TEN GURUS OF SIKHISM

20120502-Guru_Arjun_Dev_being_pronounced_fifth_guru.jpg
Guru Arjun Dev being pronounced fifth guru The The Ten Gurus were Sikh gurus (spiritual masters) who established the Sikhism over the course of about two and a half centuries, from 1469, the year Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, was born, to 1708. The Ten Gurus were:
1) Guru Nanak (1469–1539)
2) Guru Angad (1504–1552)
3) Guru Amar Das (1479–1574)
4) Guru Ram Das (1534–1581)
5) Guru Arjan (1563–1606)
6) Guru Hargobind (1595–1644)
7) Guru Har Rai (1630–1661)
8) Guru Har Kishen (1656–1664)
9) Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675)
10) Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708)

Guru Nanak chose as his successor not his son but Angad, his chief disciple, to carry on the work as the second guru. Thus began a lineage of teachers. In the Sikh tradition, each of the Ten Gurus is viewed as an enlightened master who propounded directly the word of God. As such, the Ten Sikh Gurus are more than just “spiritual counselors,” the traditional definition of gurus; they are Sat Gurus, “true teachers” who reveal God’s teachings. Their succession has been compared to the transfer of a flame from one spiritual unifier to another. By the late sixteenth century, the influence of the Sikh religion on Punjabi society was coming to the notice of political authorities.

The Last and Tenth Guru died in 1708. Since then the leadership of Sikhism has been invested in the Granth Sahib (the Adi Granth, the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism). People no longer served as gurus, but rather the Granth Sahib serves as the eleventh and final guru of Sikhism. The Granth Sahib is considered to be the embodiment, or representation, of all the previous gurus.

Meaning of Gurus in Sikkhism

Pashaura Singh, wrote in the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”: “The institution of the Guru carries spiritual authority in the Sikh tradition. In most Indian religious traditions the term guru stands for a human teacher who communicates divine knowledge and provides his disciples with a cognitive map for liberation. In Sikhism, however, its meaning has evolved into a cluster of doctrines over a period of time. There are four focal points of spiritual authority, each acknowledged within the Sikh tradition as Guru: 1) doctrine of eternal Guru, 2) doctrine of personal Guru, 3) doctrine of Guru Granth, and 4) doctrine of Guru Panth. [Source: Pashaura Singh, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]

First, Guru Nanak used the term in three basic senses: the Guru is Akal Purakh; the Guru is the voice of Akal Purakh; and the Guru is the word, the truth, of Akal Purakh. To experience the eternal Guru is to experience divine guidance. Guru Nanak himself acknowledged Akal Purakh as his Guru: "He who is the infinite, supreme God is the Guru whom Nanak has met" (Adi Granth, p. 599). In Sikh usage, therefore, the Guru is the voice of Akal Purakh, mystically uttered within the human heart, mind, and soul (man).

“Second, the personal Guru functions as the channel through whom the voice of Akal Purakh becomes audible. Nanak became the embodiment of the eternal Guru only when he received the divine word and conveyed it to his disciples. The same spirit manifested itself successively in those who followed. Third, in Sikh usage the Adi Granth (Sikhism’s most sacred book) is normally referred to as the Guru Granth Sahib, which implies a confession of faith in the scripture as Guru. As such, the Guru Granth Sahib carries the same status and authority as did the 10 personal Gurus, from Guru Nanak through Guru Gobind Singh, and it must, therefore, be viewed as the source of ultimate authority within the Sikh Panth.

Guru Nanak – the First Guru

Guru Nanak (1469-1539) is credited with founding the Sikh religion in an attempt to come up with a religion that harmonized Islam and Hinduism and contained the good points of each religion but not their inequalities. Sikhism emerged as a distinct religion because of Guru Nanak's personal rejection of pilgrimages, his stress on living the good life on earth, and his appointment of a successor as the master (guru ) for his disciples (sikhs).

