Re: Traditional Sikh Prayer Before Meals
Posted by Yuktanand Singh on Tuesday, 6/01/1999 8:33 AM MDT

S Krishna Singh Ji Khlasa, Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa! Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! I could be wrong, but as far as I know, there is no set format of prayer for eating. As you know, we pray before Langar is distributed in Sangat. This is a tradition. Whenever a Sikh prays formally, the full prayer is to be repeated remembering the Gurus and the great Sikhs of the past. As for the meals, the Sikh is expected to pray with each morsel, not just before or after a meal. In a way, a structured prayer before a meal could be a detriment because it would belittle the need to pray during the entire act of ingestion. As you know, a Sikh's prayer is inside where it bears fruit, not a show where there is no virtue in it. I know it will not satisfy those who feel that a formal prayer is required, to teach our children. I feel that we should teach our children to repeat "Waheguru" quietly in thankfulness before eating. Each Sikh would have his or her own way of praying. I suspect that it would include Simran of Waheguru and gratitude for the nourishment and the tasty food provided to us by our father. I have seen some Gursikhs go into a meditative ecstasy repeating "Waheguru, Waheguru" before taking their first bite. If you do not mind, to save some typing, I will share with the new readers, some words from another post in the past. <<Guru Ji teaches us to also combine gratitude with Simran. This is essential. Whenever we experience pleasure, we should thank the Lord, who is always here with us. Again, this is not because God needs our thanks, but to ensure an unbroken connection with our source. I will not go into details, as it is all there in the sixth ashtpadi of Sukhmani Sahib, "Jih Parshad" (SGGS p. 269) Thanking God (Simran) with each breath, during the moments of pleasure as well as pain, takes us closer to Him each day. One important way to begin is, to start adding Simran and gratitude whenever we take food, take our daily bath, start any activity, or, enjoy closeness to others. Then, His Simran starts to expand itself and slowly, it permeates other moments of our life without our own effort. Please read about importance of Simran and meditation during the Amrit Vela, also, elsewhere.>> Please forgive my mistakes. Humbly Yuktanand Singh

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