RAHRASI is the name given to the main evening prayer of the Sikhs. The word itself implies supplication, though some traditionalist scholars have interpreted it as rahirdst which, in Persian, means the straight path, the path of faith and devotion as against that. of mere ritual practices or yogic

SULAHI KHAN, a Mughal courtier, was befriended by Baba Prithi Chand with a view to securing official patronage for his claim to succession to the spiritual title to which his father, Guru Ram Das, had nominated his youngest son, Arjan. Prithi Chand, eldest of three brothers, had founded a new

AHANKAR (hankar as it is commonly pronounced in Punjabi) is a compound of Sanskrit aham (I) and kar (\'maker\') and means I-maker, i.e. what individuates the person as I. It stands for egotism, egoism, self conceit, self centredness, vanity or simply pride. Other synonyms used in the sacred texts of

BHAGAT (BHAKTA) BANI The Sikh Holy Book, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, comprises writings coming from two sources the sayings of the Gurus and those of the Bhagats (Bhaktas). The term Bhagat here broadly covers, besides some of the saints of medieval India whose compositions occur in the Guru Granth

CHOHLA, village 4.5 km southeast of Sirhali Kalari (31° 16`N, 74° 56`E) in Amritsar district of the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Arjan (1563-1606). The village was called Bhaini when the Guru visited here. A housewife served him a delicious dish of chohia, broken bread mixed with sugar and

GUJARI KI VAR, a composition in the form of folk balladry or a vdr, by Guru Arjan included in the Guru Granth Sahib under Gujari rdga, one of the thirty-one musical measures into which hymns in the Scripture are cast. The poem comprises twenty-one pauns or stanzas, with two

MUSAN, BHAI, son of Bhai Samman of Shahbazpur, in the present day Amriisar district of the Punjab, was, like his father, a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Arjan. The Guru Granth Sahib contains a composition entitled Chaubole by Guru Arjan in which several couplets are addressed to

RAM DAS, GURU (1534-1581), is the fourth Guru or spiritual mentor of the Sikhs in the line of Guru Nanak, Guru Arigad and Guru Arnar Das. "Ram Das" translates as servant or slave of God (ram = God + dds slave). Blessed by Guru Amar Das with the light of

SULTANVIND, village 4 km southeast of Amritsar (31038`N, 74053`E), has two historical shrines dedicated one each to Guru Arjan (1563-1606) and Guru Hargobind (1595-1644). GURDWARA TUT SAHIB marks the spot to which Guru Arjan often repaired for rest under a mulberry (tut, in Punjabi) tree which no longer exists.

AKAL, BHAI, a carpenter resident of Vadda Ghar in present day Fandkot district of the Punjab and, according to Gurbilas Chhevin Patshahi, maternal grandfather of the celebrated Bhai Rup Chand, became a devotee of Guru Ram Das. He also served Guru Arjan and Guru Hargobind. He was a man

BHANA MALLAN, BHAI, and Bhai Rekh Rao, storekeepers of the Mughal governor at Kabul, were pious and devoted Sikhs of the time of Guru Arjan. Whatever they earned, they spent on feeding the needy Sikhs and others. Jealous of their generous hospitality, someone complained to the governor charging them

DABISTANIMAZAHIB, a seventeenth century work in Persian, is a unique study of different religious creeds and systems, including early Sikhism. It first attracted wide notice when it was translated into English by David Shea and Anthony Troyer and was published by Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland,