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Guru Gobind Singh

The poet

BanjotKaur Bhatia, On 350th birth anniv, recalling Guru Gobind Singh the poet, Sep 24 2016 : The Times of India

Guru Gobind Singh was born in 1666 in Patna.

The 10th Sikh preceptor, Guru Gobind Singh, is known to the world as a warrior-saint. But not many outside the faith are aware that he wrote 17 verse collections that are part of the `Dasam Granth', a religious text separate from the Guru Granth Sahib.

Hindi litterateur Lal Manohar Upadhyaya said that of the 17 verse collections, only one is in Punjabi. The rest are in Hindi, Braj and Persian, among other languages. “This shows the versatility of the poet Guru,“ Upadhyaya said, adding that it was time the Dasam Granth was translated into other Indian languages.

Guru Nanak Dev University (Amritsar) academic H S Bedi said the first historical account of the Hindi language was by a Frenchman, who'd described the Sikh guru as its great poet.

Jaap Sahib

The Times of India, Dec 20 2016

Kulbir Kaur 

Jaap Sahib, composed by Guru Gobind Singh, is a salutation to the Almighty , the Creator as well as the Creation. Jaap Sahib is a celebration, a jalsa of the glory of God who, though He pervades even a blade of grass, cannot be comprehended, expressed, or understood ­ just like love. `Thou pervadest everywhere in the form of love,' says Guru Gobind Singh.

God, like love, is impossible to describe or define. `The One, true, wise and pure Guru has no contour, countenance, colour, caste or lineage. No form, complexion nor any lines by which one may describe him. A Being limitless in might, fearless, luminous and steady ...who can describe all Thy names? The wise recounts only such of Thy attributes as are revealed by Thy works.' Jaap Sahib, with its 199 pauris or verses, is the morning prayer of the Sikhs and the first Bani of the Dasam Granth. It is a tribute to God with 1,000 names. Jaap Sahib is one of the five Banis that a Sikh must recite every day .The recitation leads to an inexplicable state of vismad, wonder, with the realisation of the supreme power of God and us, human beings as minuscule particles of His creation.Indeed, God is the greatest mystery . `Thou art unascertainable ... Thou art unattainable and sublime ... Thou art hidden among the hidden ... To Thee who art eternal, who art merciful. To Thee I bow again and again,' says Guru Gobind Singh.

Why name Him? Why define Him? Why give Him any shape?

Why confine Him to any place? The Creator is Akal ­ timeless, formless, invisible. He is the King of kings, Moon of moons, God of gods, Sun of suns. He is eternal. He is constant. To identify Him with any religion, caste or sect is just unthinkable.

Jaap Sahib extols unity in diversity ­ anek hai phir ek hai ­ many forms yet One. All life, according to Guru Gobind Singh, is `Absolutely One'. Addressing God, he writes, `You appear in all forms and behold everything. You are like an ocean rippling with countless waves, unbroken and mysterious. You are the quintessence of all things yet unformed of the elements. You make all things flourish and then scatter away . To Thee I bow again and again. You are Almighty , Creator, whose hand is in all concerns of the world. You are multifarious and yet One.' `Jaap' means japna, to recite, repeat, chant; to utter His praises but also to understand and imbibe His attributes.A true Sikh tries to follow these in every day life. The Supreme Being is dayalam and kripalam ­ merciful. He is light, love, beauty , truth, energy . He is the support of the lowly . God is ever-calm, without anxiety , without desire, free from pain, enjoyer of bliss, like the sky above the earth, calm and deep. Why to embroil in rituals and ceremonies? Embrace naam-simran, charity, seva and remain in chardi-kala (high spirits). He, the Creator, is the highest ideal. He is the only Truth.

Jaap Sahib, a masterpiece of love, devotion and energy , is an utsav of emotions. The Jaap Sahib is recited while preparing amrit for the khandedi-pahul ceremony . It purifies you. `God is ever the Supreme Truth, Supreme Consciousness and Supreme Bliss,' exclaims Guru Gobind Singh. God is the ultimate friend and it is to Him that we should appeal in times of distress.

