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Summary of Question:	About Bani And General Sikhism
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Saturday, 9/28/2002 1:14 AM MDT

Dear Sir,

1)I would like to know the names of the chiefs of our five Akal takhts.
2)Names of wives of Guru Gobind Singh ji in the order guru Married them and which Sahibzada was son of which wife.
3)It is said that we should not change thw wordings of Bani in Guru Granth Sahib ji. Then why do we add Bindi's by ourself somewhere in the Bani for e.g in Anand Sahib Path's First Pauri "Man Vajiyan Vadayian" there is no Bindi in the word Vadayian in the Bani but when we pronounce it we add the Bindi.
4)How should we read the Bani. Somewhere we read the sihari's and Onkarr's and somewhere we don't. For e.g. in the word satnam there is sihari with ta and onkarr with ma but we don't speak it.

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REPLY
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Sat Siri Akaal. Answers accord with question numbers above.
1. I only know the names of 2 Jethadars ('chiefs') of the Sikh Takhts. Akal Takht Jethadar is Bhai Joginder Singh Vedanti. Kesgarh Sahib Takht Jethadar is Singh Sahib Professor Manjit Singh. Please go to www.sgpc.net and email them and ask who the jethadars are of the other 3 takhts. They have the takhts described on the SGPC web site but not their jethadars. They are usually responsive. I know that there was some 'trouble' early this year with one of the jethadars from DamDamma Sahib, I believe, who was removed from office.

2. Mata Jeeto married 10th Master at about the age of 13 (for both of them). She was the mother of Sahibzada Ajit Singh. She was the first of his wives to die.
Mata Sundri married 10th master at about the age of 18 (for both of them). She is the mother of Sahibzadas Bhai Fateh Singh, Bhai Jujhars Singh, and Bhai Zorawar Singh.
Mata Sahib Deva married 10th Guru a number of years after he married his 2nd wife. Mata Sahib bore no children but is the mother of the Khalsa.

3. A punjabi scholar I know has said that much of gurbani is understood without the bindis, for example. He said that since that line you mention from Anand Sahib refers to several not just one, that the bindi is added because in punjabi, the bindi sound makes something plural (I don't speak punjabi.) This same scholar has taught correct pronounciation of japji in terms of where the nasalizations are added. I think it does not mean that we are 'correcting' gurbani. Rather, it more likely indicates that the speaker/reader of gurbani would know to add the nasalization (bindi) in certain situations. Needless to say, this doesn't always happen, but that's OK too!

4. A good question that has no hard and fast rule I can give you. Please find a gyani or bhai sahib near you who can teach you to read gurbani and to know when to pronounce or not the siharis and onkaars. Your other option is to search the internet for some Sikh place that sells gurbani tapes of SGGS and listen while you read along. Start with www.sikhseek.com.
Guruangsang
-DKK