Tercentenary of Khalsa Panth
Sikhism is the youngest and, therefore, can claim to be the most modern religion amongst the practicing faiths in the world today. Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539), the founder of the Sikh religion launched his mission with the slogan-There is no Hindu, there is no Mussalman; all are human beings, thereby highlighting the brotherhood of man. Guru
Nanak believed that an active life is better than a life of sheer contemplation. He would be a true Sikh who works hard and shares his earnings with the have-nots. Guru be good Muslims. Nanak wanted the Hindus to be good Hindus and the Muslims to
It was the need to the times when after repeated invasions for plunder and pillage, the intruders from the north-west had decided to settle and get domiciled with Babur establishing the Mughal empire in India.
Guru Nanak’s successors continued with his mission of fostering Hindu-Muslim amity. This commendable cause found an expression in Guru Arjan Dev (1563-1606), the fifth Sikh Guru inviting Mian Mir, a Muslim divine to lay the Foundation stone of Har Mandir, the sanctum-sanatorium of the Sikhs at Amritsar. To consolidate the Sikh faith he compiled the Holy Granth. The unique catholicity of Guru Arjan is evidenced in the fact that, along with the hymns of the Sikh Gurus, he incorporated the compositions of as many as 36 men of God belonging to various castes and creeds, regions and avocations. Among them were Jaidev of Bengal, Surdas of Awadh, Namdev, Trilochan and Parmanand of Maharashtra, Beni, Rama Nand, Pipa, Sain, Kabir, Ravidas and Bhikhan of Uttar Pradesh, Dhanna of Rajasthan and Farid of Pakpattan (now in Pakistan). Kabir was a weaver, Sadhna a butcher, Nambev a tailor, Dhanna a jat, Pipa a king, Sain a barber, Ravidas a tanner, Farid a Muslim divine, Bhikhan a learned scholar of Islam and Surdas a Hindu mystic and poet.
A people committed to amity and goodwill inevitably came in conflict with the communal and bigoted elements in the society. Guru Arjan Dev was charged with maligning other faiths in the Holy Granth. A frivolous accusation! He did not put any defence nor offered resistance. He was accordingly tortured to death. He was the first martyr at the altar of no-violence in the Sikh annals that revolutionised the Sikh way of life. Guru Hargobind who succeeded Guru Arjan Dev combined in him both Piri (Piety) and Miri (Polity).
The saints turned saint-soldiers, dedicated their lives to fighting for fair play and crusading for a just society.
It was a long fight, Guru Tegh Bahadur the ninth Sikh Guru had to similarly make the supreme sacrifice: Guru Nanak had declined to wear the sacred thread as a mere ritual, 200 years later his ninth incarnation gave his life to defend the Hindus’ right to wear the sacred thread.
All this led to Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru to galvanise the young community with Amrit (Nectar) on the Baisakhi day (April 13) in 1699 when the Sikhs (disciples) turned Singhs (lions). The third centenary of the birth of the Khalsa was celebrated all over the world on April 14, 1999.
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