Kirtan

ਕਲਜੁਗ ਮਹਿ ਕੀਰਤਨੁ ਪਰਧਾਨਾ ॥ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਜਪੀਐ ਲਾਇ ਧਿਆਨਾ ॥ ਆਪਿ ਤਰੈ ਸਗਲੇ ਕੁਲ ਤਾਰੇ ਹਰਿ ਦਰਗਹ ਪਤਿ ਸਿਉ ਜਾਇਦਾ ॥੬॥

Kaljug mėh kīrṯan parḏẖānā. Gurmukẖ japī▫ai lā▫e ḏẖi▫ānā. Āp ṯarai sagle kul ṯāre har ḏargėh paṯ si▫o jā▫iḏā. (6)

In this dark era of Kalyug, the singing of Kirtan is king, the Gurmukhs sing it with their minds focussed. you save yourself and all your clan and go to the Lord's Court with honour. (6)

The Sikhs regard the Guru Granth Sahib as their perpetual spiritual guide. At the same time, it is a holy Scripture for all mankind that embodies the revealed truth applicable to all the human race. The holy Granth enshrines the wisdom of many spiritual masters of the East and is the most recent endeavour to allow us to experience the Divine.

Although Kirtan refers to any singing of the Lord's praise, for the Sikhs, it is the singing of hymns (Shabads) from their holy Scriptures. These hymns or shabads are soaked in deep spirituality and resonate with such divine thoughts as help one to experience His Eternal glory. It connects one to the Divine Intelligence which makes one perceive the noumena behind the phenomena, the Eternal behind the ephemeral.

In the holy presence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the ignorant grow in the wisdom of the spirit and feel the presence of God. The message of Guru Granth Sahib is simple, succinct and practical. The scripture has a unique beauty of form, texture and thought. It keeps one’s gaze inward, as one performs the chores of daily life.

Source: www.sikhiwiki.org 

Chand Tora Dumalla

The Chand Tora Dumalla is the style of turban generally worn by Nihang Sikhs. This is a warrior style turban meant for going into battle.

The "Chand Tora" is a metal symbol consisting of a crescent and a double edged sword, it is held in place at the front of the turban by a woven chainmail cord tied in a pattern within the turban to protect the head from slashing weapons.

Video Links to Learn Dumalla Tying:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaiIjnh9XSE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFdp7kPK0DQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ylit7BjpJXk

The Chand

Sanatan Nihangs (Hindu-minded Nihangs) say that the Chand represent the Shiva Lingam (Shivling), where one worships the bits on the bottom of the chand, which represent Shiva's powers of regeneration, Shakti or strength.

This story is, however contradictory to Gurbani, where although many Hindu Gods may be mentioned, they are not worshiped, as there is only one Akaal, (Waheguru or God) hailed as the most powerful and only supreme being. The Chand actually is a symbol of Shiva who is always depicted with a crescent moon in his hair. Shiva is considered a very powerful mythological figure. So the crescent (Chand) being in the Dumalla along with a Khanda and Kirpan shows that Singh's are as mighty, if not more, than Shiva.

The Tora

The purpose of the "Tora" is to keep the dastaar together. It goes over the bunga to protect it and protect the dasam dwar. Also used for keeping shastars together.

In the past only Nihangs wore this type of Dumalla, but for a few years now some young Sikhs in the west, most often from a non-Nihang background, occasionaly wear Chand Tora 

Source: www.sikhiwiki.org

NitNem

Nit Nem: literally means "Daily routine or habit".

Nitnem is a collaboration of different banis that were designated to be read by Sikhs every day. The Nitnem bani's usually include the Panj bania (5 bani's below) for morning and Rehiras Sahib and Kirtan Sohila as Evening Prayers.

The Sikh religion is a way of life guided by the twin principles of Simran and Seva (ਸਿਮਰਨ ਤੇ ਸੇਵਾ) i.e. Remembrance of the Creator and Service. In fact they are linked in that what is to be remembered is the Divine virtues and commands, and carrying out the latter. Nit-Nem is actually a compound word. 'Nit' means daily or always. 'Nem' is the short form of 'Nieam' meaning rule or practice. 'Nitnem’ thus means 'daily practice' and has been prescribed in the Sikh Reht Maryada (ਸਿਖ ਰਹਿਤ ਮਰਯਾਦਾ), the Sikh Code of Conduct. This was finalized after a long discussion between leading Sikh scholars and personalities. It comprises three sets of Baanis (compositions) from the Sikh scripture Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS), and of the Tenth Guru, who gave final shape to SGGS but did not include his own compositions therein. They are to be recited in the early morning, evening after sunset but before the evening meal and at bedtime. The Baanis have been so chosen as to act as a continuous reminder of how a Sikh is to conduct himself in life.

