placed in the newspapers. In the case of Saptahik Paths, the reader reads the entire Holy Book except for the last five pages. This is when the Karah Prasad is prepared. The unread portion is continued after the 'inaugural hymns'. The Pathi would start slowly and would read Guru Teg Bahadur's 57 couplets, Mundavani and a Sloka (or a hymn) by Guru Arjan. The Ragamala follows this. The Mundavani is an essential part and is like a seal to the scripture. It reiterates the essentials of the teachings of the book - Sat(ya) (the truth), santokh (contentment), vichar (wisdom) and the remembrance to the Holy name (Nam). The Ardas is read after the reading is completed. Ardas has its own powerful associations brought into bhog. These include recalling the glorious past of the Sikhs: their heroism, devotion, martyrdom and marking the present Khalsa. After the Ardas, the Hukam or command for the day is obtained by reading out the hymn offered by the text which is naturally interpreted in the context of the intention of the path, that is, as the word of the Guru to those receiving it at that point, with their purposes particularly in mind, be it a family event, a funeral, a wedding, or invocation for blessing on a new venture. In West Bengal In West Bengal and neighboring regions, Bhog is commonly distributed in major festivals like the Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Saraswati Puja and other community poojas. It is commonly served in large temple complexes. The bhog is a blessed food that doubles up as a complete meal as opposed to prasad, which in West Bengal, would be in smaller quantity and would not be intended to be a meal. A most common form of bhog is in the form of Khichdi, served with a semi dry vegetable preparation, sweet tomato chutney and payesh (kheer), which is a rice pudding. This is typically served on flat plates of leaves of Sal (tree) joined with small twigs, all of which are then discarded. See also Prasad References Puja (Hinduism) Objects used in Hindu worship Sikh practices Sanskrit words and phrases Hindi words and phrases