Appearance of KHALSA—A Miracle of GURU GOBIND SINGH

The Appearance of ‘KHALSA’ was the necessity of the prevailing times and as per the wishes of The Almighty God. It was the outcome of the divine vision of Guru Gobind Singh, who made appearance of KHALSA with the purity of character, imagination, strong will power, and as a fearless army of The God. The concept of KHALSA was a unique outcome of spiritual enlightenment and purity of thought of the highest order of the Tenth Guru.  He has emphatically made it clear in His autobiography ‘Bachitar Natak’ that The God sent Him to this world as His son to create a ‘PANTH’, who will spread truth, righteousness and destroy evil and annihilate tyrant rulers for establishing Humanitarian rule in this world. The Guru says that :-

MEI APNA SUT TOHIE NIWAZA II
PANTH PARCHUR KARBE KO SAAZA II
JAHI TAHAN TEI DHARAM CHALAYAIE II
KABUDHI KARAN TE LOK HATAYAIE II 29 II--Bachitar Natak---P--69

The Guru says that He bowed His head and prayed to God and sought His blessings that ‘KHALSA PANTH’ can be created in this world, if You ( GOD ) help Him in this cause. The Guru says that :-

Thadh bhayou mei jor kar Bachan kaha Sirr niayaie  II
Panth Chalie tab Jagat mei Jab tum karo sahay  II--Bachitar Natak--p---69

After Kashmiri Pandits met Guru Tegh Bahadur at Anandpur Sahib and sought His help to save their religion, He became quiet and composed. On inquiry for the reason for his demeanor by young Gobind Rai, He replied that the plight Hindu Dharma called for the sacrifice of a pious soul. Gobind Rai spontaneously quipped that there was none other than the Guru Himself. This reply of Gobind Rai evidently authenticates that He was born as enlightened. Thereafter Guru Tegh Bahadur replied “ If that is the Lord’s will, so be it”. So, He decided to save their religion and asked Kashmiri Pandits to inform Aurangzeb that if he converts their Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur to Islam, they will all convert to Islam. Consequently Aurangzeb became incensed and he summoned Guru Tegh Bahadur to Delhi. After informing  young Gobind Rai that he was going to offer His head for the cause of righteousness in obedience to command of Akal Purakh, He installed Him as His successor and subsequently He proceeded to Delhi. On reaching Delhi, first His close associates namely Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Sati Das, Bhai Dyala were tortured to death, so as to frighten Him. Then Guru Tegh Bahadur was tortured and martyred on 11th Nov, 1675 AD in Chandni chowk, Delhi. The Guru bore this with extreme peace and tolerance and sacrificed His life for the cause of Humanity i.e. protection of Hindu religion. Thus Guru Tegh Bahadur gave a glorious lead to the people for imbibing a spirit of heroism and the will to fight against oppression, so as to brace for preparing the people for fighting against injustice.

Tenth Nanak i.e. Guru Gobind Rai  was only nine years old, when the great responsibility of directing the affairs of the Sikhs fell on His shoulders. Guru Gobind Rai had no prior experience for undertaking a task of this magnitude, but the exemplary self-sacrifice of His father, to protect the oppressed at the cost of His life, was engraved in His heart. He was filled with zeal to endeavour for the fulfillment of His mission. The task before Him was stupendous, having no resources, no estate, no wealth, but only a handful of Sikhs for this purpose. He was aware of killing cowardice and utter despondency of the Indian people, who had fallen in all aspects, i.e. cast-ridden, spineless, cowardly, lost manliness being suppressed by Mughal rulers, having faith in many Gods, Demigods, Goddesses, stones, fire, water, animals, vegetation, metals etc. The spark of fighting for humanity was lit in the heart of Young Guru Gobind Rai, which all earlier Hindu reformers such as Sri Ramachandra, Sri Krishna, Shankaracharya and Ramanuja greatly lacked.

Thus with great wisdom, patience for an opportune time in mind and desire of cooling down the opposition of Ram Rai (a contender for Guruship), Guru Gobind Rai retired to the hills in the state of Nahan in order to nurse the spark of nationalism into a blaze and devise means to utilize it to good effect. Here He founded a fort called 'Paonta', on  the land offered by the ruler of Nahan. He calibrated ways and means to free His countrymen from the bonds of sins and sufferings. He acted on the advice of His father, as mentioned by Him in “Bachitar Natak”. He placed literary activity in the forefront of His program of Universal brotherhood and for this purpose He engaged 52 poets. His purpose was to diffuse a new spirit among the people and devise means to utilize to its good effects. Here, He learned Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit etc. and studied chronicles of great warriors and the message of The Gurus in ‘Gurbani’ and philosophies of other religions. He also practiced riding, hunting, swimming, archery and swordplay. His intellectualized emotions rose to the highest when He communes with The God, which is mentioned in His Bani, ’Akaal Ustat’, where He addresses God with ‘Tu Hi’ sixteen times, and gets absorbed for 16 hours.

The most surprising thing is that His increasing influence made the Hindu hill rulers jealous and instead of helping Him, they attacked Him and the Guru defeated them in the battle of 'Bhangani ' in 1686 AD. But He did not use the victory for any political gains and returned to Anandpur Sahib. Here, He built five forts to keep hill state rulers in check. He tried to rouse the hill people and hill rulers to a sense of national unity but found them not rising above caste, racial prejudices and vested interests by making common cause with Muslim rulers and even joining hands with the enemy against Him. The Brahmins were originator of all religious ills. They had forbidden non-Brahmins from studying Vedas and Shastras, where they had incorporated various injunctions to perpetuate their  pre-eminence and self acquired dominance over other castes. These injunctions are in large numbers but just a few are given below:-

All the world is the property of Brahmin. ( Manu 1/96,100,101).
Brahmin can annihilate a king and his army with his mantras. (Manu 9/213)
Brahmin can create many worlds, kings, new Gods etc. ( Manu 9/315).
Brahmin deserves a greater respect and reverence than a king. ( Manu 2/139).
Brahmin can not be punished for very serious crimes committed in order to save his body and soul. ( Manu 9/205,208,232; 4/69,165; 8/281,283).
Any crime committed against a Brahmin and his property needs ten times the ordinary punishment. ( Manu 7/367; 8/378,379 )
It is imperative duty of a king to appoint a Brahmin as his minister and adviser.( Manu 7/58 ).
The working of courts should be entirely entrusted to the Brahmin. ( Manu 8/1,9,10,11 ).
No tax of any kind can be charged from a Brahmin. ( Manu 7/132,133 ).
A shoodar should preferably serve Brahmin and in case of non availability of Brahmin, he should serve a kshatri. ( Manu 8/334 ).

Thus the Indian people were enslaved mentally by the Brahmins on one hand and physically by the Muslim rulers on the other hand. He decided to free them from both types of slavery. First of all, He decided to reform the religious sphere. He forcefully rebutted the plurality of God and forbade worship of idols, men, animals, vegetation and minerals. He eulogized supreme glory of the truth of One formless and eternal CREATOR /GOD in His “KABITTS”(poetry) and His other orations, which convey the extent of richness of His thought. He declared Himself a humble servant of the Almighty LORD declaring that:-“ He, who considers me as a God or Avatar shall go to hell”.

Then He took up the second challenge of getting them freed from atrocities of Mughal rulers.  After having exercised all peaceful means of persuasion to stop the repressive acts of the Mughal rulers, He decided that the sword remained to be put to test. He also felt that the Sikhs were small in number to take on the Herculean task of wrecking the tyranny of the Mughal rulers and put an end to the evil. He felt the necessity of building the Psyche of Indian People and Hindus in particular, as Hindu mind had lost its manliness and had become submissive and the very sight of the sword terrified them. Moreover, the Hindus of North India had no truck with the Hindus of South India, both being unconcerned with the East India and none of them having any single practice common with the Western India. They had been reduced to servile and spineless people as they were so much enslaved by Mughal rulers that even Rajputs had started offering their daughters to them. Something spectacular and miraculous was needed to revolutionize the thought and will of the people. Guru Gobind Singh decided to wake up the conscious of the people and make them brave and fearless, abolish caste system by baptizing with “Khande Di Pahul” ( Naam-Amrit) i.e. the water of tranquility.

He called a congregation at Anandpur on Baisakhi day i.e. March 30, 1699 AD. When all were seated, He drew out His sword and called loudly, “Is there anyone here, who would lay down his head for Dharma”?.  At this the whole assembly was thrown into commotion, but THE GURU went on repeating His demand. At the third call, Daya Ram, a Khatri of Lahore, volunteered. The GURU took him into an enclosure and came out with the sword dripping in blood and called loudly for another head. At this instance, Dharam Chand, a jat of Delhi, came forward and was taken into the enclosure. In a similar manner, three more men offered themselves for the sacrifice. Then The GURU, after dressing these five in handsome attire with flowing beards and 'KES' (hairs) maintained, submitting to Laws of nature/ Will of GOD and tying handsome turbans to preserve them nicely and brandishing four other 'KAKARS' i.e. 'KARHA'(iron bangle), 'KACHHEHRA'(short), 'KANGA(comb)', 'KIRPAN'(sword), symbolising holiness, spirituality, masculinity, self-restraint, sovereignty and destroyer of darkness, brought them before the assembly. He baptized them by making them drink  “Khande Di Pahul" ( NAAM-AMRIT ) i.e.  water of immortality, poured in their heads and eyes, which was prepared by Him with GOD’S blessings, by reciting the divine ‘baanis’ of 'JAPU JI', 'JAAP', 'Tav Prasad Savaiye', 'Kabio Bach Benti Chaupai' and 'Anand Sahib' and stirring water with ‘Khanda’(a double edged sword ) Himself, which was sweetened with sugar crystals added by Mata Sahib kaur. He also made them  all to drink it from the same iron bowl, although four of them were from low castes and one was from high caste.

Thus Guru Gobind Singh took a revolutionary step for abolishing caste system in India and created a caste less universal brotherhood, turned 'jackals' to “lions” and emboldened 'sparrows' to face “Eagles” by transforming ordinary and meek into SUPER HUMAN beings. He called them “PANJ  PIARAS” i.e. Beloved ones and gave them the name “Singh”( Lion) and name them KHALSA. He also gave them the slogan “Waheguru JI Ka Khalsa ll  Waheguru JI KI Fateh II” to greet each other. The Guru then requested these five beloved ones to give Him “KHANDE DI PAHUL” and make Him their first disciple as they collectively should be His Guru. He thus became Guru Gobind Singh from Guru Gobind Rai. The Guru hence set an example of religious development in the world i.e. The Guru baptizing the followers and the followers baptizing The Guru. The Guru thus passed the leadership to “Panj Piaras”. He declared that ‘KHALSA’ has appeared as per the will of THE ALMIGHTY GOD and is HIS ARMY to fight evil in the world. Guru says that:-

KHALSA  AKAAL PURAKH KI FAUJ II
PRAGTIYO KHALSA PARMATAM KI MAUJ || – Guru Gobind Singh  (Sarbloh Granth)-line-459
i.e. Khalsa is an army of God and is created by His will and blessings.

