SIKH HISTORY
Question 1:
Who made Guru Nanak Dev a Guru? Or how did Guru
Nanak find out he was a Guru? Why does not someone like Guru Nanak come to
earth in this time to stop wickedness,thefts, liars, etc.?
(May first see
Chapter VII Question 3)
(i) A teacher (Guru) is made by his students
(disciples) as a father is “made” by his son. If there are no students,
there is no teacher. Guru Nanak taught people how to live their life
truthfully. The philosophy he preached was, “Truth is above all; highest
is truthful living.” The people found that his teachings lit the dark path
of their lives. The masses, therefore, accepted him as the teacher, Guru.
This is how he was declared a Guru. The popular saying about him is: Nanak Shah Fakir; Hindu Ka Guru, Musalman Ka
Pir.Nanak is a great holy man; both Hindus and Muslims accept him as their
spiritual guide.” The mass acceptance of Nanak as a Guru took a
long time. Therefore, no particular day can be named when he was accepted
as Guru by the people. From his very childhood, he had been teaching
lessons to the people through the actions of his life. He taught us that
the true bargain is sharing our earnings with the needy. The best company,
he said, is the association of holy men who love God. At Sultan Pur, he
preached that honest living is the right way to earn one’s livelihood.
Jealousy is a journey on the wrong path. Misappropriation of public stores
and money is an anti religious act.When he was working for the Nawab of
Sultan Pur, Guru Nanak as usual went to the nearby river Bein to take his
bath. He did not return for three days. The villagers and officials got
worried and were anxious to see him alive. On the third day, when they saw
him coming to the village, they immediately gathered around Guru Nanak.
They asked him about his absence. He answered, “I have brought a message
from the Master to deliver to you. There is no Hindu; there is no Musalman.
(Humanity should not be classified as Hindus or Muslims.)
We, as
human beings, are all His children, hence equal. We cannot be divided into
different groups or castes,as high or low.”This formal sermon was given in
1499. After this, he quit his job and spent the rest of hislife sharing
this message with the people. That year may be accepted as the year of the
beginning of his Guruship. Guru Nanak is regarded as having been formally
accepted as a Guru from that time on. After declaring his message, the
Guru decided to carry it to all the people in India and nearby countries.
He traveled for about two decades to visit the holy places of different
religions and explain his message to the people there.(ii) It is good to
know that many of you wish someone like Guru Nanak to be with us andguide
us on the right path. Fortunately, not only Guru Nanak but all the Gurus
and other Holypersons (Bhagats) are here with us today. We have only to
“meet” them and “listen” to them.Lessons given in the sacred
Gurbani are the ‘Guru’. A disciple who obeys Gurbani, will surely achieve
the goal of human life. ((Guru Granth Sahib) page 982) Gurbani
is Guru (spirit of the Guru, message of the Guru.) Reading Gurbani is
talking to the Guru because the words were actually spoken by the Guru.
Whatever the Gurus and Bhagats told people was recorded by them in the
form of holy hymns for the benefit of whole humanity. Now, it is for us to
take advantage of Gurbani, recite it, sing it, enjoy it and benefit from
the directions mentioned there in for our guidance.The original
compilation of all these hymns, prepared by Guru Arjun Dev, is still
available with us at Kartarpur, Panjab. Later, to it were added the hymns
of Guru Teg Bahadur and the scripture was authenticated by Guru Gobind
Singh. The scripture is now called Guru Granth Sahib, and as a living
spirit of the Gurus.Translations of Gurbani are available in simple
Punjabi, English, French and Hindi. People are welcome to read them and
enjoy them. However, it is good if the seeker learns the Punjabi language
so that he/she can recite and listen to the original holy words uttered by
the Godtuned persons and enjoy the spiritual bliss.We know many people,
during the Guru period and also after that, guided their lives onthe path
laid by Gurmat. Today, we have the original directions for the path. The
Guru tells us tolive the life of Sewa Simran and at the same time keep away
from ego, lust, anger, greed andother vices. We learn this by reciting and
singing Gurbani. Let us make a beginning to live
thatlife and we will find Gurus standing by us and guiding us on the right
path. ((Guru Granth Sahib)Page 394) (See question 8 as well.)
