| Glossary of Sikh terms | |
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| A young Maharaja of Patiala. |
| Aadh Granth | Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the sacred scripture of the Sikhs as compiled by the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji, in 1603 - 1604. |
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| Akali | 'Followr of Akal Purkh; member of the AkaliDal (political party) | |
| Akal Purkh | The One beyond Time', God. | |
| Akal Takhat | The principle seatof authority , located immediately adjacent to theHarmindar Sahib (Golden temple). | |
| Akhand Path | Unbrokenreading of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. | |
| Amrit | Nectar of Immortality. Sweetened baptismal water used in Amrit sanskar. | |
| Amrit-Dhari | A Sikh who has taken amrit, an initiated member of the Khalsa. | |
| Amrit Sanskar | The initiation ceremony of the Khalsa. | |
| Anand Karaj | The Sikh marriage ceremony. | |
| Ardas | The Khalsa prayer, a formal prayer recited at the conclusion of most Sikh ceremonies. | |
| Ashtapadi | An Aadh Granth Sahib shabad of eight verses and refrain. | |
| Baba | 'Father', a term of respect applied to holy men. | |||||||||
| Baisakhi | Birth of the Khalsa, new years day in rural Punjab, the first day of the month of Baisakh. Normally fixed date of 13th April. | |||||||||
| Bani | Works of the Gurus and other poets in the sacred text of Guru Granth Sahib Ji. | |||||||||
| Bhagat | A contributor to the Aath Guru Granth Sahib Ji who was not a Guru. eg Bhagat Kabir, Namdev, Ramanand, Sheikh Farid, Ravidas, Pipa and Dhanna. | |||||||||
| Bhai | 'Brother', title of respect given for piety and/or learning. | |||||||||
| Bhai Bala | A
close friend and companion of Guru Nanak Dev Ji who accompanied Guru Sahib
Ji on some of his udassis (travels). He wrote the celebrated account of
Guru Sahibs travels known as Bhai Balas janam-sakhi |
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| Bhakti | Belief in, adoration of, a personal God. | |||||||||
| Bhog | The ceremony which concludes a complete reading of Aadh Guru Granth Sahib Ji. | |||||||||
| Bichola | A relative of friend who makes enquiries concerning possible spouses for a marriageable daughter or son, a go-between. | |||||||||
| Chaunki | A division of each day in the larger Gurdwaras, in which a particular selection of bani is sung. There are five chaunkies in each day. | |||||||||
| Chaupad | An Aadh Guru Granth Sahib Ji shabad, consisting of four verses and a refrain. | |||||||||
| Chaur | A
fan made of yaks hair or peacock feathers which is waved over the Gurus
and now over Granth Sahib Ji , designating royal authority. |
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| Chhant | A lengthy shabad in Guru Granth Sahib Ji, commonly of four or six verses. | |||||||||
| Chief Khalsa Diwan | United body formed in 1902 to conduct the affairs of the Amritsar and Lahore Singh Sabhas. | |||||||||
| Dasam Granth | The
scriptures by the pen of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, collated by Bhai Mani Singh
Ji. The compositions of Guru Sahib Ji include Jaap Sahib, Akal Ustat,
Bachittar Natak (part autobiographical), Chandi Charittar, Var Bhagauti
Ji, Gian Parbhod, Chaubis Avtar, Shastar Nama, Zafarnama and Charitro
Pukhiyan. |
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| Degh Tegh Fateh | 'Cauldron,
sword , victory', slogan of the eighteenth century Khalsa. May there be
victory in the cauldron (that is, the community has enough to eat) and
the sword (victory over the oppressors). |
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| Dharamsala | Place of worship for the early Sikh Panth, later to be known as a Gurdwara. | |||||||||
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