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.
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.