Question 2:
If the ten Gurus were supposed to lead us to a
very happy life, why did they lead us through so much destruction and
death?
The Gurus guided humanity to the path of truth, peace and
happiness. However, the overly zealous religious leaders, Kazis (judges)
and Brahmans did not like his preaching or his growing popularity. They
were getting donations from the people with false promises of salvation.
Sometimes they would extract money from them with the threat of Hell. The
rulers and also thejudges were sucking the blood of the common man by
their corrupt behavior and biased decisions. Guru Nanak raised a voice
against all these bloodsuckers of society.
Kings
are like blood sucking beasts. The officials act like dogs. ((Guru Granth
Sahib) Page 1288)
Kazi
(Judges) are corrupt, Brahmans suck the blood of the helpless. Yogis don’t
know the path of God. These three (because of their vested interests) are
responsible for the problems of the masses. ((Guru Granth Sahib) Page
662)The corrupt officials and bigoted religious
leaders all joined hands to challenge this movement for human rights
founded under the leadership of Guru Nanak. They used their political,
social, and financial powers to harass the Gurus and their Sikhs who had,
therefore, to undergo tortures and sufferings to save the common, helpless
persons. Sikhs ungrudgingly faced a lot of state terrorism and repression.
By suffering for the cause of the human rights of the weak, they were
teaching us the Sikh principle:The brave man is he
who protects the rights of the weak. He continues his fight
against oppression even if he gets cut into pieces. ((Guru Granth Sahib)
Page 1105) Thousands of Sikhs suffered for over a century, but
as a result of this, millions of people got their freedom from the
tyrannical rulers. Everybody knows that soldiers suffer and die so that
their countrymen can live in peace and prosperity. In the same way, the
Gurus and the Khalsa, suffered to protect human rights and freedom of
religion for every human being. Suffering anddeath are not as ‘painful’ as
remaining slaves generation after generation without being permitted to
practice one’s own faith. Such a life of a slavery is not worth living.
Suffering and dying while espousing the cause of such suppressed people is
a high goal of human life.
Question 3:
Why did Guru Gobind
Singh have more than one wife? How many marriages did Guru Gobind Singh
have?
The wrong impression that the Guru had more than one wife was
created by those writers who were ignorant of Punjabi culture. Later
authors accepted those writings indicating more than one marriage of the
Guru and presented it as a royal act. During those days kings, chiefs, and
other important people usually had more than one wife as a symbol of their
being great and superior to the common man. Guru Gobind Singh, being a
true king, was justified in their eyes to have had more than one wife.
This is actually incorrect.In Punjab, there are two and sometimes three
big functions connected with marriage, i.e., engagement, wedding, and
Muklawa. Big gatherings and singings are held at all these three
functions. In many cases, the engagement was held as soon as the person
had passed the infantstage. Even today engagements at 8 to 12 years of age
are not uncommon in some interior partsof India. The wedding is performed
a couple of years after the engagement. After the wedding, ittakes another
couple of years for the bride to move in with her in laws and live there.
This is called Muklawa. A dowry and other jpgts to the bride are usually
given at this time of this ceremony to help her to establish a new home.
Now, the wedding and Muklawa are performedon the same day and only when
the partners are adults.A big befitting function and other joyful
activities were held at Anand Pur, according to custom, at the time of the
engagement of the Guru. The bride, Mata Jeeto Ji, resided at Lahore, which
was the capital of the Mughal rulers who were not on good terms with the
Gurus. When the time for the marriage ceremony came, it was not considered
desirable for the Guru to go to Lahore, along with the armed Sikhs in
large numbers.
Further more, it would involve a lot of traveling and huge
expenses, in addition to the inconvenience to the Sangat, younger and old,
who wished to witness the marriage of the Guru. Therefore, as mentioned in
the Sikh chronicles, Lahore was ‘brought’ to Anand Pur Sahib for the
marriage instead of the Guru going to Lahore. A scenic place a couple of
miles to the north of Anand Pur was developed into a nice camp for the
marriage. This place was named Guru Ka Lahore. Today, people are going to
Anand Pur visit this place as well. The bride was brought to this place by
her parents and the marriage wascelebrated with a very huge gathering
attending the ceremony.The two elaborate functions, one at the time of
engagement and the other at the time of the marriage of the Guru, gave the
outside observers the impression of two marriages. They had reason to
assume this because a second name was also there, i.e., Mata Sundari Ji.