Thus the founding of The ‘KHALSA’ was the climax of founding of SIKHISM. The religious evolution started by Guru Nanak Dev took 230 years to achieve its goal i.e. transforming meek, spineless people to SUPER HUMAN beings and the communities which hated each other i.e. Hindus, Muslims, rich, poor, low and upper castes, were united into ONE UNIVERSAL Brotherhood i.e. SIKHISM. The Guru thus made appearance of “KHALSA”, who will worship one God, obey laws of nature, be sovereign in religious and political aspects of life and spread truth, righteousness, fight injustice, repression, and establish humanitarian rule. He called “ KHALSA” His own self as the Guru says that:-
KHALSA  MERO ROOP HAI KHAAS ||
KHALSE  MAHIE  HOUN KAROUN NIWAAS ||
JAB LAG KHALSA RAHE NIYARA ||
TAB LAG TEJ DIOU MEI SAARA ||---Guru Gobind Singh (Sarb loh Granth)
i.e. ‘KHALSA’ is my very essence and He lives in the KHALSA. Till the Khalsa is perfect / pure i.e. does not imbibe bad habits / rituals prohibited by Him, His blessings will be with the Khalsa.

Guru Gobind Singh then appended His signatures on the glowing document of the creation of The KHALSA with the blood of His five beloved disciples( Piyaaras ), four sons and thousands of His followers, for fighting tyranny and establish humanitarian rule and universal brotherhood.

Guru Gobind Singh made it clear in His letter to Aurangzeb, called ZAFARNAMA (Epistle of victory), which a strong  indictment of treachery of Aurangzeb and his forces, werein He reprimands and rebukes Aurangzeb for his weaknesses as a human being and also declares that armed struggle is pious and  just, when all other means fail. He says that:-

CHU KAAR  AZ  HAMAH HEELTE DAR GUZASHT II
HALAL  AST  BURDAN  BA SHAMSHEER DAST II 22 ||--Dasam Granth ( Zafarnama )
i.e.  all modes of redressing a wrong having failed; raising of  sword is pious and just. (verse 22)

Then KHALSA, under the leadership of Baba Banda Bahadur Singh, acting on the advice, spirit and with the blessings of Guru Gobind Singh, gave a heroic fight to the Mughal rulers of 'Sirhind' and ousted the Muslim ruler of Sirhind state, who had executed two young Sahibzadas. Thus the first Sikh State of Sirhind was created by Baba Banda Bahadur Singh in 1710 AD with  the blessings and as per directions of Guru Gobind Singh, which were given to him at  NANDED IN 1708 AD, when The Guru gave him five arrows, ‘Nagaara’ and a Khalsa flag and directed him to act on the advice of five sikhs deputed with him. Baba Banda Singh Bahadur established a humanitarian rule and gave ownership rights of land to the actual tillers of the land i.e. farmers. No Mosques were destroyed and no Muslims were killed, except the rulers. Continuing their tirade, the Sikhs established 12 SIKH 'Misals' from boundaries of Delhi to Lahore under different brave Sikhs Generals, except the capital i.e. Lahore. 'KHALSA' then assembled at Akal Takht in 1799 AD and unified all 'Misals' making Ranjit Singh as their leader to take control of Lahore city, as he was young and other Sikh Generals had grown older. In 1802 AD, Ranjit Singh was declared Maharaja of KHALSA RAJ by Sahib Singh Bedi, who was 'sarbarah' of Akal Takht at that  time.

Thus KHALSA ultimately extended 'KHALSA RAJ (Empire)' right from the boundaries of Delhi to 'Darya Khyber' in Afghanistan.The brave 'KHALSA' Generals like Hari Singh Nalwa fought so bravely that his name haunted the Muslims and Pathans so much their ladies used to frighten their children by his name. He was so strong that he even killed a lion without any weapon, when asked by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, on the behest of 'Dogras’.

Is this not a miracle that GURU GOBIND SINGH transformed the cast-ridden, coward, fallen and utterly despondent society of India to SUPER HUMAN beings, whom He named 'KHALSA ' and who removed the shackles of about 800 years slavery suffered by Indian people, by destroying the tyrant Mughal / Turkish rule and creating the 'KHALSA RAJ' in North-west of India. The Brave Sikh generals like General Hari Singh Nalwa blocked the entry of foreign invaders from ‘Khyber Pass’ forever, which laid the foundation for destroying Mughal / Turkish rule in entire India. So much so that sikh generals like BAGHEL SINGH occupied the throne of Delhi and unfurled 'Khalsa' flag over Lal Qila. As ' KHALSA' did not have enough army to keep control of the capital of the Mughal rule, they negotiated to leave it, after taking  three crores of rupees in cash as booty and taking assurance for building Gurdwaras in memories of Sikh Gurus in Delhi, for which about 4000 sikh Army soldiers stayed back. The Indian people, especially the Hindus, are forever indebted to GURU TEGH BAHADUR for having sacrificed His life to protect their lives and their sacred thread(JANEU) and GURU GOBIND SINGH for sacrificing His entire family i.e. father, mother and four sons for fighting Mughal repression and created ‘KHALSA’, who fought Mughal repression bravely and freed them from slavery of tyrannical Mughal rule. There is no parallel to the sacrifice of GURU GOBIND SINGH in the whole world as The Guru sacrificed His whole family for the cause of HUMANITY and not for any vested interests, religion or establishing a kingdom, when all wars in this world have been fought because of women, dispute, land / kingdom ('RAJ').

Thus if we contemplate on “Gurbani” in Sri Guru Granth Sahib and practice it, we become  KHALSA,  in consonance with Guru Gobind Singh’s wishes, as the Sikh faith is guided by joint sovereignty of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and “GURU KHALSA PANTH” . Tenth Guru  als cautioned that if ‘KHALSA’ follows the brahmanical ways and thus departs from the spirit of ‘Gurbani’, it will not get His blessings. Guru says that:-

JAB EH GAHE BIPRAN KI REET  II
MEI NA KARO INN KI PARTEET  II--Guru Gobind Singh (Sarbloh Granth )
I.e. If The Sikhs follow the brahmanical ways, The Guru will not give His blessings to 'KHALSA'.                      
The concept of Sikhism lays the following principles for the higher development and moral character of human being.

1. We should believe and contemplate on One Almighty God and not in any semi gods, goddesses, human beings, plants,  animals, vegetation, stone gods etc.
2. We should Contemplate on Shabad in Gurbani by singing, listening from heart, understand and follow Universal message of Truth in Sikhism in Sri Guru Granth Sahib and perform all our daily acts/deeds, remembering One Almighty GOD to receive His blessings.
3.  We should live in Almighty GOD’s Hukam( will) and as such keep our complete body along with one’s hair intact, as given by The God. Guru says that:-
NAAPAK PAAKU KAREI HADOOREI HADISA SAABAT SOORAT DASTAR SIRA II--SGGS--1084
i.e. Make pure what is impure, deem thou the lord’s presence thy counsel. Let the complete body be turban on your head.
Moreover hair are sign of manliness, bravery and respect and a turban tied on these hair makes an ordinary man a very respectable person.
4.  We should maintain good moral character to become a good human being and leave all bad habits such as :- theft, having sexual relations with anyone except our spouse, use of intoxicants, telling lies and gambling etc. etc.
5. We should not kill our daughters, as all humanity and ven kings are born from a woman as per MESSAGE OF SIKHISM. We should not maintain any relations with a person indulging in such a heinous act.
6. We should not believe in undesirable rituals such as untouchability, omens, auspicious times, horoscopes, shradh, khia, pind, patal, Hom,Yug, sikha-sut, bhadan, fasting, veneration of graves and idolatry.
7. When the Sikh follows above priciples of Sikhism, he should endure to get baptized by taking “Khande Di Pahul”( Ambrosial nectar), as soon as possible to become a KHALSA, and be ready to serve humanity.

THUS EVERY HUMAN BEING NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND, PRACTICE AND SPREAD  MESSAGE OF SIKHISM FOR THE WELFARE  OF THE HUMANITY AT LARGE,  FOR PEACE, RIGHTEOUSNESS, FIGHTING  REPRESSION AGAINST HUMANITY, END EVIL TO GET JUSTICE FOR ALL AND  ESTABLISH  A HUMANITARIAN  RULE IN THE WORLD.

Basic Philophy of Sikhism

                                 

Human being is the most important creature in the whole universe. No religion or philosophy can exist without human being. As per teachings of Sikhism in ‘Gurbani’, everything in the universe happens as per the will of THE GOD. He listens, supervises His CREATION as He is all-pervading and permeating, as such always behold Him  close at hand. GURBANI says that:-

Eae man math jaanehi har dhoor hai sadhaa vaekh hadhoor ||
i.e. O my mind, do not think of the Lord as being far away; behold Him ever close at hand.

Sadh sunadhaa sadh vaekhadhaa sabadh rehiaa bharapoor ||1|| rehaao ||---SGGS---428
i.e. He is always listening, and always watching over us; the Word of His Shabad is all-pervading everywhere. ||

Gurbani says that the will of God works according to law of ‘Karma’ i.e. your deeds. You get this life according to your previous deeds but you can be saved of hell like life in this world, if you seek Guru’s Sanctuary and remember The Almighty Lord God through ‘NAAM SIMRAN’ and falling on the feet of the Guru i.e. following the teachings of the Guru and doing good deeds for the welfare of the humanity, as per Guru's message in GURBANI. Guru says that the one whose heart is filled with jealousy and thinks ill of others, his own good is never done. Gurbani says that:-

Jaisaa kare su ṭaisaa paavai ॥
i.e. As one acts, so does receive.

Ạapi beeji ạape hee kɦaavai ॥--SGGS---662
i.e. As he plants, so does he eat.

Jehaa beejai so lunai karamaa sa(n)dharraa khaeth ||
Nanak prabh sarnagati charan bohith prabh det ||---SGGS---134
i.e. whatever you sow, so shall you reap; the life is the field of 'karma'(deeds). O, Nanak, seek the sanctuary of God; God will ride you on his ship of His feet.

Jisu ȧṇḍari ṭaaṭi paraaëe hovai ṭis kaa kaḍe na hovee bɦalaa |I--SGGS---308
i.e. One whose heart is filled with jealousy of others, his own good is never done.

Karam ḍɦaraṭee sareeru kalijug vicɦi jehaa ko beeje ṭehaa ko kɦaaæ ||--SGGS---308
i.e. The body is the field of action, in this Dark Age of Kali Yuga; as you plant, so shall you harvest

Human being is the last enunciation of the creation of The God. If he continues to progress and rise spiritually along with doing good deeds, he enters the realm of truth i.e. he gets salvation, and if he falls, he again enters the cycle of birth and death. There are two constituents of human beings i.e. one is the soul and the other is the body. The soul is the most important part of human being, as it is the support and essence of life and rather the life itself. The body is the home of the soul and thus the temple of The God and as such it must not be harmed and kept clean and healthy. It should be kept pure by thought, words and deeds. That does not mean that we start worshipping the body. It is only the means of attaining the higher achievements of life and salvation. To indulge in its worshipping is irrational and animalism. GURBANI says that even Devtas(spiritually enlightened ones), who did not attain salvation due to some bad deeds done intentionally or unintentionally, desire for the human body i.e. desire for birth again as human being for attaining salvation. Gurbani says that the God is in the individual and the individual soul is in the God :-

Breham mehi jan jan mehi paarabreham ||---SGGS---287
i.e. The servant is in God, and God is in the servant.

