orn
. Ple
ase
note
that
as
you w
ill
be r
equir
ed t
o s
it o
n t
he c
arp
ete
d f
loor,
suit
able
clo
thin
g s
hould
be w
orn
. Keertan - T
he s
ingin
g o
f th
e S
acre
d H
ym
ns
from
Sri
Guru
Gra
nth
Sahib
Ji.
Ardaas
– The c
ongre
gati
on s
tands
up t
o d
o a
collecti
ve p
rayer
to s
hare
their
ble
ssin
gs
and p
rayers
for
the c
ouple
. Som
eti
mes
only
the k
ey p
eople
(Bri
de,
gro
om
, both
pare
nts
of
bri
de and gro
om
) w
ill
stand st
raig
ht
wit
h fo
lded
hands
and j
oin
in t
his
pra
yer,
while t
he c
ongre
gati
on q
uie
tly s
it a
nd lis
ten.
Discover Sikh: Sikh W
edding Page 3
Pallaa Ceremony –
The fa
ther
or
a se
nio
r m
em
ber
of
the bri
de’s
fa
mily
giv
es
aw
ay t
he b
ride a
nd p
laces
the P
allaa (
long s
carf
) of
the g
room
into
th
e h
ands
of
the b
ride s
ym
bolisi
ng t
hat
from
now
on t
he h
usb
and’s
duty
is
to h
onour,
cheri
sh a
nd s
upport
the b
ride a
nd t
hat
the b
ride a
nd g
room
are
bound
togeth
er.
W
hilst
th
is
cere
mony
is
bein
g
conducte
d
the
Raagis
(m
usi
cia
ns)
sin
g a
ppro
pri
ate
hym
ns.
Laavaa’n –
There
are
four
marr
iage h
ym
ns.
The B
ride a
nd G
room
will list
en
to th
e fi
rst
hym
n.
At
the com
ple
tion of
this
th
ey bow
dow
n to
sh
ow
accepta
nce.
The s
am
e h
ym
n is
then s
ung b
y b
y t
he S
ikh r
eligio
us
musi
cia
ns
whilst
th
e Bri
de and G
room
w
alk
aro
und Sri
G
uru
G
ranth
Sahib
Ji
as
a
physi
cal
com
mit
ment
to t
he v
ow
and t
o e
xpre
ss t
he f
act
the G
uru
is
the
centr
e o
f th
eir
liv
es.
The c
onclu
sion o
f th
e c
ere
mony is
follow
ed b
y K
eert
an
(sin
gin
g o
f sa
cre
d h
ym
ns)
to c
ele
bra
te,
and t
he c
ongre
gati
on u
sually o
ffers
a d
onati
on t
o t
he m
usi
cia
ns
as
a t
oken o
f jo
y.
Discover Sikh: Sikh W
edding Page 4
Ardaas
- All th
e congre
gati
on w
ill
stand and jo
in in
th
e ard
aas.
This
fo
llow
ed by H
ukam
nam
a (H
oly
Edic
t) re
ad fr
om
Sri
G
uru
G
ranth
Sahib
Ji
whic
h a
ll t
he c
ongre
gati
on a
ttenti
vely
lis
tens
to w
hilst
sit
ting d
ow
n.
Karhaah Parshaad -
Ble
ssed "
Sw
eet
puddin
g"
is s
erv
ed a
s a f
orm
of
sacre
d
com
munio
n.
(It
is m
ade o
f w
heat
flour,
sugar,
cla
rifi
ed b
utt
er
and w
ate
r).
It
is r
eceiv
ed w
ith p
lacin
g b
oth
hands
opened a
nd p
laced t
ogeth
er.
Sagun:
Both
pare
nts
congra
tula
te t
he c
ouple
. In
many c
ase
s guest
s fo
llow
to
pre
sent
the couple
w
ith gif
ts of
a cash
off
eri
ngs
in th
eir
la
p,
whic
h
contr
ibute
s to
the c
ouple
’s n
ew
sta
rt in lif
e.
Lunch:
Accord
ing t
o S
ikh t
radit
ion,
the S
ikh w
eddin
g c
ere
mony is
conclu
ded
wit
h t
he c
om
munal pure
vegeta
rian m
eal (L
angar)
share
d in t
he G
urd
wara
.