After the marriage, there is a custom in the Panjab of giving a new
affectionate name to the bride by her inlaws. Mata Jeeto Ji, because of
her fine features and good looks, was named Sundari (beautiful) by the
Guru’s mother.
The two names and two functions gave a basis for outsiders
to believe that the Guru had two wives. In fact, the Guru had one wife
with two names as explained above.Some historians even say that Guru
Gobind Singh had a third wife, Mata Sahib Kaur. In1699, the Guru asked her
to put patasas (puffed sugar) in the water for preparing Amrit when
hefounded the Khalsa Panth. Whereas Guru Gobind Singh is recognized as the
spiritual father ofthe Khalsa, Mata Sahib Kaur is recognized as the
spiritual mother of the Khalsa.People not conversant with the Amrit
ceremony mistakenly assume that Mata Sahib Kaur was the wife of Guru
Gobind Singh.
As Guru Gobind Singh is the spiritual but not the biological
father of the Khalsa, Mata Sahib Devan is the spiritual mother of the
Khalsa, Mata Sahib Devan is the spiritual mother of the Khalsa but not the
wife of Guru Gobind Singh.From ignorance of Punjabi culture and the Amrit
ceremony, some writers mistook these three names of the women in the life
of Guru Gobind Singh as the names of his three wives. Another reason for
this misunderstanding is that the parents of Mata Sahib Devan, as some
Sikh chronicles have mentioned, had decided to marry her to Guru Gobind
Singh. When the proposalwas brought for discussion to Anandpur, the Guru
had already been married. Therefore, theGuru said that he could not have
another wife since he was already married. The dilemma beforethe parents
of the girl was that, the proposal having become public, no Sikh would be
willing tomarry her. The Guru agreed for her to stay at Anand Pur but
without accepting her as his wife.The question arose, as most women desire
to have children, how could she have one withoutbeing married. The Guru
told, “She will be the “mother” of a great son who will live forever and
be known all over the world.” The people understood the hidden meaning of
his statement only after the Guru associated Mata Sahib Devan with
preparing Amrit by bringing patasas. It is, therefore, out of ignorance
that some writers consider Mata Sahib Devan as the worldly wife of Guru
Gobind Singh.
Question 4:
Who built the Golden Temple and
when?
The decision found the city now called Amritsar, was made in
1570. The selection of the place was made by Guru Amar Das who deputed
Bhai Jetha Ji (later Guru Ram Das) to start the preliminary work. The land
chosen belonged to the villages of Gumtala, Sultan Wind, Gilwali andTung.
The people of these villages and others around gathered there to
inaugurate the Sikh enter. First, a tank named Santokh Sar was dug for the
storage of water and later the digging of the sacred pool was started. The
construction of the residential places, markets, business centers, stores,
manufacturing units, and other places of work was taken up simultaneously.
People of different professions were invited to come and settle around the
center to start their work or business. Keeping in mind the growth of the
place, more land was purchased later on. The Amritsar gazetteer 1883-1884,
states: In 1577 he (Guru Ram Das) obtained a grant of the site together
with 500 bighas (about 100acres) of land from the Emperor Akbar on payment
of Rupees 700 to the Zemindars of VillageTung, who owned the land. The
place during its development, was known as Guru Ka Chak, Chak Ram Das, and
Ram Das Pur. With the competition of the sacred pool, Amrit Sarovar, the
city became popular as Amritsar.