REINCARNATION  i.e. BIRTH AND REBIRTH:-

The Guru  says that individual soul has to pass through so many forms of life to reach the stage of human being. It passes through all species of minerals, vegetables and animal existences such as worm, moth, mountain, vegetable, etc. i.e. through 8.4 millions of existences. Thus human being attains five temptations appealing to five organs of sense or action i.e. sexual, visual, auditory, taste and smell. All these are animal passions and sensual life of human being consists in their indulgence. Among the animals there are certain species, which are markedly have one or the other of these five passions. For instance, the elephant has been described as extremely sexual, a deer enchanted by melodious sound, a moth attracted by flame of candle/lamp, a fish has passion for taste and a Bumble bee(Bhanvra) has passion for smell. Human being has got all these passions and impulses as he has, in the course of his upward ascent, passed through the life of all of these species. Thus the soul having a subtle body becomes the means of carrying these traits from one form of life to the other. Guru says that if a human being does evil deeds, he can take birth in lower species, depending upon what animal passion that overtakes him so much that his mind comes to animal level. He further says that even transmigration is the worst alternative and asks His disciples to escape from it,  as even the best next life is a bondage. The birth and death is a snore for the soul and keeps it separate from the original source God. This separation is suffering and union with The God is Eternal Bliss. The Guru says that:-

Chouraaseeh bhramathae bhramathae dhulabh janam ab paaeiou ||1||
i.e. Wandering and roaming through 8.4 million incarnations, you have now been given this human life, so difficult to obtain. ||1||

Rae moorrae thoo hoshhai ras lapattaaeiou ||----SGGS----101
i.e. You fool! You are attached and clinging to such trivial pleasures!

Kaee janam bheae keett patha(n)gaa ||---SGGS-----176  
i.e. In so many incarnations, you were a worm and an insect.

LAKH CHAOURAASI JON SABAEE II
MANAS KO PRABH DEE VADIAEE II
IS PAUREE TE JO NAR CHOOKE AIE JAE DUKH PAIEDAA II--SGGS---1075
i.e. Out of all the 8.4 millions of beings, God blessed mankind with glory. That human being, who misses the chance in this life, shall suffer the pain of coming and going in reincarnation.

What The Sikh Gurus had said about about 500 years ago and is recorded in SRI GURU GRANTH SAHIB, has now been established by Dr. Brian L. Weiss M.D. Psychiatry, university affiliated hospital, MIAMI, US, in his book--’MANY LIVES, MANY MASTERS’. He says that he has experienced in his studies on his patients through method of regression / hypnotism that the spirit ( AATMA ) of the human being never dies and takes birth / rebirth as per the deeds of the human beings. He says that after his patient narrated her previous 76 lives she had lived in and had the effect on her present life, his patient became very healthy and joyful and he have got a new peaceful life learning that the spirit never dies and takes rebirth again and it is only the human body that perishes, their fear of death was gone. He advises to do good deeds during our present life so that we get a better next life, as we are to pay for our deeds. He further says that after learning this, he has started meditating/ remembering God, when he had never done it earlier. He also advises to become God like through knowledge and live life to the fullest, seeking harmony and inner peace and reaching out to fellow humans with love.

The Guru further says that the human life has been attained with the grace of God and advises for remembering Him for His blessings bestowed on us. Guru says that:-

Anik janam bahu jonee bhramiaa bahur bahur dhukh paaeiaa ||
i.e. Wandering around through countless incarnations, I endured pain and suffering in so many lives, over and over again.

Tumaree kirapaa te maanukh dhaeh paaee hai dhaehu daras har raaeiaa ||--SGGS--207
i.e. By Your Grace, I obtained this human body; grant me the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan, O Sovereign Lord King. ||1||

Guru Says that the man is the highest and noblest creature bestowed with gift of developed mind and intelligence. He is the supreme creature having intellect and bestowed to rule all creatures.

Ạvar joni ṭeree panihaaree ॥
i.e. Other people may be your water carriers;

Īsu ḍɦaraṭee mahi ṭeree sikaḍaaree ॥--SGGS--374
i.e. in this world, you may be a ruler.

When a Sikh follows the path shown by The Guru in His teachings, it gives him immense pleasure and satisfaction and he becomes content with what he has and visualizes God in His creation and thus in all human beings.This realization changes his thinking and he instead of hurting others enjoys utilizing his life serving the humanity. As 'Bibek' I.e. Higher sense in him awakens. The Sikhs repeat this desire in their "ARDAS"(prayer) as under:-

SIKHAN DA MAN NEEVA MAT UCHI MAT KAA RAKHA AAP WAHEGURU II
i.e. may the intellect of the Sikhs remain humble, and their wisdom exalted. Waheguru(God), you are the protector of wisdom.

Thus SIKHISM peaches all individuals to do good deeds, serve THE HUMANITY  and His CREATION  as The GOD permeates in His Creation, to attain HIS BLESSINGS for a peaceful life filled with contentment.

GURU NANAK The light for human race

          GURU NANAK-THE LIGHT FOR HUMAN RACE  

                       

Before the appearance of Guru Nanak in this world, the springs of true religion had been choked up by weeds of unmeaning ceremonies, debasing superstitions, the selfishness of priests and the indifference of people. The centuries of invasions, foreign misrule and persecutions had brought the greatest depression and spiritual demoralization in the people of  India to an enormous degree. The status of woman was at its lowest ebb, not only in India, Islamic countries & Asia, but in the west as well. It was believed by most of the religions of the world that God has created them as woman, thereby depriving them of  attaining salvation, so they must be reborn as man to attain salvation. Guru Nanak appeared in this world on 15th April, 1469 AD in village Rai Bhoi Di Talwandi, adjoining Sheikhupura near Lahore(now Pakistan). Bhai Gurdas summed up the appearance of Guru Nanak in this world as dust having vanished and it was light all around, as below:-

'SATGUR NANAK PARGATEYA MITTI DHUND JAG CHAANAN HOAA'--Bhai Gurdas

Guru Nanak was sent to Pandit Gopal for learning Hindi/Brij Bhasha and then to Pandit Brij Lal for learning Sanskrit. At the age of 13 years, He was sent to Maulvi Kutab Din for learning Persian language. But all His three teachers told His father Kalu Rai that they are astonished to know that Nanak not only has exceptional intellect but intuitive SPIRITUAL knowledge as well, and that they cannot teach him anything more. Thereafter He was not sent to school for further studies. Seeing His SPIRITUAL level at the childhood, the Hindus and Muslims started falling on Guru Nanak’s feet.

As Guru Nanak’s father wanted that his son should not remain idle, He was sent for grazing of Buffaloes. Guru Nanak sat under a tree and went into meditation and his Buffaloes entered the field of a farmer and damaged his crops, whose proprietor complained to Nawab Rai Bular, who on investigation found the crops to be in good condition. After this episode, he fell on Guru Nanak’s feet and apologized and became a disciple of Guru Nanak. Then Guru Nanak’s father gave him twenty rupees for doing some business. On the way to the town for business, some learned hungry people met Guru Nanak and He purchased ration from the market with this money for these hungry people and prepared ‘langar’(meals) and served it to them. On learning about this by his father on returning home, He was rebuked by His father.

Guru Nanak was married in 1487 AD with Bibi Sulakhni, daughter of Mool chand of village Pakhoke Randhawa, who gave birth to two sons i.e. baba Bidhi chand in 1494 AD and Baba Lakhmi Dass in 1497 AD. After sometime, Guru Nanak’s brother-in-law, Jai Ram came to Talwandi. Nawab Rai Bular, in consultation with him, sent Guru Nanak to Sultanpur Lodhi with Jai Ram in 1504 AD for doing some job. Jai Ram got Him the appointment of an official in-Charge of the store of Daulat Khan Lodhi, a Muslim ruler of Sultanpur Lodhi. He performed His duty with competence, sincerity and honesty. But Guru Nanak, who had taken his companion Mardana with him to Sultanpur, used to perform their daily chorus of singing in praises of God early in the morning and after coming back from work in the evening. As Guru Nanak would generously distribute ration to the needy and the poor people, the undesirable people would complaint to Nawab Daulat Khan that Nanak is distributing ration in excess to the people. But seeing the character of Guru Nanak, Nawab Daulat Khan never believed them, and moreover on counting of store being done at the end of the year every time, it was always found to be excess.

After studying the social and political conditions of India and atrocities being committed by the rulers, the Hindu and Muslim religious leaders and the high castes, one day He decided to go into trance and commune with Almighty God before starting this arduous and revolutionary task. For this purpose, One day He went to take bath in Riverlet ‘Vaeen’ with His companion and disappeared after taking dip in the Riverlet. As He did not come out till evening, His companion raised an alarm that Nanak went into Riverlet to bathe but has not come out. Nawab Daulat Khan sent his army in search of Him, but could not trace Him and the people of the city went into gloom. After three days Guru Nanak appeared again sitting in mortuary. Within minutes the news of Guru Nanak having appeared spread in the town and the people thronged to him. After coming back from ‘Vaeen’ Riverlet, the first thing He told the people that:- ‘there is neither a HINDU nor a MUSLIM and that all humanity is one’.

After getting the message of Truth from The Almighty God, Guru Nanak set out for His mission to wake up a depressed, demoralized, superstitious, priest ridden society and enlighten the humanity, leaving the service of Daulat Khan Lodhi in August, 1507 AD, despite persuasion by Bibi Nanaki, Jai Ram and Nawab Daulat Khan. Before starting His mission, He called his father-in-law and explained about his mission to him and entrusted the responsibility of his wife and sons to him. Thus the foundation of new spiritual gospel i.e SIKHISM was laid.

During Guru Nanak’s time, three types of religious places were famous i.e. Hindu Pilgrimages, Centres of Yogis/Sidh and Islamic preaching centres. As Guru Nanak had the vision to awaken the humanity at large and highlight the deficiencies of the preachers of these two sects, He decided to start His mission with the first journey to Hindu temples. As He had a long journey in mind and making use of kirtan for His mission, He took along with him Bhai Mardana(Muslim), a musician.

He started his first journey from Sultanpur in August 1507 AD and went to Talwandi to inform his old parents, who had only one son to take care of them. But after convincing His parents that He had planned a long and treacherous journey for his mission to save the depressed population of the country and the world from their miserable conditions, He took leave from them and started for his long journey. He reached Saidpur(now Eminabad, in Pakistan) and stayed at a place outside the village, where a poor Bhai Lalo served them with meals. A rich Malik Bhago invited saints for meals for Sharad, wherein he sent invitation to Guru Nanak, but He refused to go to his place.  Therefore Malik Bhago got annoyed and called Guru Nanak by force and questioned him for not accepting his invitation. Due to this episode the people had collected in large number. In the presence of this large gathering, Guru Nanak explained to Malik Bhago that money earned by corruption and committing atrocities on the poor people is not honest earning and it is no use doing Sharad with such earnings, as it is like squeezing the blood of the people. All people are equal in the eyes of The God and distinctions of high or low have been created by vested interests to loot the people. The earning of Bhai Lalo is by honest means and is like milk.

