Religion & Beliefs (Q&A)

Answer:

Akhand path is the common practise of continuous recitation (without any break) of sacred religious texts in sikhism. In this practice 'Guru Granth Sahib', the sacred text book is read from beginning to end, which include 1,430 pages and they are read by a team of readers within a tiem span of 48 hours. This ritual is considered a very holy practise and is said to bring peace and solace to the participants and the passive listener of the recitation. During the reading it is tradition for langar (or communal food) to be available at all times, thus requiring the continual service and dedication of those in whose honour the akhand path is being held for. The recitation or 'Path' is undertaken for various reasons. It can be in honour of a particular occasion; to mark a happy or sad occasion within the family; or simply to increase one’s feeling of connection to the guru. Some of following may call for an akhand path depending on the family's circumstances: a birth, a birthday, recovery from a medical operation, a wedding, a death, a graduation, on achieving a goal like high school certificate, on passing the driving lesson, an anniversary, a historic occasion, etc. Some gurdwaras hold a weekly akhand path.

It is said that when guru gobind singh had completed the writing of the guru granth sahib, he had five members of the congregation (sadh sangat) read it to him continuously. He stood and listened to the entire guru granth sahib. People brought him water for his bath and for his meals where he stood. This was the first akhand path. The second akhand path was in nanded after guru gobind singh sent banda singh bahadar to punjab. The akhand pathees (readers of the path) were bhai gurbaksh singh, baba deep singh, bhai dharam singh (of panj piaray), bhai santokh singh, and bhai hari singh (who used to write the daily diary of guru gobind singh). Before giving the guruship to the guru granth sahib (then called the adi granth) the guru held this akhand path and then proclaimed the adi granth as the perpetual guru of the sikhs. Following this example, the sikhs started the tradition of dedicating akhand paths to various activities. before battles, the sikhs would arrange and listen to an akhand path and then prepared for battle.

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