Guru Ram Das completed the digging of the
Sarovar. Before his death in 1581, he passed on the Guruship to his
youngest son, Guru Arjan Dev. The fifth Guru built the Harimandar Sahib in
the middle of the pool and completed the construction of the buildings
around there. The foundation of the holy Harimandar Sahib was laid in
1589. A Muslim holy man Mian Mir, was invited by Guru Arjan Dev Ji for
this occasion. The building was completed in 1604 and the sacred volume of
the Guru Granth Sahib was installed there. Nothing else but Kirtan, i.e.,
singing virtues of the Lord, goes on all the time there.The present
structure of the Harmindar Sahib was constructed by the Khalsa Panth in
1765. The old structure was blown up in 1782 by Ahmed Shah Durrani to
subdue the Sikhs. He filled the pool with debris and dead cows to
desecrate it. He was told by the Governor of Lahore that the pool and the
Harimandar Sahib are the source of the life of the Sikhs. With the hope of
ending Sikh power, he destroyed the holy place. The Sikhs stood up for
their rights and within three years became strong enough to defeat the
Afghans and to hold many of their soldiers as prisoners during 1764. To
teach them a unique kind of lesson, they made those very soldiers clean
Amritsar pool and then released them without any further punishment. No
one was torturedor murdered for desecrating the holy place. They were
merely advised not to do that again. TheHarimandar Sahib stands there and
spreads the message of peace to all the people in the world.Maharaja
Ranjit Singh had gold work done on the Harimandar Sahib in 1830. Since the
visit of the British, the Harimandar Sahib got its popular name Golden
Temple because of the domes and upper story of the Harimandar Sahib being
gold plated.The Akal Takhat, situated towards the northern side of the
Harimandar Sahib, was built by Guru HarGobind. More buildings were added
around the pool and in the vicinity by the Sikh Misls during the later
part of the 18th century.
The Misls were allotted residential areas for
their members so that they could keep the Sikhs there to protect the
sanctity of the Harimandar Sahibfrom the future attacks of the
invaders.The peace spread by the Harimandar Sahib was distributed in 1978
when on Baisakhi Day 13 Sikhs were murdered by the false Nirankaris. (A
cult supported by the Indian government to clash with the Sikhs and
provide a chance for the government to clash with the Sikhs and provide a
chance for the government to suppress the Sikhs.) The situation became
very tense after that and an outright war in 1984 when Indra Gandhi
ordered the Indian army to attack the complex. The army destroyed Akal
Takhat, Sikh holy relics and handwritten scriptures of the Gurus’ times.
Many adjacent buildings were heavily damaged and the Golden Temple had
hundreds of bullet marks. Thousands of innocent visitors and priests and
employees of the Gurdwara committee who were on duty were murdered in cold
blood by the army.
Question 5:
Where was the first Sikh
temple built? And in North America?
(i) It is difficult to say where
and when the first Gurdwara was built. The main Sikh centerat Amritsar, as
mentioned above, was formally inaugurated in 1604 when the holy
scripturecompiled by the fifth Guru was installed there. The city was
founded in 1577 by Guru Ram DasJi. The place was chosen by Guru Amar Das
in 1570 when the digging of the sacred pool wasstarted jointly with the
cooperation of the surrounding villages. Earlier, the preaching were done
at Goindwal, a town situated on the western bank of the river Beas. Guru
Amar Das built the town and the Baoli (open well with steps leading down
to the water level) there for all people irrespective of their caste or
faith. Guru Angad Dev had hisheadquarters in his own village, Khadur,
about four miles upstream from Goindwal.Guru Nanak Dev settled at
Kartarpur, located on the western bank of river Ravi, where in1520 he
started a center for regular preaching of the Sikh faith. The village,
however, wasfounded much earlier by the Guru, after returning from his
journey to Southern India.Earlier than the founding of Kartarpur, there
were many places sanctified by the visit or stay of the Guru there.
Gurdwaras, however, were built at those places later in memory of the
Guru. It cannot be said with certainty when those places were formally
inaugurated for preaching the Sikh faith.The birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev,
Gurdwara Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahib (Pakistan) can be regarded as the
oldest Sikh sacred place.
It is at this place that Guru Nanak denied being
Hindu by refusing to undergo the ceremony of wearing the Janju (thread).
He thus, for the first time, indirectly told people that he planned to
reveal a new faith and not follow the ancestral faith. The Gurdwara, of
course, was built there much later. Gurdwara Sacha Sauda, a few miles from
Nankana Sahib, is the place where the Guru gave to the people his first
lesson, “We shouldshare our earnings with the needy.”The Guru gave his
formal spiritual sermon in 1499, “There is no Hindu; there is no
Musalman,” at Sultan Pur, Lodhi on the eastern side of the river Beas.
