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AKAND PATH |
(akhand =
uninterrupted, without break; path reading) is non-stop, continuous recital of the
Gurfl Granth Sahib from beginning to end. Such a recital must be completed within 48
hours. The entire Holy Volume, 1430 large pages, is read through in a continuous ceremony.
This reading must go on day and night, without a moment’s intermission. The relay of
reciters who take turns at saying Scripture must ensure that no break occurs. As they
change places at given intervals, one picks the line from his predecessor’s lips and
continues. When and how the custom of reciting the canon in its entirety in one continuous
service began is not known. Conjecture traces it to the turbulent days of the eighteenth
century when persecution had scattered the Sikhs to far-off places. In those exilic,
uncertain times, the practice of accomplishing a reading of the Holy Book by a continuous
recital is believed to have originated.
Important days on the Sikh calendar are
marked by akhand paths in
Gurdwaras. Celebrations
and ceremonies in Sikh families center upon akhand paths. The homes are filled with
holiness for those two days and nights as the Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, installed with
ceremony in a room, especially cleaned out for the occasion, is being recited. Apart from
lending the air sanctity, such readings make available to listeners the entire text. The
listeners come as they wish and depart at their will. Thus they keep picking up snatches
of the bani from different portions at different times. Without such ceremonial
recitals, the Siri Guru Granth Saihib Ji, large in volume, would remain generally
inaccessible to the laity except for banis which are recited by the Sikhs as part of their
daily devotions. In bereavement, families derive comfort from these paths. Obsequies
in fact conclude with a completed reading of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. At such paths,
the Holy Book is generally recited or intoned, not merely read. This brings out
tellingly the poetic quality of the bani and its power to move or grip the
listener. But it must be listened to in silence, sitting on the floor in front of the Holy
Book in a reverent posture. The start of the akhand path is preceded by a short
service at which holy hymns may be recited, followed by an ardas offered for the
successful conclusion of the path and distribution of karahprasad or Sikh
sacrament. A similar service marks the conclusion. Ardas and karahprasad are
also offered as the reading reaches midway.
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