Chapter 16: every tradition · Sikhism
Gurdwara
A gurdwara as most American Sikhs know it: an independent, mostly Punjabi congregation, the sangat, run by an elected committee and keeping the Guru Granth Sahib, the scripture Sikhs hold to be their living Guru, as the Sikh Rehat Maryada, the code published by the SGPC in Amritsar, lays down. There are some 240 to 250 in the United States, the first built at Stockton in 1912; many began in a converted church, house or warehouse. At dawn the Guru Granth Sahib is carried from its own room, the sachkhand, to the palki and opened; after the Rehras at sunset and the Kirtan Sohila at night it is carried back to rest, and through the day the doors stand open for anyone who comes to bow. The main gathering, moved to Sunday in America, is the diwan, from about nine until two with people coming and going: kirtan sung by hired ragis to harmonium and tabla (never bells or lamps), katha, the Ardas, the hukamnama, and karah prashad, then langar, free vegetarian food for anyone, eaten sitting in rows on the floor, sponsored by a family and cooked by volunteers. Everyone covers their head and takes off their shoes and sits on the floor below the Guru, men and women usually on their own sides; no meat, eggs, alcohol or tobacco come onto the premises. There is no priesthood: any Sikh may read or lead the Ardas, women as well as men, though most granthis are men, often brought from Punjab on religious-worker visas. The committee hires and dismisses the granthi, and its elections, fought between slates, sometimes end in court or in a new gurdwara. Money comes from the golak, the box before the Guru, from sponsored langars and Akhand Paths, and from dasvandh, the tenth Sikhs are taught to give. Many committees kept the 2003 Nanakshahi calendar; others follow the SGPC's lunar dates (a variant). Practice varies: small gurdwaras may open only at weekends and serve langar only on Sundays, and some seat everyone together; here, as at many, a smaller langar is served at midday every day; where the research was thin, the common practice was chosen.
All 80 traditions · its profile in Faiths and traditions, with how to play it and what sets its faith apart; How people feel, what every factor is.
At a glance
| Faith | Sikhism |
|---|---|
| Its words | gurdwara, gurdwara, darbar hall; the granthi leads the diwan; the katha; Sunday; the Guru Granth Sahib |
| Worship | scripture focus, chanted, moderate formality (0.67 of 1); seated on floor; men and women on either side |
| Music | organ discouraged; gospel organ discouraged; piano discouraged; choir discouraged; band discouraged; brass discouraged; handbells discouraged; chant expected; song leader discouraged; recorded discouraged |
| The room's sound | no strong preference |
| Its year | nanakshahi; full observance; fasts none |
| Leans | conservative on moral questions, neutral on economic ones |
| Polity | congregational; leaders come by call; property local |
| Leaders | one leader, full time, trained by college; marriage any |
| Belonging | moderate commitment, none discipline, admitted by board |
| Giving | tithing taught; collected by boxes, online |
| Way of life | alcohol abstinence, dress modest, sabbath relaxed, meat vegetarian, eggs forbidden, heads covered by everyone |
The week's services
| Day | Time | Service | Led by | People look for it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Every day | 5:00 am | Prakash and Asa di Var (in Punjabi, short, and plays quickly: people come 5% as often as to a main service) | the granthi | expected |
| Every day | 7:30 am to 7:00 pm | Open to bow (coming to bow, open hours: people come when they like, a household together, 12% as often in a day as to a main service, and stay 20 minutes; visitors who don't belong come too, 0.2 times a week's newcomers each day; it plays quickly, langar at 12:00 pm, free to all, for those there then) | the granthi | expected |
| Sunday | 9:00 am | Sunday diwan (in Punjabi, then langar, free to all, 60 minutes) | the granthi | expected |
| Every day | sunset 4:45 pm in January, 8:24 pm in July (Chicago) | Rehras (in Punjabi, short, and plays quickly: people come 6% as often as to a main service) | the granthi | expected |
| Every day | sunset + 75 min 6:00 pm in January, 9:39 pm in July (Chicago) | Kirtan Sohila and sukhasan (in Punjabi, short, and plays quickly: people come 3% as often as to a main service) | the granthi | expected |
- Leader: a granthi. With none (a vacancy, or no one hired), the gurdwara holds a The sangat's diwan in place of its own, led by the laity, which costs everyone at it 0.04; on sabbatical a supply granthi stands in ($800 a month). The short daily services go on whether or not anyone leads them, and move no one's satisfaction. Open hours go on whether or not anyone leads them.