Then He went to Haridwar and early morning went to Ganga river and noticed that the people were throwing water towards the sun in the east on the banks of Ganga river, so that sun will deliver it to their ancestors. So as to enlighten the people, He started throwing water towards the west. On questioning by them, He instead asked them why they were throwing water towards the east. After replying by them that the sun will deliver it to their ancestors, He replied that if it is so, then the sun will also deliver the water for watering His fields in the west. Thus He enlightened the people assembled there about their misbeliefs.

Further He went to Almora to enlighten the king of the area who was from chand dynasty and was in practice of making human sacrifices to Chandi Devi. Then He proceeded to Gorakh Matta to have interaction with Sidh and gave them the message that instead of living isolated life, they should serve the humanity. The people of the area were used to doing Chandi Pooja and serving Sidh yogis and getting their needs fulfilled. Guru Nanak enlightened them that One Almighty God is the creator of all humanity and as such they should fulfill needs of the poor humanity, which will be real worship of The God. Consequently the people stopped worshipping Yogis and they had to leave that place. The people started worshipping One Almighty God and Gorakh Mata became the centre of Sikh preaching and started being called NANAK Mata. Then He went to Ayodhya, Prayag and reached Benares in Feb, 1509 AD and had interaction with Brahmins/Pandits and asked them to leave misbeliefs/bad habits and meditate only on One Almighty God. While staying at Benares, He collected ‘Bani’ of Bhagat Ravi Das( a low cast cobbler), Rama Nand, Saien and Peepa etc. From here He went to Maghar in UP, where Kabir( a low caste weaver ), lived during his last times and left for heavenly abode, to prove Brahmin’s belief wrong that only those who die in Benares get salvation and those dying in Maghar do not get salvation. Guru Nanak noted down the valuable ‘Bani’ of Bhagat Kabir, who had devoted whole of his life to enlighten the people and wrote in strongest words against misbeliefs of Brahmins.

Then He went to Gaya in Bihar on Vaisakhi of 1509 AD, and reached Guwahati in Kamrup(now Assam) in oct, 1509 AD educate Noor Shah (known as queen of miracles ) at Kamakhya Devi temple and stopped her from performing miracles. The majority of people in the nearby hilly areas were ‘Vaam’ Marg believers and were very cruel and would feel proud in hunting men of other communities. Guru Nanak could not ignore their cruel acts and visited their central place Yoni Peeth in Guwahati to enlighten them and stopped them from such inhuman deeds. From here He went to Imphal, Silchar, Sylhet, Dacca and then Calcutta in Bengal. The people of the area were used to perform Durga Pooja and sacrifice male buffaloes, believing that Durga Devi killed ‘Mahikha Sur’ devil, whom they believed was born to female buffaloe. Guru Nanak travelled from village to village and stopped from such practices and enlightened them about these misbeliefs and asked them to worship One Almighty God.

Then He proceeded to Jagan Nath Puri through Faridpur Nadia, from where He collected ‘Bani’ of Bhagat Jaidev. He reached jagan Nath Puri in Orissa in June 1510 AD and educated the People that the Pandits were looting them in the name of doing ‘Aarti’ of Statues by keeping lamps in very valuable plates. He explained them that it was no use worshipping man made statues made from stone/metal, as there is only One Almighty God. He orated The ‘BANi’ of ‘AARTI’, for explaining to the Pandits/the people that the whole nature, with the sky as the plate, Sun and Moon as the lamps and all stars are jewels are doing ‘Aarti’ of The Almighty God, wherein Chandan wood is  giving essence, all the vegetation are flowers and the air is doing ‘CHOUR’. From Puri, He proceeded to Bajwara, Gantoor and reached ‘KURHAPA’ in south along east coast, area inhabited by Dravidians, who were expert in arrow fighting and that is why they were called ‘Bheel’, but they started eating human beings of other communities than Dravidians for their survival, as they had nothing to eat after they were pushed out of fertile land by Aryans. Guru Nanak went to Kauda ‘Bheel’ in search of Mardana, presuming that he might have been caught by Kauda after he got separated from Guru Nanak, knowing well that KAUDA eats human beings. He gave him the message of Truth for welfare of humanity and stopped him and other people from this malice, and educated them to fight against injustice done to them.

Further He went to Palipur, Tirupati, Pondicherry and reached Rameshwaram in March, 1511 AD. Then He went to Ceylon (Now Sri Lanka) and educated Raja Shiv Nabh, who was waiting for Guru Nanak as he had learnt about him from a Sikh trader Mansukh. Learning about Guru Nanak, other 18 small kings inimical to Shiv Nabh also met Guru Nanak and He gave them message of worshipping One God and serve humanity. As a result, the kings stopped their rivalry and accepted Shiv Nabh as their head, who became a disciple of Guru Nanak. He stayed in Sri Lanka for about one year and returned in April, 1512 AD.

From Sri Lanka He reached Kochin on west coast, then Pandharpur, Barshi, Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad and then Onkar temple, where Pandits were getting worshipping of ‘Shivling’ done from the people. Guru Nanak asked Pandits to stop worshipping stones and worship One Almighty God and orated ‘Bani’ of ‘ONKAR’. From here he went to ujjain and Palitana and educated Jain sadhus that they should take bath with water regularly, who were not taking bath as they believed that micro bacteria in water will be killed. Then He went to Somnath to educate people that Pandits were misguiding them for amassing wealth and asked them to worship One God. Then He went to Dwarka and asked people to leave worshipping of ‘Shivling’ and  other stone statues and worship One Almighty God. Then He went to Kutch area, Anjar, Bees Nagar, Abu mountain to meet Jain Sadhus and asked them to take bath to keep cleanliness and worship God. Then He reached Udaipur, Nathdwara, chittor, Ajmer, Pushkar, Agra, Mathura in August, 1515 AD. Then He proceeded to Delhi, Panipat, Sarsa, Pehowa and reached kurukshetra in October 1525 AD to educate people about misbeliefs of Worshipping of Solar eclipse and asked them to worship One God and serve the humanity. He returned to Sultanpur in November 1515 AD after travelling about 6,500 miles in about 8 years.  

As Guru Nanak had a great mission of enlightening the humanity in mind, He decided to set up a central place for this purpose and laid foundation of village KARTARPUR(now Pakistan) in January, 1516 AD, for which land was given by the villagers of Pakho ke Randhawa. He got its construction completed and shifted his parents to this place before starting his second journey. Then Guru Nanak started His second journey on 22 Sep, 1517 AD and for this purpose, He took Bhai Mardana along with Him and proceeded towards the hills of Vaishno Devi. Enroute He stopped at Sialkot at a place where the people had gathered in large number, as Pir Hamza Gauns was praying for destroying the town as one of his followers had not fulfilled the promise made to him. Guru Nanak started doing Kirtan in front of the building and Hamza Gauns came out of his room in anger and Guru Nanak explained to him that The God is not pleased by destroying/killing all children for one man’s mistake. For satisfying him more, Guru Nanak sent Mardana to purchase Truth and Falsehood for one pie and he came back with a paper on which it was written by Moola, a shopkeeper, that death is a Truth and living is false. Thus Guru Nanak enlightened Pir Hamza and stopped him from his nefarious designs. He went further to Jammu, Vaishno Devi, Amarnath for educating the people that instead of worshipping stone or ice statues, they should worship One Almighty God and Pandit Brahm Das became His Sikh and Guru Nanak appointed him as preacher of the area.

Then Guru Nanak went to Sumer Parbat for meeting Sidh Yogis living in caves of mountains of Tibet and advised them to adopt the path of service to humanity. Then He came to Kashmir for meeting Kashmiri Pandits, who were intellectuals but were exhorting people to misbeliefs of worshipping of Shivling and  stone statues and dividing the society on caste lines, due to which low castes were suffering. Guru Nanak educated them to stop such practices and contemplate on One Almighty God. After travelling various cities and villages of Kashmir, He returned to Kartarpur in mid of 1518 AD.

His planned His third journey for Mecca and taking Bhai Mardana along with Him, He started His journey after rainy season of 1518 AD and went to Kasur and then Pakpattan. He  met Shaikh Brahm, eleventh successor of Shaikh Farid, and obtained ‘Baani’ of Shaikh Farid from him. Then He went to Sajan Nagri to meet a person Sajan, who had constructed a Sarai in a jungle near Makhdumpur for resting of travellers. But due to bad companions, he lost track and started looting passengers. When Guru Nanak went to Him, he thought the same way, but Guru Nanak judge it and started singing ‘Baani’ to enlighten him and he realized his mistake fell on the feet of Guru Nanak and distributed all ill gotten wealth and pledged to serve the humanity.

Then He joined ‘Haazis’ for going to Mecca and passed through Multan, Bahawalpur, Shikarpur, Mekran, Hinglaj and reached   Mecca in Arabia in December 1518 AD. As With passage of time, Muslims started believing that Kaaba in Mecca was the only house of God and as such no one would keep his feet towards Kaaba, although it was against their own faith that God is omnipresent. To enlighten the Qazis and Maulanas that The God does not live in Kaaba alone but is Omnipresent, The fearless Guru Nanak slept that night by keeping His feet towards Kaaba. When a Haazi saw it in the morning, he raised a alarm and all Haazis gathered and questioned Him. Guru Nanak very calmly asked to shift his feet in the direction in which there is no house of God. When he started rolling Guru Nanak, he started saying that which side there is no house of God. As a result this belief spread among all Haazis and everyone present there realized that The God is present everywhere.

Thus Qazis gathered in large number to have discussion with Guru Nanak and questioned Him that weather Hinduism or Islam is greater. Guru Nanak replied that all humanity is born from The God and neither of them is acceptable in eyes of God , and both of these weep because of not doing good deeds, as good character and good deeds are  only acceptable in the eyes of God. After this Guru Nanak started for Madinah along with other Haazis on 24th Dec, 1518 AD and reached Madinah the next day. As after Guru Nanak’s discussion with other Haazis and Qajis, He got acquainted with Haazis of different countries, He started doing His daily Kirtan, which was stopped while starting His first journey with Haazis. Then He went to Basra, Karbala, Baghdad, where He started doing his Kirtan in Raag(music), although music was prohibited in Islam. The People were so influenced by His Kirtan that even Pir Shah Behlol and Pir Dastgir also came to Guru Nanak and listened to His Kirtan. As they had a faith that there are seven skys and seven ether regions, He explained them about the vastness of The universe, and that the created can not know the CREATOR. The water of wells of Baghdad was salty and Guru Nanak got a well erected , which alone has sweetwater.

