Exploring the Spiritual Essence of Raga in Sikh Gurbani Kirtan at the Golden Temple

Ragas are considered the mainstay of Indian classical music. Each raga is unique and has a different emotional impact on the listener’s mind, as it is comprised of emotions like sadness, peace, anger, devotion, cheerfulness, etc. When these emotional ragas are blended with Gurbani (the bani of Almighty God) and recited by a person full of divinity, it reaches the stage that is the highest level of devotional enlightenment and is often referred to as Samadhi, Moksha, or Nirvana. The Golden Temple, the central hub of the Sikh religion from the time of its foundation by Guru Ramdas Ji, has the rule of singing Gurbani in its given raga at the Golden Temple. Shri Guru Granth Sahib enlists 31 main ragas and 31 mishrit (mix) ragas, in which Gurbani has been inscribed by the Sikh Gurus. Gurbani Kirtan is the recitation of the glory of the Almighty in raga and taal, which helps in achieving the ultimate goal of a human being, i.e., to break the chains of eternal return. This paper tries to explore how the ragas are integrated in Gurbani and how the samay siddhant of ragas are followed, as it is instructed by the Gurus to recite Gurbani, according to the time and ragas stated in the treatise