10 Interesting Facts about the Gurdwara

These following interesting facts will discuss facts about the Gurdwara. Gurdwara is the name of Sikhs’ worship place. ????????, gurdu?r? or , gurdw?r? means the gateway to the guru. Guru refers to a Sanskrit term for “teacher” or “master” in Indian religions.  A gurdwara may also have a library, nursery and classroom. People of all faiths may visit the Sikh Gurdwara. Let’s check the list below to know more facts about this.

Facts about the Gurdwara 1: Etymology

The term “Gurdwara” comes from the words ‘gur (???)’ which refers to the Sikh Gurus and ‘dwara (?????)’ means gateway in Gurmukhi. Gurdwara means ‘the gateway through which the guru could be reached’. Find more facts about the Great Barrier Reef here

Facts about the Gurdwara 2: Guru Granth Sahib 

Guru Granth Sahib is the central religious text of Sikhism, considered by Sikhs to be the final, sovereign guru among the lineage of 11 Sikh Gurus of the religion. It is a voluminous text of 1430 Angs(pages), compiled and composed during the period of Sikh gurus from 1469 to 1708 and is a collection of hymns (Shabad) or Baani describing the qualities of God and the necessity for meditation on God’s.

Facts about the Gurdwara 3: The First Gurdwara

In the year 1521, the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanank Dev Ji, built the first gurdwara. It was built in Kartarpur, on the banks of Ravi River in the Punjab region. The worship centres were built as a place where Sikhs could gather to hear the guru give spiritual discourse and sing religious hymns in the praise of Waheguru.

Facts about the Gurdwara 4: No Idols, Statues or Religious Pictures

Interestingly, you can’t find idols, statues, or religious pictures in a gurdwara. The essential feature of a gurdwara is the presence of the holy book and the eternal Sikh Guru, the Guru Granth Sahib. The Sikhs hold high respect for the teachings and commandments laid down in the Guru Granth Sahib.

Facts about the Gurdwara 5: Customs

In these buildings, men and women sit on separate sides of the room. As a sign of equality, both will sit at an equal distance from the Guru Granth Sahib.

Facts about the Gurdwara 6: Gurdwara Architecture

Different with the places of worship in some other religious systems, gurdwara buildings do not have to conform to any set architectural design. Lately, more and more gurdwaras in India have been imitating more or less the Harimandir Sahib pattern, a synthesis of Indo-Persian and Sikh architecture. Most of them have square halls, stand on a higher plinth, have entrances on all four sides, and have square or octagonal domed sanctums usually in the middle.

Facts about the Gurdwara 7: Vegetarian foods

Sikh community serves food for people. The food is cooked and served by the volunteers in the langar room. To suit the visitors from different backgrounds so that no person may be offended, only vegetarian served in the langar hall. Find more facts about the Great Depression here

Facts about the Gurdwara 8: Sikh Ceremonies within the Gurdwara

There are several ceremonies which take place in the gurdwara such as Baby Naming Ceremony (Naam Karan), Baptism Ceremony (Amrit Sanchar), Marriage Ceremony (Anand Karaj), Funeral Ceremony (Atim Sanskar) and others.

Facts about the Gurdwara 9: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee

By the early 20th century, a number of Sikh gurdwaras in British India were under the control of the Udasi mahants (clergymen). To control of those gurdwaras, organization named the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee was formed.

Facts about the Gurdwara 10: Facilities

The gurdwaras have facilities for Sikhs to learn more about their religion, such as libraries, complexes for courses in Gurmukhi (Sikh script), Sikhism and Sikh scriptures, meeting rooms, and room-and-board accommodation for those who need it.

Perhaps, those interesting facts about the Gurdwara can give you additional information.