Freed

The first picture shows a modern day Nihang Singh wearing what appears to be a Rattray's Sikh regiment Pagri badge The second picture is from 'The Sikhs' Khushwant Singh - George Allen & Unwin 1953 - pg 81 and shows the Nishan Sahib and Darshani Deori of Darbar Sahib Tarn Taran - The photograph isn't dated but it can be seen that the Nishan Sahib is of the 'Degh Tegh Fateh' variety as argued by Mcleod, in this case it looks like two Kards and a degh/chakar Hope you enjoy the pics and I'm not boring you all !

Another area to investigate with regard to the Origin of the modern Khanda is the Princely states. I dont know if examples exist but every Sikh Misl must of had its own Nishan or Flag with different colours etc. - I am assuming here, as they did strike coins. - As Patiala and Kapurthala are the descendants of Ala Singh and Jassa Singh Alhuwalia - Their current flags might be similar to their old Misal flags ? The princely states especially Patiala were lovers of medals and titles - I think the medal gallery in Patiala is one of the largest collections in the world - In the picture below is the 'Order of Phul' - Nishan-i-phul which was founded by Maharajah Bhupinder Singh before 1911 It can be seen that the all the elements of the modern khanda are there in the chest badge(left) and the collar and sash badge are the Khanda as we recognise it today . Have we solved the puzzle of who designed the modern Khanda ??

Thanks again N30 for Hosting the pics ( by the way I have sent you some More!!) The picture of the Akali Nihangs is from the 1905 visit of The Prince and Princess of Wales to Amritsar - The Nihangs are wearing beautiful and impressive Gaj Gah - with a very varied display of Chands,chakars and Dumaley de shaster -- a wonderful sight - no wonder the British ( as well as everyone else ) were (and are) so intrigued by Akalis ! Any way I posted the photograph because if you look at the first Akali with the tall dastar and Gaj gah on the right hand side - the one standing in front of what looks like a bollard - You will notice that under the Gaj Gah he appears to be wearing a Modern Khanda type arrangement ie. a chakar with central khanda and crossed kirpans I may just be seeing things but what do you think ? Amandeep - the 5th Akali from the left appears to be Akali Jai Singh - as published in 'warrior saints' is it him ?

Many Thanks for sharing your knowledge Dynamic Banda !!

Another element to the origin of the modern khanda is the fact, Nihangs to this day rarely wear a modern khanda on their dastars- The Nihangs close to my pind call it a feringee/singh sabha invention The use of the Aad chand ties in with kshatriya ideals - however the arrangement of Dummalla shasters and shasters before Guru Sahib could be argued to give rise to the modern Khanda. Another angle is the British love of inventing badges and coats of arms etc - the Rattray Badge and the Sikh Light Inf badge all could be prototype Khandas. On my last visit to Punjab I noticed the Chakar on top of the dome of the Khalsa College Amritsar - it consists of a Chakar with a bhagauti in the middle -- basically a modern khanda without the kirpans - Khalsa College was opened in 1893 Designed by Sardar Ram Singh -Pupil of Lockwood Kipling- Could this be the first Modern Khanda ?? an Anglo Sikh Invention ?? I hope I havent offended anyone -- just my thoughts -- I did say I have a slight obsession with the Khanda!! Please post your opinions even if it is just to cuss my ideas !