- Anand Karaj needs a palki sahib: without it the rite is missed, and its regulars mind.
- Lay helpers at each service: Expected: a sevadar.
- Langar: after the diwan on Sunday, free to all: everyone there eats, visitors too, and nobody is asked for a donation. A household sponsors each, members taking turns, giving its cost and a fifth more; with none, the congregation pays. It needs a stove and a cook from the volunteers for each 40 there (the sponsors cook too); those it can't feed go without (−0.02), and when it can't be held, or is dropped, its regulars miss it (−0.04).
- Langar every day: at 12:00 pm within the open hours, for those whose visit ends while it's on (they stay 20 minutes), free to all, passers-by too. It's the week's sponsor's (the last household to sponsor a free meal that week, or one found as for any), cooked by the sponsor and any paid cook before volunteers within their month's turns; it's felt as a visit is, and nobody misses it when it isn't held.
- Its kitchen: without eggs; no bake sale.
- Heads covered: Everyone covers their head in the darbar hall; visitors find scarves to borrow at the door (a rack of head coverings in a room with a door to the outside: +0.02), or none (−0.03).
- Weddings: at 10:00, on any day (a Sabbath kept is passed over).
- Its table: vegetarian: meals cost 0.85× as much.
Rites
- Naam karan (per birth, +0.02 to those there): A child's naming: the family brings karah prashad to the diwan, the Guru Granth Sahib is opened at random and the hukamnama read, and the granthi proposes a name beginning with the first letter of the hymn, which the family chooses and the sangat accepts with a shout of "Jo bole so nihal!". Boys are named Singh and girls Kaur.
- Anand Karaj (on request, +0.03 to those there): The Sikh wedding, held in the morning before the Guru Granth Sahib in the darbar hall, on any day: no day is thought luckier than another. After the Ardas the couple, both Sikh, circle the scripture four times, clockwise, the groom leading and the bride holding the end of his scarf, the palla, as the ragis sing each of Guru Ram Das's four laavan and the granthi reads it. The hukamnama, karah prashad and langar follow; the party is held elsewhere, often at a hotel.
- Antim Ardas (on request, +0.02 to those there): The last prayer for one who has died. The body is cremated at a crematorium, with Kirtan Sohila recited, and the ashes are given to flowing water; there is no wailing and no monument. A Sehaj or Akhand Path read for the dead ends about ten days later at the gurdwara with the bhog: kirtan, the Antim Ardas, karah prashad, and langar for everyone who comes. No rites follow it.
- Amrit Sanchar (on request, +0.04 to those there, asked for 0.02 times a year by a household, 150 minutes): Initiation into the Khalsa, held when some ask for it, in a closed room before the open Guru Granth Sahib: five initiated Sikhs, the Panj Pyare, stir sugared water with a double-edged sword while reciting five prayers, and give it to each who comes, men and women of any background who are ready. The initiated keep the five Ks and the four prohibitions from then on. Nothing is charged.
- Akhand Path (on request, +0.05 to those there, $501 from the household, asked for 0.08 times a year by a household, 2,880 minutes, in shifts of 120 minutes for 2 (unfilled, it breaks off)): A continuous, unbroken reading of the whole Guru Granth Sahib, 1,430 pages in about 48 hours, by readers taking turns of two hours, with someone always there to listen, through the night. A family sponsors it for a birth, a wedding, a death, or a new house or business, gives the gurdwara a donation, and feeds the readers. If no one comes to read, the reading is broken. It ends with the bhog: the closing hymns, Ardas, karah prashad, and langar with the family's friends.
- Sehaj Path (on request, +0.03 to those there, $151 from the household, asked for 0.1 times a year by a household, at home (120 minutes and half an hour's journey each way)): A complete reading of the Guru Granth Sahib at a family's own pace, over days or weeks, at home or at the gurdwara: lighter than an Akhand Path, with no relay through the night. The granthi comes to the home for the bhog at its close, with Ardas, karah prashad, and kirtan, and the family gives an offering.
Joining
- Joining: a content regular is received as a member after about 13 weeks.
- Joining age: 18.
- Kinds of belonging: General Body members (votes, may hold office); the sangat; received by its board.
- What it means: being received is worth +0.1 to the person, +0.05 to family there, and +0.03 to everyone else at the service. It roots them: a rooted household drifts away only 0.6 times as often, and if it does fall away, it has a 25% chance of coming home at each of its great days (at most once a month) for ten years.