(ii) The Sikhs came to North America sometime during the early 1890’s.
They did not recognize themselves formally until the first decade of this
century. As late as 1898 there was a press report that some unique kind of
people (the Sikhs) were seen in Vancouver with uncut hair and turbans on
their heads. It was in 1902 that Sikhs came to Vancouver in big groups. It
is said the first sacred volume of the Adi Guru Granth Sahib was brought
to Vancouver in 1904. The Sikh Sangat started holding their regular
functions at that time. By 1906 they had organized themselves and
purchased a property at West 2nd Avenue. The first formal Gurdwara was
built there in 1908. The same organization, Khalsa Diwan Society, shifted
the Gurdwara to its present site, 8000 Ross Street, Vancouver in 1969. It
was declared to be the best building in 1978.The Sikhs in California, USA,
organized themselves into the Pacific Coast Khalsa DiwanSociety and built
their first Gurdwara in 1911 at Stockton. Sikh Sangats had been formed
earlierat other places as well but this was the first registered body of
the Sikhs.
Question 6:
Does it really matter whether the
Sakhis are true or not? They teach us how to be good Sikhs which is what
matters.
(i) Sakhis are a part of history; however, the actual details
mentioned by the writers/narrators differ and may not be true. This
happens all the time with all religions. If two people write about an
historical incident they give different details. Many Sakhis were not
written at the time they happened. They were only oral history passed on
from person to person. It must be remembered that Sikh Sakhis are not
fables; they are a part of history. Some differences and variations in
them, however, have been introduced because of the perceptions and
feelings of the writers and narrators when they were passed on from
generation to generation orally.Fables and mythological stories are
written for moral lessons. They are acceptable as they have a very
important place in the literature of a nation, community, and religion. In
the Sikh religion too, people have written such literature to teach
lessons to the common, uneducated masses. Sometimes, they are confused
with historical Sakhis. That is not in the interest of the Sikhs or the
Sikh philosophy.
(ii) It is agreed that the purpose to the Sakhis or the
fables is to teach us how to be good people. We should learn lessons from
them for guiding us in our lives rather than wasting time inarguing about
their details.
Question 7:
Who made the Punjabi writings
first?
Punjabi is a very old language. Even before the Guru period the
language was commonly spoken by the people. The Punjabi script was used to
write it. Many characters of Punjabi are quite similar to those of Dev
Nagari (Hindi) script. Old writings are found sometimes having a mixture
of Gurmukhi (Panjabi) and Dev Nagari script.It was during the period of
the second Guru that a formal and extensive teaching of the Gurmukhi
script was taken up. The script having been adopted, standardized and
popularized by the Gurus became known as Gurmukhi. However, there is proof
in the Guru Granth Sahib itself that the 35 letters of Gurmukhi were in
use even during the time of Bhagat Kabir. Bhagat Ji has written his hymns
based on the Panjabi letters which are included in the Guru Granth Sahib.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji has also written hymns starting with the Panjabi
letters.It is agreed by many scholars that the current forms of many
letters were given a final formof the letters made it possible for the
script to become popular. Guru Angad Dev Ji did make abig contribution to
popularize the Gurmukhi script with the people. He founded schools to
teachGurmukhi. From this some people got the impression that the Gurmukhi
script was invented byGuru Angad Dev Ji.
Question 8:
Are
the pictures of the Gurus real? If not, then why do we hang them up?
If the Guru let somebody paint a picture of him,
are you allowed to bow or to pray to it? Is it considered all right to
have the pictures of Gurus if you don't worship them?
Let us discuss
the Sikh philosophy regarding pictures of the Gurus before answering
thequestions. According to the Sikh principles, not the physical features
of his body, but the wordssaid by the Guru are the ‘Guru”.Lessons given in the sacred Gurbani are the ‘Guru’. A
disciple who obeys Gurbani, will surely achieve the goal of human life.
