TRANSFORMATION OF SIKHISM

Guru Hargobind Ji

Birth and Parentage

• Guru Hargobind Ji was born on 14^th June,1595 A.D at village Wadali 8 kilometers west of Amritsar
• Only son of Guru Arjan Dev Ji
• His Mother’s name was Ganga Devi.
• He had profound knowledge of Punjabi, Sanskrit and Prakrit.
• Baba Buddha Ji not only gave him religious education but also an expert in horsemanship and use of weapons.

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Marriage and Assumption of Guru ship

• He was married to mata Nanaki and was blessed with five sons

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• Before proceeding to Lahore in 1606 A.D where Guru Arjan Dev Ji was martyred, he nominated Guru Hargobind as the next successor.
• Guru Hargobind was only 11 years old
• He held Guru ship from 1606-1645 A.D

Baba Gurditta

Ani Rai

Atal Rai

Suraj Mal

Tyag Mal

Bibi Veero

New Policy Of Guru Hargobind

• Causes

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• Features

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• Impact

CAUSES

Change in the Religious Policy of Mughals

• Before Jahangir the relation between the Mughals and Sikhs were cordial .
• In 1605 Jahangir ascended the throne of the Mughal Empire .
• He was fanatic Sunni Muslim and could not tolerate the flourishing of any other religion except Islam.
• In this changed circumstance, Guru had to adopt the New Policy.

Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Ji

• Being a fanatic Sunni Muslim , Jahangir could not tolerate the increasing popularity of the Sikhs in Punjab.
• Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev ji infuriated the Sikhs and aroused anger.
• Now , it became apparent the them that they had to arm themselves.

Last Message of Guru Arjan Dev ji

• Macauliff opines that before maryrdom, Guru Arjan Dev sent a message to Guru Hargobind,

“Let him sit fully armed on the throne and maintain an army to the best of his ability”

These words echoed the mind of the Guru and influenced him to adopt the New Policy.

Character of the Jats

• New followers in the Sikh Panth were the Jats , who were brave,fearless and freedom loving.
• They never bowed before oppression and repression .
• The Martyrdom infuriated them and Jats played an important role in the New Policy

Features

Wearing of Miri and Piri

• At the time of the assumption of Guruship, Guru Hargobind ji decided to wear two swords Miri and Piri

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• The sword of Miri was the symbol of temporal powers.
• The sword of Piri was a symbol of religious leadership.

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• Guru asked his Sikhs to recite the name of God on one hand and to wear arms for self defense on the other.

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• Hari Ram Gupta, an eminent Historian remarks,

“The two swords miri and piri, Shakti and Bhakti,deg and teg. One symbolised temporal power and other spiritual power; one to smite the oppressor, the other to protect the innocent “

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Miri And Piri

• He told his followers,’ in the Guru’s house spiritual and mundane powers shall be combined”
• Guru Hargobind carried the torch lit by Nanak ; but he added to it the lustre of the sword. He gave the same message as that of Nank; but he added to it the challenge of a hero.
• One thing to note here was that Guru Arjan’s men going to central Asian countries to purchase horses could not travel without arms. Thus the use of sword , bows and arrows and even a gun was a common thing for personal safety and security.1

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Organisation of the Army

• For the protection of the Sikh Panth, Guru Hargobind Ji decided to organise an army.
• He issued a Hukamnama directing the Sikhs to join his army. Consequently 500 soldiers joined the army
• The Sikh were trained and horses along with arms were also arranged for them .
• Guru ji further classified them into Jathas or groups
• Each Jatha was put under the charge of a Jathedar.
• Besides these soldiers, he also recruited 52 bodyguards, gradually his army swelled to 2500 and 60 gunners(topchi)

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Collection of Arms and Horses

• In order to make his new policy a success, Guru Hargobind issued Hukamnama to Masands that now on instead of money they would collect arms and horses from the people.
• The Masands hailed this decision of Guru, and the guru soon came to possess numerous horses and arms.
• This added to the military strength of Guru Hargobind Ji.

Construction of Akal Takht

• The construction of Akal Takht was a great task of Guru Hargobind Ji.

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• Its construction began in front of the Harmandir Sahib in 1606A.D and the work was completed in 1609 A.D
• Inside it was built a 12 feet high rostrum , which was like a throne.
• Guru Hargobind Ji used to guide the political and military affairs of the sikhs .
• He would give military training to the Sikhs and watch their wrestling and other military feats.
• Here he would also accept horses and arms from the Masands.
• He also narrated the stories of deathless bravery especially of Rajput chivalry.
• In order to infuse a new spirit among the sikhs , the professional bards sang ballads of unrivalled heroism.
• Akal Takht served as the supreme court of the sikhs.