Giving, and what goes up
How its people give and what else comes in, as Money explains it for every faith.
- How it's given: the offering, by boxes, and giving online. With no plate passed, members give a tenth less at the boxes than they would into one, and visitors give nothing at the service. Those who give online give whether or not they come (8% more a month).
- The box at open hours: each visit puts about $2 in it.
- Rites asked for: households book 2 rites at the prices it lists, from $151 to $501 (below), members half as often again as regulars; the fees go to the path offerings line, in place of a flat stipend.
- Fundraisers: any it allows (below).
- Owed above: nothing.
The granthi, the staff, and who decides
- How the granthi comes: advertised and called: the parbandhak committee votes.
- Paid: full time; housed by the congregation.
- Candidates: three apply; trained at college (a little less skilled; they ask 95%); women among them (about a third); most married.
- Tenure: settled, then may be called elsewhere.
- Staff it can hire or name (see Staff and volunteers):
- Bivocational granthi ($22,000–$38,000; cares for 75)
- Granthi ($55,000–$85,000 + $18,000 benefits, full time; cares for 150)
- Associate granthi ($42,000–$62,000 + $15,000 benefits, full time; cares for 100 more)
- Punjabi school coordinator (unpaid; from the members; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
- Punjabi and kirtan teacher ($12,000–$28,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
- Caretaker ($18,000–$30,000; slows the building's wear)
- Gurdwara secretary ($20,000–$35,000; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once))
- Youth director ($20,000–$40,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
- Langri (cook) ($22,000–$38,000; keeps the kitchen)
- Assistant granthi ($24,000–$40,000 + $9,000 benefits, full time; leads worship; performs the rites families book; cares for 30 more)
- Ragi jatha ($36,000–$66,000 + $9,000 benefits, full time; leads the music (up to +0.06))
- Gurdwara manager ($40,000–$70,000 + $12,000 benefits, full time; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once); cares for 30 more)
- Its boards: the parbandhak committee (deciding, over everything).
- Renovations: The parbandhak committee votes.
- New construction: The members vote.
- Calling a leader: The parbandhak committee votes.
- Who votes: General Body members, 16 and over.
Life together
What its Community screen offers it, with the dilemmas only its own faith or family meets; see The congregation in its community.
- Ministries of its own: Gatka, Gurmat camp, Kirtan classes, Langar on the streets, Seniors' centre, Sikh awareness, Sikh youth.
- Ministries every tradition can run that it's offered: Blood drive, Food pantry, Health clinic, Preschool, Youth group.
- Fundraisers of its own: Kabaddi tournament, Kar seva building fund, Kirtan darbar, Vaisakhi nagar kirtan.
- Shared fundraisers it may hold: Auction, Bingo night, Car wash, Raffle, Rummage sale.
- Tenants it can take: A Masonic lodge, A scout troop, Dance classes, Parties and receptions, Polling place and forums.
- Auxiliaries: Istri satsang.
- Outreach: invitation Sunday (Community → Evangelism).
- Dilemmas of its own faith (besides those every congregation meets): A bare head in the darbar, A wedding of two faiths, Hate on the walls, In the courts, Tables in the langar hall, The committee election, The granthi's visa, The kirpan at school, The neighbours and the nagar kirtan.
- Dilemmas its code of life brings: A candidates' forum, A raffle for the roof, A recruiter asks for the hall, Champagne at the reception.
What the building needs
- required Floor sheetsThe sangat sits on the floor, all at one level below the Guru: chairs only for the old and the unwell.
- required Head scarvesEveryone covers their head before the Guru: scarves wait at the door for visitors who came without one.
- required Nishan SahibThe Nishan Sahib flies outside every gurdwara, telling anyone in need that there is food and shelter here.
- required Palki SahibThe couple circle the Guru Granth Sahib on its palki four times, and are married by no other rite. The Guru Granth Sahib, the living Guru, is opened each day on a raised palki under its canopy, the chanani, with everyone seated below it.
- required Shoe rackShoes come off, and hands and feet are washed, before entering the darbar hall.
- required kitchenThe Gurdwara asks every gurdwara for one.
- required sachkhandAt night the Guru Granth Sahib is carried to its own room and laid to rest, and brought out again at dawn.
- forbidden Oak pewNo one sits raised in the Guru's presence; pews would set the sangat above the Guru Granth Sahib.
- expected GolakOfferings go into the golak before the Guru as people come in and bow.