Saint Soldier

S Ujal Singh Tulla , Saint Soldier "Daily Excelsior" 5/1/2017

Guru Gobind Singh

Guru Gobind Singh Jee was born on 22nd December 1666 at “Patna Sahib now in Bihar. His father’s name was Guru Tegh Bahadur jee who is the 9th Guru of Sikhism. On his birth he was named “Gobind Roy.”

At his early age his parents shifted to Anandpur Sahib Punjab, where Gurujee learnt many languages like Sanskrit, Persian, Hindi and Punjbai. He also learnt so many skills, archery, horse riding Gatka etc., and became the master of these Skills in his early age.

During Guru Gobind Singh Jee’s life span India was ruled by different Pahari Rajas, small kings and Mughal Emperors.

The common men were victimized in different ways, conversion from one religion to another was practiced and had become a law and policy of the rulers of that time. They were converting poor and innocent people to other religion forcefully.

The caste system had destroyed the whole society, low caste people were treated worst than animals. They were not allowed to worship in temples or pray God at their own will. They were not allowed to pass through high caste areas, bazzars and roads freely.

The women were treated badly as slaves of men. The female child were brutally killed. They were also not allowed to worship or pray.

In short this was the situation before the birth of Dashmesh Pita Guru Gobind Singh Jee Maharaj. It is a fact that whenever cruelty crosses its limits, people suffer badly. As Almighty hears the voice of poor and innocent, it becomes legitimate to send such a personality, messenger or an Angel on this Earth who saves them, so was Guru Jee who sacrificed his whole family and himself for the whole country, for the nation and for the religion.

During that period Kashmir suffered the most as it was epicenter from where the conversion of religion took place as ordered by the Mughal Emperor.

At last a group of people from Kashmir decided to meet Guru Teg Bahadur the ninth Guru of Sikhs at Anandpur Sahib for help. Guru Jee was hurt to hear this story. He was disappointed and thought how to help them. It was not an easy job (the king was in full power), to fight against the king as it was to invite death at his door. In this moment Guru Gobind Roy a, 9 years old child entered the room. His father narrated him the whole story and said that it was a difficult task and needs great “sacrifice” of a great person as the king is very cruel and does not understand the language of truth, peace and humanity. Guru Gobind Roy smiled and replied,” if it needs a great sacrifice then father (pitajee) why you are not accepting it, who is superior than you? We have to save their lives and religion at any costy”. Guru Jee smiled at his son’s reply and promised to help the needy. On knowing that Guru Teg Bahadur was planning like this, the King was very angry with Gurujee. The king called Guru jee to Delhi, where their was exchange of words between Guru jee and the king and his courtiers. Guru jee replied politely, but the king became furious and ordered to behead Guru jee at Chandni Chowk Delhi where a big Gurdawara “SEIS GUNJ” is situated now a days. With the death of Guru ji all the responsibilities were on the shoulders of a young child Gobind Roy. It was clear that sovereignty is never handed over, it is realized through strength and when all means against tyranmy, oppression fail, it is legitimate to take sword to uproot the crime. To start his mission he collected people of different religions/ sects and exhorted them to fight against the crime and injustice. The duty of his followers was to defend the weak and innocent, to obey the saint and punish the Devil. Guru Gobind Roy said that brave is one who fights for Dharma (righteousness) peace, brother hood and humanity with any caste, colour creed and sex. He embraced the low caste sects of people and said,” I belong to these sects. It is because of this that in Sikhism there is no caste system.

One day a group of Sikhs came and told Gurujee to protect them. They told him that they found it very difficult to approach thee on account of the violence of king and his men. Some of our members were killed on the way, others were wounded and returned to their homes. To whom can we look for assistance but thee. This narration and supplication of those Sikhs was the clarion call to the conscience of Guru Gobind Singh the Great. The Guru invited all his followers to attend the great Baisakhi Fair at Anandpur Sahib.

Thousands of Sikhs all over country reached to attend this Baisakhi, what happened there is a well known miracle of 13th April 1699. On this day Guru Jee prepared the holy Amrit after the surprise sacrifice of Panj Piyara’s (five beloved persons one by one. It was a unique type of initiation in the religious history of the world.

