First
of all, we should understand that Sikhs spread all over the world celebrate
“Khalsa Day” every year, and not ‘Vaisakhi’, which represents the beginning of
the Solar month of Vaisakh.
All of us are well aware that during the
Fifteenth Century, Rulers and Priestly classes were exploiting the poor masses
in India. During (1469–1539 AD) Guru Nanak established “Sikh religion” and
raised his voice against the suppressors. From the very beginning of his
childhood, Guru Nanak refused to accept the Hindus and Muslims’ rituals and
traditions.
He explained that there is only One Supreme
True Entity, the Almighty God, Who alone is the Creator, Developer and
Sustainer, and that we all human beings are God’s children. With a view to
attune oneself with God, there is no need of any middleperson or any imaginary
god or goddess. He explained to the people belonging to the different regions
and religions that we should always remember the Almighty God and follow the
Divine Command. In nutshell, his teachings could be summed up:
- Naam Japo - Have full faith in the
Almighty God, remember Akal Purakh as “Omnipotent,
Omnipresent, Omniscient” and accordingly, seek God’s Refuge;
- Kirat Karo
- Earn your livelihood with hard-work and by honest means and
- Vand Schako - Share with the poor
and needy persons.
Thus, within a short period of time, a large
number of people became his fellows as equal partners in raising the morale of
all so that they could also live with dignity as equals and elevate their
lives by sharing the Divine Enlightenment enshrined in the Sikhs’ Sacred
Scripture, which is well-known as “Guru Granth Sahib”. A few Gurbaani Quotes
are provided as under:
“Guru Nanak longs for the company of the most
humble and poor persons, who are of the lowest status in society as he can’t
think of associating with the egoist rich people. Moreover, the Almighty God
also bestows blessings and Grace on the down-trodden people”. (GGS - Page 15)
“Everything is below Truthfulness, but
Truthful Living is the highest of all Virtues”. (GGS - 62)
“If one loses honour in life, impure is all
that one eats”. (GGS – Page 142)
“Why call a woman inferior when she gives
birth to all human beings including Kings, Priests and Prophets”. (GGS - Page
473)
“Guru Nanak advises that if you truly wish to
seek support of the Almighty God, then follow the True way of life by
abandoning your ego and cleverness. But you can tread on this righteous path
provided you are never hesitant to sacrifice your life for the righteous
cause”. (GGS – Page 1412)
With a view to propagate the Divine
Enlightenment amongst all people, before his last breath, Guru Nanak selected
and appointed Guru Angad as his worthy successor, who carried forward his
Mission. Since the Hindus and the Muslims were in majority, there were various
practical difficulties to identify the genuine followers of Sikh religion.
Thus the last successor, Guru Gobind Singh (1675–1708 AD) convened a large
gathering of Sikhs from all corners of India at Anandpur Sahib in the State of
Punjab on 30 March 1699 AD. Although, dedication and sincerity of the Sikhs
had already been tested by the earlier successors, still he wished to have
their final test so that no one ever waivers while shouldering onerous
responsibility in defending their Sikh Faith as well as to protect the poor
and weak. While all were eager to see and listen to their Spiritual Master,
Guru Gobind Singh appeared on the stage and gave a clarion call as to whether
you are ready to sacrifice your life and if so, I wish to have five such brave
persons, who will never be afraid of any mighty ruler, but ever ready to
defend the helpless irrespective of any caste, color, gender, race, region or
religion. Five brave Sikhs, who came forward spontaneously, were then led to
nearby tent for putting on new Uniform Dress, but not for killing of goats or
to cut off their heads as is generally narrated by the various Authors, Bhais,
Gianis, Raagis, Orators.
After administering the “Khandaiy Dee Pahul”,
the Sikh Amrit Initiation Ceremony, they were called as “Five Dear Ones”.
Their names were:
- Bhai Sahib Singh (Bidar-South),
- Bhai Himmat Singh (Jagannathpuri-East),
- Bhai Daya Singh (Lahore-North),
- Bhai Dharam Singh (Hastinapur-Centre) and
- Bhai Mohkam Singh (Dwarka-West).
They hailed from the places, where Guru Nanak
Sahib had visited during his preaching Journeys.
They were ordained to maintain Five K’s - (Kakkaars)
i.e.
- Kes – uncut long hair, beard,
moustaches, eyebrows and to keep their heads covered by a Turban for males
and a long scarf for females;
- Kangha – wooden comb tucked in
tuft;
- Kachhehra – specially designed
underwear;
- Karraa – steel wristlet and
- Kirpan – sword in baldric.
These are also called as Articles of Sikh
Faith. They were also advised to follow the Sikh Code of Conduct. It is,
however not clear, which Baanis were recited, and nor Sahib Devan was present
then. For example, main Four Don’ts are:
- Never dishonour the hair, beard,
moustaches and eye-brows, etc;
- Never consume alcoholic drinks, tobacco
products or any other intoxicants;
- Never cohabit with any person other than
one’s own spouse; and
- Never eat the meat of an animal/bird
slaughtered/prepared by way of any ritual.
In view of the prescribed discipline, all the
Initiated Sikhs – males and females are known to be “Khalsa Panth” thereby
having distinctive identity. Accordingly, Sikh could be described as an ideal
human being, who follows the Laws of Nature with devotion and humility. Such
an ideal Sikh is also known as a “Saint-Soldier” because such a person will
not only protect the weak but if need arises, will also not hesitate to
challenge any anti-social element including the terrorists.
Due to their hard-work and self discipline,
the Sikhs – followers of Khalsa Panth could now be seen all over the world.
Whichever country they have adopted as their Permanent Residence, they have
excelled in all fields. Despite their small population when compare with
Christians, Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists, Sikhs have been enjoying equal
rights without any discrimination except in India. It would be an ideal
example if Sikhs were also employed in Police and Armed Forces so that they
could prove their worth as the most dependable persons. At the end, we wish to
assure our fellow citizens that if any outside country whether it is Indonesia
or India attacks Australia, Sikhs will never lag behind but defend their
adopted country and sacrifice their lives with bravery as they did during
First & Second World Wars under the Allied Forces.
We also wish to point out that Sikhs are
different from the Hindus & Muslims. Sikhs’ religious place is called
“Gurduara Sahib”, where all persons are welcome to take part in congregation
and free community food. On this day, please Pray with us so that our Sikh
brothers and sisters also regain their own free Independent State of Punjab
like Jews’ Israel, East Timorese, Kosovo and other (150) countries having far
less population than the Sikhs. At the end, I am profusely grateful to all for
their continuous assistance, cooperation and guidance. Let us continue to live
in peace and harmony as brothers and sisters. But Sikhs’ Homeland Punjab needs
to be restored to the Sikhs – please refer to the SGPC’s Resolution passed on
9th March 1946.
Thanks,