Tenth Guru of Sikhism

By Nita and Dave Anand

Every year millions of Sikhs and their well-wishers from all over the world celebrate Guru Gobind Singh's birthday in the month of January. But few outside India know the background of this day, a bit of history should help.

Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith and the first Guru, was born in Nankana Sahib near Lahore, Punjab in 1469.

As Nanak grew from boyhood to manhood, he would wash himself by taking a
river-dip every day. According to the religious history, one day he dove to not
return back from the depths of the river. News of Nanak's drowning spread like
wildfire, but his sister Nankee refused to believe he died from drowning. Nanak
had in the meantime reached heaven and standing before God (Wahe Guru), he said "God you are like the ocean and I am like a fish, which cannot perceive your depth and breadth." God then gave Nanak "Naam-Amrit" (baptizing water) to drink, which he did and after that Nanak observed: "God I can live a million years, feel air for million more years, sit in a cave for another million years and pray your Naam (your Word) — I would still not understand or figure out the value of Naam. You have given me this order to do Kirtan (recite divine music) day and night and spread your Naam to the World, and I will do that."

Many experts consider Sikhism as the religion that promotes higher tolerance
and pluralism in the world since Guru Nanak mixed both Hindu and Muslim
thoughts into Sikhism. Nanak's two closest companions after his return from his
tryst with God were a Muslim by the name of Mardana and a Hindu called Bala.
The trio went all over India and outside to Sri Lanka, Tibet, Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and countries in Central Asia singing hymns (Kirtan) and engaging in religious discourse to spread God's Word (Naam), and thus, raised the understanding amongst cultures and faiths in those regions.

Nanak was followed by nine other Gurus, all of whom were looked upon as another
form of Guru Nanak with Guru Gobind Singh labeled the 10th form of the founder
of Sikhism. Being another form of Nanak meant that all Gurus were equally
knowledgeable, wise, kind and compassionate. Seven Gurus out of ten (first five, eighth and the ninth) were exactly so, the other three, including the 10th Guru Gobind Singh, added the fifth attribute of “saint-soldiers or peace through strength” by adopting arms in order to face and subdue the cruelty of Mughal Emperors -- the elite strain of Muslims from West Asia, who conquered and ruled India for over 300 years and left behind a legacy of Islamic architecture, including the Taj Mahal.

So what kind of man was the legendary Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Guru of Sikhism?

Gobind was only 9 years old when his father, the 9th Guru, Tegh Bahadur, was
executed by the order of Emperor Aurangzeb. That atrocious episode shaped his
early development and thought process for after reaching manhood, Gobind declared his life's mission as: "I come into the world for the express purpose of
upholding the right, to prevent acts of sin and destroy evil - the only reason I am born is for establishing good, and that righteousness may flourish by tearing apart the tyrants."

It is said Emperor Aurangzeb was impressed by the young Gobind when he read his Zafarnama (Letter of Victory) sent to him in the Persian language in which the
Guru wrote: "When all other means have failed, it is righteous to draw the sword, and my sword strikes tyrants, not innocent men."

In this context, it is important to point out that the 10th Guru believed in
equality of men and raised an army that consisted of not just Sikhs, but like
minded Muslims, Hindus, Rajputs and even the lower castes, who became bolder
and fearless listening to his pronouncements, and together, they defeated
Aurangzeb's larger and well-equipped army in many battles.

Winning battles with lesser-armed soldiers did wonders for Gobind since it lead
to winning struggles of the downtrodden from oppression by the rich, winning
demands for justice against tyranny of wrong-doers, and being victorious in
crusades to eliminate powers of evil.

In these victories, Gobind forbade his soldiers from looting, from molesting
women of the enemy as he exhorted them to be saint-soldiers, and not the lowly
"Sipahis." It is said that Gobind even blessed one army recruit "Bhai Khanniyya" as the highest example of humanitarian service or "Panthic Sewa" for his efforts in aiding wounded enemy Muslim soldiers during the many wars with the Mughals.

Guru Gobind Singh was remarkably at his best when it came to arousing a sense
of loyalty and sacrifice amongst his followers. In the famous "baptismal" ceremony held at Anandpur Sahib that gave rise to "Khalsa" or the army of pure, Gobind asked for five men to step forward to have their heads chopped off. One by one, the five loved ones or "Punj Piyaras" as they are called, stepped up to be sacrificed thus. However, none was executed, instead the Guru tested his followers to extract the real ones from the gathering, prepared and gave them holy water ("Amrit") to convert them into Khalsa and himself imbibed the Amrit from the Piyaras to become a Khalsa, as did many of the followers present. This action of the Guru gave rise to what is known in Sikhism as "Aape Guru-Aape Chela" — meaning he was a Guru and also a humble follower at the same time.

Other examples of similar sacrifice abound in the 10th Guru's life. "Chalee Mukte" or the group of 40 gave their lives fighting at Muktsar to dispel their disloyalty to the master. Injecting and raising such spirit of valor and martyrdom in his followers came from Guru's own sacrificial example. He sacrificed two of his sons fighting the enemy single handedly, an act of certain death, before he allowed his Punj Piyaras to do so. Gobind's younger two sons aged 7 and 9, were executed by Sirhind's governor after which, his mother died in grief. In tears, his wife asked for her four sons to which the Guru responded by saying — "What if four be dead; thousands more live to continue the battle for righteousness."

In Sikhism and Punjab, the state with five rivers, the number "5" or Punj has a very special mysticism attached to it. Guru Gobind Singh baptized exactly five loved ones or Punj Piyaras since he believed in the sanctity of this number. This belief is obvious from his observation when he said: "Wherever there are five there am I. Where five get together, they are the holiest of the holy." (Where possible -- I use the number five in many of my dealings, especially when buying/selling stocks and that seem to work for me in most instances.)

Finally, there is a somber and democratic side of this great leader. Guru Gobind Singh never claimed to be incarnation of God and did not include any of his compositions in the Sikh holy book "Granth Sahib." To those who tried to associate him with God, he declared: "I was ordained to create the Khalsa-sect and lay down its rules and whosoever regards me as Lord shall be damned and destroyed. I am — and about this let there be no doubt -- I am but a slave to God, as other men are too; sent here to behold the wonders of this universe (Jagat)."

Guru Gobind Singh was a rare being who combined many qualities to say the
least. He was a saint-soldier foremost who composed poetry in four languages
(Punjabi, Sanskrit, Prakrit and Persian) and hosted 52 poets in his court to
translate ancient texts of India for unifying various faiths; a fearless cavalier of great strength dedicated to opposing and eliminating tyranny; a tall and handsome leader who led by example; a Guru who exhorted followers to be equals first and together worship God for his blessings; a family-man who sacrificed all he had in blood and worldly possessions, and ultimately he sacrificed himself to fulfill the ideals he captured in one of his couplets:

"O Lord of thee these boons I ask,

Let me never shun a righteous task.

Let me be fearless when I go to battle,

Give me faith that I will be victorious.

Give me strength to sing Thy praise,

And when time comes for me to go,

Let me fall in mighty strife."

Nita and Dave Anand (danand55@gmail.com) are progressive Sikhs. Dave
has written and published two books: "People Super Highway, the Mystique & Quest of Soul" and "The Verses."