Further He went to Isfahan, Tehran and Mashhad in Iran and further to Bukhara, Samarkand in Turkestan and then to Mazar-E-Sharif, Kabul and Jalalabad in Afghanistan. Then He came to Peshawar and reached Hasan Abdal in 1521 AD, where He educated Wali Kandhari who he refused to give water to drink to Mardana. When Mardana told Guru Nanak about it, Guru Nanak asked him to lift a stone and water flowed underneath for drinking and that of Wali Kandhari dried up. Annoyed by this, Wali Kandhari pushed a stone boulder towards a Guru Nanak, which He stopped with his hand. After this incidence Wali Kandhari fell on the feet of Guru Nanak and Guru Nanak told him God is not pleased by only reading Namaz and hurting His creation, but by serving the humanity.

Educating the people enroute passing through different villages, He reached Saidpur(Eminabad) and went to the house of Bhai Lalo. Babur then invaded Saidpur(Eminabad) in 1521 AD and Committed atrocities on its inhabitants, plundered their property, harassed children and women kept them in captivity.  Babur took Guru Nanak as prisoner along with other prisoners  and went to village Awan, where they were asked to carry out grinding of sawmills, and Guru Nanak carried out the work of grinding sawmill along with other prisoners. Learning about this, Babur visited Guru Nanak and Guru Nanak gave him message of service to humanity. On receiving news of Shah Beg invading Kandhari, Babur went back from here. Guru Nanak came back to Kartarpur in November, 1521 AD.

Guru Nanak has recorded the social and political situation prevalent at that time in his prophecies  orated in ‘Babur Bani’, which He called “hymns of blood” and made it explicitly clear that He is revealing the direct message of God as it came to him. He told that a lot of excesses are being committed by Indian rulers and that Babur will punish them. Guru Says that:-

Jaisee mai ȧavai kɦasam kee baañee ṭaisaṙaa karee giȧanu ve laalo ||
i.e. As the Word of The Almighty God/Lord comes to me, so do I express it, O Lalo.

Paap ki Janjh lai kaabalou ḍɦaaia joree maṇgai ḍaanu ve Lallo II
i.e. Bringing the marriage party of sinners, Babar has invaded from Kabul, demanding our land as his wedding gift, O Lalo.

Saramu ḍɦaramu ḍuī cɦɦapi kɦaloēy kooɍu pɦirai paraḍɦaanu ve laalo ॥
i.e. Modesty and righteousness both have vanished, and falsehood struts around like a leader, O Lalo.

Kaajeeạa baamañaa kee gal ṭɦakee ạgaḍu paɍai saiṭaanu ve laalo ॥--SGGS--722
I.e.The Qazis and the Brahmins have lost their roles, and Satan now conducts the marriage rites, O Lalo.

Kɦoon ke sohile gaaveeạhi naanak raṭu kaa kuᴺgoo paaī ve laalo ॥1॥--SGGS--723
I.e. The wedding songs of murder are sung, O Nanak, and blood is sprinkled instead of saffron, O Lalo. ||1||

After returning to KARTARPUR(now Pakistan), He took up farming without disturbing His discourses. During the later 18 years of His mission, He carried out His Discourses in the morning and evening and carried out farming during the day, thus setting the example of honest earning i.e. KIRAT KARNI. His started His fourth journey to villages around Kartarpur such as village Malah, Bhinder and Sahowal in distt Sialkot, Udokey, Verka in distt Amritsar, villages Maghiana, Madara, Manga, Manak and Khalra in distt Amritsar, Harappa town and Kharahat in distt Montgomery, village Takhtupura, Pato in distt Ferozepur, village Thakarwal in distt Ludhiana, village Mansoorpur, Panjor, Dharampur, Kumarhatti in Patiala state. Then He went to hilly areas of Jawalamukhi, Bashar in Simla area.

As yogis and Sidhas used to come at the time of Shivratri each year at village ACHAL near Batala, Guru Nanak went to ACHAL in March, 1530 AD, the most of the people came to see Guru Nanak and did not go to Sidhs. Yogis and Siddhas got annoyed and came to Guru Nanak and sarcastically questioned Him that first becoming a saint and then becoming a householder is a undesirable path. Guru Nanak calmly replied that first leaving householder’s life and then going to householders for getting food for sustenance is no saintliness and sacrifice. Then they asked Guru Nanak to show some miracle, to which Guru Nanak replied that the biggest miracle is to remember God from the heart. His conversation with Sidhas is recorded in SGGS as ‘SIDH GOSHT’. On questioning by Siddhas that who is His Guru and whose chela he is. Guru Nanak replied that ‘SHABAD GURU SURAT DHUN CHELA’ i.e. SHABAD(the word of ‘Bani’) is His Guru and He is a disciple of the SHABAD and He focuses His mind/heart on it. Then in May, 1530 AD, He proceeded from ACHAL to Multan to educate the people and Pirs, as Multan being the first centre of Pathan rulers, many Pirs/Muslim preachers had come along with the Pathan rulers to the city for preaching of ISLAM. Pirs had established undesirable rituals among the people of making memorials at burial grounds of their ancestors. On reaching Multan, Guru Nanak sat down in the lawn of Dargah of Pir Shamas. Pir placed a bowl filled with milk before Guru Nanak to convey that their faith teaches as untainted way of life as milk in the bowl. Guru Nanak took a flower of Jasmine and placed it over milk in the bowl, thus giving them message that for living a good and respectable life, they should live by remaining aloof from worldly attractions like this flower floating on the milk. Guru Nanak undauntedly told them that instead of  propagating worshipping of The God, they are telling people to do undesirable ritual of worshiping burial grounds for their vested interests, and educated them to shelve their ego and vested interests and propagate worshiping of One Almighty God. Pirs realized their mistake and got a print of a Guru Nanak’s hand on a paper as a mark of getting His blessings, as per practice prevalent among them. Then Guru Nanak came back from Multan to Kartarpur in July, 1530 AD. After sometime He  again went to Sialkot and started Kirtan and the people gathered in large number but one of His old follower Moola did not come to the Congregation. Guru Nanak sent Mardana to his home for calling him, But his wife came out and told Mardana that Moola is not at home, while Moola hid himself in his house. But unluckily he was bitten by the snake and he died at the spot. When Guru Nanak learnt about it, He told the congregation that one should not make money as his aim of life.

His 29 years of extensive touring, travelling about 35,000 miles, was a major step for the organization of the new faith. He had triple object of acquaintance with all centres/organisations of prevalent religious systems, convey His message to these centres/organizations and point out futile and harmful nature of their methods and practices. Thirdly He set up local centres for His mission at Haridwar, Kurukshetra, Banaras, Kashi, Gaya, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Baghdad, Mecca etc.

In His teachings, householder's life and the moral life became primary focus of religious activity for spiritual progress. Another important aspect of moral life emphasized was, sharing of one's earnings. He created the institution of "Free Kitchen"(LANGAR) for the needy at Kartarpur and it was managed by His wife Mata Sulakhni, doing kitchen ‘sewa’ herself. The institution of ‘Langar’ had a twin purpose. As everyone sat and ate at the same place in 'PANGAT'(sitting in same row on the ground) and shared the food, it cut at the root of evil of caste and religious distinctions and also abolished the idea of pollution of food by mere presence of so-called untouchables/low castes prevalent at that time in the country.

Guru Nanak thus woke up the people from their slumber of ignorance and corruption. He freed them from the bondage of so many gods and goddesses and led them to accept a supreme being as the creator and sustainer of all. He taught that there were no incarnations, no special revelations and that man was the highest manifestation of The God and The God speaks through the heart of the man. Along with the uplift of man, He gave equal status to woman.

Guru Nanak's faith is simple and sublime, as It is the life lived. His religion is not a system of philosophy like Hinduism. It is a discipline, a way of life, a force which connects the humanity with each other, as well as The Guru. He gave the path of moral life and righteous deeds, which became the fundamental means of spiritual progress, since these alone were approved by The God. All this gave the new faith, a new life and new expectations to the depressed, dejected and low caste people of India. Guru Nanak expressed all His teachings in the spoken language of the people of Northern India i.e. Punjabi, Devanagari, brij bhasha etc., conveying His desire to enlighten the masses, as Sanskrit and Persian were the languages of the Hindu elite and the Muslim rulers respectively. Guru Nanak’s message is based on righteous laws of nature. It believes that deeds are more important than creed. The Guru says that :-

ਸਚਹੁ ਓਰੈ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਉਪਰਿ ਸਚੁ ਆਚਾਰੁ ॥੫॥
Sacɦahu õarai sabɦu ko ūpari sacɦu ạacɦaaru ॥5॥—SGGS—62
i. e. Truth is higher than everything; but higher still is truthful living. ||5||

“HAUMAI” i.e. ego, desires and worries stand in the way of human being and he gets the disease of egotism and this egoistic illusion is the source of all evils, sufferings and miseries of humanity, such as:- pride, anger, lust for sex, selfishness, corruption, confrontation, quarrels, wars, torture etc. Thus acting stubbornly one is reincarnated again and again. The causes of ego are:- forgetting God, materialistic illusion, bad company and environment etc. These cannot be destroyed but can be substituted with the consciousness of the divine light (God), by remembering Him and singing His praises through ‘NAAM SIMRAN’, which is inlaid in every soul. Guru says that:-

Hahṇūmai vadaa rog hai mari jaṃmai ȧavai jaaï ||-SGGS--592
i.e. Egotism is such a terrible disease; he dies, to be reincarnated - he continues coming and going.

Saṭigur kee sev na keeṭeeȧ sabaḍi na lago bɦaaū ||.      
i.e. One who does not serve the True Guru, and who does not love the Word of the Shabad,

Haūmai rogu kamaavañaa ȧṭi ḍeeragɦu bahu suȧaū ||
-SGGS--850.      
i.e. Earns the very painful disease of egotism; he is so very selfish.

SABDE HOUME MAAREEYE SACHIE MAHAL SUKH PAAE ||------SGGS----429
i.e. through the ‘Shabad’, conquer your ego, in the True Mansion of the Lord’s presence,you shall find peace.

PAARBRAHM POORAN PERMESAR RAV RAHIA SABHNEE JAAEE||--SGGS---62                 i.e. The Supreme Lord God, the Perfect Transcendent Lord, is pervading everywhere.

Guru says that the evils cannot be destroyed but can be substituted with the consciousness of the  Divine light i.e. The Almighty God, by remembering Him and singing His praises, Who lives in every heart, and thus becoming good human beings and living a peaceful, harmonious life and by following the five fundamental principles.
                                                                                                                                           
1. KIRAT KARNI:  i.e. Earning Honest Living:-

Guru Nanak preached to earn our livelihood by sincere hard work by the sweat of our brow and honest means and not to become a parasite on the society. Guru further says that dishonest means of earning are prohibited to a Sikh, as pork to Muslim and beef to a Hindu, as such earnings pollute the mind in the same way as blood stains the clothes. He says only honest earnings are like “milk” and hence “sweet” and “tasty” and condemns dishonest earning. Unlike other religions of the world, Guru’s spiritualism deals with the  complete life comprising body and soul i.e. Miri (house holder’s life) and Piri (spiritualism) for balance development of a human being. Guru says that:-

Guru peeru haama ṭaa bɦare ja muraḍaaru na kɦaaï ||
-SGGS--141.        
i.e. Our Guru, our Spiritual Guide, stands by us, if we do not eat those carcasses.