Guru Nanak was a mystic. He proclaimed monotheism, the provisional nature of organized religion, and direct realization of God through religious exercises and meditation; embraced the concepts a classless society and the equality of women and opposed idolatry and the caste system. He said there was no need for priests or ceremonial rituals, He worshiped at both Hindu and Muslim holy places and is even said to have gone on pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. [Sources: Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed., Columbia University Press; [Source: D. O. Lodrick, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life”, Cengage Learning, 2009]

Sikhism is rooted in the religious experience, piety, and culture and is informed by the unique inner revelation of Guru Nanak, who declared his independence from other thought forms of his day. He was influenced by the contemporary religious environment of his day — particularly the devotional tradition of the medieval Sufi sants ("poet-saints") of North India, with whom he shared certain similarities. He established a foundation of teaching, practice, and community from which to express his own religious ideals. He is said to have had an especially strong sense of mission, compelling him to proclaim his message. His disciples were known as sikhs, or "learners." [Source: Pashaura Singh, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale Sikhism, 2006]

Much of the material concerning his life comes from hagiographical Janam-Sakhis (birth narratives). His life may be divided into three distinct phases: 1) his early contemplative years, 2) the enlightenment experience accompanied by extensive travels, and 3) a foundational climax that resulted in the establishment of the first Sikh community in the western Punjab

Guru Nanak's Last Years and the Beginning of Ten Gurus

Guru Gobind Birthplace Shortly before his death in 1539 at the age of 70, Guru Nanak appointed a successor. This not only inaugurated a two-century-long Sikh political-spiritual lineage, with each successor taking the title of Guru, it also marked a break with the previous Sant practice of not appointing spiritual successors.

As he neared the end of his life, Nanak sought to appoint a successor. Although he could have easily chosen one of his own sons, he devised a simple test to determine who was most deserving of leading the community. He dropped his eating bowl into a dirty sewer, and one of his disciples, Lehna, retrieved the bowl and presented it to Nanak. Lenha was anointed as Nanak's successor and renamed Guru Angad. He was entrusted with the future of the Sikh faith. [Source: Vinay Lal, professor of history, UCLA ==]

Guru Angad succeeded Guru Nanak and was followed by eight other gurus or teachers. However, their histories belong to the larger history of Sikhism. After Guru Nanak's death on September 22, 1539, Hindus and Muslims both claimed his remains. This incident showed that his simple teachings had not been fully absorbed by either group. Hindus wanted to burn the body, while Muslims wanted to cremate him. In the words of one couplet: “Guru Nanak, the King of Fakirs/ To the Hindu a Guru, to the Mussulman a Pir.==

Guru Angad – the Second Guru

Guru Angad (b. 1504; r. 1539–1552) is known primarily for developing Gurmukhi, a written form of the Punjabi language. He also collected Nanak's hymns and institutionalized the langar, or communal kitchen, to feed disciples who came to visit Nanak's dharamsalas (Sikh places or worship). Before Guru Nanak passed away, he appointed Angad as his successor, and bequeathed to him his inspired utterances. The second guru continued the tradition of sacred poetry, which he felt was important for the knowledge it brought to human life. Guru Angad was born with the name Lehna. Guru Nana renamed him Angad, meaning "my own limb." Thus, a lineage was established, and a legitimate succession was maintained intact from the appointment of Guru Angad to the death of Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708), the 10th and last human Guru of the Sikhs.

Guru Angad developed the alphabetic Gurmukhi ("from the Guru's mouth") in part to record Nanak's life and doctrine in a vernacular script that people in the Punjab could read. He also separated the ascetics (udasis) from the laity and eliminated most features of Hinduism. [Source: Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed., Columbia University Press]

Guru Angad consolidated the nascent Sikh Panth in the face of the challenge offered by Guru Nanak's eldest son, Baba Sri Chand, the founder of the ascetic Udasi sect. Angad adpated the Gurmukhi script so it could be used for compiling Guru Nanak's hymns (bani). The original Punjabi script was a systematization of two types of business shorthand that Guru Nanak most likely used professionally as a young man. The development of the script was an emphatic rejection of the superiority of Hindu and Muslim scripts used at the time — Devanagri, Arabic, along with Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian languages) — and thus a rejection of the dominance of Hinduism and Islam and the hegemonic authority they represented in the scholarly and religious circles of the time. The Gurmukhi thus arguably became the single most important factor a part in the development of the Sikh identity and the preservation of Sikh culture and traditional. The script also gave Sikhism a religious distinctiveness. [Source: Pashaura Singh, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”,Thomson Gale, 2006]

