Spirit and Festival of Baisakhi: A Prayerful Reflection

Baisakhi is one of the most important and transforming events in the Sikh history, and this year marks its 315th commemoration.  Besides its enormous religious significance as a landmark event in the Sikh history, Baisakhi heralds the beginning of harvest of wheat time in the State of the Punjab.  Punjab is the birthplace of the Sikh faith, one of the major religions founded in India; others being Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.  Baisakhi is one of the major festivals on the Indian calendar.  Baisakhi generally falls in mid-April.  The Festival and celebration of Baisakhi is one of the most joyous and colorful cultural festivals of India and is gradually becoming a major global cultural celebration.

Historical-Perspective-SPIRIT-AND-FESTIVAL-OF-BAISAKHI-1On this day, March 30, 1699, at the Baisakhi gathering at Anandpur Sahib, located in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains, the Tenth Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh, organized the young Sikh faith into a formidable Brotherhood of Khalsa (an Army of the Pure, saints and soldiers).  He organized a baptismal ceremony and invited the followers of Guru Nanak, the Sikh Founder, to embrace a distinct visual identity with five sacred articles of faith; to uphold the sacred and inalienable rights of equality, justice, human dignity of all living beings; to recognize all humanity as One Brotherhood, One Race.  He advocated the sacred right of self-defense against tyranny, oppression, and injustice towards anyone.  The Guru commanded his followers to bear arms and honor the five sacred articles of Sikh faith that included uncut hair covered with a turban and to carry the unifying last name of Singh (lion) for males and Kaur (princess) for female members of the Sikh Brotherhood.

Baisakhi 1699 became a remarkable moment in Sikh faith history and is regarded as a renewal, revival, and resurrection of a people that were beaten down by the events, foreign occupations, and tyranny of ruthless rulers of the time.  Baisakhi of 1699 set in motion the emergence of a new fearless race of people.  In time, the Sikhs became the legendary guardians and defenders of the Gateway to India, which for centuries was an open corridor to invading armies, hordes of Muslim, Mughal, and Mongol looters and plunderers of India’s honor and fortune.

Today, Sikhism is the fifth largest faith, with over 30 million followers worldwide, and nearly a million in the U.S.A. serving in every field of endeavor.  Sikhs are hardworking, proud and robust, daring and innovative; people with strong family values and commanded to honor the sanctity of other faith traditions, cultures, and communities.  Sikhs understand struggle and sacrifice, service and serving the nations and communities that are their new home.

At the community and family Baisakhi celebrations, the festivities include traditional folkdances of Bhangra and Giddha, delicious Punjabi food and treats, dancing to the famous, robust, and rocking Punjabi music.  In recent years, there has been a concerted effort to invite friends and honored guests from other faiths and ethnic communities to these annual cultural and religious celebrations.

Historical-Perspective-SPIRIT-AND-FESTIVAL-OF-BAISAKHI-2Throughout India and the Punjab and in the Sikh Diaspora spread across all continents today, much like Easter, Baisakhi is an occasion for family gatherings.  Colorful parades with much pageantry and religious fervor highlight the days before the festival.  People go on pilgrimages and attend prayer services at the holiest shrines decorated with festive lights and earthen lamps placed along the sacred pools associated with Sikh gurdwaras (temples).  The festivities invariably include massive fireworks in the evening witnessed by enthusiastic throngs that number into hundreds of thousands, and the sacred compounds resound with popular Sikh jakaras (joyous acclamations).  At the major Sikh historic gurdwaras, in some instances, laser displays have replaced the traditional fireworks.  Baisakhi or just being at Harmander Sahib is a momentous experience and a spiritual pilgrimage.

REFLECTING ON BAISAKHI MESSAGE AND LESSON

Beyond the commemorations, celebrations, and proud recounting of glorious legacy and legends of the historic Baisakhi of 1699, the struggles and sacrifices since, and the unimagined achievements of the Sikhs on the world stage in recent decades, there remain formidable challenges of Sikhs knowing so little about their own faith.  Sikhs and their faith continue to be mistakenly identified by other cultures and communities around the world as something that they are not.  Going forward, we must make a commitment, that our challenge is not just to dispel unfounded stereotyping, but to recognize that imaginative initiatives and innovative engagements with other communities and institutions is among our most urgent unexplored frontier to be successful citizens in new lands.  Our significant multi-level efforts are making a difference.

(The top picture by the author Kanwal Prakash Singh)

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About K.P. Singh

Kanwal Prakash Singh, an architectural artist, a published author, a public speaker and an active interfaith leader in Indiana, has been a resident of Indiana since 1967. He is a regular contributor to The Indianapolis Star and several worldwide print and online publications. His drawings and words have been featured in the 2007 and 2011 Sikhpoint/SikhLens Interfaith Calendars.

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