ABSTRACT
Langar, community meal, is the central Sikh institution established by the founder Guru Nanak (1469–1539). This chapter addresses an overarching question: Why are elementary canals elemental to Sikh spirituality? My chapter will be a hermeneutic exploration of the langar meal along a fivefold axis: (1) Guru Nanak’s sensuous savoring of food and drink consumed during his foundational encounter with the transcendent One; (2) material ingredients of the textual platter compiled by Guru Arjan and enshrined in the Golden Temple in 1604; (3) biophilial nutrients of the scriptural food and drink; (4) skinscapes as the langar meal is collectively prepared and consumed; and (5) somatophilial ingestion, absorption, and sustenance.
