Sahibe kamaal – 19

In dedication to Guru Gobind Singh ji

Personality of a person is best judged by what others say about him. Guru ji himself a great poet attracted many poets in his durbar. At Paonta Sahib he had 52 poets with whom he interacted. The Emperor Aurangzib did’t like fine muse and prohibited many poets to follow the tradition of singing praises as was the tradition of those days. He thought of himself to be a pious Muslim and according to the Islamic traditions the Emperor was next to Allah. To attain this position they never shied in killing of their own kin. A strict vigil was kept and everybody had to behave in subjugation and nobody was allowed to follow any other interests. One of his sons was very fond of drums but he was not allowed to play. All poets, musicians started leaving for safer places and many of them travelled to Paonta Sahib when they heard Guruji held durbar for poetry and music. Guruji even started the tradition of Ranjeet Nagara a kind of very big drum the sound of which resonated far and wide. Guru ji’s favourite poetry was Bir-ras because that infused a never subsiding spirit in his men. The poets, scholars and musicians in his durbar were so impressed by him that they wrote volumes in his praise.            Guruji had such a versatile personality and he was so talented that whatever he accomplished one cannot even fathom by walking along and needs a galloping horse to know his versatile and fast paced life. In a short life span he did things that amount to miracles. His love for his Sikhs was so overwhelming that he like his great grandfather Guru Arjun Devji touched the bottom of humility. After the creation of Khalsa he put the panj piaras on higher pedestal and begged them to give Amrit to him so that he becomes one of them. This act of humility shows that for him glorification of Sikh thought was more important than his person.            One of the poet Lakhan Rai writes that the movement that Guru Nanak started was safe guarded by Guru Gobind ji with his pen and sword….. Another poet Mangal Rai writes that the Anand (happiness) of Anandpur was so fear creating that the tyrant and the Kings feared him equally. He says:” Anand da vaja nit vajda Anandpur,sun sudh bhuldi hai nar naar di; suvne na dendi such dujna nu raat din,naubat Gobind Singh Paatshah di, Guru Gobind Singh sam daata na koi dekhiya, daata Guru Gobind sam sune na dekhe nain.” Poet Gopal writes that keeping his company alone sheds all ego and desires that the mind wants to say,” Wah Wah Gobind Singh” Nobody can deny a fact that he was a great personality that has ever taken birth on this land. He personified so many personalities in one human form that it becomes difficult to describe him, savior, saint, poet, writer, dramatist, bhagat(devotee), artist, reformer, scholar, linguistic, statesman, organizer, great general, saint soldier, spiritual yogi, wielder of the weapons, a great horseman, a great community leader, away from greed, hostility and enmity, showed Emperor like personality but only in the service of Almighty and not to gain any worldly powers. Seeing his versatile personality one becomes overwhelmed by the thought that the Eternal Being created him only to fulfill the task that He himself could not come to earth to do. The empowerment of nine Gurus and their enlightenment and the enlightenment of their word were all merged in to his personality. He fulfilled the task Guru Nanak had taken over to bring a lasting change in the divided, downtrodden, lassitude society that had given up hope forever. He changed them into fearless and ever in high spirited society.  Apart from Poets, many historians have written about the personality of Guru Gobind Singh. A contemporary historian Latif says; He was successful as a community leader and organized the divided Society into a one unit. He further says: On his religious seat he looked like a Spiritual Avtaar, in battle field he was a brave knight, when he held his durbar he looked like Sachha Patshah the true King and in Sangat(congregation) he looked like a Faqir. Cunningham says that the   worldly success alone is not the measure of success or greatness. Greatness is measured by the success of ideal and target. Guru Nanak had awakened the spirit in people and Guru Gobind Singh ji infused a life in that spirit that his men could now fight in the measure of one to one lakh and a quarter. He was not fortunate enough to see what spirit he had bestowed in his men that they could forever stop the invasions in to India.

After completing the final edition of Granth Sahib at Damdama Sahib in Talwandi Sabo Guruji wanted to go to meet Aurangzib as he had sent a letter of remorse and wanted to meet this true Faqir of Allah. Guruji started his journey towards south but heard of Auranzib’s death and went to help one of his son princes Muazzam for acquiring the throne. He is the same prince who avoided fighting with Guruji because he came to know that the Hill chieftains didn’t want to pay the taxes and that is why they were instigating Mogul Subedars to fight with Guruji. Guruji realized that if he becomes Emperor he will have soft corner for Sikhs and leave them in peace. Muazzam became the Emperor and came to be known as Bahadur Shah Jaffar. He had to leave for south to quell a rebellion and asked Guruji to accompany him. For the growth of Sikh community it was important to make a pact with a mightier opponent so Guruji went to south with Bahadur Shah to make a permanent truce with the Moguls. On their journey the Emperor was always avoiding the State policy topics so Guruji left his company and wandered on their own with his Sikhs. He was destined to meet Madho Bairagi who was to bring a turning point in the Sikh history. Madho bairagi recognized that his Lord has come and he offered himself as his Banda or slave. Guruji blessed him and bestowed his powers on to him and renamed him as Banda Singh Bahadur and sent him to fight the tyranny and finish it off from roots. Unfortunately Guruji were martyred by Wazir Khan’s men because he didn’t want any truce with Sikhs so he thought of killing Guruji before he could get any concessions from the Emperor.

The practical transformation of Guru Nanak’s thought was given by Guru Gobind Singhji in small practical steps. Small things make so much difference that only a great philosopher and psychologist like Guru Gobind Singhji visualize. Most important was the personal greeting of Sikhs: Wahe Guruji ka Khalsa, Wahe Guruji ki Fateh- hails the khalsa who belongs to the Almighty and hail the Almighty whom belongs the victory. This greeting permanently attached the Sikhs of all types, believers and non believers in the Almighty and his Grace to one another and to the Almighty. This simple greeting united the Sikh community in one organization. Even the non Sikhs using this greeting invariably think of the Almighty. The war cries; Jo bole so nihal, and Sat Sri Akal have also become the personal greetings of Sikhs and while crying in Sangat the high spirit or chardi Kala can be felt resonating in each and every one present. Such are the vibrating impulses that these simple changes in greeting of Sikhs induce.