N30 S!NGH ! Thanks for hosting the pictures !! The first picture is from Lichfield Cathedral Staffordshire UK - it shows the Anglo Sikh War Memorial and the Captured Sikh battle Standards. The Inscriptions read: ‘The Sikh colours on this memorial were taken by H.M.’s 80th Regiment at the Battles of Ferozeshah and Sobraon. The capture of the Black Standard at Ferozeshah cost the lives of some of those commemorated.’ ‘To the memory of the brave officers and men of the 80th Regiment of foot soldiers and Staffordshire volunteers who fell during the Sutlej campaign of 1845 and 1847 by their surviving comrades’ ‘To the memory of the brave officers and men of the 80th Regiment of foot or Staffordshire volunteers whose names are recorded on this tablet and who fell in the actions of Moodkee, Buddewal, Allewal, Feerozshah and Sobraon including those who subsequently died from the effects of their wounds when serving with the army of the Sutlej in India.’ Amandeep Bhai sahib will have to confirm but I believe the Black standards are Akali Standards and the red ones are Maharajah Ranjit Singh's Standard (**Side note on a different forum Amandeep Bhai Sahib said he has one of these standards - and I am dead jealous - positively GREEN ! anyway back to the description! ) - both these standards do not tally with modern 'ideas' of only Kesri or Blue Nishans for Sikhs or Nihangs. - Neither of them have any Khanda or weaponry markings - the Red ones have depictions of the Sun and 'Durga' I believe the captured colours are paraded by the regiment on the anniversary of the battle. The second picture is a detail from a woodcut of Darbar Sahib dated 1874 It shows the Miri Piri Nishan Sahibs Amritsar - it Can be seen that they have a Kataar Kirpan and what could either be a chakar or a degh -- The Degh Tegh Fateh that Mcleod argues. The next 2 pictures are taken from 'The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms - The Canadian Collections - Seema Bharadia 2000 page 30-1 - They show an address casket in the shape of the Harmandir sahib made in the late 1800s and probably given to Queen Victoria - It is now on show at the ROM Royal Ontario Museum What is interesting is that unlike the woodcut we can see what colour the Nishan Sahib, above Har ki Pauri is .Also we can see what appears to be a Bhagauti and Chakar/degh. Also the Nishan sahib Pole is surmounted with a spear not a bhaugauti As you can tell I have a slight obsession with the origin of the modern Khanda and Nishan sahibs Please post any info or ideas you have- all input greatly appreciated

Here is a collection of photographs of USA based Indian freedom fighters who were hanged after the infamous Lahore Conspiracy. The most famous being Kartar Singh Sarabha - hanged November 16 1915 aged 19 - The hangings were an inspiration to many such as Bhagat Singh to start Home grown freedom movements. Kartar Singh helped start the Gadr Party while a student at Berkeley (Univ California) and was part of group who went to India to start revolt especially among soldiers. While being quite famous among Punjabis (Jats especially - always name-checked as an ideal 'Anakhi' Jatt in many punjabi songs) there are not as many pictorial depictions of Kartar Singh as there are of Bhagat Singh - and those that do exist tend to be 'cartoon' like or like the Sobha Singh portrait show him with a turban - The statue of Kartar Singh in Ludhiana City also shows him with a turban and with quite indistinct features. All this makes the photograph interesting as it gives you an idea of what he really looked like.

A handwritten Saroop of Guru Granth Sahib from the early 19th century - The picture shows part of the Raagmala - and also shows the 'recipe' or method of making ink 'Siahi ki bidhi'. Note the 'corrections' in yellow ,and the beautiful calligraphy. The picture shows ang 624 of a total number of 646 'angs' *part of the The Schøyen Collection - Oslo and London The worlds largest private collection of manuscripts -covering almost every Tradition and spanning 5000 years http://www.nb.no/baser/schoyen/index.html

Thanks for the anecdote Amandeep ! - i was in Rome a couple of years ago and this Italian souvenir seller at the Colosseum said Fateh to me, he then pointed at his other stall and there was a tall Sardar - he was an Afghan Singh - You are right there are quite a few Sikh souvenir sellers - I met a very friendly And Homesick one at The Vatican You are right about the waiting for EU passports bit you will find lots of young Indian men selling trinkets and water at most European tourist spots especially in Paris and on greek beaches - At the Eiffel Tower I thought I was in Punjab ! stereos playing 'Apna Punjab' and gangs of indian men selling water and trinkets - at least until the police come and then they all do a runner ! Ah the Joys of travelling as a Singh - you do attract lots of attention - My best time was in Luxor ,Egypt - My wife and me decided to take a horse carriage ride through the Bazaar and hordes of kids and adults followed us shouting 'Maharajah! Maharajah!' -- Did wonders for the ego and as we were on our Honeymoon it impressed the wife as well !!

