29/12/2022
Today marks the 356th birth anniversary also celebrated as
Since childhood, I was awestruck by the tenth Guru of Sikhism, Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. His tales of valour, bravery, strength, determination, sacrifice and dharma are lessons for a lifetime.
He like his great father, Guru Teg Bahadur Singh Ji dedicated his life to stand for people and protect the Dharma. Guru Gobind Singh Ji appeared in 1666 in the modern-day city Patna.
In 1675, Kashmiri Pandits petitioned Sri Teg Bahadur Singh to protect them from the forced conversions at the hands of the Mughals especially from the fanatic general of Aurangzeb, Iftikhar Khan. Teg Bahadur did the supreme sacrifice to protect the honour and dignity of the Kashmiri Pandits.
At the tender age of 10, Guru Gobind Singh Ji was coronated as the tenth guru of the Sikhism.
Later, in 1699 he founded the warrior group called Khalsa literally meaning the Pure Ones. These warriors were trained in martial arts and other warfare to uphold and protect dharma.
He fought almost 13-14 wars with the Mughals and especially against Aurangzeb. During one of the wars, Gobind Singh's mother Mata Gujri and his two younger sons were captured by Wazir Khan, the Mughal governor of Sirhind. His youngest sons, aged 5 and 8, were tortured and then executed by burying them alive into a wall after they refused to convert to Islam, and Mata Gujri collapsed on hearing her grandsons' death and died shortly after.
Some of his life percepts which always inspired me at an individual level -
1. Despite being a warrior and with extremely bitter experiences on the battlefield he never shamed, abused or killed women, children of the enemy camp.
2. He never desecrated places of worship of other religions. He was always respectful to other faiths.
3. He always stood for the principles of Dharma and taught the same thing to his children as well. Imagine the conviction of his 3 and 5-year-old kids even in the face of death.
Let's remember his supreme sacrifice and teachings which are relevant even today and honour him.