Prayer · Sikh practice
Nanak Naam Chardi Kala
Nanak: with the Name, the spirit rises; in Your will, the good of all
ਨਾਨਕ ਨਾਮ ਚੜ੍ਹਦੀ ਕਲਾ, ਤੇਰੇ ਭਾਣੇ ਸਰਬੱਤ ਦਾ ਭਲਾ।
Nānak nām caṛhdī kalā, tere bhāṇe sarbat dā bhalā
The last words of the Ardas, the prayer that closes every Sikh service. The congregation says them together, and they turn at the final clause from the self to everyone.
Source: Closing couplet of the Ardas, the Sikh congregational prayer
The count shown here is Japa's suggestion, not a rule of the tradition. Follow the form and number you were taught.
Not counted on beads
How many times
Japa suggests eleven times a day. Follow the number you were taught.
Japa counts this one without a mala: a plain daily number rather than a ring of beads, with the words kept in view while you say them. Counting is unlimited and free.
Open this practice in JapaOpens a preview of this practice, with an option to add it in Japa 1.6 or later. If you install the app, return here and open the link again.
What the words say
Nānak nām caṛhdī kalā — with the Name, the spirit rises; caṛhdī kalā is a Sikh term of art, hard to render in one word, meaning a resilient and rising optimism held even in adversity. Tere bhāṇe sarbat dā bhalā — in Your will, the welfare of all. Sarbat dā bhalā means all people, not all Sikhs, and the phrase is quoted on its own for that reason.
Where it comes from
The Ardas took its present shape over time and is fixed in the Sikh Rehat Maryada; this couplet is its close. It is said standing, hands joined, at the end of worship and before any undertaking.
How it is practised
Said as part of the Ardas rather than counted, though the couplet is also repeated on its own. The count here is this app's framing.
References
- Sikh Rehat Maryada (SGPC), text of the Ardas
Keep it, and count it every day.
Japa keeps this text beside a large, calm counter on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, with a haptic for every bead and an optional bell at the end of each round. Counting is unlimited and free.
Get Japa on the App Store