Guru Gobind Singh Jee made five things essential to wear for a Sikh who shares Amrit, starting with the word “K” Kaish, Kanga, Kara, Karpan, Kacha each having its own meaning and function.

Guru Jee’s followers were increasing day by day and now he was able to fight against the cruel king and other small kings. It was due to Guru Jee mission that a Muslim peer Budhoo Shah along with his two brothers four sons and seven soliders joined Guruji’s company. Guru Jee fought so many battles, one among them was named ‘WAR OF BAINGANE” where Guru jee lost his two elder sons in the battle field and younger two were arrested put in Jail with their old grand mother and were finally brick walked till death. Guru jee throughtout his life fought against cruelty, uprooted crime. He preached man’s desire of salvation through struggle for the whole mankind. He said, “dying is the privilege of brave person, provided if they die for humanity acceptable to God and not for their self benefits.”

Guru jee was a great saint and a messenger of God with unlimited hidden spiritual power but never tried to expose it as he was thinking it a great sin and weakness of a person and showed the world to live like a common man.

Her was a great philosopher military genius, a legislator, statesman, and religious guide. In the struggle and endeavours of his whole life, he did not seek any reward or profit nor left any property for his heirs and not allowed any construction at his birth or death place.

Guru jee wrote many religious books in different languages like, Jap Sahib, Chopayee Shbadhajaray and Dasam Granth but put separated Sh. Guru Granth Sahib for its respect and honour.

At last he ordered that Guru Granth Sahib shall be the last Guru of Sikhism and stopped the race of Guru Sahiban to avoid conflicts and doubts.

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Creator of the “Khalsa Panth”

Inder Jeet S. ‘Prince , Creator of the “Khalsa Panth” "Daily Excelsior" 5/1/2016

Guru Gobind Singh Ji, son of great martyr Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and great grandson of Guru Arjun Dev Ji, (Both sacrificed their lives for the sake of ‘Hindu’ dharma) was born at Patna Sahib (Bihar) in 1666 AD. Guru Ji was only nine years old when he was entrusted to shoulder the heavy responsibilities of Guruship, after Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib’s martyrdom whom he himself had sent to Delhi to oppose the tyranny of the ruler. Guru Teg Bahadur Ji had gone to Delhi to meet Emperor Aurangzeb to espouse the cause of Kashmiri Pandits and advocate for the grant of religious freedom. Guru Ji instead was asked to imbrace “Islam or face death. Guru Ji was executed on the orders of emperor in Chandni Chowk Delhi.

The 10th Guru felt the need of strengthening the Indian nation. Guruji implored his followers to bring with them good quality weapons and horses while coming to see him. Guru Ji started recruiting the Khasla army, equipped it with up-to-date armaments and imparted training of all tactics.

Guru Ji also felt the need to overhaul the psychology of the superstitious and slavery stricken people. To achieve this goal, Guru Ji created “Khalsa” on the Baisakhi day of 1699. Guru Ji introduced a new form of baptism, the water used in baptism, instead of being stirred with the Guru’s toe, was now to be stirred with’Khanda’ (a double edged sword), and the Sikhs initiated were to be called Singhs (Lions) or “Khalsa” (The master’s own) They were to wear in future 5 K’s i.e. ‘Kara’ (an iron bangle), ‘Kangha’ (a comb), ‘Kesh’ (uncut hair), ‘Kachhera’ (short drawer) and ‘Kirpan’ (a sword). The first five who came forward at the call of the Guru at Anandpur Sahib on ‘Baisakhi’-day of 1699 were called “Panj Pyaras” (Lord’s beloveds). Ironically, the Ist ‘Panj Pyaras’ belonged to different parts of the country and totally different castes. They were Bhai Daya Ram, a Khatri of Lahore, Bhai Dharam Dass, a Jat of Hastnipur (Delhi), Bhai Mohkam Chand, a washerman of Dwarka, Bhai Sahib Chand a barber of Bidar and Bhai Himmat Rai a water carrier of Jaganath Puri.

