EVENING

Rahiras

RAHIRAS is part of the evening service. It consists of hymns by Guru Nanak (including, with a slight variation, stanza 27, Sodar, from the Jap), Guru Ram Das and Guru Arjan. Guru Gobind Singh’s Chaupai Benati from the Dasam Granth also forms a part of this prayer. It concludes with pieces by Guru Amar Das including the first five stanzas and last stanza of his forty-stanza Anand (‘Bliss’), a rapturous hymn focussing on the bliss that results from the individual’s union with the Ultimate. In this abbreviated form, Anand is very popular. It is liturgically recited at the conclusion of all congregational services and joyful ceremonies such as weddings and name-giving. In Rahiras, the six stanzas of Anand are followed by Guru Arjan’s Mundavani (‘Seal’) which concludes the entire Guru Granth. This evening prayer ends with Shalok (‘Couplet’), also by Guru Arjan. A number of the hymns have a chorus which is placed after the first stanza in italics.

Year round, the Sikhs recite Rahiras just as day and night come together during the reflective period of dusk. Through the Rahiras, the Sikhs pay homage to the Transcendent Reality, they sing praise of the divine Magnificence, they seek the protection and succour of the omnipotent Creator, and they express their joy upon hearing the melodious Word within their inner self (Begins on p. 8 in Guru Granth).