While the Sikhs celebrate Vaisakhi (Baisakhi) across India; rest of India wonders if it is about doing Bhangra and dancing.
No, it is not; Baisakhi holds a lesson for all Indians.......especially in this day and age.....
So this day in 1699, in a congregation of people from all across India .....standing there listening to their Guru, Sree Gobind Rai asked for human sacrifice of five men one after the other. Five men from different castes from different parts of India stood up from the crowd of thousands.
* A shopkeeper (Baniya) called Daya Ram from Lahore.
* A farmer (Jat) called Dharam Das from Meerut.
* A so-called low-caste water carrier called Himmat Rai from Jagannath Puri, Orissa.
* A tailor (of Cheemba caste) called Mukham Chand from Dwarka, Gujarat.
* A barber (of Naai caste) called Sahib Chand from Bidar, Karnataka.
With his choice of disciples from the five different corners of India, Gobind Rai ji visualised the national dream.....from the coast of Gujarat along the Arabian Sea to the coast of Orissa along the Bay of Bengal; from the great plains of the Punjab to the Gangetic Plain and then, onto the Deccan peninsula, covering Karnataka.
Do not forget that at that time, all these were separate kingdoms; it was Sree Gobind Rai ji that thought all of them as one......this Baisakhi day of 1699!
With the choice of disciples from five different caste-groups, he visualised an integrated classless society. The five were christened as the First Five Khalsa Sikhs (The Panch Piare) and the five, in turn, christened their Guru as the sixth. Gobind Rai was now Gobind Singh ji. All caste names and surnames were dropped and a common surname was proposed for all Indians across India; a surname that denoted a casteless, classless creed of men willing to sacrifice themselves for the nation and against injustice.
And the 'swaroop' he chose for the classless people was an amalgamation of the ancient Indian thought of Rishis (as mentioned by Guru Gobind Singh ji in the Sarbloh Granth) and the kshatriya tradition of warriors, hence the 'jooda', the hair and the 'talwar'. The concept of 'Miri-Piri' was coded in the dress system of this new society envisioned by him - a group of people who were strong in Miri (Physical strength and material possessions) and Piri (Spiritual strength and humility).
So, the five so called lower castes were given the temporal strength of a 'Rishi' (a Brahmin citadel till then) and the physical responsibilities of a Kshatriya (a duty till then limited to the Rajputs). This motley group of people uprooted Afghan and Mughal rule from entire north India from the Yamuna to the Khyber pass, such was the power of this vision.
And this was the India that he envisioned from the five corners of his nation. Guru Gobind Singh ji was a visionary par excellence. His vision has been diluted and limited to Sikhism. Khalsa is a state of mind, not just a religion!
Happy Baisakhi!
* * *
Today is Jallianwala Bagh Day too.
Saluting all the martyrs who lost their lives in the Jallianwalla Bagh (at Amritsar) massacre on this day in the year 1919. Their sacrifice and courage can never be forgotten.
Tailpiece.
Got up at our usual time, the chores and was ready on time. Suma had come for work by 8. Pushpakaran, the farmhand, was the first to be given the Vishukkaineettam followed by Suma, as she was leaving. Raju, another neighbour, requested for a share of the Labernum flowers for tomorrow morning's Vishukkani and we allowed him and in the process, he plucked the flowers for us too!
Lekha and I had prepared the Vishukkani by a half past 10, before pipe down. Was reminded of our first Vishukkani, at The Quarterdeck in Apr 2014, when Amma was the one giving directions to us as to how to go about it!
No, it is not; Baisakhi holds a lesson for all Indians.......especially in this day and age.....
So this day in 1699, in a congregation of people from all across India .....standing there listening to their Guru, Sree Gobind Rai asked for human sacrifice of five men one after the other. Five men from different castes from different parts of India stood up from the crowd of thousands.
* A shopkeeper (Baniya) called Daya Ram from Lahore.
* A farmer (Jat) called Dharam Das from Meerut.
* A so-called low-caste water carrier called Himmat Rai from Jagannath Puri, Orissa.
* A tailor (of Cheemba caste) called Mukham Chand from Dwarka, Gujarat.
* A barber (of Naai caste) called Sahib Chand from Bidar, Karnataka.
With his choice of disciples from the five different corners of India, Gobind Rai ji visualised the national dream.....from the coast of Gujarat along the Arabian Sea to the coast of Orissa along the Bay of Bengal; from the great plains of the Punjab to the Gangetic Plain and then, onto the Deccan peninsula, covering Karnataka.
Do not forget that at that time, all these were separate kingdoms; it was Sree Gobind Rai ji that thought all of them as one......this Baisakhi day of 1699!
With the choice of disciples from five different caste-groups, he visualised an integrated classless society. The five were christened as the First Five Khalsa Sikhs (The Panch Piare) and the five, in turn, christened their Guru as the sixth. Gobind Rai was now Gobind Singh ji. All caste names and surnames were dropped and a common surname was proposed for all Indians across India; a surname that denoted a casteless, classless creed of men willing to sacrifice themselves for the nation and against injustice.
And the 'swaroop' he chose for the classless people was an amalgamation of the ancient Indian thought of Rishis (as mentioned by Guru Gobind Singh ji in the Sarbloh Granth) and the kshatriya tradition of warriors, hence the 'jooda', the hair and the 'talwar'. The concept of 'Miri-Piri' was coded in the dress system of this new society envisioned by him - a group of people who were strong in Miri (Physical strength and material possessions) and Piri (Spiritual strength and humility).
So, the five so called lower castes were given the temporal strength of a 'Rishi' (a Brahmin citadel till then) and the physical responsibilities of a Kshatriya (a duty till then limited to the Rajputs). This motley group of people uprooted Afghan and Mughal rule from entire north India from the Yamuna to the Khyber pass, such was the power of this vision.
And this was the India that he envisioned from the five corners of his nation. Guru Gobind Singh ji was a visionary par excellence. His vision has been diluted and limited to Sikhism. Khalsa is a state of mind, not just a religion!
Happy Baisakhi!
* * *
Today is Jallianwala Bagh Day too.
Saluting all the martyrs who lost their lives in the Jallianwalla Bagh (at Amritsar) massacre on this day in the year 1919. Their sacrifice and courage can never be forgotten.
Tailpiece.
Got up at our usual time, the chores and was ready on time. Suma had come for work by 8. Pushpakaran, the farmhand, was the first to be given the Vishukkaineettam followed by Suma, as she was leaving. Raju, another neighbour, requested for a share of the Labernum flowers for tomorrow morning's Vishukkani and we allowed him and in the process, he plucked the flowers for us too!
Lekha and I had prepared the Vishukkani by a half past 10, before pipe down. Was reminded of our first Vishukkani, at The Quarterdeck in Apr 2014, when Amma was the one giving directions to us as to how to go about it!
No comments:
Post a Comment