Guru Amas Das — the Third Guru

Guru Amar Das (b. 1479; r. 1552–1574), the third Guru, Amar Das (1479–1574), introduced a number of innovations that provide greater cohesion to Sikhism. He encouraged the observance of separate Sikh shrines, pilgrimage traditions and festivals. He also instituted the manji system of supervising distant congregations. [Source: Arvind-Pal S. Mandair, “Encyclopedia of India”, Thomson Gale, 2006]

Guru Amar Das also made major institutional developments. He is often credited for institutionalizing the tradition of community kitchens called langars that still operate in Sikh temples. Ge affixed Sikh funeral and marriage rites, forbade intoxicants and cruel Hindu customs,. In addition he established 22 centers of worship and missionary centers to spread the message of Sikhism. He was so well respected that the Mughal emperor Akbar visited him.

Amar Das founded the city of Goindval; set up a a missionary system (manji) for attracting new converts; established the biannual festivals of Divali and Baisakhi, which provided an opportunity for the growing community to get together and meet the Guru; and compiled the Goindval pothis, collections of the compositions of the Gurus and some of the medieval poet-saints. |[Source: Pashaura Singh, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]

Amar Das appointed his son-in-law Ram Das to succeed him, establishing a hereditary succession for the position of guru, meaning that all the remaining gurus came from the same family. He also built a tank for water at Amritsar in Punjab, which, after his death, became the holiest center of Sikhism. [Source: D. O. Lodrick, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life”, Cengage Learning, 2009]

Guru Ram Das — the Fourth Guru

“The fourth Guru, Ram Das (b. 1534; r. 1574–1581) founded the city of Ramdaspur, where he constructed a large pool for the purpose of bathing. It was named Amritsar, meaning "the nectar of immortality", which now the name of the entire city — and the Siks holiest place and home of the Golden Temple, their holiest shrine. [Source: Arvind-Pal S. Mandair, “Encyclopedia of India”, Thomson Gale, 2006]

Ram Dase built Amristar on land given by the Mughal emperor Akbar. He oversaw the excavation of the sacred pool, which later became the main Sikh pilgrimage. Destination. He also appointed masands, or deputies, to represent the Guru's authority in his more dispersed congregations and collect tithes and other contributions from loyal Sikhs. In addition to a large body of sacred verse, he composed the wedding hymn (lavan) for the solemnization of a Sikh marriage.

Guru Ram Das helped what a sikh was, When asked the question "Who is a Sikh?" he said: "He who calls himself Sikh, a follower of the true Guru, should meditate on the divine Name after rising and bathing and recite Japji from memory, thus driving away all evil deeds and vices. As day unfolds he sings gurbani [utterances of the Gurus]; sitting or rising he meditates on the divine Name. He who repeats the divine Name with every breath and bite is indeed a true Sikh [gursikh] who gives pleasure to the Guru" (Adi Granth, pp. 305–6). After thus the liturgical requirements of the reciting and singing of the sacred word became part of the definition of being a Sikh. This helped Sikhs perceive themselves as unique and distinct from the other religious communities of North India. [Source: Pashaura Singh, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]

Guru Arjun — the Fifth Guru

The fifth guru, Guru Arjun (b. 1563; r. 1581–1606) built the original Golden Temple (Harimandir, or Darbar Sahib), which was completed in 1601, and compiled the Adi Granth (First Book), the canon of hymns and sayings of Guru Nanak and his successors, still greatly revered by Sikhs. . Guru Arjan was the son of Bibi Bhani (daughter of Guru Amar Das, the third guru) and Guru Ram Das (the fourth guru). During his guruship, Sikhism acquired strong scriptural, doctrinal, and organizational foundations.

