Guru Tegh Bahudar Shaheedi Divan

[Guest]

Saraaie Sikha and Jagat Nuo- Guru Tegh Bahudar Ji Di Shaheedi Divan saaraie Nuo Vaadiya (Assaie Guru Ko Bal Bal Jaaie, Ap Mukht, Mukht karaie Sansar) :bow: :bow:

This poem is for few of those Hindus who have completely forgotten the unparallel sacrifice of Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib

For you He left His family, His son, His wife

For you He didn’t hesitate to sacrifice His life

For you He courted arrest, and suffered all tortures

To fill your life with the roses of happiness, and joy filled orchards

For you He saw His Sikhs sawn and boiled

The hands of the Mughals with blood were soiled

For you He refused all pleasures and comforts

And accepted the pains that can shake all hearts

For you He rejected proposals of wealth

So that your generations could thrive in health

For you He sacrificed His body and His head

So that you could live fearlessly and earn your bread

Have you forgotten all He has done

His people you made the object of fun

Have you forgotten the legacy of His martyrdom

that to the oppression of His people you act deaf and dumb?

Have you forgotten His sacrifice, oh so complete!

That today His message for you has become totally obsolete!

Have you forgotten that He is your saviour

Or the Mughals would do to you what else but devour

Forget not the One who saved you

Protected your honor and carried you through

Forget not the One who took all the pains

Death for Himself, for you all the gains

Forget not the One who had His head severed

Today His people are mocked by you, instead of being revered

Wake up my dear, before its too late

Your silence and indifference is ruining your own fate

Wake up my dear, or you will pay a cost

Hatred will fume and all love will be lost

Wake up my dear, and recognize this fact

What He did for you was an ultimate act!

Wake up my dear, wake up and bow down

Bow down to the Master of Sikhs, the Sikhs whom you labelled a clown

Wake up my dear, and say after me

Say with your heart and you will be free

Dhann Guru Teg Bahadur, tu Hind di chaddar

Tu hi sadda sacha patshah tu hi sadda rehbar

~ das Mehtab Singh - written in July 2003

[Guest]

Today marks the great day of Martydom for the Skhs. In the words of our tenth master : Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Sahib says that such a wondrous feat has never been performed by anyone.

Tegh Bahadur Si Kirya Kari Na Kinhoo Aan

Read on more about Guru Ji's great sacrifice :

the Muslim theistic state executed forceful conversions in order to make India, Dar-ul-Islam and to achieve this goal as soon as possible, the Hindu Pandits and Brahmins (the preaching class) of Kashi, Prayag, Kurukshetra, Haridwar and Kashmir were identified for this purpose. All types of atrocities were let loose on them. They were given an ultimatum either to embrace Islam or to be prepared for death. It is regretted that all this was done under the very nose of many so-called brave Hindu and Rajput kings and chiefs who were also subordinate to the imperial state of Delhi. They were only silent spectators aiming at their own ends. They even did not raise a minor voice of protest against the nefarious acts of Aurangzeb. There was a wave of mass conversion in India and Sher Afgan Khan an imperial viceroy first tried this practice in Kashmir. Thousands of Kahmiri Pandits were massacred and their property was looted.

At this juncture, the Brahmins especially the Kashmiri Pandits led by Pandit Kirpa Ram Dutt approached Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib at Anandpur Sahib in May 1675. They told their tales of woe to Guru Sahib and requested to protect their honor and faith. Guru Sahib heard their views and agreed to resist the nefarious act of forcible conversions by peaceful means. After long discussions with the prominent Sikhs and Kashmiri Pandits, Guru Sahib made up his mind to sacrifice himself for the cause of "Righteousness" and for the freedom of "Dharma"(Religion)

On the advice of Guru Sahib, the Kashmiri Pandits presented a petition to the Emperor and in lieu of this an imperial court of Delhi, issued summons asking Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib to appear in the said court. But on the other hand, before the imperial summons reach Anandpur Sahib, Guru Sahib started his journey towards Delhi after installing his son (Guru) Gobind Sahib as the Tenth Nanak in July 1675. Bhai Dayal Das Ji, Bhai Moti Das Ji, Bhai Sati Das Ji and many more devoted Sikhs followed Guru Sahib. When Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib reached near village Malikpur Ragharan near Ropar, an imperial armed contingent led by Mirza Nur Mohammad Khan, arrested Guru Sahib and some of his prominent followers. He kept them in a prison at Bassi Pathanan and tortured daily.