N30 Singh ! have you been able to ask Nihang Gurmant Singh Ji about the Boar Tusks ? I've found this interesting photo - I believe it is of Nihang Gurmant Singh -and He also is wearing boar tusks around his neck ! Also I have been reading Amandeep Madra and Parmjit Singh's 'Siques Tigers or Thieves' - they make mention of practices observed by Polier "that would now be abhorrent" - where muslim 'converts' "are made to wear a boar's tusk as an amulet" they state these practices have no doctrinal roots and are unorthodox and could be a way of testing new recruits loyalty.They also quote Du perron and his claim that "senior Siks give them (muslim converts) food to eat, and all that they eat is stirred with a tooth of a wild boar" (Siques,Tigers or Thieves - introduction pgxxxii ) The authors stress this is all highly unusual and has not survived into modern times - they also make the point that the eating of pork and the tusks may just be a by-product of hunting wild boar. Perhaps Gurmant Singh Ji could shed some light on the matter - what is the modern reasoning for wearing tusks - just hunting trophies or something else. Many Thanks if you could ask Gurmant Singh, N30 Bhaaji !

This marble memorial erected by The 35th Sikhs battalion in 1894 can be found on the right hand side of the Darshani Deori as you face Darbar Sahib Amritsar. It reads : "Eh chakar paltan number 35 Sikh ne tareek 16 (?) April 1894 mutaabak 5 Vasaakh san 1952 Nu Siri Darbar Sahib Amritsar da darshan karan di ar Ishnaan karan di yaadgar vich Ardass karaiya " Many pilgrims in their eagerness to have darshan of Darbar sahib or because of the rush of sangatan miss this memorial - what I find interesting - apart from the obvious devotion of the Sikh Soldiers to Sikhi And Amritsar - is what appears to be a prototype of the modern Khanda in each of the top corners - all the elements of the modern Khanda are there - Chakar ,Kirpan and khanda - just in a different formation. Perhaps This is one for Amandeep Madra Bhai Sahib - I look forward to reading your, as always, illuminating input .

The Zamzama Gun - or 'Bhangian Da Tope', Lahore As used by Ahmed Shah Abdali at the battle of Panipat , Captured by The Bhangi Misal Captured and Used by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in various victories - such as Kasoor and Multan Known to millions as Kim's gun thanks to Rudyard Kipling. Now situated just outside the Lahore Museum on Sharah-e-Quaid-e-Azam in front of Old Campus of the Punjab University.

A rare photograph of Bhai Vir Singh and Prof Puran Singh - taken at Dr Balbir Singh's house , Panchbati - Dehradun ( now Dr Balbir Singh Sahitya Kendra - part of Punjabi Univ) A rare and wonderful photograph. *taken from Punjabi Univ Patiala website : http://www.universitypunjabi.org/pages/res...hairbalbir.html

A rare photograph of Sikh scholar Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha, taken in 1894. *taken from 'Pirtan - Cultural Kosh Bhag 1' - Chanan Singh Chan

"Jahan Jahan Khalsa Ji Sahib, Tahan Tahan Rachhia Riaait" (Ardas) Sikhs in Arzignano, province of Vicenza, Northern Italy http://www.dinofracchia.it/sikh/index.htm Photographs taken by Dino Fracchia, photojournalist.

Commentary on 'The Sum of Perfection' by Ivan M. Granger Where else is the mystic path stated so succinctly yet so blissfully? These four lines contain all the instructions necessary. The parallels with -- and probable influence of -- Sufi mysticism is obvious, with the poem's reference to God as the Beloved. (We must remember the rich Islamic influence in Spain. When the southern part of the peninsula was controlled by the Muslim Moors, it was the center of philosophy, mysticism, and science throughout the Mediterranean world. This certainly touched the spirituality of subsequent Spanish mystics like John of the Cross.) But, this poem could just as well be entitled The Sum of Yoga. Compare this brief verse with the eight limbs of Yoga in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras: Discipline Restraint Posture Breath Control Sense-Withdrawal Concentration Meditation Ecstasy When you read this verse by John of the Cross with attention, you will see all of the Yogic path contained within it. The original Spanish verse has a fluid, chant-like rhythm that's difficult to reproduce in English translation: Olvido de lo criado, memoria del Criador, atencion a lo interior y estarse amando al Amado.

