Sikh amrit vela and daily banis

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines · Amritsar

What it is

What it is. This is an observance, not a therapy. The code describes a Sikh's personal life as resting on meditation on Nam (the divine Name) and the scriptures, living by the Gurus' teachings, and voluntary service. Its daily core is:

Format

• No source gives phases, session counts or formats for psychotherapy alongside Sikh daily practice. The phases below are, built on the Cultural Formulation Interview, IOCDF faith-and-OCD guidance and published guidance on counselling Punjabi Sikh clients. Fit them into whatever therapy the client is…
• Format: individual sessions are typical; family sessions where practice is a family matter; joint contact with a granthi or chaplain only with the client's consent.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Version followed: the Sikh Reht Maryada (Sikh code of conduct) issued by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar, through its Dharam Parchar Committee, in the English translation by Kulraj Singh published on the SGPC website; the Akal Takht is described as the only body that authorises this version. Other Sikh bodies and lineages (for example sampradas and jathas) keep their own maryadas with…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Being recruited as an authority by one side. It is working when family members talk about values rather than compliance.
• Prolonged grief, guilt about rites not done "properly", depression. It is working when the client can hold both acceptance and grief.
• Rushing to absolve; or treating a returning practice as a symptom-measure. It is working when guilt turns into a values-based choice the client can act on.
• The therapist being drawn into theological reassurance; family feeling cruel when they stop reassuring. It is working when requests fall and the client tolerates uncertainty longer.
• Over-identification or distance arising from the therapist's own faith history. It is working when the client experiences respect for their faith and clarity about the therapist's role.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.