Understanding the Sikh Religion

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

Could someone " enlighten " me please on the Sikh Religion and Shri

Guru Granth Sahib. I know very little about it.

 

Violet

[Guest guest]

shriadishakti , " violet_tubb " <vtubb@b...>

wrote:

>

> Dear All,

>

> Could someone " enlighten " me please on the Sikh Religion and Shri

> Guru Granth Sahib. I know very little about it.

>

> Violet

>

 

 

Granth is the central text of Sikhism

 

" The Granth is the central text of Sikhism, a religion that

emerged in the Punjab region of India in the 15th Century. Sikhism

is a unique faith which has aspects of Islam: monotheism and

iconoclasm, and Hinduism: reincarnation, karma and nirvana. However

Sikhism is distinct from Hinduism and Islam. The Sikh Gurus

(teachers), contemporaries of Luther and Calvin, were reformers who

rejected the caste system and much of the apparatus of Hindu ritual

and legalism. They promoted religious tolerance and the equality of

women. The founding Guru, Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, (1469-1538), is

noted for the saying " There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim. "

 

The Granth, compiled by Guru Gobind Singh, contains compositions of

six Gurus, namely Guru Nanak, Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram

Das, Guru Arjan, and Guru Teg Bahadur. The hymns are arranged by the

thirty one ragas (musical forms) in which they were composed. The

hymns that comprise the Granth were originally written in several

different languages: Persian, mediaeval Prakrit, Hindi, Marathi, old

Panjabi, Multani, and several local dialects. In addition, there are

Sanskrit and Arabic portions. This makes it extraordinarily

difficult to translate. . . .

 

The Granth is considered the living embodiment of the Gurus,

the " eleventh guru " . Printed copies of the Granth are treated with

the greatest respect. This is the reason for the honorific titles

that make up the full name of the book. There are protocols to be

observed in while reading of the Granth. A Sikh reader suggests the

following: " Out of respect, it is advised that before you do read

the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, that you cover your hair. " This is

normally with a turban or a piece of cloth provided by the

gurdwara. " "

 

http://www.sacred-texts.com/skh/index.htm

 

 

 

--------------------------------

 

Guru Gobind Singh Ji

 

" Guru Govind Rai (Singh) in Line Of Shri Rama And Shri Krishna by

V. Wadher

 

Punjab, rightly claimed as the traditional sword-arm of

Bharatvarsha, has valiantly borne the first brunt of all the pre-

European aggressors upon her. And one of the most luminous stars

which rose in that northwestern horizon and shed its luster over the

entire length and breadth of the country is undoubtedly Guru Govind

Singh (born at Patna on Maargashtra Shukla Saptami -the 7th Day of

bright half of Maargashira, i.e. 24 December 1666) the tenth and the

final Guru in the holy tradition initiated by the great saint Guru

Nanak. In fact, his life of pain and fortitude is a saga without

many parallels in the world.

 

Rightly, Guru Govind Singh inherited the legacy of the fearless

martyrdom of his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur. Guru Tegh Bahadur, with

a view to instilling courage and confidence among the Kashmiri

Hindus to withstand Aurangzeb's fanatical tyranny and threats to

Islamize them, challenged the Moghal emperor to convert him first.

And the great Guru preferred to have his head roll down in Chandni

Chowk of Delhi rather than sacrifice his faith. Govind was just a

boy of nine years at that time. On coming to know of his father's

terrible end he exclaimed: " He saved with his blood the honor of

Hindu Dharma. Oh, what a remarkable act in this Kaliyuga! He

preferred to give up his life, but not his faith! "

 

It is with such a fiery note of idealism that the young Govind Rai

embarked upon his life-mission even from his infancy. As a child he

had drunk deep at the fount of Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the

Puranas. He was inspired with the heroic examples of Sri Rama, Sri

Krishna, Bheema and Arjuna. He felt convinced that he too like those

great forbears was born to vanquish the wicked and to protect

Dharma. He began preparing himself in a thorough fashion to play

that historic role.

 

Though engaged with a very busy life, Guru Govind was a great patron

of literature. The Guru himself wrote in all genres of poetry,

though his forte was martial poetry. His great passion was to get

the entire Hindu mythology translated into Braj Bhasa, the lingua

franca of those times. Where necessary he also made innovations.

His 'Ramavtar` and 'Krishnavtar` are examples. He assimilated the

spiritual truths enshrined in the Vedas, Upanishads and the Bhagavad

Geeta. He became adept in the Persian, Arabic, and Punjabi

languages, just as in Sanskrit and Hindi, and was a peerless poet as

well.

 

As an archer he was unequalled in the whole of Hindusthan. No

wonder, equipped as he was with such a rare combination of

brahmateja and kshaatrateja, he wrote in his auto-biographical poem

Bichitra Natak that he was commanded by God to take birth to uphold

the true path of Dharma.

