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waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh I have learnt the ardaas ritual by observing sangat in the gurdwara- when to kneel, when to rise etc. Outside of the gurdwara, I do a personal and long ardaas (conversation with God) without the standard structure present in gutka sahibs. However now I am learning the ardaas, for the sake of community harmony and in case my services ever are called upon, I need to be able to perform the ritual correctly, but I don't know what is actually happening during ardaas. Please help me understand. Questions: - What is the reason for standing and folding hands? - After 'sarbat da bhala', who are we kneeling to? Since I have only been part of ardaas at the gurdwara- I have assumed this is matha tek to Guru sahib who is present, is this correct? Or is it like muslims bowing to God during their prayer ritual? When ardaas is performed outside the gurdwara and whenever Guru sahib is not present, does one still do matha thek to the floor? - Why do we kneel and stand up twice (before and after Fateh)? - When is 'Sab sikhan ko hukam hain..' to be said? I cannot find this hymn in my gutka sahib. - Or if you have time, please could you describe the full ritual in detail with spiritual explanations to each action. Much appreciated. waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh

What do you say or ask for in the Ardaas? Are your wishes fulfilled? For example, if you asked for a stronger connection with your inner self and to concentrate more while praying, did you get it? What things are factors in this? "Jo Mangey Thakur Apne Te" Do some things be fulfilled later than others? I believe that your are supposed to ask for things that will make your human life successful so you don't have to take part in this cycle again. Some of may laugh.... but once I asked for perfect eyesight again, since I have glasses and I hate them. I value them now and I want a second chance. This is irrelevant and a want, not a need. But I sure would like for it to happen. :biggrin2: So what experiences do you have? -Sorry If I sounded stupid...just want to learn from other experiences. :blush2:

sache Dilon Mango (ask with a pure heart) This is very prevalent among sikhs today , yet few realize it is entirely anti gurmat. The lie has been perpetuated by our pracharks and katha vachaks who either have no knowledge of gurmat or just want to tell the sangat what the sangat wants to hear so they can collect their maya. Here is a real life example - if mothers of all the kids in a certain grade in a certain school come to gurdwara and ask with saccha dil to make their kid attain first rank in the class, how can parmatma possibly make this happen ? Another'd be in an election , all candidates come and ask with a sacha dil - make us win - well you've god in a bind. Yet another example - two sikhs want to start a business in a certain market- one is a rational sikh who conducts a market survey , assesses the potential objectively , calculate probabilities, assess riks and creates a mitigation strategy etc .... And the other one does an akhand path , asks with sacha dil for success..and takes the dive .... , then his family does ardaas every day for growth of the business... Who do you think has better odds of succeeding ? The key point to note here is that parmatma has created certain rules (study of which constitues science and math) under which the world operates and he does not break those rules even for the most staunch believers. So what is a sikh supposed to do when they want something bad ? Work hard for it ... Agreed there are things that are beyond our control e.g. a loved one dying from cancer ..... in that case we just have to accept bhana. Gurbani encourages us to get to an avastha where we are "Aas andese te nehkeval - " - free from both desire and worry. There are many other tuks extolling staying in bhan Jeo bhave teo rakh mere swami , ham sharan prabh aye ram raje || and Manganaa Mangan Neeka Harjas Gur te Mangna ||