ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>AMRIT</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="AMRIT"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279AMRIT, derived from Sanskrit<i>am&#7771ta</i>defined variously as not dead, immortal, imperishable; beautiful, beloved; world of immortality, heaven; immortality, eternity; final emancipation; nectar, ambrosia; nectar-like food; antidote against poison; or anything sweet, commonly means a liquid or drink by consuming which one attains everlasting life or immortality. It is in this sense that the word was first used in the Vedic hymns. According to Hindu mythology, <i>amrit </i> was extracted by the gods by churning the ocean with the assistance of the demons and it was by drinking it that the gods became immortal. A similar concept of an immortalizing drink also exists in Greek and Semitic mythologies wherein it is variously called ambrosia, nectar or <i>&#257b-i-hay&#257t. </i> In the Sikh tradition, <i>amrit</i> is not some magical potion that would confer upon the consumer an unending span of life or bring about automatic release from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. The term is however retained figuratively to signify what leads to such release. In this sense, <i>amrit</i> is not something external to man "but is within him and is received by God's grace" (GG, 1056, 1238). In the holy hymns, <i>amrit</i> is repeatedly equated with <i>n&#257m </i>, the Name, or <i>&#346abda </i>, the Word (e. g. GG, 729, 644, 538, 394). It is <i>amrit</i> of the True Name which when imbibed quenches and satiates all appetites (GG, 594).</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>Amrit </i> is also used in <i>gurb&#257&#7751&#299</i> in the adjectival sense of sweet, delicious, good, sweet-sounding, etc. in phrases such as <i>amritu bhojanu n&#257mu har&#299</i> - God's Name is delicious food (GG, 556), <i>amrit kath&#257</i> - dulcet discourse (GG, 255), <i>amrit dris&#7789i</i>-immortalizing glance (GG, 191), <i>amrit&#257 pria bachan tuh&#257re</i> - sweet are Thy words, O Dear One (GG, 534). Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s in an <i>a&#7779&#7789pad&#299 </i> (eight-stanza hymn) in M&#257jh measure describes different characteristics of <i>amrit</i> such as eradicator of egoity, producer of <i>amrit</i> effect, a means to <i>liv</i> (concentration, ) and giver of happiness (GG, 118-19).</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This <i>amrit</i> of God's Name is realized from within the self and can be realized at any hour of day or night, but the best time conducive to realization is the last quarter of night or the early morning to which Gur&#363 N&#257nak refers as <i>amrit vel&#257</i> when the devotee may contemplate the greatness of God (GG, 2). Gur&#363 A&#7749gad says that during early morning, the last quarter of night, the awakened ones develop a fondness for cultivating the True Name (GG, 146). Historically, <i>amrit</i> in the Sikh tradition refers to the baptismal water Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh, N&#257nak X, consecrated for the initiatory rites promulgated in supersession of <i>charan-amrit</i> at the time of the creation of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 brotherhood. This is called <i>Kha&#7751&#7693e d&#257 Amrit </i> or nectar touched with the double-edged sword.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>See </i> P&#256HUL</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"><i>Sikh Rahit Mary&#257d&#257</i>. Amritsar, 1975<BR> <li class="C1"> Kapur Si&#7749gh, <i>P&#257ra&#347&#257rapra&#347na</i>. Amritsar, 1989<BR> <li class="C1"> Cole, W. Owen, and Piara Singh Sambhi, <i>The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices</i> . Delhi 1978<BR> <li class="C1"> Sher Singh, ed. , <i>Thoughts on Symbols in Sikhism</i>. Lahore, 1927<BR> <li class="C1"> Harbans Singh, <i>The Heritage of the Sikhs</i>. Delhi, 1983<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Major Gurmukh Si&#7749gh (Retd.)<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>