Guru Arjan (also known as Arjan Dev) was one of Sikhism’s most important gurus. He died as a martyr to his faith. The devotional poetry by earlier Sikh gurus and other prominent saints became the Adi Granth, which remains Sikhism’s holiest scripture and is central to Sikh religious life. Arjun included verse by Hindu and Muslim saints from northern India in what became the Adi Granth. This played a part in his death some say. He was ordered by the Mughal emperor Jehangir to remove all passages of the Granth that contradicted orthodox Muslim belief. When Arjun refused he tortured and killed. 1606. [Source: D. O. Lodrick, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life”, Cengage Learning, 2009]

Guru Arjan was an acclaimed poet like Guru Nanak. He gave voice to a distinct Sikh identity that was clearly different from Hinduism and Islam: "I do not make the ajj nor any Hindu pilgrimage, I serve the One and no other. I neither perform Hindu worship nor do I offer Muslim prayers, I have taken the formless One into my heart. I am neither Hindu nor Muslim" (Guru Granth 1136). [Source: Louis E. Fenech, “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 3: South Asia,” edited by Paul Paul Hockings, 1992]

Sikhism became more firmly established under Guru Arjan. He established the rule of justice and humility (halemi raj) in the town of Ramdaspur, where everyone reportedly lived comfortly (Adi Granth, p. 74). He proclaimed, "The divine rule prevails in Ramdaspur due to the grace of the Guru. No tax [jizya] is levied, nor any fine; there is no collector of taxes" (Adi Granth, pp. 430, 817). [Source: Pashaura Singh, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]

Guru Arjan He encouraged agriculture and trade and organized a system of financial support for the Sikh religion. He founded new towns, such as Tarn Taran, Kartarpur, and Sri Hargobindpur, and extended trading links across India's northwestern frontier and traded in Afghanistan, Persia, and Turkey. The increasing success and expansion of the Sikhs in Punjab inevitably led to confrontation with the Mughal authority under the emperor Jahangir.

Problems During the Reign of the Fifth Guru

Pashaura Singh wrote in in the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”: Dissensions within the ranks of the Sikh Panth became the source of serious conflict. A great number of the Guru's compositions focus on the issue of dealing with the problems created by "slanderers" (nindak), who were rival claimants to the office of the Guruship. The Udasis and the Bhallas, the latter formed by Guru Amar Da'ss eldest son, Baba Mohan, and his followers, had already established parallel seats of authority and had paved the way for competing views of Sikh identity. The rivalry of these dissenters had been heightened when Guru Arjan was designated for the throne of Ram Das in preference to his eldest brother, Prithi Chand, who even approached the local Mughal administrators to claim the position of his father. At some point Prithi Chand and his followers were branded Minas (dissembling rogues). |~| [Source: Pashaura Singh, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]

“The author of Dabistan-i-Mazahib ("The School of Religions"), a mid-seventeenth-century work in Persian, testifies that the number of Sikhs had rapidly increased during Guru Arjan's period and that "there were not many cities in the inhabited countries where some Sikhs were not to be found." In fact, the growing strength of the Sikh movement attracted the unfavorable attention of the ruling authorities because of the reaction of Muslim revivalists of the Naqshbandi order in Mughal India.

There is clear evidence in the compositions of Guru Arjan that a series of complaints were made against him to the functionaries of the Mughal state, giving them an excuse to watch the activities of the Sikhs. The liberal policy of Emperor Akbar may have sheltered the Guru and his followers for a time, but in May 1606, within eight months of Akbar's death, Guru Arjan, under torture by the orders of the new emperor, Jahangir, was executed. The Sikh community perceived his death as the so-called first martyrdom, which became a turning point in the history of the Sikh tradition. |~|

Sikhism After the Execution of the Fifth Guru Guru Arjun

Guru Arjun was tortured and killed in Lahore by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir in 1606, by some accounts for for alleged complicity in a rebellion led by Jahangir's son Amir Khushru. Or, according to other sources, for refusing to convert to Islam. In response to Ram Das's execution his son and next guru, Hargobind militarized and politicized his position and fought three battles with Mughal forces.

Under gurus after Arjun the Sikh community gradually united. The martyrdom of Guru Arjun marked the beginning of the Sikh tradition of militarism. Hargobind organized the Sikhs into a military brotherhood and often came into conflict with the ruling powers in northwestern India. Although the next two gurus, Har Rai (1630–1661) and Har Krishnan (1656–1664) are of minor importance, the ninth guru, Tegh Bahadur (1622–1675), was imprisoned and executed by the emperor Aurangzeb, who also ordered the destruction of Sikh temples. . [Source: D. O. Lodrick, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life”, Cengage Learning, 2009]

As Sikhism developed it attracted members of various tribes and castes, including large numbers of Jats, a farming people that have a history of standing up to persecution. By early in the 17th century Sikhism had attracted so many followers that it was viewed as a threat by the Mogul rulers, who persecuted Sikhs, which in turn encouraged Sikhs to take up arms and resist their oppressors.

