Today we were very lucky to be able to participate in the Akhand Paath, Sangeet and I read from the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji from 10am until 11am.
AKHAND PATH (akhand = uninterrupted, without break; path = prayer) is the non-stop, continuous recital of the Guru Granth Sahib from beginning to end. Such a recital is normally completed within 48 hours. The entire Body of Writings, 1430 angs (limbs) comprising divine poetry, is read through in a continuous ceremony. This is considered a very holy practise and is said to bring peace and solace to the participants and the passive listener of the recitation.
For it to be classified as a “Akhand paath”, this reading must go on day and night, without a moment’s intermission. The relay of reciters who take turns at reading the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji must ensure that no break occurs in the reading. As they change places at given intervals, one picks the line from his or her predecessor’s lips and continues. When and how the custom of reciting the canon in its entirety in one continuous service began is not known. Conjecture traces it to the turbulent days of the eighteenth century when persecution had scattered the Sikhs to far off places. In those exilic, uncertain times, the practice of accomplishing a reading of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji by a continuous recital is believed to have originated.
The beautiful doors entering the ashram:
Afterwards we walked over to Yoga West, where we browsed the store and checked the schedule of the yoga teachers.
Sangeet and I came back to the ashram to have lungar. Well Sangeet had lungar I cannot eat spicy food!…..have you ever heard of an Indian not being able to eat spicy food – this is a first!!!
The shop selling treats:
After lungar we just had to make another trip to Babycakes – I have said it before but will say it again, this place is FANTASTIC!
We then went to the Beverly Center…..”located at the cusp of Beverly Hills and WeHo, this eight-story monolith has been one of the LA area’s prime shopping destinations since it opened in 1982; notable for its exterior escalators and high-end stores (Bloomingdale’s, Burberry and Louis Vuitton, among others), it also offers over a dozen restaurants and a rooftop terrace for private parties; in short, it’s the indoor equivalent of nearby Rodeo Drive – with better parking.”
Sangeet needed to pick up some items from The Bodyshop, I enquired about purchasing the new iPhone, the apple shop is always amazing when you enter it feels like you just need to buy something. Apple’s marketing is spot on. Afterwards we took a wonder around the other shops spending around three hours there. Some shops had free wifi which kept me entertained.
So as you can imagine all this walking made us hungry!! We said we would not go back to Vegan Glory, but as it was close we just had to go. Again the food was amazing!
The crispy ‘chicken’ tasted amazing!!
In the evening I had arranged to participate in Muay Thai:
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Burma and muay Lao from Laos.
Unfortunately the class was for a higher level and full combat. They asked me just to sit and watch. It was amazing to see and I really want to take this up.
On the way home, I passed by the Gurdwara, there I met Saheb Singh, he came to the states eight years ago and was telling me his life story. What was supposed to be a five minute visit turned out to be one hour!
In the evening we went to the Gurdwara, at the Guru Ram Das Ashram, LA their timing is spot on, at 6pm they start Rehraas sahib “The Rehraas Sahib is the evening prayer of the Sikhs. It is recited at the end of a working day. Its purpose is to add energy to one’s being and living environments.”
At 6:30 Kirtan was performed by Bhai Anantvir Singh from Riverside Gurdwara, along with Bhai Jaswinder Singh (tabla) and Bibi Kamaljeet Kaur (on the Santoor – and a fellow Brit!) They were fantastic.
Afterwards we had fantastic lungar which was donated and cooked by a local family.
Where we are staying they have a son staying with them, called Gurmukh who I had a chat with a couple of days ago at the house. I mistook a guy at the Gurdwara for Gurmukh! Well they did look alike! After I had eaten I sat down next to him and said do you not recognise me we are room buddies!! It is only at the end of the conversation when he gave me his name did I realise it was not Gurmukh!!
After a great lunch, we just had to get dessert from Babycakes NYC. This place is just awesome! Rather then pay for parking we drove a couple of blocks south where the parking is free, also we needed a walk…..!
Whilst walking up to Babycakes we popped into a few of the shops. In one shop a lady was buying herself a bracelet as she had a women’s meeting in evening, the cost was $1800!!
Okay enough window shopping! Now time for the doughnuts!
Both vegan and gluten free! M
We sat outside and realised it was the same table as when we first went there in April!
