Amrit Sanskar (Ceremony of Khande di Pahul) -1
[SIZE=-1]a. Ceremony of Khande di Pahul( Amrit Sanskar) should be held at an exclusive place away from common human traffic. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]b. At the place where the ceremony is to be administered, the holy Guru Granth Sahib should be installed and ceremonially opened. Also present should be six committed Amritdhari Sikhs, one of whom should sit in attendance of the Guru Granth Sahib and the other five should be there to administer the Khande di Pahul. These six may even include Sikh women. All of them must have taken bath and washed their hair. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]c. The five beloved (Panj Piyare) ones who administer Khande di Pahul should not include a disabled person, such as a person who is blind or blind in one eye, lame, one with a broken or disabled limb, or one suffering from some chronic disease. The number should not include anyone who has committed a breach of the Sikh discipline and principles. All of them should be committed Amritdhari Sikhs with appealing personalities. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]d. Any man or woman of any country, religion or caste who embraces Sikhism and solemnly undertakes to abide by its principles is entitled to Khande di Pahul(Amrit). [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]The person to be Amritdhari , should not be of very young age; he or she should have attained a plausible degree of discretion. The person to be Amritdhari must have taken bath and washed the hair and must wear all five K's- Kesh (unshorn hair), strapped Kirpan (sword),. Kachhehra (prescribed shorts), Kanga (Comb tucked in the tied up hair), Karha (Steel bracelet). He/she must not have on his/her person any token of any other faith. He/she must not have his/her head bare or be wearing a cap. He/she must not be wearing any ornaments piercing through any part of the body. The persons to be Amritdhari must stand respectfully with hands folded facing the Guru Granth Sahib. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]e. Anyone seeking Khande di Pahul again, having committed an aberration, should be singled out and the five beloved ones should award chastisement to hinilber in the presence of the congregation. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]f. One from amongst the five beloved ones administerning Khande di Pahul to persons seeking to be Amritdhari should explain the principles of the Sikh religion to them: [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]The Sikh religion advocates the renunciation of the worship of any created thing, and rendering of worship and loving devotion to, and meditating on, the One Supreme Creator. For the fulfilment of such devotion and meditation, reflection on the contents of Gurbani and practising of its tenets, participation in the congregational services, rendering service to the Panth, benevolent exertion (to promote the good of others), love of God's name (loving reflection on and experience of the Divine), living within the Sikh discipline after getting Amrit etc. are the principal means. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]He should conclude his exposition of the principles of Sikh religion with the query : Do you accept these willingly? [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]g. On an affirmative response from the seekers of Khande di Pahul, one from amongst the five beloved ones should perform the Ardas for the preparation of Khande di Pahul and take the holy Hukam (command) The five beloved ones should come close to the bowl for preparing the Khande di Pahul. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]h. The bowl should be of pure steel and it should be placed on a clean steel ring or other clean support. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]i. Clean water and sugar puffs should be put in the bowl and the five beloved ones should sit around it in bir posture(Bir Assan) and recite the undermentioned scriptural compositions. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]j. The scriptural composition to be recited are : The Japuji, The Jaap, The Ten Sawayyas (commencing with Sarawag Sud), The Bainti Chaupai (From "hamri karo hath dai rachha" to "dusht dokh te leho te bachai") and Anand Sahib. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]k. Each of the five beloved ones who recites the scripture should hold the edge of the bowl with his left hand and keep stirring the water with a (Khanda) double-edged sword held in his right hand. He should do that with full concentration. The rest of the beloved ones should keep gripping the edge of the bowl with both hands concentrating their full attention on the Khande di Pahul. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]l. After the conclusion of the recitation, one from amongst the beloved ones should perform the Ardas. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]m. Only that person seeking Amrit who has participated in the entire ceremony of Amrit Sanchar can be Amritdhari. One who has turned up while the ceremony was in progress cannot be given Khande di Pahul. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]n. After the Ardas as thinking of our Father, the Tenth Nanak Guru Gobind Singh Sahib, the wearer of the aigrette, every person seeking to be Amritdhari should sit in Bir Assan , putting his/her right hand cupped on the left cupped hand and be made to drink the Amrit five times, as the beloved one who pours the mix into his cupped hand exclaims : say, Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh! (The Khalsa is of the Wondrous Destroyer of darkness; victory, too, is His!) The person being Amritdhari should after imbibing the Amrit, repeat : Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh. Then five handfuls of the Amrit should he sprinkled into the eyes of the person being Amrit and another five into his hair. Each such sprinkling should be accompanied by the beloved one administering Amrit saying, "Waheguru ji ka Khalsa Waheguru ji ki Fateh", and the person getting Amrit repeating the chant. Whatever Amrit is left over after the administration of the Khande di Pahul (Amrit) to all individual seekers, should be sipped by all (men and women) Amritdharies, together. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]o. After this the five beloved ones, all together in chorus communicating the name of Waheguru to all who have been administered the Khande di Pahul, recite to them the Mul Mantar and make them repeat it aloud : [/SIZE]
See amrit sanchar Ceremony-2
remember that in punjabi culture, white is the color of mourning, so it's usually only worn by widows.