The rule of the Seventh Guru Har Rai (1630–1661) was a time of peace for Sikhs. The Eighth Guru, Harkrishan (1656–1664), became a guru as a child and died shortly afterwards at the age of eight. During the time of these two gurus the threat of armed conflict with the Mughal authorities declined but the Gurus held court and mainained a regular force of Sikh horsemen.

Guru Hargobind — the Sixth Guru

Guru Hargobind (b. 1595; r. 1606–1644) was the sixth guru. He is credited with founding the Sikh military tradition. He dressed as a warrior and introduced a more militant tone to the religion. Under him fighting injustice became a duty. Hargobind established a militant tradition of resistance to persecution by the central government in Delhi that remains an important motif in Sikh consciousness. Hargobind also established at Amritsar, in front of the Golden Temple, the central shrine devoted to Sikhism, the Throne of the Eternal God (Akal Takht) from which the guru dispensed justice and administered the secular affairs of the community, clearly establishing the tradition of a religious state that remains a major issue. [Source: Library of Congress]

Guru Hargobind was the son of Guru Arjan, whose martyrdom led to increased militarization and overt political involvement of the Sikh military under Guru Hargobind symbolized by his donning of two swords, one representing spiritual authority (miri), the other representing political authority (piri). Maintaining a small but effective army, Guru Hargobind took steps to increase the military readiness of Sikhs to defend themselves against threats to their religion and Mughal hostility. Although military threats decreased under his successor Gurus, Har Rai and Har Krishan, they nevertheless maintained a similar style of leadership with a retinue of armed followers. [Source: Arvind-Pal S. Mandair, “Encyclopedia of India”, Thomson Gale, 2006]

Hargobind also built the Akal Takhat (Throne of the Timeless One) facing the Golden Temple , which represented the newly assumed role of temporal authority. The emphasis on militarism was not meant to diminish the importance of Sikh spirituality. Rather, it was meant to serve as a balance between temporal and spiritual concerns. A Sikh theologian of the period, Bhai Gurdas, defended this martial response as "hedging the orchard of the Sikh faith with [the] hardy and thorny kikar tree." After four relatively minor battle with Mughal troops, Guru Hargobind withdrew to the Shivalik hills, and Kiratpur effectively became the Sikh capital. Amritsar fell into the hands of the Minas, who established a parallel line of Guruship with the support of the Mughals. [Source: Pashaura Singh, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]

Guru Tegh Bahadur — the Ninth Guru

Guru Tegh Bahadur (b. 1621; r. 1664–1675) died a martyr for refusing to convert to Islam on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. After refusing to even meet with the Aurangzeb, Tegh Bahadur was brought to Delhi and beheaded on a site that later became an important gurdwara (abode of the guru, a Sikh temple) on Chandni Chauk, one of the old city's main thoroughfares.

Tegh Bahadur became guru after the eight-year-old eighth guru, Guru Hara Krishan died of smallpox. Tegh Bahadur stood up the increasingly restrictive policies of Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707), Jahangir's grandson, which included enforcement of Islamic laws and taxes and the replacement of local Hindu temples by Muslim mosques. Guru Tegh Bahadur's active resistance against such policies, his public defense of Hindus' rights to practice their religion freely — along with his refusal to accept Islam — led to his imprisonment and public execution on November 11, 1675. [Source: Arvind-Pal S. Mandair, “Encyclopedia of India”, Thomson Gale, 2006]

During the period of Tegh Bahadur, the increasing strength of the Sikh movement in rural areas again attracted Mughal attention. Guru Tegh Bahadur's ideas of a just society inspired a spirit of fearlessness among his followers: "He who holds none in fear, nor is afraid of anyone, Nanak, acknowledge him alone as a man of true wisdom" (Adi Granth, p. 1,427). Such ideas posed a direct challenge to the increasingly restrictive Mughal policies. The Sikhs viewed Tegh Bahadur death as the second martyrdom, one that also invoked larger issues such freedom of religion and human rights. [Source: Pashaura Singh, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]

