This page records how Sikhs offer the Ardas, following the Sikh Rehat Maryada, the code of conduct issued by the SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee). The library's Sikh shrine follows what is written below: there are no lamps, incense or bells and no quantity to choose. You choose one petition and offer it.
INothing To Count
Sikh practice has no offering that is counted. The Sikh Rehat Maryada treats the rite of lamps and incense as contrary to gurmat, the teaching of the Gurus. What a visitor to the gurdwara does is bow before the Guru Granth Sahib and then stand for the Ardas.
The library places no lamp, incense, bell or prayer beads at the Sikh shrine and offers no choice of repetitions. The same text treats bowing before pictures of the Gurus as contrary to gurmat, so the shrine has no portrait of a Guru.
At the library's Sikh shrine, each Ardas offered counts as one sincere visit. There is no quantity to choose.
IIOffering The Ardas By The Sikh Rehat Maryada
IIIEight Petitions And Where Each Icon Comes From
The real Ardas is a long prayer with a fixed opening and a fixed close. The library's shrine does not recite it for anyone. The eight lines below are eight thoughts taken from the Ardas and from Sikh living, worded briefly by the library. Sikhs turn every request toward Naam, the Divine Will and the good of all, so the list has no prayer for wealth or luck. Each icon is a real Sikh object, with a note on where it belongs and which source describes it.
A langar meal. Sarbat da bhala is the closing thought of the Ardas. The English Sikh Rehat Maryada reads: "in Thy will may the good of all prevail!". Langar is the meal cooked by the community and served to everyone who comes to the gurdwara, all seated together on the floor. The Sikh Coalition describes langar as a practice of treating all people equally. The icon shows a steel plate with roti and two small bowls.
A real part of the gurdwara, linked to sarbat da bhala by the library · Source: Sikh Rehat Maryada, SGPC English version, as posted by Gurdwara Sahib Fremont. Sikh Coalition, FAQ, entry on langar. Sikh Coalition, The GurdwaraThe Nishan Sahib flag. Chardi kala stands in the closing line of the Ardas: "may the Nam (Holy) be ever in ascendance!". An article on SikhNet explains it as a state of resilience and optimism that rises above adversity. The Nishan Sahib is the flag raised high at every gurdwara. The Sikh Rehat Maryada says its cloth is xanthic or greyish blue, and the pole is topped by a spearhead or a Khanda.
A real object of the gurdwara, linked to chardi kala by the library · Source: Sikh Rehat Maryada, SGPC English version, as posted by Gurdwara Sahib Fremont. SikhNet, Jasbir Singh Sarna: Charhdikala (4 April 2023). Sikh Coalition, FAQ, entry on the Nishaan SahibThe Guru Granth Sahib under its rumala. In the Ardas, Sikhs ask for gifts for the community: the gift of the Sikh faith, of untrimmed hair, of the discipline of the faith, and above all the gift of meditation on the Divine. Naam is the Divine Name. The Guru Granth Sahib is where Sikhs hear Naam through scripture. The Sikh Rehat Maryada says that when it is not being read it stays covered with a cloth (the English text writes romala). The icon shows the covered Guru Granth Sahib and no scripture text.
A real object of the gurdwara · Source: Sikh Rehat Maryada, SGPC English version, as posted by Gurdwara Sahib FremontThe Khanda emblem. The middle part of the Ardas remembers those who went before. The English Sikh Rehat Maryada recalls those who "repeated the Nam, shared their fare with others, ran free kitchen". The Khanda is the emblem of the Sikhs: a double-edged sword in the centre, the circle called chakar, and two curved kirpans at the sides. The icon shows the emblem only and no person.
The Sikh emblem, linked to remembrance by the library · Source: Sikh Rehat Maryada, SGPC English version, as posted by Gurdwara Sahib Fremont. Sikh Coalition, FAQ, entry on the KhandaThe chaur, a whisk. The Sikh Coalition writes: "Service is prayerful action." The Sikh Rehat Maryada says a whisk should be kept beside the Guru Granth Sahib. That whisk is the chaur, and it is a real object in the library's Sikh shrine. The library chose the chaur as the icon for the petition of service. The sources do not tie the chaur to the word sewa in particular.