Larchmont (alternately Larchmont Village), part of Los Angeles City Council District 4, is both a residential district and the commercial heart of an area in mid-city Los Angeles, California. Although the boulevard from which the neighborhood derives its name lies partially within Windsor Square, and serves as the area’s “main street,” Larchmont Village is a distinct district. The shopping/commercial area spans Larchmont Village into Windsor Square with Melrose Avenue to the North and 3rd Street to the South. The shopping/commercial district is a city-wide draw, but primarily receives patronage from nearby Hancock Park to the west, Hollywood adjacent to the north and Koreatown and St. Andrew’s Square to the east. Until the 1940s a streetcar ran up and down the street.
Lying in clear view of the famed Hollywood Sign the area is close to world-renowned Paramount Pictures, as well as the Wilshire Country Club, Los Angeles Tennis Club and the former Black-Foxe Military Institute, a private preparatory school. Within the boundaries are such legends as Lucy’s El Adobe Café, Raleigh Studios formerly known as Famous Players Film Company and the Hollywood Historic Hotel.
The residential portion of Larchmont Village, one of the oldest intact neighborhoods in Los Angeles, is bordered by to the West by the western side of Arden Blvd. and the western side of Western Avenue (Los Angeles) to the East. To the North it lies between Melrose Avenue and bordered to the south by Beverly Boulevard. The Larchmont Village Neighborhood Association formed to unify the residential and commercial interests of its residents. Among Southern California’s most diverse communities, Larchmont Village is home to a true melting pot of cultures, ethnicities and socio-economics.
After eating we headed home to get ready for the Gurdwara.
Whilst Sangeet was having a rest, I had a walked to the shops around Robertson and Pico (areas of LA) It was nice to people watch, also I would stop outside Starbucks to regularly check my emails and iMessages!
When I got back to the house, we headed out to the Gurdwara on Preuss and stayed there for around thirty minutes, it has such a fantastic vibration!
Some history on the Gurdwara/ ashram:
Arriving in Los Angeles in 1968, Yogi Bhajan began his mission to share the teachings of Kundalini Yoga, and to help people live healthy, happy and holy lives. He first established Guru Ram Das Ashram as a yoga center in West Hollywood, and it was here in Los Angeles that Kundalini Yoga in the Western World was born.
In the spring of 1972, we moved to the current location, a former chiropractic and hydrotherapy office, where it was established as a formal Gurdwara.
Yogi Bhajan lived at Guru Ram Das Ashram until the early 1980s. He resided in the small living quarters in the back, joined by his wife, children and staff. In that humble living room countless came for his guidance, the Khalsa Council was born, both spiritual and world leaders have been welcomed and our babies were named.
What is now our gurdwara with marble floors, then served as a sadhana room and gurdwara in the morning, yoga centre by day, and is where Yogi Bhajan, the Siri Singh Sahib, sat and taught classes two nights a week for over 15 years.
He continued to share his teachings with the Sadh Sangat (holy congregation) here for many years until his passing in 2004. Yogi Bhajan said, “I am here to serve anyone who says ‘Sat Nam,’ even once.”
Guru Ram Das Ashram is a sacred place, where for over 35 years people of all walks of life have come to be healed, to meditate, to bow to Guru, and to find peace. The walls of Guru Ram Das Ashram now resonate with the vibration of over 1900 Akhand Paths that have taken place on a weekly basis since those early days, and the chanting, prayer and divine Kirtan from gurdwara services that have been held here 365 days a year since its inception. Countless individuals have come to partake of the Guru’s langar that has been served daily since the mid-1980s.
By Guru’s grace, all of these traditions continue, with daily gurdwara and kirtan, langar, meditation, seva and weekly akhand paths. Literally the birthplace of Sikh Dharma International, Guru Ram Das Ashram in Los Angeles truly is, to us, the “Golden Temple of the West.”
Guru Ram Das (1534–1581) was the fourth of the ten Gurus of the Sikh dharma and became Guru on 30 August 1574.
Today we started recitation of Jap ji Sahib (song of the soul) at 3 am followed by a two and a half hours Dhan Dhan Ram Das Gur meditation. The energy was so powerful.
Hi, thanks for visiting my blog, feel free and have a look around.Here is a bit about me, as you may or may not have guessed my name is Mandeep,I work to travel as opposed to work to pay bills and die!Every trip for me is an adventure, I have been very fortunate to stumble across amazing places and meet awesome people along the way.
Why gaygoat? When I first started this blog I was a vegetarian, so gaygoat – happy goat! Also you have to admit it is catchy and a URL you will not forget!
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