Guru Gobind Singh (b. 1666; r. 1675–1708) was the tenth and last Guru. He is regarded as the second most important guru after Guru Nanak.. He became guru after his father, the Ninth Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded for refusing to convert to Islam. Four of Guru Gobind Singh’s sons died fighting for Sikh rights. One was killed in a battle against the Mughals. Another was bricked up alive in wall for refusing to renounce his faith. Gobind Singh himself died a few days after being struck by an assassin’s arrow.

Guru Gobind Singh reformed Sikhism and announced that there were to be no more gurus after him because the Sikhs had an eternal guru in the form of their scripture, the Adi Granth. He is also important for transforming the formerly pacifist Sikh religion into a powerful military and political movement.[Source: D. O. Lodrick, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life”, Cengage Learning, 2009 *]

Guru Gobind Singh succeeded his father at a young age. Shortly after the execution of his father, young Gobind Singh moved from Anandpur deeper into the Himalayan foothills. Neighboring hill chieftans, nervous about the young Guru's increasing power, unsuccessfully attacked his men at Bhangani. Following this episode the Guru moved back to Anandpur, where he successfully fought a Mughal force at Nadaun. Gobind Singh built several other fortresses at Anandpur, Lohgarh, Keshgarh, and Fategarh. [Source: Arvind-Pal S. Mandair, “Encyclopedia of India”, Thomson Gale, 2006]

Guru Gobind Singh was a skilled poet. He composed heroic and martial poetry to inspire bravery and instill self-confidence and love for the divine. His verses are included in the collection known as the Dasam Granth (Book of the Tenth Master). Guru Gobind Singh was a prolific writer, composing literature in Braj, Hindi, Persian, and Sanskrit. The Dasam Granth contains devotional hymns such as Jaap, Svaye, Chaupas, mythological treatises such as Chandi Ki Var (Tales of the goddess), and a semiautobiographical work Bachitar Natak (The wonderful drama). Tradition records that Guru Gobind Singh also recomposed from memory the entire contents of the Adi Granth, since the extant copies were either lost during his battles, or remained in the hands of rival claimants to the Guru's position. It was not long before his death at the hands of an assassin that he declared he was the last of the line of living Gurus. [Source: Arvind-Pal S. Mandair, “Encyclopedia of India”, Thomson Gale, 2006]

Guru Gobind Singh and Sikh Militarism

The first Sikh Guru Guru Nunak was a pacifist. Guru Gobind Singh was not. He responded to Mughal oppression by transforming the Sikhs into a unit of fighters and a militant brotherhood dedicated to defense of their faith at all times, ready to challenge Mughal rulers and the Hindu caste system. He glorified martyrs who he said “attain glory both here and hereafter” and instituted a baptism ceremony involving the immersion of a sword in sugared water that initiates Sikhs into the Khalsa (khalsa , from the Persian term for "the king's own," often taken to mean army of the pure) of dedicated devotion.

Tradition holds that the Sikhs who were present at the scene of the Ninth Guru Tegh Bahadur's execution shrank away and concealed their identity for fear of suffering a similar fate. In response to this Guru, Gobind Singh, resolved to give his fighters a firece demeanor that would make them instantly recognizable. He restructured the Sikh Panth and instituted the Khalsa (“Pure” of “God Elect”).

According to tradition,Guru Gobind Singh I called his followers to assemble in Anandpur. Sahib ("town of bliss") for for the Baisakhi festival in 1699. There he called for five volunteers to pass a test of absolute loyalty. They passed the test and became the Panj Piare (Five Beloved ones). They came from different castes and regions of India and formed the nucleus of the new order of the Khalsa. They were initiated through a ceremonial rite called khande ka pahul (baptism of the double-edged sword) which involved drinking sweetened water (amrit) from the same bowl stirred with a two-edged sword and sanctified by the recitation of five liturgical prayers. [Source: Pashaura Singh, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]

