Is It Ok To Pick A Name And Do Ardaas Or Do We Have To Get The First Letter From Guru Granth Sahib?

[Subeg123]

Actually before I got pregnant me and my husband wanted to name our baby after a shaheed in Sikh history , and when I got pregnant i was always attached emotionally to that name we picked at that time . we wanted to name our baby after a shaheed so we can teach him/her about the sacrifices Sikhs has done and if we name our baby after them we want them to feel there is a responsibility for them towards the shaheed and gurus. we are thinking when our baby is here the first words he or she will hear from us will be waheguru and we want to put 5 drops of amrit in baby's mouth even before the milk.then before bringing baby home from hospital we want to take our baby to gurudwara. But would it be ok to pick a name and we ll do ardaas before we announce the name to anyone and then get hukumnama.

[DSGj]

There are thousands of Shaheeds in Sikh history, I'm pretty sure if you did Ardas and took Hukamnama (with the baby present in Guru Granth Sahib's Hazoori) and used the first letter of the first word of the Shabad...that you wouldn't have any trouble finding a name related to a Shaheed. In many ways it's even more meaningful, because then also you have the Hukamnama Shabad which you can show your child when they get older, and that will give them a chance to reflect on it and go into deeper thoughts of life, etc.

And, for my next few points/questions, don't take it offensively, I'm just trying to be realistic. I know you have a baby on the way and are very excited, but we have to look at things realistically.

Before the baby hears you talking to them, he/she will end up hearing the conversations of the doctors/nurses first, so let's just be realistic on that point. It still doesn't stop you from having Vahiguru as YOUR first words to the baby once the baby is in YOUR arms. Also, how are you going to get the Amrit in the first place? Is Guru Granth Sahib Jee and Panj Piarey going to be there?

And what kind of milk is it going to be? Breastmilk? Because, natural breast-milk from a healthy mother is a very pure/innocent relationship a mother has with her child and the milk is also considered by some, a type of 'Amrit'.

It is probably best to let nature take it's course and not overdo it and be realistic.

Let the baby have the milk first and then at the next local Amrit Sanchaar, take the baby and see what the Panj Piarey say.

Also, this is another point of having baby's name from the first letter of the first word of the Hukamnama after Ardas. Because, at Amrit Sanchar, Panj Piarey will ask whether the name was taken using Hukamnama first letter of first word, and obviously you wouldn't want to lie at that point in time. So, if you end up saying no, then a new name will be assigned for the child at that point in time at the Amrit Sanchar using the Hukamnama at the Amrit Sanchar. So, any hopes of you choosing a personalized name outside of Hukamnama is not even possible. Like I said to start off this post, there are countless names you could use related to Shaheeds, have faith in Guru Sahib, any letter which comes up should be easy to work with. Take the baby to the Gurdwara Sahib and have it present in Guru Sahib's Darbar, do Ardas/get it done, take Hukamnama/get Hukamnama read and then work within and with Guru Sahib's Bhanaa/Will.

Also, before this becomes a 'Chula' topic, please read the following two webpages for more information on Puratan-style Amrit Sanchar regarding children...as opposed to the new/modern misuse of chula that is happening commonly these days.

http://gurmatbibek.com/forum/read.php?3,1701

http://www.akj.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=259

Also, see the following (Note: read the Punjabi version of Sikh Rehat Maryada just to make sure that nothing is lost in translation, I tried to post it here but the Punjabi font wouldn't show up, so here is an english version):

Article XVII - Ceremonies pertaining to Birth and Naming of Child

a. In a Sikh’s household, as soon after the birth of a child as the mother becomes capable of moving about and taking bath (irrespective of the number of days which that takes), the family and relatives should go to a gurdwara with karhah prashad (sacred pudding) or get karhah prashad made in the gurdwara and recite in the holy presence of the Guru Granth Sahib such hymns as “parmeshar dita bana” (Sorath M. 5 ,Guru Granth Sahib p. 628 ), “Satguru sache dia bhej” (Asa M. 5 , Guru Granth Sahib p. 396 ) that are expressive of joy and thankfulness. Thereafter if a reading of the holy Guru Granth Sahib had been taken up, that should be concluded. Then the holy Hukam (command) should be taken. A name starting with the first letter of the hymn of the Hukam (command) should be proposed by the granthi (man in attendance of the holy book) and, after its acceptance by the congregation, the name should be announced by him. The boy’s name must have the suffix “Singh” and the girl’s, the suffix “Kaur”.

After that the Anand Sahib (short version comprising six stanzas) should be recited and the Ardas in appropriate terms expressing joy over the naming ceremony be offered and the karhah prashad distributed.

b. The superstition as to the pollution of food and water in consequence of birth must not be subscribed to [There is a wide-spread belief among certain sections of Indian people that a birth in a household causes pollution (sutak) which is removed by the thorough bathing of the mother, the baby and persons attending on her as also by a thorough cleaning of the house, the utensils and the clothes, after prescribed periods of ten, twenty one and forty days.], for the holy writ is:

“The birth and death are by His ordinance; coming and going is by His will. All food and water are, in principle, clean, for these life-sustaining substances are provided by Him.”

c. Making shirts or frocks for children out of the Holy Book’s draperies is a sacrilege.

[Subeg123]

by giving amrit I meant the amrit we drink at home, where we do path we have placed an utensil of water that is always there and after we finish doing path we drink it and give to other family members. I know the real amrit cant be done without 5 pyaare. and yes I agree waheguru wont be the first word for the baby to hear at that time but atleast we ll be satisfied that waheguru was the first word he or she heard from us because we will be teaching our baby everything after that time so why don't we start with waheguru. or waheguru ji da khalsa waheguru jee di fateh.

[sat]

waheguru ji da khalsa waheguru jee di fateh.

Its actually ka/ki and not da/di

Lets get the basics right before we jump in the deep end.

[chatanga]

Before the baby hears you talking to them, he/she will end up hearing the conversations of the doctors/nurses first, so let's just be realistic on that point.

Some very nice points made by you Sir, but wish to add that foetus' hear way before they are born and respond to sound, so ideally the first sounds that a baby could hear, could be Gurmat Sangeet.

It is probably best to let nature take it's course and not overdo it and be realistic.

It has been a tradition amongst many warrior groups to give water run down the blade of a weapon into a new-born chils mouth, before nay milk is given. This would be a problem here in the UK though.

c. Making shirts or frocks for children out of the Holy Book’s draperies is a sacrilege.

I have heard that rumalle are given to people to make clothes out of, but have heard no injunction on childrens clothes. Can you give us any more info on this?

by giving amrit I meant the amrit we drink at home, where we do path we have placed an utensil of water that is always there and after we finish doing path we drink it and give to other family members.

what you are talking about is Jal, water that has had paath read over it with a kirpan sitting in it. This should be easy to arrange.

Good to see OP, that you are thinking this way, we are getting too many "mayas, ryans, jaydens and dillons" in the panth.