 

The clues to what Guru Govind Singh achieved are to be found in his

autobiographical poem Bichitra Natak (the Resplendent Drama). The

most interesting formulation in the Bichitra Natak is that the Guru

Panth is an extension of the great Raghu dynasty to which Rama

belonged. According to Guru Govind Singh, Guru Nanak is a direct

descendant of Kush, the elder son of Rama, and Guru Govind Singh

himself is a direct descendant of Lava, the younger son of Rama.

 

On what basis was the Guru to fight the Mughals? If he were just a

rebel, he could not arouse Punjab. Besides, he was a Guru who had no

business to fight the king. But if the kingdoms of Lahore and Kasur

(it is believed that Kasur was founded by Kush and Lahore by Lava)

were in fact the legacy of the Gurus themselves, then to fight for

regaining the throne of Punjab would become the legitimate right of

Guru Govind Singh. Even in his person the Guru had started wearing a

bow and a quiver of arrows which were the two distinguishing marks

of Lord Rama.

 

According to ancient Punjabi tradition, Lava and Kush were born in

Punjab. Ram Tirath, a place some miles away from Amritsar, is known

to have been the hermitage of Valmiki where Sita took refuge when

Rama banished her. The sage is known to have brought up Lava and

Kush.

 

Govind Singh wrote that in his past life, he was a Rishi who

performed great penances at Hemkunt. He has given a graphic

description of a place in the Himalayas ensconced by twelve mountain

peaks. It was here that he was ordained by the Param Purukh to take

another birth for the specific purpose of uprooting adharma. This

story went well with the kind of life he led and the things he

achieved. He was born to Guru Tegh Bahadur because the latter too

was propitiating God to bless him with a great son. The whole stance

of this story is the same as of Dasaratha who also performed

penances in his earlier birth and was blessed by the Lord that He

himself would be born to him.

 

In the tradition of Lord Rama, Guru Govind Singh performed a year-

long Chandi Yagna at Naina Devi (the shrine of the Goddess of

beautiful eyes) overlooking Anandpur Sahib before launching upon his

mission. Lord Rama had done the same before marching into Lanka. The

Goddess, pleased with his austerities, had blessed Rama with

victory. Lord Krishna had taken Arjuna to the temple of the Goddess

for seeking her blessings before the battle with the Kauravas.

 

RULING DEITY

 

According to tradition, Chandi is the ruling deity of the Jalander

Peeth, the triangle pervaded by the Goddess of which Jalander, Kulu

and Vaishno Devi form the three angles. In Punjab when the Shaktas

(the worshippers of Shakti) ruled the roost, the Mother was known to

be residing in every nook and corner of the triangle, alternatively

known as the Trigarth Peeth. The important shrines of the Goddess in

this region bear testimony to this point. There are Ambala

(Ambalaya - the home of the Goddess), Chandigarh (the fortress of

the Goddess), Kalka (abode of Kali), Naina Devi (in the Shivaliks),

Asa Devi (in the Dhaulaladhars), Hidimba (in the Kulu hills),

Vajreshwari (the Mother of Thunderbolt) at Kangra, Jwala Devi (the

Mother of the Flaming Mouth) at Jwala Mukhi, Chintpuri in Hosiarpur

and finally Vaishno Devi (the Vaishnavi Mother) in the Jammu Hills.

 

No catastrophe to his personal self or to his family members,

however tragic, could shake his rocklike resolve to pursue his

chosen mission. When his two elderly sons, Ajit and Jujhar whom he

had sent to lead the battle laid down their lives before his very

eyes, thus did the Guru offer prayers to God: " O Lord, I have

surrendered to Thee what belonged to Thee. " Later, when his two

younger sons Jorawar and Phatte were bricked alive by the Mughals

for refusing to succumb to Islam, and the heartrending news reached

the Guru, he simply lifted his hands in prayer and uttered the

words: " These two, Thy trust, I have rendered unto Thee. " The Guru's

mother, Gujri Devi, from whom the two boys had been snatched away,

broke her heart and died.

 

The tone of the historic epistle which the Guru wrote some time

later to Aurangzeb is evidence of the majestic equanimity and the

supremely high moral posture he maintained even in the wake of such

dire calamities. " I know you believe neither in God nor in your

Prophet, nor do you know the worth of an oath on Koran. Did your God

ask you to tyrannize over others? Fie on your sovereignty and on

your regard for God and religion! Fear God, Who is the Master of

earth and heaven and Whose vengeance is terrible. What if you have

killed my four sons? By putting out a few sparks, you cannot quench

the blazing fire. My protection is God than Whom there is no one

higher. "

 

The Guru bore all the cruel blows of fate with an invincible will

and fortitude and pressed forward in rousing and organising his

countrymen in the cause of Swadeshi and Swadharma. He moved from the

north to the southern parts of the country contacting and trying to

string together the various patriotic forces. Finally, in the south

he found a great warrior turned into a yogi, Maadhav Daas by name,

and charged him with the task of proceeding to Punjab to lead the

struggle there. Maadhav Daas, known in history as Banda Bairaagi,

abided by the Guru's command and carried out the war of liberation

with such remarkable ability and was crowned with such rare success -

finally falling a martyr to the cause in the true tradition of the

Gurus - that even to this day he stands as a glowing testimony to

the magic touch of Guru Govind Singh.