By sipping from the same bowl, the five volunteers people from different castes demonstrated their scorn for the divisions of caste, class, and hereditary profession. Louis E. Fenech wrote: Guru Gobind Singh’s had prepared the drink by stirring water in a steel bowl with his double-edged sword while sacred hymns were recited. His wife, Mata Jitoji, added sugar puffs, intermingling the strength of steel with the sweetness of sugar. The drink nourished the initiates physically and psychologically to fight against oppressive and unjust leaders and uphold the values of liberty and equality.” Guru Gobind Singh Guru in turn received the same initiation from the Panj Piare,. He too assumed the name Singh, signifying a merger of identities between Guru and disciples. Many thousands more accepted this initiation.[Source: Louis E. Fenech, “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 3: South Asia,” edited by Paul Hockings, 1992 |~|]

Five Ks

Guru Gobind Singh is responsible for the "Five Ks" and the turbaned appearance of Sikh males. He introduced the customs of carrying a large curved dagger in a silver sheath, wearing a turban, carrying a comb and never cutting the hair or beard. In 1699 founded Khalsa militant fraternity to energize Sikhism in the face of Muslim invasions.

The "Five Ks" — 1) uncut hair (kesh ), 2) a long knife (kirpan ), 3) a comb (kangha ), 4) a steel bangle (kara ), and 5) a special kind of breeches not reaching below the knee (kachha ) — were expected to be observed at all times. Male Sikhs took on the surname Singh (meaning lion), and women took the surname Kaur (princess). All made vows to purify their personal behavior by avoiding intoxicants, including alcohol and tobacco. In modern India, male Sikhs who have dedicated themselves to the Khalsa do not cut their beards and keep their long hair tied up under turbans, preserving a distinctive personal appearance recognized throughout the world. [Source: Library of Congress]

At the ceremony in 1699 each member of the Khalsa order undertook to wear the five "K"s and adhere to a formal code of conduct (rahit) and relinquish family surnames.These, and other rules established by Gobind Singh, form part of the Sikh identity today, with amrit initiation being open to both Sikh men and women, and both being equally welcome to wear the "five K's" emblems of the Khalsa. [Source: Arvind-Pal S. Mandair, “Encyclopedia of India”, Thomson Gale, 2006]

Guru Gobind Singh’s Last Years and Impact on Sikhism

Much of Guru Gobind Singh's later life was spent on the move, in guerrilla campaigns against the Mughal Empire, which was entering the last days of its effective authority under Aurangzeb (1658-1707). Arvind-Pal S. Mandair wrote: The last nine years of Guru Gobind Singh's life were spent either in protracted battles against the combined forces of Aurangzeb and the hill rajas, in which the Guru lost his four sons and his mother. He himself became a fugitive relentlessly hunted by the Mughals. Despite these setbacks, the Guru resurrected his army, and upon Aurangzeb's death supported the succession of his son Bahadur Shah to the throne. While at Nander, the Guru commissioned a hermit named Banda Singh to inflict punishment on Wazir Khan, one of Aurangzeb's generals. [Source: Arvind-Pal S. Mandair, “Encyclopedia of India”, Thomson Gale, 2006]

After Gobind Singh's death, the line of gurus ended, and their message continued through the Adi Granth (Original Book), which dates from 1604 and later became known as the Guru Granth Sahib (Holy Book of the Gurus). The Guru Granth Sahib is revered as a continuation of the line of gurus and as the living word of God by all Sikhs and stands at the heart of all ceremonies. [Source: Library of Congress]

Under Guru Gobind Singh military and political doctrine became very important to the Sikhs. The Khalsa brotherhood merged "religious, military and social duties” into “a single discipline." The Sikhs have a tradition of being both militarily trained and militarily prepared. This tradition helps explains how the religion has survived intense persecution and why Sikhs recruited by the Indian, Pakistani and British militaries.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: “World Religions“ edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “Encyclopedia of the World’s Religions“ edited by R.C. Zaehner (Barnes & Noble Books, 1959); “Encyclopedia of the World Cultures: Volume 3 South Asia” edited by David Levinson (G.K. Hall & Company, New York, 1994); “The Creators “ by Daniel Boorstin; National Geographic, the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Times of London, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

Last updated December 2023