Know all about Anand Karaj, a ceremony that solemnised Bhagwant Mann’s wedding
India Today
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann tied the knot with Dr Gurpreet Kaur in an Anand Karaj ceremony today. Let's understand the legality and history of the Anand Karaj ceremony.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann married his bride, Dr Gurpreet Kaur, in an Anand Karaj ceremony on Thursday. Let us understand the history, legal standing and the Anand Karaj ceremony in steps.
Literally meaning a blissful act, the Anand Karaj sets the wedding apart from a marriage.
The custom stands out in sharp contrast to the jollity, the boisterous singing and dancing, the discordant blaring of the DJs and to the pranks of the bridesmaids usually associated with a Punjabi wedding.
The setting is placid a gurdwara, a home or a place where drinks or any other intoxicants aren’t served. Hotels and other facilities for hosting social and business events are no-go.
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The focus is binary mundane and spiritual. At the global level, the Anand Karaj solemnises a wedlock in the presence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. In the spiritual realm, it denotes the union between the being and the divine, regardless of gender, race, orientation, nationality, caste and belief systems.
Drawing heavily from the sacred Sikh verses, the Sikh history and the Sikh religious code, the Anand Karaj, as seen today, has evolved during the 239-year period -- from Sri Guru Nanak Sahib (1469-1539) to Sri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib (1666-1708).