- expected Kirtan stageThe ragis sing kirtan, the hymns of the Guru Granth Sahib, from a low stage beside it with harmonium and tabla.
- expected Pangat matsLangar is eaten sitting in rows on the floor, the pangat, where everyone sits as equals.
- discouraged Drum kitA band and drum kit do not belong in this tradition's worship.
- discouraged Hammond organA gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
- discouraged Upright pianoA piano doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
- discouraged Pipe organAn organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
What people here feel
- Architectural style: Colonial brick +0.028; Modern synagogue +0.046; Gurdwara +0.052; Japanese temple +0.056; Islamic +0.05; Shinto shrine +0.05; Chinese temple +0.044; Dravidian temple +0.038; Nagara temple +0.038; Thai temple +0.038; Jain marble +0.032; Gothic +0.026.
- Building fit: up to ±0.15 for everyone, the average fit of the characterful items in its worship rooms (the table below).
- Acoustics: it wants a room between ringing and dry, about 2.2 seconds of reverberation: neither bare stone nor a carpeted low room. Up to ±0.05.
- Seasonal decor: in their seasons, the diyas and gurpurab lights are worth up to ±0.027 (missing them, the minus); out of season, nothing is called for.
- The katha lands by its topic and the tradition's leaning (below); the granthi's preaching adds or costs up to 0.08 more.
- The daily services move no one's satisfaction: no offering, sermon, or welcome; people come one by one, the retired twice as often, those of working age half as often on a weekday from nine to five.
- Open hours: a visit counts a quarter as much as a main service: the building and its worship room, and, for visitors, whether anyone welcomed them. People come at the hour that suits them, the retired twice as often, those of working age half as often on a weekday from nine to five; a visiting household that comes only to open hours takes six visits, not three, to settle in.
How each katha lands
The topics its leader can choose from (some are only for one faith or family), and what each is worth.
- Sanctity of Life+0.06
- Faith & Family+0.04
- Faith of Our Fathers+0.04
- Resisting Temptation+0.04
- Chardi Kala: Rising Spirits+0.015
- Gratitude+0.015
- Hope & Comfort+0.015
- Ik Onkar: The Mool Mantar+0.015
- Naam Japo, Kirat Karo, Vand Chhako+0.015
- Sarbat da Bhala: The Good of All+0.015
- Seva: Selfless Service+0.015
- Stewardship & Generosity+0.015
- The Japji Sahib+0.015
- The Lives of the Gurus+0.015
- Vaisakhi: The Birth of the Khalsa+0.015
- Care for Creation-0.02
- Healing for All-0.02
- Welcome the Stranger-0.02
- Social Justice Call-0.03
- Interfaith Understanding-0.05
- Reading Scripture in Context-0.05
- Swords into Ploughshares-0.05
- Racial Justice & Reconciliation-0.075
- Radical Inclusion-0.075
Every item, for this tradition
Fit runs from −1 (jars) to +1 (just right); the building fit is the average over the characterful items in the worship rooms. An item with no character (a table, a toilet) has no fit. A rule applies wherever the item is.
| Item | Fit | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Seating | ||
| Box pew | +0.333 | |
| Floor sheets | +0.5 | required The sangat sits on the floor, all at one level below the Guru: chairs only for the old and the unwell. |
| Meeting bench | no fit | |
| Oak pew | no fit | forbidden No one sits raised in the Guru's presence; pews would set the sangat above the Guru Granth Sahib. |
| Row of chairs | 0 | |
| Liturgical furniture | ||
| Columbarium niches | +0.333 | |
| Lectern | no fit | |
| Palki Sahib | +0.5 | required The couple circle the Guru Granth Sahib on its palki four times, and are married by no other rite. |
| Pulpit | no fit | |
| Sukhasan bed | 0 | |
| Music | ||
| Drum kit | -1 | discouraged A band and drum kit do not belong in this tradition's worship. |
| Electronic organ | -1 | |
| Grand piano | -1 | |
| Hammond organ | -1 | discouraged A gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship. |
| Handbell table | -1 | |