2.  “NAAM JAPNA” i.e. Remembering God:-

Guru says that one comes to the world i. e. one is born, when God infuses His light into him. As such He advises every individual to remember God daily i.e. both in the morning and in the evening and to be continuously with God while doing all his daily acts/deeds, to reflect on His virtues such as love, benevolence and kindness to inculcate such virtues into his character. This can be done by reciting, listening and understanding ‘Gurbani’ with love, individually or in the congregation (Saadh Sangat), and doing ‘NAAM SIMRAN’ i.e. applauding the Lord-God for His manifestation with the name “WAHEGURU”, or any other way by the people of other faiths. Guru says that ‘NAAM’ is God and by remembering Him and chanting His ‘NAAM’, one is enlightened like the light of millions of suns and the darkness of doubt is dispelled. Consequently it removes all sufferings and gives peace and tranquility and hence one lives in heaven and is thus saved of the hell in his life. Guru says that:-

E sarira mereya Har tum meh jot rakhi taa tu jag meh aia||-- SGGS---9      i.e. O my body, The God infused His light into you, and only then you came into the world.

Gaviai suneeai man rakhiai bhao ||Dukh parhar sukh ghar lee jae||---SGGS----2
i.e. sing, and listen Gurbani for applauding Him, and let the mind be filled with love. It will remove sufferings and peace.

3. ‘WAND SHAKNA’: i.e. share you earnings with the less fortunate and for the welfare of society.

Guru Nanak's message says that it is the sacred duty of a Sikh to share his earnings with the society for welfare of mankind such as running “Langar” (free kitchen) for the poor, helping the needy and giving education to the less fortunate. Guru says one who earns honestly and shares his earnings with others becomes kind-hearted and liberal and this brings invaluable blessings to him. Guru says that:-

Nanak ȧgai so milai ji kɦate gɦaale ḍeï ||1||--SGGS--472
i.e. O Nanak, in the world hereafter, that alone is received, which one gives to the needy from his own earnings and labor. ||1||

Gɦaali kɦaaï kicɦɦu haṭɦahu ḍeï ||
i.e. One who works for what he eats, and gives some of what he has,

Nanak raahu pacɦɦaañahi seï ||1||--SGGS--1245.    
i.e.- O Nanak, he knows the true way of life.

 4. SERVICE TO THE HUMANITY:-


Guru Nanak has laid stress on serving the society by whatever means an individual can do i.e. by doing physical work, contributing money for social welfare, helping the have not’s in the society, sharing/preaching Guru's message and doing service for the welfare of the society i.e. social and political. Guru says that service to humanity pleases God as it is His manifestation and He loves such individual and showers His blessings on him. Guru says that :-

Nanak Hukamee likheeai Lekh ||
Jeha vekheh Teha Vekh ||--------SGGS------466
i.e. O, Nanak, by the Lord’s Command the destiny is recorded. As the Lord sees our deeds which we do while living in this world, so we are seen by the Lord.

Thus the aim of Guru Nanak is the transformation of the human being and society. In order to achieve this goal each and every activity of the individual has to be God oriented and doing ‘SEWA’ (service to the society) for the welfare of the humanity, irrespective of caste, color creed, religion, sex or country and for all living creatures of the universe.

5. SPREAD TRUTH, RIGHTEOUSNESS, END INJUSTICE AND REPRESSION:-

Guru Nanak Ji preached the spreading of truth, righteousness and fighting injustice, repression, corruption, and the evil of hatred for the low castes in the society and spread love for the humanity at large. Implementing these principles is the execution of the Divine will.


Guru condemned the rulers and administrators ruling the people at that time in the strongest words in ‘Gurbani’. The Guru says that :-

Raaje seeh mukaḍam kuṭe ||
i.e. The kings are tigers, and their officials are dogs;

Jaaï jagaaïna´i baitɦe suṭe ||
i.e.They go out and awaken the sleeping people to harass them.

Cɦaakar nahaḍaa paaïna´i gɦaaū ||
i.e.The public servants inflict wounds with their nails.

Raṭu piṭu kuṭiho cɦati jaahu ||--SGGS----1288
i.e. The dogs lick up the blood that is spilled.

Guru raised His voice against such people to protect human rights of the weak. He compared unjust and cruel kings with blood sucking beasts and the corrupt and greedy officials of the rulers as dogs, licking their blood and eating flesh of the people.

Labhu paap ḍuï raajaa mahaṭaa kooṙu hoȧ sikaḍaaru ||
i.e. Greed and sin are the king and prime minister; falsehood is the treasurer.

Kaamu nebu saḍi pucɦɦeeȧi bahi bahi kare beecɦaaru ||-SGGS--468.
i.e. Sexual desire, the chief advisor, is summoned and consulted; they all sit together and contemplate their plans.

Thus Guru says that in this world the tongue of the man acts a king, sins as the minister, lie as the official and the sexual desire is their advisor. The people have become blind because of lack of knowledge and are facing ire of these functionaries.

Guru Nanak gave a divine message of leading a peaceful but dignified life and fight injustice. He even rebuked the masters of the herd, 'The Kshatriyas'(Hindu warriors), for not putting up a stiff fight for India. Guru says that:-

Je jeevai paṭi laṭɦee jaaï ||
i.e. Those who merely live shall depart in dishonor;

Sabɦu haraamu jeṭaa kicɦɦu kɦaaï ||-SGGS--142.    
i.e. Everything they eat is impure.

Even the religious people had become lifeless and were only after money. Guru has explained the condition of these people in ‘Gurbani’ as under:-

Kaaḍee kooṙu boli malu kɦaaï ||
i.e.The Qazi tells lies and eats filth;

Braahamañu naavai jeeȧ gɦaaï ||-SGGS--662.  
i.e. The Brahmin kills the beings and then takes cleansing baths.

He thus roused the national sentiment of the people and strengthened the ideals and thought of the community in His congregational singings, and made them conscious of the new powers of thought in themselves with illumination of intellect and sincerity.

Guru Nanak has very emphatically described the attributes of God in the beginning of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and is called “MOOL MANTAR”, where He says that there is but one God, His name is true everlasting, He is the creator, fearless and without enmity, the timeless form, does not die and take birth and is self existing. He is attained with His grace.

Guru Nanak rejects the theory of incarnation of The GOD and very authentically confirms that The God does not take birth and die. He can be realized with “NAAM SIMRAN” i.e. remembering God all the time while doing your day to day work with His grace and that a normal family life is no barrier to attainment of salvation during this life.  Guru says that:-

SATGUR MERA SADA SADA NA AVAI NA JAAE ||--SGGS-759
i.e. my True Guru is forever and ever and does not take birth or dies.

Guru Nanak never represented to be Prophet, Avatar, Son of God as proclaimed by Prophets of the  other religions of the world and rather advocated that all Prophets are men like you and me. Guru says that :-
                                                                                                                                                           SATGUR DEO PARTAKH HARI-MOORAT JO AMRIT BACHAN SUNAVAI ||--SGGS---1264
i.e. The Divine True Guru is the Embodiment, the Image of the Lord; He utters the Ambrosial Word.

Guru says that He is only delivering message of Truth, which The God gave Him for deliverance to mankind.

Dhur ki baani aaee ||
Tin Sagalee Chint mitaee ||-----------SGGS------628
i.e. The ‘baani’ of His word emanated from the God and it eradicates all anxiety.

Hou aapahu bol n jaanadhaa mai kehiaa sabh hukamaao jeeo || -------SGGS-----763
I.e. By Myself, I do not even  know how to speak; I speak all that the Lord commands.

Sathigur kee baanee sat sat kar jaanahu gurasikhahu har karataa aap muhahu kadhaaeae || SGGS – 308
i.e. O Gursikhs, know that the ‘baani’, the Word of the True Guru, is true, absolutely True. The Creator Lord Himself causes the Guru to chant it.

Any suggestion of having a living Guru is precluded by Guru Nanak very explicitly in ‘Sidh Goshti’ on a question by the Sidhas that:-

TERA KAVANHU GURU JIS KA TOON CHELA||---SGGS-942
i.e. who is your Guru and whose disciple are you.

To which Guru replied that:-

SABAD GURU SURAT DHUN CHELA ||---SGGS-943
i.e. The Shabad is the Guru, upon whom I focus my consciousness and I am His disciple.
                                                                                                                                     
He says that anyone who takes birth and dies cannot be God. Sikhism prohibits worshipping any stone “Gods” (idol-worshipping) as He says that a stone God cannot lead a human being anywhere, which itself drowns in water and cannot itself swim. Guru further says that it will be mere wasting of time indulging in IDOL Worshiping symbolizing God and all our efforts in this direction will be fruitless. He therefore stresses worshiping one and only one GOD, Who is father of all the humanity, through ‘NAAM SIMRAN’ i.e. remembering God through ‘SHABAD’ in Gurbani or ‘GURMANTAR’ i.e. WAHEGURU (the wonderful God) or any other name i.e. Ram, Rahim, Allah, Gobind, Jehovah, God etc. He says that you become like the one you worship/remember the wonderful God, you become like Him and attain His qualities and He fulfills your desires when you receive His grace, which He feels are good for you and you deserve by your deeds. The Guru says that:-

EK PITA EKAS KE HUM BARIK TOO MERA GUR HAAEE||--SGGS—611.         i.e. The One God is our father. We are the children of One God, You are also my Guru-brother.

Jo paaṭɦar kaū kahaṭe ḍev ||
Ṭaa kee biraṭɦaa hovai sev ||-SGGS--1160
i.e. Those who call a stone their god, their service is useless.

E man jaesa sevih taesa hovai tehe karam kamaei||---SGGS----755.        i. e.  O mind, as you serve, so do you become, and so are the deeds that you do.

Ȧṇḍɦe guṇge ȧṇḍɦ ȧṇḍɦaaru ||
i.e. They are blind and mute, the blindest of the blind.

Paaṭɦaru le poojahi mugaḍɦ gavaar ||
i.e. The ignorant fools pick up stones and worship them.

Õhi jaa ȧapi dube ṭum kahaa ṭarañahaaru ||2||
--SGGS--556.            i.e. But when those stones themselves sink, who will carry you across?.

Guru Nanak gave equal status to women, who were regarded as inferior to men before Him. Guru Nanak says in ‘Gurbani ‘ that why call a woman inferior/bad, who gives birth to kings, to whom a man marries, loves and his generation moves, when she dies he finds another woman and through her, relations are developed. He says humanity cannot take birth without her, except God, who alone is beyond the system of production of humanity through a woman. He thus gave equal status to women in the society about 500 years ago, even though most of the religions of the world have not been able to give status to women equal to that of men up till now. Guru says that:-

Bɦaṇdie jaṃmeeȧi bɦaṇdie niaṃmeeȧi bɦaṇdie maṇgañu veeȧahu ||
i.e. From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married.

bɦaṇdhu hovai ḍosaṭee bɦaṇdhu cɦalai raahu ||         i.e. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come.

Bɦaṇdu muȧ bɦaṇdu bɦaaleeȧi bɦaṇdu hovai baṇḍɦaanu ||   i.e. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound.

So kiū maṇḍaa ȧakɦeeȧi jiṭu jaṃmahi raajaan ||
i.e. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born.

