Wahe Guru Ki Fateh

By: Kulbir Kaur Baisakh was the day of sacrifice; it was also one of rebirth. For this was the day, more than three centuries ago, when the Tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, asked Sikhs at Anandpur, as to who was prepared to sacrifice his life for the Guru. Five persons offered themselves who he called the Panj Piyaras, the five beloved ones, and baptised them as Khalsa or ‘pure’. He administered amrit or nectar to them from a simple bowl before consuming some himself. The Khalsa and Guru became one; there was no more duality. The Khalsa were instructed that the divine was forever present in their midst. Bhai Gurdas observed, “As one Sikh is sufficient to announce his identity, two of them make up the holy congregation, and among five of them, God is present”. The Khalsa, the chosen ones, the pure ones, were to represent the philosophy of ‘Ek Onkar’ -- One Word, One World, as expressed by Guru Gobind Singh in his writings. In ‘Akal Ustat’ and ‘Jap Sahib’ he praises ‘the timeless One’ who is “just, merciful, all-powerful, omniscient and all-loving”. The Akal or Creator, is formless, invisible, immeasurably great, king of kings, God of gods, Moon of moons, Sun of suns. His mystery is impenetrable. His glory is indefinable”. The Khalsa is enjoined to imbibe attributes of the Almighty who is light, love, goodness, truth and energy. The Akal is ever-calm, without anxiety, without desire, like the sky above the earth...vast and deep -- the highest ideal. The Akal is accessible to the soul through a life of devotion and prayer. The Khalsa, according to Guru Gobind Singh, is ‘the one who meditates day and night on the ever- shining light and does not give place in his heart to anyone except the One’. The Creator is without distinctions; so is the Khalsa. The Almighty is the only One, the only truth. “I bow to him as One ; I bow to him as One” says the Guru. Reciting, “Jale Hari, thali Hari... bane Hari...Tuhi..Tuhi… only You.. only You…” the Sikh reaches the highest state of ecstasy, of realisation which no words, no translation can express. With this stage, there remains no distinction, no separate identity between Creator and Creation. Both are merged and complete. Guru Gobind Singh often refers to the Almighty as ‘Sarabloh’ or ‘all-iron’, symbolised in weapons of war -- and why not? When God vanquishes evil, he helps those who take a courageous stand against tyrants. The martial Lord is invoked as Bhagauti or sword by Guru Gobind Singh. ‘I bow to the sword, spotless, fearless and unbreakable; I bow to the sword which destroys evil’. Bhagauti which represents Creator and word; it also means that a bhakta or devotee has divine significance, for the Khalsa performs the dual role of preserving good and overcoming all that is bad.The saint-soldier Guru says, “Hail, hail to the Creator , the Saviour, my cherisher, hail to thee, O sword !”. Unsurprisingly, the Khalsa starts Ardas, the daily prayer, with an invocation to the sword, ‘Pritham Bhagauti simar ke Guru Nanak layi dhiyai’ -- “Having first remembered the sword, meditate on Guru Nanak.” The Khalsa is akal ki fauj-- God's own army created to fulfill the divinely ordained mission of Gurus --‘Dharam chalavan, sant ubaran, dust sabhan ko mul uparan’ -- to uphold dharma, protect the saintly and uproot the wicked. ‘Wahe Guruji ka Khalsa; Wahe Guruji ki Fateh’ -- ‘Hail the Khalsa who belongs to the Lord; Hail the Lord to whom belongs victory’. Today is Baisakhi