By Paguman Singh | Sikhi |
Generally, anyone interested in the Sikhs, while reading the history of the ten Gurus in their physical forms, tends to assume that there is a difference in the Sikh way of life taught by the first Guru, Guru Nanak Sahib and the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. Some misunderstood notions has led to this assumption that Guru Nanak, the founder of the faith, was a pacifist while Guru Gobind Singh was militant who was involved in wars.
Paintings of Guru Gobind Singh Ji also portray him as a saint soldier, riding a horse while dressed in full fighting gear and a sword held in his hand. On the other hand, the painted portraits of Guru Nanak show a calm saint sitting cross legged with a lifted hand and open palm to signify peace and blessings. Any careful reader will immediately note that these cannot be used as foundations on which a difference can be established between the Gurus. Hence, this article is an attempt to draw anyone, with an open mind, to decide if there is any difference between the way of life, Sikhism, as preached and practiced by both Guru Nanak Sahib and Guru Gobind Singh.
The foundational belief of Sikh philosophy is that there is only one Creator (Ek Ongkar) and no other. All the Gurus preached and practiced the Sikh way of life based on this central truth. As the Creator resided in his creation, Guru Nanak established the principle of treating all human beings as equal irrespective of race, religion, ethnicity, occupation or place of residence which has been enshrined as the basic practice of Sikhism. Guru Nanak Sahib had Bhai Mardana, who was a Muslim minstrel, as his companion for a lengthy period of 42 years. Guru Gobind Singh on his part had Pir Budhu Shah and other Muslims who supported his efforts to create a honest and just society.
The acceptance of equality by Guru Gobind Singh can be witnessed from the Vasakhi 1699 event where followers from all castes and religions partook in the Amrit ceremony and the Panj Pyare ‘five beloved’ were from various castes and geographical regions.
You could see it even in battles. Guru Gobind Singh, while fighting injustice and persecution, was joined by Pir Budhu Shah, a Muslim leader, and his 500 followers. Guru Gobind Singh’s army provide injured soldiers in the battles medical and nutritional support without any discrimination. The universal acceptance of all humans into the fold of Sikhi by both Gurus indicates that Guru Gobind Singh Ji continued and stood strong on the principles established by Guru Nanak Sahib.
In the discussion with the Siddhas, Guru Nanak when asked who was his Guru. He clearly stated that the Shabad or Divine Knowledge was his Guru ਪਵਨ ਅਰੰਭੁ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮਤਿ ਵੇਲਾ ॥ਸਬਦੁ ਗੁਰੂ ਸੁਰਤਿ ਧੁਨਿ ਚੇਲਾ ॥ Sabadh Guroo Surath Dhhun Chaelaa || The Shabad is the Guru, upon whom I lovingly focus my consciousness; I am the chaylaa, the disciple.
ਰਾਮਕਲੀ ਗੋਸਟਿ (ਮਃ ੧) (੪੪):੨ – ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ : ਅੰਗ ੯੪੩ Raag Raamkali Guru Nanak Dev “Air is the beginning (i.e. breath is the source of life) The time is for the wisdom of the True Guru (i.e. human life is time for following the teachings of the True Guru). The WORD is the Guru, focusing the mind (on the word) is the disciple. pg. 943 GGS.
THE GURU PRINCIPLE
The Guru principle enshrined in Gurbani is that the word or Gurbani is the Guru not the physical or body of the teacher. This is witnessed when Guru Nanak Sahib enthroned Bhai Lehna and named him Guru Angad and transferred all the Bani to him. Guru Nanak Sahib lived in physical form for a period of time after the transfer of guruship and all Sikhs only went to Guru Angad for blessings and religious direction. The process of appointing the next Guru from then on followed the same principle where guruship was synonymous with the transfer of Gurbani.
In Guru Granth Sahib this change is described by Bhai Satt and Balvand as follow ਜੋਤਿ ਓਹਾਜੁਗਤਿ ਸਾਇ ਸਹਿ ਕਾਇਆ ਫੇਰਿ ਪਲਟੀਐ ॥ Joth Ouhaa Jugath Saae Sehi Kaaeiaa Faer Palatteeai || They shared the One Light and the same way; the King just changed His body. (Raag Raamkali, Bhatt Satta & Balwand, 966).
The reputation that had been earned by Nanak, (now) got proclaimed for Lehna (in Guru Angad) is the same Light, and the same way: the king (the Guru) had changed his body again (i.e. into a new one). This principle was continued up to Guru Gobind Singh when he was appointed Guru after his father Guru Tegh Bahadur handed over his Bani and Pothi Sahib to him and left for Delhi to defend human rights to religious practice.
SEE ALSO: Are these paintings of Sikh Gurus for real?
Guru Gobind Singh in 1705 then added the Bani of Guru Tegh Bahadur to the original Granth prepared by Guru Arjan Sahib in 1604. This event is evidence that Guru Gobind Singh accepted and followed the foundational principles enshrined in Guru Granth Sahib. All the Gurus followed the teaching and divine messages of Gurbani as contained within Guru Granth Sahib. It can be stated that the Sikh Gurus no doubt having different names and lived in different times adhered and only followed the teachings and divine guidance of the Shabad, Gurbani were one in spirit.
EXTERNAL PHYSICAL IMAGE
An examination of the development of the Sikhs would also shed light on the fact that the external physical image of a Sikh was transformational development in line with the requirements of the times. Guru Nanak Sahib preached on the importance of the family and achieving spiritual enlightenment while performing the social and economic responsibilities. Hence, all the Guru, with the exception of one, due to age, were married and had families. Guru Nanak Sahib was married and had two sons while Guru Gobind Singh had four sons in his family.