The Sum of Perfection by John of the Cross * * * * * 'The Sum of Perfection ' * * * * * Creation forgotten, Creator only known, Attention turned inward In love with the Beloved alone. * * * * * (Original Spanish) Olvido de lo criado, memoria del Criador, atencion a lo interior y estarse amando al Amado. * * * * * English version by Ivan Granger

Yes ! some biographical notes from www.jewishencyclopedia.com **!! Note the source so read accordingly ** !! SARMAD, MOHAMMED SA'ID: By : Isidore Singer Louis H. Gray Persian poet of Jewish birth; flourished in the first half of the seventeenth century. He was born at Kashan of a rabbinical family, but later embraced Mohammedanism, and went to India as a merchant. In the city of Tatta, Karachi, he became infatuated with'a young Hindu named Abhichand, whom he converted to a mixture of Judaism and Mohammedanism. In 1647 Sarmad was in Haidarabad, not far from Tatta, and there meeting Moshan Fani, the author of the "Dabistan-i Madhahib," or "School of Sects," he gave him the material for a meager chapter on the Jews. According to Moshan Fani, Sarmad held that man's life and death are a day and a night succeeding each other indefinitely at regular intervals of one hundred and twenty years each, and that at death the body passes partly into minerals and partly into vegetables, animals, and the like. This doctrine shows Hindu influence, while his view that allusions to Mohammed exist in the Old Testament bears the impress of Islamitic teaching. During the rule of Shah Jehan, Sarmad was unmolested; but Aurungzebe soon after his accession to the throne in 1658 charged him with heresy and caused him to be put to death. Sarmad was a poet of considerable ability; and several of his quatrains are still preserved. He is chiefly noteworthy, however, for having edited, together with Moshan Fani, a portion of Abhichand's Persian translation of the Pentateuch. This version, cited in the "Dabistan" as far as Gen. vi. 8, differs materially from the earlier Judæo-Persian translations by Jacob Tawus and others (see Jew. Encyc. iii. 190, vii. 317). Bibliography: The Dabistan, or School of Manners, translated from the Persian by Shea and Troyer, vol. ii., Paris, 1843; Rieu, Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the British Museum, London, 1881.S. L.

Mystic Poetry of Mansur al-Hallaj (Translated by Bernard Lewis) 'I am the One whom I love' I am the One whom I love, and the One whom I love is myself. We are two souls incarnated in one body; if you see me, you see Him, if you see Him, you see us. * 'Kill me, my faithful friends' Kill me, my faithful friends, For in my being killed is my life. Love is that you remain standing In front of your Beloved When you are stripped of all your attributes; Then His attributes become your qualities. Between me and You, there is only me. Take away the me, so only You remain. * 'Your spirit is mingled with mine' Your spirit is mingled with mine as wine is mixed with water; whatever touches you touches me. In all the stations of the soul you are I. * 'You glide between the heart and its casing ' You glide between the heart and its casing as tears glide from the eyelid. You dwell in my inwardness, in the depths of my heart, as souls dwell in bodies. Nothing passes from rest to motion unless you move it in hidden ways, O new moon. -- from Music of a Distant Drum: Classical Arabic, Persian, Turkish & Hebrew Poems, Translated by Bernard Lewis. PUP 2001