A real object of the gurdwara, linked to sewa by the library · Source: Sikh Coalition, Beliefs. Sikh Rehat Maryada, SGPC English version, as posted by Gurdwara Sahib FremontA bowl of karah prashad. Vand chhakna means sharing what one has with others. The Ardas recalls those who shared their fare with others. Karah prashad is a sweet made of wheat flour, sugar and clarified butter in equal quantities. The Sikh Rehat Maryada says it is given out equally to Sikh and non-Sikh, to high and low alike. The English text spells it Karhah Prashad.
A real object of the gurdwara · Source: Sikh Rehat Maryada, SGPC English version, as posted by Gurdwara Sahib Fremont. Sikh Research Journal, Nirvikar Singh: The Three Pillars of Sikhism, A Note on Origins (2019)The kara, a steel bracelet. Kirat karni means earning one's living by honest work. Together with naam japna and vand chhakna it forms what is often called the three pillars of Sikhism. It is not a fixed line of the Ardas. It is something a Sikh may bring in the middle part, where a personal petition has its place. The kara is a steel bracelet, one of the five articles of faith listed by the Sikh Coalition. Linking the kara to this petition is the library's choice.
A Sikh article of faith, linked to kirat karni by the library · Source: Sikh Coalition, Identity. Sikh Research Journal, Nirvikar Singh: The Three Pillars of Sikhism, A Note on Origins (2019). Wikipedia, Three pillars of SikhismTwo folded hands. The Sikh Rehat Maryada says: "A Sikh should pray to God before launching off any task." During the Ardas everyone is to "stand with hands folded". Folded hands are the posture named in that very text. The icon shows two hands only.
A posture named in the Sikh Rehat Maryada, icon drawn by the library · Source: Sikh Rehat Maryada, SGPC English version, as posted by Gurdwara Sahib Fremont. Wikipedia, ArdasThe library draws no Guru, no lamp, no incense, no bell and no prayer beads at the Sikh shrine. All eight icons are objects or emblems.
IVAfter The Offering
So at the Sikh shrine, after you press the button, the library invites you to stand upright, fold your hands, and say the chosen petition, silently or aloud. That invitation is the library's own. In a gurdwara the Ardas is said aloud by one person while the whole congregation stands. The Ardas is a humble address to Waheguru, and everything is left to the Divine Will: tere bhane, in Your will.
Pressing a button at the shrine is not the full Ardas and does not replace a visit to a gurdwara.
VWhat The Library Is Not Sure Of
Are you a Sikh and see something wrong? Please send a correction with its source to thayungkhiem@gmail.com. The library will fix it and credit you.
VISources
Sources read on 5 October 2026. Van Dao Duong describes. It does not replace a real rite and does not represent any gurdwara or Sikh body.
Go to the Sikh shrine to offer an Ardas
?Quick Questions
Do Sikhs burn incense, light lamps or ring bells in worship
No, according to the SGPC's Sikh Rehat Maryada. The text says the arti with burning incense and lamps, the burning of lights and the beating of gongs are contrary to gurmat, the teaching of the Gurus.
What is the Ardas
The common prayer of the Sikhs, offered standing with folded hands. It has three parts. The first and last are fixed, and the middle has room for a petition. According to Britannica, every service concludes with the Ardas.
What does sarbat da bhala mean
The good of all. It is the closing thought of the Ardas. The English Sikh Rehat Maryada reads: in Thy will may the good of all prevail.
May a non-Sikh enter a gurdwara
Yes. The Sikh Coalition writes that the gurdwara welcomes people of all backgrounds. Visitors remove their shoes and cover their head. Karah prashad and the langar meal are shared with everyone alike.
Is there any quantity to choose at the Sikh shrine
No. There are no lamps, incense or beads to count. You choose one petition and offer it, and that is one sincere visit.