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Adoption of Royal Symbols

• Guru also adopted royal symbols
• In place of woollen rosary, he hung two swords from his waist .
• Like a king he started wearing a Kalgi.
• A sort of umbrella was also swung over him.
• While guiding his sikhs in their political affairs, he would sit on the throne.

Fortification of Amritsar

• Guru Hargobind Ji knew the importance of Amritsar as not only the sacred place of the sikhs but also centre of military training.
• Therefore he got constructed a wall around the city for its defense.
• Besides in 1609 A.D he got constructed a fort named Lohgarh. The construction of the fort boasted the morale of the sikhs.

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Changes in the Daily life of the Guru

• With the adoption of the new policy, the daily life of Guru Hargobind Ji underwent a drastic change .
• He started hunting leopards, hawks and hounds.
• He engaged Abdula and Natha Mal to recite ballads of unrivalled heroism in the court.

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Critical Estimate

• At first when Guru Hargobind adopted the new policy, it created doubts in the mind of many sikhs about the aims and objectives of Guru Hargobind Ji.
• Even Bhai Gurdas ji , Baba Buddha ji and Mata Ganga Devi , his own mother could not understand the rational behind the new policy.
• In the words of Dr Trump,
• Guru abandoned the high ideals of his predecessors.
• In fact Guru was completely misunderstood as
• Guru had no political motive
• He did not abandon the sikh code of conduct , he used to listen to Asa Di Vaar every morning.
• During his time he sent missionaries in different corners of Punjab to preach Sikhism.
• If guru had made some changes in his routine , it was only to enthuse the sikhs.
• Dr. I.B Banerjee writes, “ Both externally and internally the situation was changing and the policy of the Guru had to be adjusted to the new environment”

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Importance

• The policy saw a radical transformation in the Sikhism. The sikhs became the saint soldiers.
• It infused the felling of self confidence and self respect among the sikhs.
• It was due to the new policy that large number of Jats embraced Sikhism, thus they got the opportunity to show off their feats of bravery.
• Though the widened the gulf between the Sikhs and the Mughals, during the times of Shah Jahan , battles were fought between Shah Jahan and Guru Hargobind Ji.
• The new policy provided the basis of the creation of Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1699 A.D
• In short if Guru had not followed the New policy, the pious brotherhood of the Sikhs would have either not survived or at any rate would have relapsed in to limited number of monks and mendicants

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Guru’s confinement in Gwalior

• Guru was summoned to Delhi. He entrusted the secular affairs of the sikhs to Baba Buddha ji and control of Spiritual duties to Bhai Gurdas, though Baba Buddha ji continued to work as high priests of Harmandir sahib.
• Jahangir asked Guru to pay the fine of 2 Lakh which was due, As far hunting and wearing arms was concerned no restrictions were imposed by the government on its subjects. About holding courts , the guru submitted that it concerned only religious matter, there was no politics behind it and he did not preach anything against the Emperor or his government.
• However Jahangir imprisoned guru due to the instigations of Chandu shah.

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Imprisonment of Guru Hargobind Ji

• Giani Gian Singh, the author of Panth Prakash says that the Guru lived in Gwalior fort for two months.
• Mohisin Fani however says that Guru was imprisoned for about 12 years.
• Dr Teja Singh and Dr Ganda Singh eminent Sikh historians do not agree with the view of Mohsin Fani as during these years several children were born to Guru Baba Gurditta in 1613, Bibi Veero in 1615, Suraj Mal in 1617, Ani Rai in 1618, Atal in 1619and Tyag mal in 1621 A.D
• They believe Guru could not have spent more than two years at Gwalior and must have returned some time in 1614A.D

Foundation of Kiratpur

• Guru decided to develop Sri Hargobindpur which had been founded by Guru Arjan Dev Ji . Bhagwan Das ,a money lender however gave Guru tough time.
• So Guru decided to find a safe retreat in the hills. He deputed his eldest son Gurditta to Dharam Chand , raja of Nalagarh in 1624. The Raja gave him a warm welcome . However Baba Gurditta wanted a place near plains .Thus he selected an area at the foot hill of the Shivalik hills commanding full view of Naina Devi temple. It belonged to Kahlur or Bilaspur state
• Raja Kalyan Chand gadly offered the land as a free gift on 23^rd April 1624.
• The place came to known as Kirtanpur and later as kiratpur.

LIFE AND CONTRIBUTION GURU HARGOBIND JI

End of Part I