Today was a good day. Work was slow so I managed to get a lot of writing done. Not much that will end up on the blog, but I’m making progress.
When I came home I managed to find a great resource for Sikh topics- the Raj Karega Khalsa Network, which I found while looking for info on Sikh prayers. If you’re at all curious about Sikhism, do give that link a click. Don’t let the very dated look of the website scare you, they update regularly and the databse of knowledge hidden in there is nothing short of dizzying. It will become a constant resource for me over the next month, and I’m very glad that I found it.
Praying is very different now than it was last month. During Baha’i the prayers were short, I could do them in a few minutes at most and so long as I could wash my hands and find east I was set. Now, I don’t have to do much but meditate and pay attention to the words, as you do in most prayers, but they are frickin’ huge. Instead of a few minutes a day I’m spending around twenty minutes three times a day. I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining, because I’m not, I’m just shocked. I was not expecting this. I’m used to prayers being little things that give you a moment of pause during the day, not these comparatively large investments of time. I can see why these are usually performed in groups in gurdwaras. They are events in-and-of themselves.
So there is no way I am going to be able to memorize these, and I haven’t found a convenient way to cart them around with me yet. Luckily the format of the prayers means I won’t have to. Much like other faiths, Sikh prayers are scheduled around certain times of the day, though in Sikhism they are more practical than sunrise and sunset. The first Sikh prayer, the Japji, takes place in the morning, before one heads out to work. The second, Rahiras, is performed in the evening, when one returns from work. The final prayer, called Kirtan Sohila, is done before you go to bed.
You see, they are broken up around the workday, as a method to prepare yourself for the events of the day, for recovering and re-energizing at the end of the day, and finally for resting. I really like that, it stresses the utility of prayer, it’s role in not only the spiritual life, but as something that can prepare us mentally and physically. As someone who has some trouble getting in touch with his spiritual side at prearranged times (especially in the mornings) this is really valuable.
But back to my original point, the Raj Karega Khalsa Network has a series of videos (their youtube channel could be described as ‘terrifying’ in its depth) of the three basic prayers, performed in the original Punjbai with English translation. Now, I have a lot of trouble getting up early enough in the morning to stare bleary-eyed at my laptop for twenty minutes, prayer or no prayer. Heck, some mornings I barely make it to work on time, that’s how well I deal with the wee early hours. But dragging my sorry ass out of bed to listen to someone speak and sing beautifully in an enchanting foreign language, whilst I try to follow along, is something that I think I can manage. I’m equal parts geek and religious student right now, so I’ll let youtube be my temple for a while until I contact a gurdwara. Hmm, ‘religion nerd’, I like that.
Seriously though, check them out. Try leaving one on in the background for a while. They can be quite beautiful.