Twenty Quatrains (Rubaiyats) of SARMAD translated from Persian into English - 1/ Thou hast made thyself famous in winning hearts, Also in the art of friendship and affection, Those eyes which are vigilant are observant of thyself; Every moment thou showest thyself in a hundred colors. - 2/ If I am a devotee, my object is the Friend, What have I to do with the rosary and the sacerdotal thread ! This woolen garment wherein lie a hundred evils Never shall I put on my shoulder : it is disgusting to me. - 3/ Our every-day avocation is villainy and wickedness. Our flatterers and vessels have been filled with sins. Creation is laughing and life is wailing At our prayers, genuflections and fastings. - 4/ Sarmad is a body, his soul is in the hand of another: An arrow, but its bow is in the hand of another. He wished to be a man in order to jump out of the nest. He became a cow whose tether is in the hand of another. -5/ Not only are these temples and sanctuaries His house This earth and this sky are entirely His abode. The whole world is mad about His fictions. He is truly mad who is mad about Him. - 6/ His tyrannous passion, ho ! is Satan : Always visible, yet hidden. Thou art thyself the Devil, why are thou ill-disposed to the Devil? Before thy thoughts, he is bewildered. - 7/ Sarmad ! If He is true to his word, He Himself will come : If His coming is permissible, He Himself will come. Why shouldst thou wander aimlessly after Him? Sit down : if He be the Khud-a(*3) ; He Himself will come. - 8/ Sarmad ! the pang of love is not given to the self-seeking, The fire in the heart of the moth is not given to the fly. It takes a life-time for the beloved to come to the lap : This everlasting wealth is not given to every one. - 9/ Although a hundred friends have turned mine enemies, Owing to the friendship of the one, my mind has become contented. I have accepted Unity and been freed from multiplicity At last I became of Him and He of me. - 10/ He who gave thee the sovereignty of the world, Gave me all the causes of anxiety. He covered with a garment those with whom He found fault. To the faultless He gave the robe of nudity.(*4) - 11/ O King of Kings. I am not a hermit like thee, I am not nude, I am frenzied, I am distracted, but I am not depressed, I am an idolator, I am an infidel, I am not of the people of the faith, I go towards the mosque, but I am not a Mussulman. - 12/ Pass on from the wordly fancy, thought and care. Like the breeze of morn pass on from the garden and field. Be not mad on the colour and smell of the rose and wine, Be wise, pass on from these hallucinations. - 13/ Sarmad ! thou shouldst shorten thy murmurings. Thou shouldst adopt one course out of these two courses— Either, thou shouldst give thy body for the pleasure of the Friend; Or, thou shouldst sacrifice thy life in His way. - 14/ To put trust in the promises of the man of the world is wrong : Yea wrong, verily wrong to-night wrong, to-morrow wrong. Of the copy of the inquiry of our Book of life do not ask. Its transcriptions are wrong, meaning wrong, composition wrong, and spellings wrong. - 15/ I have no business with the fancy and thought of others. In composing a ghazal, I adopt the manner of Hafez. But in a rubai (quatrain) I am the disciple of Khayyam, But do not quaff much of his wine.(*5) - 16/ Sarmad ! speak not of the Kaaba and of the temple. In the valley of doubt do not wander like the strayed wayfarer. Go and learn from Satan(*6) how to worship. Accept one qebla and do not bow before every stranger. - 17/ Say, who is in the world that has not committed a sin? He who has sinned not : say, how could he live? I do evil thou requitest with evil, Then say, what is the difference between me and thee? - 18/ Sometimes thou are a cypress, sometimes a hyacinth and sometimes a jasmine, Now a mountain, a wilderness, and at another time a flower-garden. Now thou are the light of a candle, now the scent of a rose, Sometimes thou art in a garden, and sometimes in an assembly. - 19/ Sarmad ! thou hast done strange injury to the religion, Thou hast bartered thy faith for one with an intoxicating eye. With supplication and belief —thy entire wealth— Thou didst go and squander on an idol-worshipper.(*7) - 20/ He who believed in the secret of esoteric doctrine, Became more expanded than the expanded heavens. The Mulla [doctor] says that Ahmad [Mohammad] went up to heaven, Sarmad says that heaven came down into Ahmad [Mohammed ](*8 Notes: (*1) Kaaba is the inner part of the temple at Mecca. "Hajrul Aswad", or the black stone, has come down from the time of heathenism in Arabia, and is venerated by the pilgrims who flock to Mecca every year from all parts of the Mohammedan world. (*2) A "qalandar" is a darwish of a different sect. (*3) "Khuda" is here used in a double sense. "Khuda" is the Persian word God and "Khud-a" means a self-comer. (*4) Sarmad's clothes' philosophy or "Sartor resartus" is beautifully expressed in this quatrain. (*5) Sarmad who himself was a great poet, pays a well-deserved compliment to two of the greatest poets of Persia—Hafiz the master of "ghazal", justly called the Anacreon of the East and Omar Khayyam, the tent-maker philosopher of Nishapur whose quatrains are greatly admired in the East and in the West. (*6) According to Mohammedan tradition, the Devil fell for refusing to pay homage to Adam at the command of God. (*7) In this beautiful quatrain, Sarmad apparently refers to his prosperous and happy days at Thatta, his love for the Hindoo lad Abhai Chand, his neglect of his flourishing business as a merchant and his renunciation of the exoteric religion of Islam, being a faithful follower of the esoteric doctrine of the Safis. (*8 This fatal distitch brought on his head the wrath of the Emperor Aurungzebe—the bigot, the fanatic and the assassin— and he was beheaded by the order of the Emperor for blasphemy, in 1661 A.D. the capital city of Delhi where his grave can be seem to this day. “Armenians in Indiaâ€, Mesrovb Jacob SETH, Calcutta 1937, (pp 188-192)