There are two advantages of Nitnem. Firstly it is the daily refresher guide and secondly one has something to look forward to for doing. Time never weighs on those who do Nitnem. As a corollary, a person who follows the practice faithfully can never be forgetful or go into depression. It helps to keep the mind on track in life both spiritually and temporally. It has been the experience of many that conformance to this improves even professional performance by way of remaining in focus.

The following Baanis have been prescribed in the Sikh Rehet Maryada (copied from the SGPC website).

a. The Japuji sahib, the Jaapu Sahib and the Ten Sawayyas (Quartets) - beginning "Srawag sudh"-- , Chaupai Sahib and Anand Sahib in the morning. b. Sodar Rehras Sahib comprising the following compositions in the evening:- i) nine hymns of the Guru Granth Sahib, occurring in the holy book after the Japuji Sahib, (The Phrase in Italic has been interpolated by the translator to help locate the hymns more conveniently.) the first of which begins with "Sodar" and the last of which ends with "saran pare ki rakho sarma", ii) The Benti Chaupai of the tenth Guru (beginning "hamri karo hath dai rachha" and ending with "dusht dokh te leho bachai", iii) the Swayya beginning with the words "pae gahe jab te tumre", iv) the Dohira beginning with the words "sagal duar kau chhad kai". v) the first five and the last pauris (stanzas) of Anand Sahib (The object of reciting the Anand as part of Sodar Rehras or at the conclusion of the congregational gathering is just to express joy and gratitude for the communion with the Guru ) and. vi) the Mundawani and the slok Mahla 5 beginning "tera kita jato nahi"- in the evening after sunset. (c) The Sohila - to be recited at night before going to bed.

• The morning and evening recitations should be concluded with the Ardas (formal supplication litany).

Source: www.Wikipedia.org 

Khanda

The Khanda (Punjabi: ਖੰਡਾ, khaṇḍā) is one of most important symbols of Sikhism. This is emphasized by the fact that many Sikh flags, including the Nishan Sahib have the Khanda on them. It is a collection of four weapons commonly used by Sikhs at the time of Guru Gobind Singh.

In the centre of the insignia is the two-edged sword which symbolises the Creative Power of God which controls the destiny of the whole universe. It is the Sovereign Power over life and death. One edge of the Sword symbolises divine justice, which chastises and punishes the wicked oppressors; the other edge symbolises Freedom, and Authority governed by moral and spiritual values.

On the outside of the two-edged sword, we can see two swords:

• On the left is the Sword of Spiritual Sovereignty (Piri);

• On the right is the Sword of Political Sovereignty (Miri)

There must always be a balance between the two, and this balance is emphasised by a circle inside. This circle is what is called a Chakra or Chakkar. The Chakra is a symbol of all embracing Divine Manifestation, including everything and wanting nothing, without beginning or end, neither first nor last, timeless, Absolute. It is the symbol of oneness, of Unicity of Justice, Humanity and the Immortality. Almost all Sikh warriors used to wear it in the eighteenth century, and Nihangs of today still do.

The Chakra / Chakkar which was worn by the great martyr Baba Deep Singh is still preserved in the sanctum sanctorium of theAkal Takht. On it is inscribed the Mool Mantar and that is what it symbolises.

Source: www.sikhiwiki.org

Guru Sahib-Guru Granth Sahib Ji

Guru Granth Sahib or Adi Sri Granth Sahib Ji (also called the Adi Granth or Adi Guru Darbar) is more than just a scripture of theSikhs, for the Sikhs treat this Granth (holy book) as their living Guru. The holy text spans 1430 pages and contains the actual words spoken by the founders of the Sikh religion (the Ten Gurus of Sikhism) and the words of various other Saints from other religions including Hinduism and Islam.

Guru Granth Sahib was given the Guruship by the last of the living Sikh Masters, Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1708. Guru Gobind Singhsaid before his demise that the Sikhs were to treat the Granth Sahib as their next Guru. Guru Ji said – “Sab Sikhan ko hokam hai Guru Manyo Granth” meaning “All Sikhs are commanded to take the Granth as Guru”. So today, if asked, the Sikhs will tell you that they have a total of 11 Gurus. (10 in human form and the SGGS).

When one visits a Gurdwara (a Sikh temple), the Guru Granth Sahib forms the main part of the Darbar Sahib or Main Hall. The holy book is placed on a dominant platform and covered in a very beautiful and attractively coloured fine cloth. The platform is always covered by a canopy, which is also decorated in expensive and very attractive coloured materials. The text in which the Granth is written is a script called Gurmukhi (literally "From the Guru's mouth"), which is considered a modern development of the ancient language called Sanskrit.