Now it was the turn of Guru Sahib who remained calm & quite. The authorities offered three alternatives viz : (1) To show miracles, or (2) to embrace Islam, or (3) to prepare himself for death. Guru Sahib accepted the last. On seeing Guru Sahib adamant and immoveable, the authorities ordered the executioner (Jallad) to sever the head from the body. The order was implemented. The historians quote this date as November 11, 1675 AD. (Gurdwara Sis Ganj at Chandni Chowk marks the place where the execution was done.) There was a furious storm after this brutal deed. It caused confusion and havoc in and around the city. Under these circumstances Bhai Jaita Ji, took away the holy head of Guru Sahib, placed it in a basket, covered it carefully and set out of Anandpur Sahib. He reached Kiratpur Sahib, near Anandpur Sahib on 15th November. He was received with great honour by young Guru Gobind Rai and honoured as “Rangretta Guru Ka Beta.” The cremation of head was performed with full honour and proper ceremonies on the next day. (Gurdwara Sis Ganj also marks the place where the head was cremated.) Taking advantage of the same situation the other part of the body of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib was whisked away by a brave Sikh Lakhi Shah Lubana a famous merchant and contractor and he immediately built up a pyre inside his house and set fire to it in the evening. Thus whole house including other valuables were burned and destroyed. It is said that a royal police guard arrived at the scene in search of the body, but returned, finding the house burning and the inmates weeping bitterly. (Now Gurdwara Rakab Ganj in New Delhi, marks the place.)

The martyrdom of Guru Sahib had for reaching consequences and deeply influenced the history of India. It exposed the fundamental theistic nature of the contemporary state, highlighted tyranny and injustice. It made the people of India hate Aurangzeb and his government as never before and turned the Sikh Nation into militant people. It made them feels that they could protect their religion (Dharma) only but the defense of arms. It proposed the way for the final stage in creation of the Khalsa, which played the most important and significant role in the history of India.

Guru Sahib was also a great poet and thinker. For an example we may quote him, as one of his Slokas, he says: Bhai Kahu kau det naih naih bhai manat ann, kahu nanak sunu re mana gaini tahi bakhan. (SGGS 1427) (Sayth Nanak, he who holds none in fear, mor in afraid on anyone, acknowledge his alone as a man of true wisdom) Guru Sahib written Grbani in fifteen Raagas apart from 57 salokas, got included in Guru Granth Sahib by the 10th master, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib.

Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib ‘Hind di chadar’ sacrified his life for the cause of Dharma, truth and the betterment of humanity.

Sis diya par Sirar na diya

(I gave up my life, but not my secret or faith).

Thus Guru Tegh Bahadur attained martyrdom and in the process also saved the Hindu faith from being decimated at the hands of a zealot Emperor.

The Martyrdom

Guru Gobind Singh recorded his father's martyrdom as under:

Theekar fore dilees sir, Prabh par kiyo payan,

Tegh Bahadur si kriya, Kari na kinhoo aan.

Tegh Bahadur ke chalat, Bhayo jagat main sog.

Hai hai hai sab jag bhayo, Jai jai jai sur log.

(He burst the bonds of mortal clay

And went on to the abode of God.

No one ever performed an act as noble

As did Tegh Bahadur.

With the departure of Tegh Bahadur

The world was stricken with sorrow.

A wail of horror rent the earth,

A victor's welcome by the dwellers of heaven).

(Bichitra Natak)

The Shrines

Although there are several shrines and historical places associated with the memory of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the two most prominent are in Delhi. These are Gurudwara Sis Ganj, the place of his martyrdom and Gurudwara Rakab Ganj near the Parliament House the place where his body was cremated. Other prominent places include Sri Sis Ganj at Anandpur Sahib, Gurudwara Dookh Niwaran in Patiala, Gurudwara Sri Damdama Sahib in Dhubri, Assam and Gurudwara Sangat Tola in Dhaka.

The Symbol of Sacrifice

For many it is hard to imagine that a person with martial skills could also become a symbol of supreme sacrifice in defending someone else's faith. Yet, this is what Guru Tegh Bahadur displayed in life and death. About his death Guru Gobind Singh wrote:

Tilak janjoo rakha prabh taaka

Kino bado kaloo main saka.

(To protect your right to wear the caste mark ('Tilak') and the sacred thread,

He performed the supreme sacrifice in the dark ages of Kalyug)