What Does “Ardas” Mean?
“Ardas” means prayer with folded hands, in supplication to a higher authority. “Ar” means folded hands, “Daas” means servant or servant with hands folded. It means we subject ourselves to that namaskar, to that namastang, to that namo, to that namastai (that is, we make a salutation to a higher authority).
Ardas is when a person comes to a very neutral self, when one folds the hands and concentrates in a very neutral way. It is beyond the self. It can provide a sense of calm.
In the Sikh Ardas there is one line which you won’t find in any other prayer—Ji na Dekh Ke and ith keeta, tinaa dee kamaaee daa sad kaa, bolo ji Wahe Guru. This means, “Those who have seen the defects in others, and have consciously ignored them—for their great deeds, remember the great God.” This is a great act of humility, consciousness, status, and self-esteem. When we find anything negative and see it, we don’t make another person feel bad about it. Bad things are bad to begin with. To expand them, remind them, extend them, and to hurt people with it, is not human. Trying to make another person feel insecure is one of the human traits which hurts very deep, which cuts human grit to a great extent. The way to love God is to be trustworthy, and to be worthy under unworthy circumstances.
What are Sikhs Praying for in Ardas?
Sikhs fold their hands and recite a prayer, which is common to all hearts.
What are Sikhs praying for?
First, Sikhs recite the name of the Nine Gurus, then they remember the Tenth Guru, then they remember the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Living Guru and embodiment of the Ten Gurus.
Then Sikhs say, “Bolo Ji, Wahe Guru”—or, “Dear Ones, speak God’s Name—Wahe Guru.”
Then in the second part, Sikhs say, “Chaar Sahibzade, Panj Piaare, Chalee Muktay.” These are the stalwarts. We remember them in this line. “Shaaheedaa n mureedaa n hathiaa n, jaa piaan, tapiaan, sad ik vaa naan, ji naa nam Jap piaa, Vand chak ia, Chrkhriaa te cha rai , Deg vich ubale gae, Band band katwaaye …” and so on. Sikhs remember all of those who sacrificed their lives to preserve human dignity of life. They do not name specific people. There is so much martydom and human excellence in the Sikh religion. Sikhs divide them in groups. Those who were shredded on the wheel alive. Those who were boiled alive. Those whose skulls were taken away with the arc knife, but they didn’t give their hair. Sikhs hold them all in great reverence, in esteem. Then they again say, “Tinaa dee kamaaee da sad kaa bolo ji, Wahe Guru.”
Then Sikhs remember the children who were cut into pieces and then made as garlands around their mothers’ necks. Their little ones were snatched from their laps and put on spears and lanced alive. Sikhs remember those who ground the wheel to make flour out of wheat-berries, and lived on a handful of wheat and a cup of water all day and night. Those who went through this torture, but never gave up their hair and their faith.
Then Sikhs remember the Khalsa women, those who sacrificed their young, innocent children but never gave up their commitment to the Guru’s faith. The methodology, the theology, which comes from the house of Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh Guru, produced those great Sikhs.
The Sikh Ardas is a very powerful example of Sikh Devotion. Sikhs honor those who were cut limb by limb. They remember those who were boiled alive. They revere and associate themselves with them, and by doing so enjoy human determination in the face of utmost torture. Sikhs are grateful to those who stood with all that timeless torture to the point of death, but came out smiling and never gave an inch. They are the ones who, by not giving an inch, covered miles and miles of destiny. And the path is lit by their light of the soul. That’s what Sikhs remember.
There is one simple concept in Sikh Dharma. It is “trust” or “Bharosa.” In the Ardas Sikhs ask for “Bharosa Doan”—“Give us the gift of trust in God.”
You may have heard, ”Trust not a friend; or you will turn him into an enemy” or “Love everyone, trust no one.” Trust has a lot of misgivings in human nature. But if one really wishes to look at the way of the people who believe in God, people who believe in spirituality, people who believe in Infinity and the dignity of mankind, trust in God is the most essential step. For Sikhs, trust is not blind faith. It is an experience of truth, a knowledge of the Infinite.
When Sikhs recite the Ardas, they pray for the courage of consciousness to match the peerless spirit of those great Sikhs. For more than 500 years Sikhs have been praying to live like those priceless souls.
~Resource: Living Reality (1994) by Bibiji Inderjit Kaur Khalsa.