Bɦaṇdhu hee bɦaṇdu öopajai bɦaṇdie baajɦu na koï ||.    i.e. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all.

Nanak bɦaṇdie bahaaraa æko sacɦaa soï ||-SGGS--473
i.e. O, Nanak, only the True Lord is beyond taking birth from a woman.

Thus Guru Nanak laid the foundation of SIKHISM for spreading the message of truth, righteousness, fighting injustice and repression, uprooting corruption and eradicating the evil of hatred for the low castes in the society and spread the message of love for the humanity at large. He gave a pious and disciplined way of life prohibiting, incarnations, omens, magic spells, horoscopic dispositions, idol worshiping, intoxicants, undesirable rituals such as fasts, yug, Havan, shraadh, googa Pooja, Holi, pind, patal etc.The revolution started by Guru Nanak reached its climax and culminated into the appearance of 'The KHALSA' by Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1699 AD.

Before Guru Nanak left His body, He transmitted His spiritual light to Guru Nanak II i.e Guru Angad Dev Ji and after appointing him as His successor, handed over to him the “POTHI” containing His own ‘baani’ and that of other saints. He took his ‘parikrama’ and bowed His head at the feet of Guru Angad Dev Ji, thus setting a new example of relationship between The GURU and His disciple in the world. Similarly the transmission of spiritual light went on to succeeding Gurus and ultimately to tenth Guru I.e. Guru Gobind Singh Ji. It is only Guru Nanak in the whole world whose last rites were performed by the people of the prevailing two religions in India i.e. Hindus and Muslims, according to their respective faiths.

Guru Nanak's message is for the whole Mankind, irrespective of cast, creed, color, rich, poor, country, world etc. GURU NANAK IS  THE LIGHT FOR THE HUMAN RACE. Following the teachings of GURU NANAK in the true spirit, will be executing THE DIVINE WILL OF GOD and thereby attaining GOD’S blessings, which will give peace and harmony to the individual and the Humanity at large. The well wishers of HUMANITY should understand, contemplate, follow and spread the Message of TRUTH of GURU NANAK to make THIS WORLD A HEAVEN ON EARTH.

WHAT IS RELIGION.?

WHAT IS RELIGION.?

Religion is the idealization of the finer aspects of life but religion must exist and rise up in the soul of human being. Soon after a religion is formulated, reason in the human being wants to know “how & why” of the ideals of religion and this intermingle of religion and philosophy is not always wholesome as philosophy spoils religion. The former appeals the intellect and the brain, the later enters into the regions of the heart and emotions. Religion is more based on faith than a pure reason but the faith, in order to be firm and lasting, must have its roots in conviction.

The blind faith cannot work long because if a Guru / Spiritual leader is blind i.e. Having no knowledge of the truth, he will lead you nowhere. The holy book of Sikhs i.e. Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS) teaches that the faith of a follower should not believe the words of a teacher unless he is convinced of the truth contained in these words.

GURU ARJAN DEV JI--A GREAT GURU and CROWN of MARTYRS

        

GURU ARJAN DEV JI--A GREAT GURU and CROWN of MARTYRS

On 15th April, 1563 AD (7th Vaisakh, 94 Nanakshahi), a pious and noble soul Arjan Dev took birth in the home of Guru Ram Das Ji and Bibi Bhani Ji, in village Goindwal, Distt  Amritsar, Punjab. During childhood his maternal grandfather Guru Amar Das JI prophesied him as “Dohita, Bani Ka Boitha” i.e. He will orate Gurbani, which will act as a ship to take the humanity across worldly ocean. He learnt many languages i.e. Punjabi, Braj Bhasha, Sanskrit, Persian and regional languages of India. He was a great Saint, thinker, scholar, and a statesman. He was fearless, possessed tender heart with a resolute will.

One day, Guru Ram Das Ji asked His elder son Prithi Chand to go to Lahore to attend the marriage of the son of His cousin brother Sahari Mal, but Prithvi Chand avoided it on the pretext that he has many responsibilities of 'Langar' etc. at Amritsar and moreover he will not be able to bear the heat enroute. He wanted to avoid going away from Amritsar as he controlled offerings made to The Guru and secondly the time for transfer of Guruship was nearing. Then The Guru asked His second son Mahadev to go and he also replied that he does not want to get involved in such matters, as he has spiritual inclinations and wanted to remain aloof from worldly affairs. Guru Ram Das Ji then asked His youngest son Arjan Dev to go for the purpose. He replied that:- “dear father, i only want your blessings, You are sending me for occasion of joy. Even if you send me for some task that would endanger my life, i would obey your order with pleasure”. Guru Ram ji told him to stay at Lahore till a written message to come back is sent to him, and preach Gurbani to the sikhs and serve ‘Langar’ to the poor and the needy.

As Guru Ram Das Ji did not call him back for a long time, he sent two letters to his father through a messenger but his elder brother Prithi Chand did not give it to his father as he was jealous of his proximity to The Guru and himself told the messenger to convey to Arjan Dev that his father has asked him to stay at Lahore till He calls him back. Then Arjan Dev wrote a third letter, particularly recording digit three on it to let his father know that it is his third letter and directed the messenger to give it to his father only. The messenger this time ensured this and delivered the letter to Guru Ram Das Ji personally. The letter read as under :-

IK GHARHI NA MILTE TA KALYUG HOTA  II

HUNH KAD MILIYE  PRIYA TUDH BHAGWANTA  II

MOHIE REIN NA VIAVAI NEEND NA AAVAI BIN DEKHE GUR DARBAARE JEEOU  II 3 II

HAU GHOLI JEEOU GHOLI GHUMAEE TIS SACHE GUR DARBAARE JEEOU  II1II RAHAOU II-SGGS---96

After reading this letter, The Guru enquired about first two letters from the messenger and he explained the whole story to The Guru. On hearing the reply,The Guru got annoyed and enquired about first two letters from Prithvi Chand, but he denied having any knowledge. Guru Ram Das Ji then told him that the letters were in the pocket of his coat at home. He then sent a person directing him to bring the coat of Prithi chand from his house, which was hanging on the peg on the wall. Both the letters were recovered from the pocket of his coat. Guru Ram Das Ji then told the 'sangat' that it was a test for honesty of Prithvi Chand. Then Guru Ram Das Ji directed Baba Budha Ji to bring Guru Arjan Dev Ji from Lahore. When Guru Arjan Dev Ji came back and met his father, Guru Ram Das Ji told him that he had written three couplets in his letters and now he should orate the fourth couplet to complete the ' SHABAD'. Then instantaneously Guru Arjan Dev Ji orated the following couplet :-

BHAGH  HOA  GUR  SANT  MILAYA II  

PRABHU  ABINASEE GHARI MEIH PAAYA  II

SEV KARI PALU CHASA  NA  VICHHURHA  JAN NANAK DAAS TUMARE JEEOU II 4 II

HAU GHOLEE JEEOU GHOLI GHUMAEE JAN NANAK DAAS TUMARE JEEOU II RAHAOU II1II4II--SGGS--97

After hearing this couplet, Guru Ram Das Ji was very pleased and took Arjan Dev in His arms and said:- “We give Guruship to you”. Then Guru Ram Das Ji got down from His throne and made Guru Arjan Dev Ji to sit on His throne and Himself bowed before Guru Arjan Dev Ji and thus transmigrated the light into Him. Prithi Chand got very annoyed and spoke unparliamentary language to Guru Ram Das Ji and declared that he will remove Guru Arjan Dev Ji from the throne of Guruship and himself sit on the throne of Guruship, to which even the King will agree as per law. As he continued his misbehaviour and refused to accept Guru Arjan Dev Ji as The Guru, Guru Ram Das Ji declared him 'Meenha'(scoundrel) and directed the Sikhs that they should not have any relation with him. After this, Guru Ram Das Ji went to Goindwal, along with Guru Arjan Dev Ji. After two days, He did His prayers early in the morning and after telling Sikhs to follow Guru Arjan Dev Ji, left this world on 1st September, 1581 AD (3rd, bhadon,112 Nanakshahi). He was so kind hearted that when Prithvi chand approached the local heads of Amritsar for help, on their request Guru Arjan Dev Ji gave him and his second brother Mahadev some revenue and rental property for their living.

Fifth Nanak I.e. Guru Arjan Dev ji, then set to start the construction of 'sarovars' and Ramdaspur city as desired by Guru Amar Das Ji. After completing Santokhsar ‘sarovar’ in 1588 AD, He started the work of brick lining of Parikarma and stairs of the ‘sarovar’( holy tank) of Harmandir sahib, as the excavation was already completed by Guru Ram Das Ji. Guru Arjan Dev Ji then started the construction of Harmandir Sahib and got the foundation of Harmandir Sahib laid in the centre of the ‘sarovar’ in Amritsar on 28 Dec,1588 AD from a Muslim saint Mian Mir. Prior to this, the temples and mosques were built on a raised plinth. But Guru Arjan Dev Ji built Harmandir Sahib on lower plinth than surrounding area, symbolizing that God could be attained by being low in submission and humility. Moreover the temples and mosques are closed on three sides and have one door, but the doors of Harmandir Sahib are open on all four sides, signifying that It is open to all humanity, irrespective of caste, creed, colour, rich or poor. There are no idols, pictures for worship in Harmandir Sahib, but only the glory of The God is done by singing hymns from GURBANI round the clock.

He started preaching of Sikhism in Majha area and for this purpose, He founded the town of Tarn Taran in Distt Amritsar in 1590 AD, to counter the Sakhi Sarwar's Muslim preaching centre located at a distance of 12 km, who were converting Hindus to Islam. He also developed a ‘sarowar’( tank ) and town named Kartarpur in Distt Jalandhar in Doaba in 1594 AD, which became centres of trade. He also constructed a well in Village Wadali near Amritsar, which worked with six Persian wheels to meet scarcity of water in the area and it later came to be called chheharta.

He started the practice of doing ‘Kirtan’ I.e. singing of hymens by the SANGAT themselves in the congregation, after the bards, Satta and Balwand were illusioned that the importance of The Guru is because their singing hymns in congregation and refused do ‘Kirtan’.

He also encouraged Sikhs to take trade adventures of horses to Kabul, Turkestan and Central and west Asia. He encouraged them to do trading in timber, iron and do work of masons and carpenters, in addition to agriculture and grocers.

The Guru represented the problem of high prices of grains to the emperor and got the tax reduced by one-sixth, When the King Emperor visited Guru Arjan Dev Ji at Goindwal on November 24, 1598 AD, after He learnt of popularity of The Guru among the people and that they called Him ‘Sacha Paatshah’. But The Guru asked him to partake ‘Langar’ sitting with the common people on the ground in ‘Pangat’ before meeting Him to ensure abolition of caste system and difference of rich and poor.

He further strengthened the institution of Masands and started the practice of setting aside “Dasvandh” I.e. one tenth of Income among the sikhs for the preaching of Sikhism and welfare of the society and helping the poor and the needy.

