Parkarma: Clockwise or Anti-clockwise?

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

There is almost unanimous consent on the fact that when par(i)karma is done of Guru Sahib, the Gursikh goes clockwise with Guru Sahib always to the right.

But Nihang Singhs generally say that parkarma should be done the opposite way (anti-clockwise). The reason they quote is that this way the Shaster is always sanmukh to Guru Sahib and one gets Guru Sahib's darshan faster. They might be quoting other reasons but this is one of the reasons, which I have heard.

I too follows the same rule as most of the Panth does (clockwise).
But, it was be great if Gursikhs could shed light on the reasons as to why we do it clockwise and not anti-clockwise. Knowing why one does something a particular way helps increasing confidence in one's own actions and also helps when one needs to share knowledge with others.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

If you read bhai nand lal jis rehatnama, Bhai mani singh's book" sikhan di bhagat mala", Bhai prahlad singhs rehatnama and sarabloh granth,its clearly written and asked to guru sahib regarding guru roop. In bhai Nand lal jis rehatnama, it is written that Guru sahib has 3 roops, Sargun, nirgun and shabd roop.
1. Sargun - panch bhootak roop- It was panch bhootak roop of guru sahib whe he was present before joti jot and then that has been given to- khalsa panj payare/sangat ( aapan roop khalse deena, dutia roop satgur grantha - Sri sarab loh granth) ,( Guru Khalsa manyo pargat gura ki deh- Bhai prehlad singhs rehatnama- early 1700, which was changed to guru granth ji manyo pargat guran ki deh by giani gian singh in 1930),

2. Nirgun sareer- Which is jot and is present everywhere as it is submerged in waheguru and waheguru is everywhere, so guru sahibs nirgun sareer is everywhere, inside us, out side us where ever you see and where ever you cant see

3. Shabad guru- Dhan sri guru granth sahib ji maharaj,Shabad guru surat dhun chela- satguru nu sab koi dekhda jetha jagat sansaar, dithyaan mukat naa hovayi jichar shabad na kare veechar- as shabd is gian guru, so thats why even when guru arjun dev ji was present in harimandir sahib, still the chor and hukamnama was done on guru granth sahib maharaj. Our gian guru says that guru is everywhere, so it is not the deh of satguru .

Regarding parkarma, now guru sahib is present every where, in sangat, in guru granth sahib and inside you. So you tell me which side would you face. It is similar to guru nanak sahib in makka. So i think it really doesnt matter from gian point of view to do parkarma from any side. I know nihang singhs do it in opposite direction and i think it is just a tridition, people may think that it may be more respectfull to guru sahib but guru sahib who is present in side you all the time in both nirgun and shabad guru roop knows what you do 24/7 and it is more important to stay in bhe and bhavni of guru sahib all the time doesn't matter, we are doing parkarma from left side or right side., i would love to hear veechars from bhai kulbir singh ji as well. And one more thing, singhs can wear shastars on bot sides of body and they can carry it in their hands, dulammla, so in other words, sings are loaded with shastars in all directions of their Body, so it really doesnt matterin which direction you do parkarma as long as you do with nimarta and bhe bhavni of guru sahib, waheguru and sangat.

Tejasv jeeo, you have already given the reason for doing Parkarma clockwise. Out of respect, Gursikhs keep Guru Sahib on the right handside and this is how they do Parkarma. I don't understand the logic behind making Shaster Sanmukh to Guru Sahib. As Bhai Tejkawal Singh jee pointed out, Shasters are all over the body of Bir Khalsa. Which Shaster would they make Sanmukh to Guru Sahib and which not?

Again, if Nihung Singhs have Shardha in doing the Prakarma anti-clockwise, it is not going to make the sky fall. There is no need to make a controversy out of it but it is best to do Prakarma clockwise as majority of Panth has been doing all these years.

Guru Sahib knows better.

Kulbir Singh

why is clockwise more respectful than anti-clockwise? i mean, as long as we don't have our back or feet towards guru sahib, how does it matter which way we go around?

the main reason i can think of to go clockwise is that everyone else does it and it avoids congestion if everyone goes the same way.