| Kirtan stage | +0.5 | expected The ragis sing kirtan, the hymns of the Guru Granth Sahib, from a low stage beside it with harmonium and tabla. |
| Pipe organ | -0.333 | discouraged An organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship. |
| Sound system | -1 | |
| Upright piano | -1 | discouraged A piano doesn't suit this tradition's worship. |
| Decor | ||
| Banner | 0 | |
| Diyas | no fit | |
| Eternal flame | no fit | |
| Gilded dome | 0 | |
| Great dome | +0.333 | |
| Gurpurab lights | 0 | |
| Memorial plaque | no fit | |
| National flag | 0 | |
| Small dome | no fit | |
| Stained glass window | +0.333 | |
| Furnishings | ||
| Alms box | no fit | |
| Coffee pot | no fit | |
| Commercial coffee pot | no fit | |
| Computer | no fit | |
| Crib | no fit | |
| Desk | no fit | |
| Desk chair | no fit | |
| Folding table | no fit | |
| Full-length mirror | no fit | |
| Golak | +0.5 | expected Offerings go into the golak before the Guru as people come in and bow. |
| Head scarves | +0.5 | required Everyone covers their head before the Guru: scarves wait at the door for visitors who came without one. |
| Pangat mats | +0.5 | expected Langar is eaten sitting in rows on the floor, the pangat, where everyone sits as equals. |
| Pillar | +0.333 | |
| Projection screen | 0 | |
| Shoe rack | +0.5 | required Shoes come off, and hands and feet are washed, before entering the darbar hall. |
| Vestment cabinet | +0.333 | |
| Wooden table | no fit | |
| Utility | ||
| A/V rack | no fit | |
| Camera | no fit | |
| Cast-iron boiler | no fit | |
| Central air conditioner | no fit | |
| Commercial HVAC plant | no fit | |
| Commercial stove | no fit | |
| Congregation van | no fit | |
| Ductless heat pump | no fit | |
| Electric wall heater | no fit | |
| Gas furnace | no fit | |
| Hearing loop | no fit | |
| Lift | no fit | |
| Packaged heat pump | no fit | |
| Plumbing stack | no fit | |
| Ramp | no fit | |
| Shuttle bus | no fit | |
| Sink | no fit | |
| Solar panels | no fit | |
| Stairs | no fit | |
| Toilet | no fit | |
| Used school bus | no fit | |
| Wall camera | no fit | |
| Window air conditioner | no fit | |
| Grounds | ||
| Evergreen tree | no fit | |
| Flower bed | no fit | |
| Fountain | no fit | |
| Garden bench | no fit | |
| Hedge | no fit | |
| Nishan Sahib | +0.5 | required The Nishan Sahib flies outside every gurdwara, telling anyone in need that there is food and shelter here. |
| Playground | no fit | |
| Shade tree | no fit | |
Variants
Chosen when you found the gurdwara:
- Gurdwara keeping the SGPC's calendar: its own calendar
- Sikh Dharma gurdwara: its own services: Sunday diwan, sunday at 10:00 am; Sadhana and prakash, every day at 5:00 am; Rehras, every day at sunset; Kirtan Sohila and sukhasan, every day at sunset + 75 min; Friday diwan, friday at 7:00 pm; its own school, separated seating, separation; its own lifestyle; its own leaders
Sources
- Sikh Rehat Maryada, Section Three (gurdwaras, kirtan, the hukam, readings, karah prashad), SGPC, via sikhs.org (link)
- Sikh Rehat Maryada, Section Four (ceremonies and prohibitions), SGPC (link)
- Sikh Rehat Maryada, Section Five (seva and langar), SGPC (link)
- Sikh Rehat Maryada, Section Six (Panthic life), SGPC (link)
- Gurdwara Singh Sabha of Washington (Renton) (link)
- How the Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Works, Sikh Gurdwara San Jose newsletter (2025) (link)
- Sikh Gurdwara San Jose, General Body meeting notice (2025) (link)
- Who controls gurdwaras in the US?, Asia Samachar (2023), on the American Sikh Council and Hartford survey (link)
- Nanakshahi calendar, Wikipedia (link)
- Confusion over Parkash Purb of Guru Gobind Singh, The Tribune (link)
- Gurdwara etiquette, Tampa Gurdwara (link)
- Tip Sheets: Engaging Faith Communities, Sikh Leaders, FEMA (link)
- Nishan Sahib, Wikipedia (link)
- Akhand Path, Wikipedia (link)
- Gurdwara Sahib of Southwest Houston, announcements (link)
- Anand Karaj, Wikipedia (link)
- Sikhism and homosexuality, Wikipedia (link)
- Sikh temple dispute, NPR (2002) (link)
- 3HO, Wikipedia (link)
- Yogi Bhajan, Wikipedia (link)
- Sikh Dharma of Phoenix, GuideStar profile (link)