He gave the biggest gift of the compilation of  ADI GRANTH( SRI GURU GRANTH SAHIB), containing ‘BAANI’ of four Gurus, to which He added His own 'Baani’ and that of 15 saints of different faiths, 17 bards (bhatts) and 4 gursikhs of different castes and called it “POTHI” and installed it in Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar on 16 August, 1604 AD (1, bhadon, 135 Nanakshahi ) and appointed Baba Budha ji as first Granthi (custodian ). His aim was that the ‘BAANI’ to be added should give peace and contentment to the individual who follows it and spread message of truth, love, tolerance, peaceful existence, diversity and equality in the world.

He gave “POTHI”, the status of the home of The GOD, as the ‘Gurbani’ in the SRI GURU GRANTH SAHIB (SGGS) connects one with The God and whoever sings the glory of God in Saadh SANGAT, the company of the holy, gets knowledge of God.THE GURU emphatically says that He does not know what to speak and that He is chanting all that God commands. The Guru Says that :-

Poṭɦee paramesar kaa ṭɦaanu ||

i.e. The Holy Book is the home of the Transcendent Lord God.
Saaḍɦasaṇgi gaavahi guñ gobiṇḍ pooran braham giȧanu ||1|| rahaaū ||-----SGGS---1226

i.e. Whoever sings the Glorious Praises of the Lord of the Universe in the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, has the perfect knowledge of God. ||1||Pause||

Hou aapahu bol n jaanadhaa mai kehiaa sabh hukamaao jeeo || ----SGGS---763
i.e. By Myself, I do not even  know how to speak; I speak all that the Lord commands.
Sathigur kee banee sat sat kar jaanahu gursikhu har karataa aap muhahu kadhaaeae ||--SGGS –- 308
i.e. O Gursikhs, know that the ‘bani,’, the Word of the True Guru, is true, absolutely True. The Creator Lord Himself causes the Guru to chant it.

Thus Guru Arjan Dev Ji gave the priceless gift of SGGS to the Sikhs and the humanity, as it gives a universal message of Truth to the humanity, irrespective of caste, creed, rich, poor etc. He arranged it in such a way that no interpolations could be made in it and its purity is maintained. In the entire religious history of man, no other prophet felt it essential to authenticate his message so as to secure its purity and exclude the possibility of any interpolations and misinterpretations.

When Guru Arjan Dev Ji brought SGGS from Gurudwara Ramsar to Harmandir  Sahib, He brought it in a very respectable way in a procession and SGGS was carried by Baba Budha Ji on his head and Guru Arjan Dev Ji Himself was doing “Chaur”(flyer) over it, throughout the journey. At night, He asked the Sikhs to keep SGGS on His bed in His room and He himself slept under that bed.

The compilation of SGGS, construction of ‘Sarovars’(holy tanks) at Taran Taran, Kartarpur and Harmandir Sahib in the centre of ‘sarovar’ in Amritsar, where the people could take a dip without any restriction of religion, caste, creed etc.

As ‘GURBANI’ was sung around the clock in Harmandir Sahib and as per blessings of The Guru, the desires of the people paying obeisance at Harmandir Sahib and taking dip in the sarovar with faith were fulfilled and it came to be called Amrit-Sar ( the pool of Ambrosial nectar) and Consequently Ramdaspur city was popularly known as AMRITSAR. The Hindus and Muslims being attracted by Guru’s message of brotherhood, started converting to Sikhism.The fanatic Quazis and Brahmins complained to Emperor Akbar, when he was at Batala during a visit to Punjab in 1605 AD, that a book is being compiled by Guru Arjan Dev Ji which contains passages blasphemous to Islam and Hinduism. King Akbar called for bringing SGGS in his presence and Guru Arjan Dev Ji sent it in custody of Bhai Gurdas and Bhai Buddha Ji. King Akbar got The SGGS read at random and was satisfied to hear the praises of God. He made an offering of 51 gold coins to SGGS and a robe of honour for The Guru and to both custodians of SGGS.

But Sakhi Sarvar sect head, Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi did not digest this action of King Akbar and he hatched a conspiracy of even getting King Akbar killed and getting appointed his drunkard and foolish son Salim, as his successor, for the purpose of getting Guru Arjan Dev Ji eliminated. He managed slow poisoning of King Akbar, due to which he died shortly on October 17,1605 AD. As planned, his son Salem was declared his successor, who named himself Jahangir. Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi Instigated Jahangir against The Guru that He is converting Muslims to Sikhism. Consequently, Jahangir declared that the conversions of Muslims to Sikhism will not be tolerated and further said and recorded in his diary that :- “For a long time I wanted to close this shop of falsehood (the Sikh preaching centre), which is running for three four generations, because not only Hindus but also unwary Muslims were becoming disciples of The Sikh Gurus. I therefore ordered that either The Sikh Guru be converted to ISLAM or be killed”. He therefore summoned The Guru to Lahore.

The Guru had realized that His end was near as the King Jahangir did not like his spreading of Sikhism,which teaches humanitarian values and standing against atrocities of rulers. Moreover he was also aware of instigation being done by his enemies. Therefore, before leaving for Lahore, The Guru consoled His wife Ganga and asked her not to veil or mourn after He leaves this world. He appointed His son, Hargobind, as His successor and asked him to be armed and keep an army of Sikhs.

After this, The Guru went to Lahore along with five sikhs but the Sikhs were separated from Him and were put in confinement. As tutored by Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi, who wanted to kill Guru Arjan Dev Ji as he was jealous of spread of Sikhism, Jahangir asked The Guru to do the following three things :-

1. Add some couplets in SRI GURU GRANTH SAHIB in praise of ISLAM.
2. Give tax from the offerings He receives from the people.
3. To accept Islam.  

The Guru refused to do any of the these three things, replying that :-

1. He can not add anything in SGGS in praise of ISLAM, as it only contains the glory of God, method to attain God, praises of those who attained God and condition of those who failed to attain God.
2. He can not pay any tax as it is people’s money and can only be used for welfare of the poor and the needy.
3. He will prefer being killed than being coerced into accepting ISLAM.                                                     

But Jahangir, being influenced by Guru’s enemies, asked The Guru to pay a fine of two lakh rupees and efface certain verses in SGGS. But The Guru refused to oblige, telling them that the money belongs to the people and is for welfare of the poor and the needy. Moreover the men with bad deeds are fined and not the saints. As regards the erasing of hymens in SGGS, He replied that :- He can not erase or alter an iota, as what the God commanded Guru Nanak Dev to Guru Ram Das and He Himself, has been recorded in SGGS and there is nothing against Islam or any other religion. He further said that their aim is to preach TRUTH and destroy falsehood for welfare of humanity, and if while doing this duty He has to die, it will be His good luck. The Sikhs of Lahore showed willingness to raise subscriptions to pay the fine, but The Guru issued strict instructions not to pay any fine telling them that whosoever pays any fine, will not be His Sikh. On hearing Guru's reply, Jahangir ordered that:- “He be killed, His property and family be handed over to Murtaza Khan”. Another enemy of The Guru, Chandu Shah also played a role of putting oil on the fire in this episode, who had become inimical to The Guru after refusal of his proposal of wedding of his daughter with His son Hargobind by The Guru, as the Sikh Sangat of Delhi did not like his hippocratic behaviour.

THE HOLY MARTYRDOM:-

Guru Arjan Dev Ji was handed over to Subedar of Lahore Murtaza Khan for executing the punishment as he was also inimical to The Guru and was party to the conspiracy of killing of King Akbar by slow poisoning for the purpose of appointing his drunkard and foolish son Salim, as his successor. He was imprisoned in Lahore fort and was not given anything to eat and not allowed to sleep on the first day.Second day He was chained to a post in the open sun from morning to evening and tortured by making Him sit on special sand, which burns like a furnace. On third day He was made to sit in boiling water. On fourth day He was again made to sit in boiling water and hot sand was poured over His head and naked body. Then on fifth day He was asked to sit on hot plate under which fire was burning and boiling water was poured over His head. Thus He was tortured for five days, but The Guru remained unmoved, undeterred and told them that:- 'O, foolish people, everything is in the will of God and your tortures give me peace '. Here The Guru sermonized a 'SHABAD', the couplet of which is as below:-

Pɦooto ȧadaa bɦaram kaa manahi bɦaïõ paragaasu ||

i.e. The egg of doubt has burst; my mind has been enlightened.

Kaatee beree pagah ṭe guri keenee baṇḍi kɦalaasu ||1||--SGGS--1002

i.e. The Guru has shattered the shackles on my feet, and has set me free. ||1||

During this period, an old friend of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, Sufi Saint Mian Mir came to meet Him. He found Guru Arjan calm and serene, having completely resigned himself to the will of God. At the sight of The Guru, he shed tears. He cursed the govt for atrocities on an innocent man of God. He said that he would pray for the destruction of the cruel govt. But The Guru calmed him and told him that it was the will of The God and no man should try to obstruct the will of The God. The Guru told him that:- "I bear all these tortures to set an example for the Sikhs so that they may not lose patience or vail against God in affliction, but face it bravely. The true test of faith is in the hour of pain, without examples to guide them, ordinary people's minds would tremble in the midst of suffering”. He further told him that this is the practical reply to the couplet below, the meaning of which he had asked Him to explain, when he last met Him in Amritsar. The GURU says that :-

Ṭanu manu kaati kaati sabɦu ȧrapee vicɦi ȧganee ȧapu jalaaëe ||4||--SGGS--757

i.e. I would cut my mind and body apart into pieces, and offer them all to You; I would burn myself in fire. ||4||

After hearing these words, Muslim Saint Mian Mir went away, singing the praises and admiring the will power of The Guru. After five days of torture, as Guru's body was completely damaged beyond recovery, they were afraid of any backlash. But The Guru asked for taking bath in river Ravi before he dies, they accepted His request as His body was badly blistered they thought when dipped in water will be more painful. As such He was taken into the river with a strong escort, but when The Guru took a dip in the water, He was not seen again and The light merged with The light. Thus Guru Arjan Dev Ji attained THE HOLY MARTYRDOM on 30th May, 1606 AD ( 7th jeth, 137 Nanakshahi).

Despite extreme torture, Guru Arjan Dev Ji remained calm, unruffled and unperturbed. There is no parallel to His MARTYRDOM in this world, bearing extreme torture with equanimity as per WILL OF The GOD, for spreading TRUTH, righteousness, fighting for freedom and equality for the humanity.

Guru Arjan Dev ji had realized earlier that violent intervention in His mission would not subside as Sikhism, despite its emphasis on peace and tolerance, was perceived by the Muslim rulers, Quazis and Brahmins as a threat to their religions. Therefore, to ensure that Sikhism could withstand such onslaughts, He trained His son, Hargobind in martial arts and instructed him to be armed and a keep a strong army.

Thus the Holy Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Ji brought a revolutionary change and proved a watershed in Sikhism as it changed the entire character of this reformatory religious movement. His successor, GURU HARGOBIND SAHIB Ji wore two swords symbolizing 'Miri' (Power) and 'Piri' (Saintliness) and maintained an army, as per directions of Guru Arjan Dev Ji. He had to fight four battles with Mughal rulers and won all the four battles, despite having only about 2500 Sikh warriors in first three battles and about 5000 sikh warriors in the last battle,  against a large Mughal army.