Relaxing day…..

by Mandeep Gaygoat

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!