The ‘Khalsa’ thus born was inspired by a sense of divine mission to right the wrongs of the world and in the discharge of his duties, no fear of earthly power was to stand in the way. This raising of the Indian spirit from servility, which had dominated it for centuries brought about a great change in the tone of the national character. Even those people who had been considered as the dregs of humanity were changed, as if by magic into something rich and strange, the like of which India had never seen before the sweepers, barbers and confectioners who had never touched the sword became under the stimulating leadership of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, doughty warriors, who never shrank from fear and who were ever ready to shed their own blood where the safety of a least creature of God was in danger. Even their outward appearance underwent a marvellous change. They came to be regarded as the models of physical beauty and stateliness of character.

Throughout his life Guru Ji fought against injustice and tyranny. The manner in which Guru Ji sacrificed the lives of his father, his mother, his beloved associates whom he regarded his own flesh and blood and all the four sons at the altar of duty towards his motherland is an example which will remain unparalleled in history for generations to come.

Guru Ji’s elder two sons were martyred while fighting with the enemy in “Chamkaur Sahib” while the younger two aged 8 and 6 were bricked alive on the orders of Governor of Sirhind in the X’ mass week of 1704.

The Dasmesh Guru fought as many as 14 battles but never fought for any territory or wordly power, or against any religion or sect, but had set himself against injustice, oppression and intolerance. Among his followers and admirers were Hindus as well as Muslims. Many staunch followers of Islam had aligned themselves with him against the imperial forces fighting on his side, Pir Budhun Shah sacrificed four of his sons and a number of his disciples in the battle of Bhangans. The Muslim ruler of Maler Kotla Nawab Sher Mohammed Khan raised a strong protest against the execution of Guru Sahib’s two minor sons at Srihind. Thus, people of different faiths were attracted to the Guru whose teachings were that all men were equal and that, though the outer forms were different the fundamental truth was the same everywhere.

As a great social and religious reformer, Guru Gobind Singh Ji kept up the tradition of Sikh Gurus who had launched a crusade against superistion, polytheism, idol-worship, infanticide caste system addictions and host of other evils. Apart from agitating the minds of the people against social maladies and malpractices. Guru Ji retained and fostered positive values like the spirit of service (“Sewa”) and sacrifice as incalcatted by the previous Gurus. Guru Ji strictly exhorted his followers to lead pure and pious life.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji had a very distinctive personality. Besides being a fearless soldier and far-sighted commander in the battle-field, Guru Ji was an intellectual and philosopher in the company of sages and seers, national patriot to the core that happily he may sacrifice his whole family at the altar of his mother-land.

Guru Ji was a flawless master of a number of languages like Arabic, Persian, Brij, Sanskrit Hindi and Punjabi. Guru Ji chose a wide range of themes to inspire new spirits in the hearts of those who had remained the very dregs of society for a number of centuries.

Guru Ji had 52 renowned poets at his Royal Court and got the old Puran and Shastras and deeds of ancient heroes translated into Hindi and Punjabi. Guru Ji wrote his autobiography in verse entitled “Bachitra-Natak” “Jaap Sahib,” “Akal-Ustat”, “Chandi-Di-War,” “Choubis-Avtaar”, “Shabad-Hazare” and “Gyan-Prabodh” are some of his famous works. “Zafar-Nama” (Epistle of victory), the letter written in persian script which was despatched to the Emperor Aurangzeb is still read with great reverance.

King Bahadur Shah the elder son of Aurangzeb ascended the throne of Mughal empire after the death fo Aurangzeb with the active assistance of Sikh army. Now, Guru Ji was guest of Bahadur Shah and accompanied the latter to his march to the south to suppress the rebellion of his younger brother Kam Baksh. At Nanded Sahib in Maharashtra, Guru Ji was fatally stabbed by the agents of Nawab of Srihind and left for his heavenly abode on Oct 7, 1708.

But before this, Guru Ji proclaimed that “from today on the Guru Granth Sahib Ji (The holy book of the Sikhs), is the Guru and it should be regarded as the embodiment and visible form of all the 10 Gurus.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji was a true son of India who throughout his life span thought for the country, fought for the country and sacrificed his all for the country. He strived hard for achieving his goal of establishing “Dharma” and uprooting the evil forces. It was his strong desire to see his country free, prosperous and peace loving and it was his Khasla Panth who fulfilled his ambition later on and accomplished the noble work set forth by the 10th master.