Talk:Gobind Singh, Guru

By Swami Harshananda

Gobind Singh, Guru (A. D. 1666-1708)

Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and the last, of the Sikh Gurus, has carved out for himself a permanent place in the history of Sikhism and Hinduism. It was he who infused the ksattriya (or martial) spirit into the docile Sikh community and transformed them into the now heroic race. But for the fights and supreme sacrifices of the Guru, the fate of the Hindu society would have been sealed.

He was the son of the illustrious ninth Guru, Tegh Bahadur (A. D. 1620-1675) and succeeded him as the tenth Guru in A. D. 1675, at the age of nine! He received an extensive education and became a noted writer in course of time.

In A. D. 1699 he started the nucleus of the khālsā, (‘the pure’, ‘the Lord’s own’) at the Keshgarh Sāhib, the most important shrine (in Anandpur Sāhib of Punjab) by baptising five heroes who had come forward to sacrifice their lives at the Guru’s feet, by giving them the ‘amṛt’ (water in an iron bowl, mixed by a dagger with some sugar cubes) as tīrtha or holy water. Later, he himself was baptised by them. These five heroes became known as the ‘Pañj Piyārās,’ the ‘five beloved ones’. On the same day 20,000 Sikhs were baptised in this manner. Thus was born the new militant order for the protection of the Sikhs.

Each member of the khālsā was expected to wear five k’s. They are: keś (uncut hair), kaṅghā (comb), karā (iron bangle), kācā (loin-cloth) and kirpān (dagger or sword).

The Khālsās were to be saint soldiers, worshippers of one God, but, at the same time fighting injustice and oppression.

Guru Gobind Singh fought many battles against the Muslim kings and the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Though he did win many battles, he had to suffer also terribly. All his four sons sacrificed their lives for the sake of their religion, the last two being brutally done with by the Moghuls.

He was assassinated in A. D. 1708 by a hired Afghan fanatic.

Guru Gobind Singh declared that the line of the Sikh Gurus ended with him and that the Adi Granth compiled by Guru Arjan (A. D. 1563-1607) should itself be treated as the Guru and honoured as such. Henceforward, the book came to be known as Guru Granth Sāhib.

Guru Gobind Singh knew three languages—Braja, Persian and Punjābi— and wrote extensively. The writings included translations and summaries of ancient Hindu scriptures and also an autobiography. These running into 1300 large-size pages are now available under the title Śñ Daśam Granth or the book of the Tenth Guru.

By any standards, Guru Gobind Singh was an extraordinary personality who left an indelible mark on Indian history.

See also SIKHISM.

References

* The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore