Ardas for the worthiness of the Amrit ceremony sevadars :
The Panj Pyare are to then stand in front of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee and perform the following Ardas, "True Guru, Great King, questioning of the Panj Pyare and the Granthi Singh have been performed, please forgive us for our shortcomings, make us worthy to prepare Amrit."
Questioning of initiates :
The initiates are to enter the Darbar one by one. They must have fully bathed (including washed hair), wearing - clean simple clothes, the five Kakkaars and a Kirpan with a gatra worn over their clothes. If married, then the Singh and Singhni must go together. All initiates are to bow to Guru Sahib, rise and bring together their hands. If a couple - the Singh is to stand on the right hand-side and the Singhni on the left hand-side. The Jathedar (In this case the Jathedar is the master of ceremonies, Jathedar also means leader) of the Panj Pyare with a drawn Sri Sahib (large sword) in his right hand should ask the initiates why they have come to the ceremony. The initiates with both hands together should reply that they have come to take Amrit, 'bless us with the gift of Amrit. '
The Jathedar is to then ask, will you live according to the Rehat Maryada. The initiates are to reply with humility that with the grace of the Guru that they wil l be able to achieve this.
The Jathedar is to say that they must consider their mind, wealth and life as belonging to Guru Jee, always remaining within the practices of the Khalsa nation and never going against the Guru Panth. From this day on, they are t o consider their body, mind and wealth as belonging to Satguru Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee. By earning an honest living, Dasvandh (one tenth of earnings) is to be given to the Guru or charitable causes and life is to be conducted in accordance with the Rehat .
If someone has come to retake Amrit, the Jathedar is to ask which cardinal sin have you committed, why have you come to retake Amrit? The person who has come to retake Amrit must freely admit to their mistakes or sins. The Panj Pyare will then unanimously decide on the punishment. An Ardas for forgiveness will be performed at the end of the
ceremony and the person can retake Amrit after the new initiates.
In the presence of the Panj Pyare and Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee appropriate punishment is ordained for any sins commited, but even the most serious sins are forgiven. The person who comes and begs for forgiveness is not punished in the afterlife in the Court of God and Dharamraj (Vaheguru's Judge) cannot punish that person. If the person does not admit to their sins here, then they will get punished in God's Court and may have to go through various life-form's, births and deaths as punishment. The person that retakes Amrit is to accept the punishment ordained, as being just and act upon it. Until all the punishment has been completed, the person is to consider themselves as sinful and their sins as not having been forgiven. After completing the punishment, Karah Parshad is to be prepared and an Ardas is to be performed. That person can then consider themselves as forgiven and can become one of the Panj Pyare in future Amrit ceremonies. Those taking Amrit for the first time do not get punished for their past sins/mistakes. It is the duty of each Amritdharee Singh that he gets his Singhni to take Amrit or vice versa. Bhai Choupa Singh Jee Shibar in his explanation of the Rehat (p.117) writes that a Sikh who does not attempt to inspire/educate their spouse to take Amrit are punishable.
All the initiates are to have their beards flowing and not tied up in anyway. Their turbans are to have been tied one layer at a time (not placed on their heads like a hat). The turban is to be saffron, blue, black or white. The male initiates should not be wearing trousers/pyjama, watches or any jewellery. The female initiates are not to have any jewellery on their hands, in their ears/nose and their hair is to be in a bun/top knot and not in plaits, they should maintain this simplicity of dress and attire for the rest of their lives.
(Sikh women are also to keep their head covered at all times, it is best to wear a small turban. The Guru's command is for both men and women to wear turbans)
After the questioning of all the initiates has been completed, they are to stand in the presence of Satguru and the Jathedar then questions all of them collectively:
"Have you all had a full ishnaan (bath) including the washing of hair?
Are you all wearing a Kangha, Kirpan, Kara, and Kashera?"
When all the preparations are complete the Jathedar is to tell all the initiates that they must stand up and remain standing until the Amrit is prepared. The initiates are told to listen attentively to the Five Prayers and are to look directly at Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee, concentrating their vision upon Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee. If any of the initiates encounter any serious physical problems whilst standing, then they should sit down. No one is to talk whilst the Amrit is being prepared. The initiates should have love, fear and faith in Guru Sahib, they are about to be blessed with Amrit and the cycle of births and deaths shall end.