In case you can't read shahmukhi script or Gurmukhi script , here is the link for an english/Roman transliteration ; http://www.apnaorg.com/poetry/romanenglish/bullah-r/ hope that helps !

Here are some links you may like : http://www.apnaorg.com/poetry/bulleheng/ Shahmukhi Script and english translation by K S Duggal http://www.apnaorg.com/poetry/english/bullah/poem1.htm English translation by Suman Kashyap http://www.apnaorg.com/poetry/bulleh-g/ Kalam Bulleh Shah in Gurmukhi script http://www.apnaorg.com/music/bulleh/index-1.php3 Audio of Bulleh Shah's poetry sung by various singers Enjoy !

Dear Vijaydeep Singh Thankyou for the reply - My Baba would always say wild boars are very hard to hunt - He would say that if you dont kill it with the first nishana the boar will come straight for you and finish you off- charging at about 50 miles an hour !! - he was a great hunter of boars and tittars(dont know the English word for them !) - Thankyou for your input . Dear Challenge_Everything - I understand that as your name suggests you 'challenge everything' - I therefore congratulate you on 'doing exactly what it says on the Tin' - I would love to ask the Jathedar Sahib personally and do without a middleman - however not having the means or contacts to do so, I thought I'd ask the Sangat on SA. My intial question was asked because I have never seen these tusks on a Nihang before - Boar tusks are more common among the tribal communities of India such as in Nagaland and also among the peoples of Burma,Polynesia and Hawaii. I merely asked to see if there was a link between these 'War-like' traditions and those of the Nihangs. These communities use tusks as head ornamentation and neck ware - as the shape (especially two tusks together on a head-dress) correlates, in some way, to the Aad Chand I wondered if there is maybe a link. Also I wondered if there is a link with The Avatar / incarnation of Vishnu - Varaha , the Boar -- as described in the Dasm Granth Sahib as having grinder teeth and being crushed and mashed by the Mighty Kaal I am asking out of sheer curiosity - and a hope that others will share any knowledge they may have of Nihang oral tradition- I have no dark hidden agenda !! -- after all I was under the impression that this was an awareness promoting discussion forum . GurFateh ! By the way no one has confirmed if the 'objects' are indeed Boar tusks - are they ?

What are the semi circular objects hanging from Baba Surjit Singh Ji's right shoulder ?? - They look like mounted Boar Tusks - are they ?? could anyone explain what they are or the tradition/ 'maryada' behind them Many Thanks !

Here is The Tribune's version of 'The Tankhah' http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010318/punjab1.htm