 

KHALSA

 

The spirit of oneness and harmony which the Guru infused in society

has also made him a social reformer of the highest order. His vision

encompassed the whole of Bharat, and his love embraced within itself

the lowliest in the society. The Panch Pyaare, the five self-

sacrificing heroes of the Khalsa whom he chose through a fiery

ordeal on Baisakhi in 1699 at Anandpur Sahib were those drawn from

distant parts of the country, from Bidar in Karnataka, Jagannaath

Puri in Orissa, Dwarka in Gujarat to Delhi and Lahore.

 

In baptising his followers into Khalsahood, the Guru once again

followed the example of Lord Rama. Rama had created warriors out of

the common people of the lower Vindhyas known as the Kishkinda where

Bali and Sugriva, the twin brothers, lorded over the aboriginal

clans. To make them invincible in battle, Rama had given them his

name and a uniform which gave them a martial identity. The Khalsa

was also created on the same pattern. The Guru gave them the Name to

mutter and a martial identity to fight Mughals to protect Hindu

Dharma.

 

Four things in the main need to be explained in this context. They

are the concepts of the Sant-Sepahi, the Khalsa uniform, the

ultimate authority of the Panch Pyare, and the aphorism " Raj Karega

Khalsa. "

 

The first is the concept of Sant-Sepahi (saint soldier). In the

Hindu tradition, the first model Sant-Sepahi was created by Lord

Rama in the person of the monkey god Hanuman. He knew only two

things- remembering the Name of Rama all the time and keeping

himself ready for the greatest sacrifice at the bidding of his

mentor.

 

The second is the creation of the Khalsa uniform in the image

of " Narsinh Avtar, " which is the half-man, half-lion incarnation of

Lord Vishnu. The Guru's Khalsa had to modify the image a little.

They had to keep their hair unshorn and make Singh as part of their

proper names. This made them look as ferocious and brave like lions.

 

The third concept is the ultimate authority now vested in the will

of the five beloved ones. Even the Guru had to bow before them. Lord

Rama had also vested the final authority in his chosen five while

sending out the " monkey " warriors to find out where Sita was. His

beloved five were Hanuman, Angad, Nala, Neel and Jambvant.

 

The fourth and last concept is the amulet of victory contained in

the aphorism " Raj Karega Khalsa. " Modern Psychologists tell us that

success comes to those who don't think of failures. Guru Govind

Singh understood the human psychology only too well. However, the

slogan is as good as the translation of " Satyameva Jayate " which

means that the truth alone prevails. The Khalsa clearly stands for

the one who stands for truth and never compromises with untruth.

Guru Govind Rai gave the war cry of " Sat Sri Akal. " It is probably

the shortest capsule of Vedanta and it means that the Timeless has

two manifestations viz Shiva and Shakti which reside in Him. When we

read it together with its first part which is " Jo Bole So Nihal, "

then it means that anyone who speaks of such a Timeless becomes

eternally blessed. He also does not fear death. Such thoughts, ideas

and statements could not have been formulated by the Guru without

deep roots in Hindu tradition.

 

Finally the Guru himself, while in the south at Nanded, fell a

martyr to the treacherous designs of the Moghals and embraced

Mahaasamaadhi (on 7 October 1708 in the true tradition of yogis.)

 

Rarely do we come across in the annals of human history a life of

such all-round greatness as that of Guru Govind Singh, who was a

yogi and a warrior - a martyr, a poet and a social reformer, a

national emancipator and a dharmic rejuvenator - all rolled into one

supremely majestic personality commanding the reverence of his

countrymen and even of his enemies.

 

No better appreciation could be there of the inspiring legacy left

behind to the entire nation by that Guru than what Swami Vivekananda

observed:

 

" Mark me, every one of you will have to be a Govind Singh, if you

want to do good to your country. You may see thousands of defects in

your countrymen, but mark their Hindu blood. They are the first gods

you will have to worship, even if they do everything to hurt you;

even if every one of them sends out a curse to you, you send out to

them words of love. If they drive you out, retire to die in silence

like that mighty lion, Govind Singh. Such a man is worthy of the

name Hindu; such an ideal ought to be before us always. "

 

" Akhil vishwame Khalsa panth gaje,

Jagai dharma hindu sakala bandha bhajai,

Nah chodu kahin doost asura nishani,

Firee sab jagatme dharma ki kahani! " "

 

Guru Gobind Singh Ji

Guru Govind Rai (Singh) in line Of Shri Rama And Shri Krishna by V.

Wadher