Development of the Gurus was based on education in a variety of languages and subjects and both Guru Nanak Sahib and Guru Gobind Singh had the best teachers of the time. Individual Sikhs were also required to be physically fit as well as have a high level of education. Guru Angad set up wrestling places for Sikhs to develop their physical strength, while he himself was involved in teaching Gurmukhi. Based on this knowledge, Sikhs had been developing economically and were involved in businesses and trade. Physical development and education were used for health, security and economic development.
NEW TOWNSHIPS, MUGHAL INTOLERANCE
In addition to physical and mental development supported by moralistic values of lives, the Guru also developed new townships. Guru Nanak Sahib established Kartarpur which become an important center of the Sikhs as did Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das, Guru Arjan, Guru Hargobind and Guru Gobind Singh. These were centers of learning and human development as well as economic upliftment of society. These centers in addition had medical facilities for all irrespective of race and religion and even lepers, disabled by the disease, had a center built. All these activities were being watched suspiciously by the rulers as well as other jealous biased religious figures who acted as instigators. Guru Gobind Singh also developed Anandpur, which like Kartarpur established by Guru Nanak, was a center of learning as well as refuge for persecuted individuals. The intellectual discussions and open learning in these centers clearly establish that militancy was not a prime driver as some would like to believe.
Developments in the ruling political environment of the Mughal from tolerant policies to one of non-acceptance of other faiths, removal of freedom, repression and suppression of the population affected the Sikhs. Despite the enormous work of economic development, promotion of trade and managing pandemics by Guru Arjan, the rulers of the day cruelly tortured and martyred him.
At this stage, the physical development that had been established for generations, coupled with experience in protection capabilities established for their trade in Afghan horses, proved useful in building defensive capabilities.
Guru Hargobind, the grandfather of Guru Gobind Singh took on the challenge by establishing the Akaal Takhat as well as recruiting young men to join a defensive force. Guru Hargobind had to defend himself from the attacks of the rulers four times. It is at this stage that Sikhism had its own center of justice for all, a commitment to stand with the oppressed, a flag or Nishan Sahib of its own and along with it a fighting army only to provide protection.
Guru Har Rai, the seventh Guru, had a cavalry of 300 men as a protective force. These historical facts indicate that the use of arms and maintaining protection skills cannot be taken as militarization of the Sikh religion but has to be viewed as measures to prevent subversion and injustice. Being prepared to defend oneself and to stand up against injustice had become a principle of Sikhism based on the principle “ਭੈ ਕਾਹੂ ਕਉ ਦੇਤ ਨਿਹ ਨਿਹ ਭੈ ਮਾਨਤ ਆਨ ॥“॥੧੬॥ {ਪੰਨਾ 1427} Put no one in fear nor accept any intimidation.”
THE SAME SPIRIT
As Sikhism developed further after the establishment of principles and institutions, the next stage was to get the commitment of the individual Sikh to stand above all and be recognized as a practitioner of the values possessing moral courage. This involved a uniform based on values as it was to be declared as the righteous army of the Creator.
On Vaisakhi day in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh then formalized the process and instilled motivation for conforming to the principles established by Guru Nanak Sahib. Guru ji, in his call for commitment, used the following “Is there anybody in the congregation ready to sacrifice his head on the path established by Guru Nanak” (refer Prof. Satbir Singh in his book Sikha Ka Ithas das Guru Sahiban”. This powerful call to a crowd of 80,000 who had travelled to Anandpur from the four corners of the world clearly indicates that Guru Gobind Singh was standing by the principles established by Guru Nanak Sahib. The commitment was shown by accepting Khanda di Pahul, which could only be prepared by the recitation of Bani beginning with Japji, the divine message revealed by Guru Nanak Sahib. In fact, all these historical facts clearly establish that Guru Nanak Sahib and Guru Gobind Singh were the same spiritual masters providing the guidance to the Sikhs, also called the Khalsa.
Guru Nanak Sahib challenged the rulers of the day and criticized Babar for his destruction of Ahmedabad and the imprisonment of the population. Guru Nanak was also imprisoned but by uniting the people he succeeded in getting them all freed, the largest Bandi Shor. Guru Nanak Sahib called the unjust rulers tigers and dogs, and the administrators as blood sucking parasites. “ਰਾਜੇ ਸੀਹ ਮੁਕਦਮ ਕੁਤੇ ॥ ਜਾਇ ਜਗਾਇਿਨç ਬੈਠੇ ਸੁਤੇ ॥ ਚਾਕਰ ਨਹਦਾ ਪਾਇਿਨ ਘਾਉ ॥ ਰਤੁਿਪਤੁ ਕੁਿਤਹੋ ਚਿਟ ਜਾਹੁ ॥ ॥੨॥ {1288}” The battle of justice and equality began with a divine pen which had success with the masses.
Guru Gobind Singh used the sword of justice to defend the oppressed and give them the human dignity of religious and social freedom. Guru Gobind Singh only fought to defend righteousness and human rights, in wars that were not initiated by him or his Sikhs. Hence, there was no military intent or motive to conquer land or acquire wealth in all the activities of Guru Gobind Singh. Clearly, both the Gurus had the same religious and spiritual mission and cannot be seen as one bring a pacifist and the other a militant.
Paguman Singh, a retired senior official of a Malaysian-based social security organisation, has been involved in Sikhi parchaar for more than three decades. He now resides in New Zealand.
* This is the opinion of the writer, organisation or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Asia Samachar.
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