((Guru Granth Sahib) Page 982)
The holy hymns spoken by the Gurus,
Bhagats, and other contributors, were compiledand installed as ‘Shabad
Guru’ in the Golden Temple, Amritsar. No pictures or idols of the
Guru(none were there), were allowed to be placed in the buildings or
depicted on its walls. For making the environment aesthetic and soothing to
the mind, flowers, geometrical figures and other artwork was engraved on
the walls of the Golden Temple. Pictures and paintings of the Gurus are
conspicuous by their absence.One wonders how the false pictures of the
Gurus and even their plastic, wooden and metallic idols appeared, not only
in the houses of the Sikhs but also in many Gurdwaras. This is nothing but
from the Sikh houses and their places of worship.It can easily be known
from the historical records as to how fake pictures and then statues of
the Gurus entered the Golden Temple and Sikh houses.
What seems to be
extremely difficult is, how to throw them out of the Gurdwaras and the
Sikh psyche. Not only a few credulous Sikhs, some traditional preachers
and even a few educated Sikhs have started believing in Guru pictures.
They think that keeping pictures of the Guru pictures. They think that
keeping pictures of the Gurus in the house is the Gurmat method of showing
respect to the Gurus and obeying their blessings. Some Sikhs have seen
garlanding the Guru pictures and serving food to them for ‘Bhog’, a
practice prohibited for the Sikhs.Not all Sikhs, of course, have reached
the stage of worshipping the Gurus’ pictures/paintings as the Hindus
worship their idols, but a large number of them are on their wayto do
that. Some scholars want these pictures (all are surely fake) to be
destroyed whereasothers suggest that only their worship be prohibited.
((Bhai Gurdas Var) 24-11; 7-20) Bhai Gurdas
explains that the picture of the Guru is his “Word”, Gurbani, which a Sikh
is to love.
(ii) The history of the imaginary Guru pictures is
briefly stated below.Then the Keshadhari Sikhs during the 18th century
were forced to leave the villages and live in the forests, the
nonKeshadhari disciples took care of the Sikh Gurdwaras and the historical
places. These disciples did not board the ship of Sikh Faith; they only
held it in their hands but kept their feet stuck in the Hindu Boat. The
Brahmanical influence, which was still holding their mind, obliged them to
depict popular mythological scenes on the walls of the Gurdwaras as they
were traditionally depicted on the walls of Hindu temples. When the
pictures of the Hindu gods and their consorts appeared on the Gurdwara
walls, the pictures of the Gurus had also to appear as a natural sequence.
All pictures, of course, differed and were subject to the imagination of
the painters. The pictures from the walls moved on the paper and were
printed in large numbers to reach every Sikh house and every Gurdwara.
Only a few vigilant managers did not permit any kind of pictures,
howsoever ‘genuine’ or ‘superior’ they were claimed to be, to come even
near the boundary of the Gurdwaras. Once the pictures of the Gurus were
accepted as ‘true’ and ‘good’ by the masses, how could anyone stop them
from taking the form of idols and statues?
Unfortunately, it appears that
they are here to stay at least for the time being.During the 18th century,
not only the nonSikh but antiSikh rituals were practiced in Gurdwaras
without any objection because the Khalsa had moved to the forests. The
sacred places were managed by the Sanatni (Brahmanical) Sikhs or by those
Mahants who still believed in Hindu rituals even after associating
themselves with the Sikh faith.When the Sikhs lost their Raj in Panjab in
1849, they had time to turn their thoughts towards their faith. They were
surprised to find Sikhism already pushed out of the Gurdwaras by
Brahmanical rituals. The worship of idols, whether of the Hindu gods or of
the Sikh Gurus, isprohibited for the Sikhs. However, both were worshiped
by the Sikhs in the precincts of theGolden Temple.
True Pictures? No true
pictures of the Guru exist, though some have been claimed to be true
pictures. One ‘true’ picture is totally different from the other ‘true’
picture. Most of them are modern paintings. Some old sketches / paintings
are also available, but all are based on the imagination of the painters.
No Guru permitted his painting to be made in his time, because it is
against the philosophy of the Sikh faith as mentioned earlier. We should
not have Guru pictures in our houses or Gurdwaras. Instead we should have
Gurbani hymns written and hung for our guidance in our house.
Bending/bowing before the pictures or garlanding them is prohibited even
if they were true pictures. The Sikh philosophy tells that ‘words’ said by
the Guru are the ‘Guru’ (now Guru Granth Sahib). We bow not before a book,
as some persons think, but to the ‘Gian’ (knowledge) there in.