Akhand Path

Akhand Path is the name given to the common practise by Sikhs of the continuous recitation (without any break) of the Guru Granth Sahib from beginning to end, (all 1430 pages,) lasting about 48 hours, by a team of readers. This "ritual" is considered a very holy practise and is said to bring peace and solace to the participants and the passive listener of the recitation. During the reading it is tradition for langar (or communal food) to be available at all times, thus requiring the continual service and dedication of those in whose honour the Akhand Path is being held for.

The recitation (or "Path") is undertaken for various reasons. It can be in honor of a particular occasion; to mark a happy or sad occasion within the family; or simply to increase one’s feeling of connection to the Guru. Some of following may call for an Akhand Path depending on the family's circumstances: a birth, a birthday, recovery from a medical operation, a wedding, a death, a graduation, on achieving a goal like GCSE exams, on passing the driving lesson, an anniversary, a historic occasion, etc.

Some Gurdwaras hold a weekly Akhand Path and this gives the congregation (Sadh Sangat) a beautiful opportunity to establish a close relationship with the Guru, the community and provides the opportunity of carry out volunteer work (Sewa) thus obtaining the blessing of the Guru’s Word to the whole of the community.

It is said that when Guru Gobind Singh had completed the writing of the Guru Granth Sahib, he had five members of the congregation (Sadh Sangat) read it to him continuously. He stood and listened to the entire Guru Granth Sahib. People brought him water for his bath and for his meals where he stood. This was the first Akhand Path. The second Akhand Path was in Nanded after Guru Gobind Singh sent Banda Singh Bahadar to Punjab. The Akhand Pathees (readers of the Path) were Bhai Gurbaksh Singh, Baba Deep Singh, Bhai Dharam Singh (of Panj Piaray), Bhai Santokh Singh, and Bhai Hari Singh (who used to write the daily diary of Guru Gobind Singh). Before giving the Guruship to the Guru Granth Sahib (then called the Adi Granth) the Guru held this Akhand Path and then proclaimed the Adi Granth as the perpetual Guru of the Sikhs.

Following this example, the Sikhs started the tradition of dedicating Akhand Paths to various activities. Before battles, the Sikhs would arrange and listen to an Akhand Path and then prepared for Battle. An Akhand Path was arranged before the Sikhs set out to rescue 18,000 indigenous women from the Moghuls, who had captured them and were taking them as slaves.

In 1742, when Sikhs were in the jungles of Punjab, one Sikh woman warrior named Bibi Sundari, requested just before she died (due to the wounds inflicted in battle,) to have an Akhand Path arranged for her. She lay there next to the Guru Granth Sahib and listened to the full recitation of this Path. After kirtan, Ardas and Hukam, she received the Karah Prashad, uttered "Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh" breathing her last. Thus began the tradition of reading an Akhand Path in 48 hours.

If the Akhand Path is to be recited in Gurmukhi, then it should be completed within 48 hours. If it is to be done in English, it will take 72 hours to complete.

During an Akhand Path, if a Hukam is taken at the end of a program, the Pathee (person reading the Path) reads the Gurbani that they have arrived at in the regular course of reading. They may slow down and read it clearly. In this case, the first and last two lines are not repeated. When the Pathee reaches the end of the Hukam, they continue in the reading of the Akhand Path.

Akhand Path is supposed to be read loud, clear and also it should be correct.

It is essential for a person to understand the words that are being recited.