Happy Vaisakhi ALL

Vaisakhi is one of the most significant days in Sikhism, It was this day in 1699, that the Khalsa was established.

I was at the Gurudwara sahib where some religious teacher was telling that When Guru Tegh Bahadur the ninth guru of sikhs was publicly beheaded by the Aurangzeb, the Mughal ruler. (Aurangzeb wanted to spread Islam in India, He was forcibly converting hindus to islam, So the Hindus got together and came to Guru Tegh Bahadur for help. and Guru Tegh Bahadur stood up for the rights of Hindus, the Mughals therefore saw him as a threat. Guru Teg Bahadur offered his life for the freedom of Hindus)

Thousands of people had gathered to see it , when the beheading took place it was chaos there, a sudden sand storm came, No one stood up to claim the body of the fallen Guru. But Bhai Jetha who was from a lower class, took advantage of it and managed to get the severed seesh (head) of Guru Tegh Bahadur to Anandpur sahib to Guru ji’s family. So when Guru Gobind Rai, then a child asked Bhai jetha how many sikhs were there, Bhai Jetha could not reply because of the chaos, sand storm and since everyone looked the same .. That is when according to this religious teacher the Guru who would become the 10th Guru of Sikhs Guru Gobind Singh, Said he would do something that a SIKH is recognised amongst millions…

and then in 1699 KHALSA was created and the 10th Guru became Guru Gobind SINGH from Guru Gobind RAI…

on March 30, 1699 hundreds of thousands of people gathered at Anandpur Sahib for Vaisakhi and Guru’s blessing, Guru Gobind Rai came out of the tent carrying an unsheathed sword. He gave a powerful speech to infuse courage amongst fellowmen. At the end of the speech he said that every great deed was preceded by equally great sacrifice and demanded that anyone prepared to give his life come forward. On the Guru’s third call, a young man offered himself. The Guru took the man inside a tent and reappeared alone with a bloodied sword. Guru Gobind Singh asked for another volunteer. This was repeated another four times until a total of five Sikhs had gone into the tent with the Guru. Everyone present was worried and though that Guru Gobind Singh has killed five Sikhs. At this point Guru presented all the five men before the people. Every one present was surprised to see all five men alive and wearing turbans.

These five men were called Panj Piara or ‘Beloved Five’ by the Guru. He then proclaimed that the Panj Pyare would be the embodiment of the Guru himself:

“Where there are Panj Pyare, there am I. When the Five meet, they are the holiest of the holy.”

And so, as it was carried out on that historic day, the ceremony of Pahul continues to this day. The Guru regarded the Panj Piaras as the first members of the Khalsa and the embodiment of the Guru himself. With the constitution of the Panj Pyare the high and low castes were amalgamated into one as among the original Panj Pyare, there was one Khatri, shopkeeper; one Jat, farmer; one Chhimba, calico printer; one Ghumar, water-carrier; and one Nai, a barber. The Guru gave the surname of Singh (Lion) to every Sikh and also took the name for himself. From Guru Gobind Rai he became Guru Gobind Singh. This was seen as a great step in national integration because society at that time was divided on the basis of religion, caste and social status.

Guru Gobind Singh also bestowed on Khalsa, the unique Sikh identity. He directed Sikhs to wear five K’s: Kesh or long hair, Kangha or comb, Kripan or dagger, Kachha or shorts and a Kara or bracelet. Guru Gobind Singh also discontinued the tradition of Gurus and asked all Sikhs to accept the Granth Sahib as their eternal guide. He urged them to come to him with their hair and beard unshorn to get baptized by the sword, and So the KHALSA was Born ..

A VERY HAPPY VAISAKHI TO ALL…