Sikh Art by Bhagat Singh Bedi – www.sikhiart.com

Anand Sahib, or “Song of Bliss,” was written by Guru Amar Das, the third Sikh Guru. Anand Sahib is another key composition found within the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. It appears on Ang (pages) 917-922.

Sikhs typically recite this bani (prayer) in the morning. Anand Sahib is one of five daily banis prescribed by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru.

Sikhs believe that the 40 paurees (verses) of Anand Sahib guide the development of the mind and the soul for life. In this bani, mind and body are explained in relation to cosmic Divinity. Sikhs recite Anand Sahib with love and devotion to cultivate complete happiness and bliss in life.

The first five paurees (verses) of Anand Sahib are sung near the end of each Sikh Gurdwara service.

The main theme of Anand Sahib is an overwhelming outpouring of Divine love which flows from Guru Amar Das. Bliss or “Anand” and love of the Divine is a mysterious phenomenon. This bani opens the flood gates of pure love for the Divine and all Creation. One remains totally immersed in this Ocean of Bliss. No worldly sorrows and affliction can shake this feeling of bliss because once one is submerged in this bliss, one completely transcends all pleasant and unpleasant dimensions of the living experience. Sikhs find and experience this bliss in meeting the True Guru.

Anand Sahib is a symphony of ecstasy, and beautifully captures this state of continuous rapture. Merged in Anand, one rises far above all dualities. Anand refers to the bliss of the soul (primal energy) and transcends the maya (illusion) of the worldly plane. This experience of Anand goes beyond all feelings of pleasure, pain or sorrow as one is merged into the eternal bliss of the Divine.

~Resources: “Anand Sahib” (SikhiWiki), Sikh Spiritual Practice: The Sound Way to God (2010) by Siri Kirpal Kaur, Victory & Virtue: Ceremonies & Code of Conduct of Sikh Dharma (2001) by the Office of the Bhai Sahiba of Sikh Dharma of the Western Hemisphere, Living Reality (1994) by Bibiji Inderjit Kaur Khalsa, “Tools to Elevate our Consciousness” (Sikh Dharma International) and “Daily Banis Given by Guru Gobind Singh” (Sikh Dharma International).