Anand Kaaraj is the Sikh marriage ceremony. The exact date of its origin is not known but references can be found that the marriage of the children of Guru Sahib had been performed by Keertan of Gurbaani and Ardaas only. As per the Anand Kaaraj ceremony, the couple circumambulates Guru Granth Sahib four times in clock-wise direction while hymns from Guru Granth Sahib (pp. 773-74) are read and the ceremony is completed after an Ardaas (the Sikh prayer). Some Sikhs do not perform nuptial rounds around Guru Granth Sahib because they believe that circumambulation is copy of the Sapatpadi (the Hindu marriage ceremony). They believe that simple recitation of four hymns from Guru Granth Sahib, followed by an Ardaas, completes the Sikh marriage rites. According to the Anand marriage ceremony, both the partners should be Sikhs. A law “Anand Marriage Act” was passed, on October 22, 1909, in order to given the Sikh marriage ceremony its legal status. It does not mean that the Sikh marriage ceremony has its origin only from this date. Bhai Daya Singh, in his Rahitnama (code of conduct), has mentioned the Sikh wedding rites. The founders of the real Nirankari organisation, Baba Dayal Singh and Baba Darbara Singh, resurrected these ceremonies in the first half of the nineteenth century and added circumabulation rituals (which is, in fact, a copy of Hindu Sapatpadi).
(Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer)