The Discipleship

The title Sikh, the Disciple, was first given to us by Guru Nanak. We were mere corpses, he poured life into us. We were thus created anew by His love of us. He made us alive with our out-drawn love of Him and left us free. He freed us from the hatred of caste, colour and creed. He made us look straight at the sky towards the Infinite, he made us look upon the sun and the moon and the stars as our kith and kin. He did knit us with the Universe and he wove the design of the Infinite into the texture of our soul. He gave us then the universal music to sing; birds and animals to be our confidants, woods and rivers and hills to sing with us. This world that sat like a nightmare on us was thrown away; the new world was laid open before our eyes in His vision. The veil was almost torn asunder and this spiritual universe of love was opened to our vision. And we were elevated from the valleys of darkness on to the sunlit heights. Peasants became poets by His touch. The enslaved womanhood was freed from its bondage o the soul. When the Ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur came to Amritsar, the priests shut the doors, against the Master. He turned his back on the Golden Temple, the brick and mortar, and bore away the true Golden Temple in his heart as a holy vision. The Golden Temple would have gone forever from Amritsar. But the Sikh ladies of Amritsar saw this danger. They, in their freedom, followed the Master and sang to Him, His hymns. He blessed them and blessed Amritsar. The Golden Temple was saved fro this poor earth of ours by the freed Sikh womanhood.

This is the plain history. Our history is of the soul, all its events are of the soul. All truth for us is personal. We have not to prove it, we have to stand witness to it in our soul. By the title Sikh, he linked us with Himself for ever. And we cannot tear ourselves away from Him. It would be misery for us if we turned our backs on Him.

Puran Singh

Taken from The Spirit Born People, published by Punjabi University, Patiala.

Bhai Gurdas (1551-1637)

Bhai Gurdas was one of the prominent contemporaries of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth Gurus. He was born at Goindwal in 1551, His mother was Jiwani and his father was Tejbhan, the brother of Guru Amar Das. As a child he came in contact with the third Guru. He learnt Gurmukhi and sang the Guru's hymns. When the fourth Guru started the construction of the new township of Ramdaspur (later called Amritsar), Gurdas moved there  to help with the planning and development. He referred to the holy tank in his writings:

"He (Guru Ram Das) dug a perfect tank and kindled the lamp of divine knowledge at Amritsar.

The play of the Lord is contrary to that of the world, the ocean (Guru Amardas),
Flows backwards and is contained in the Ganges (Guru Ram Das)
Guru Ram Das received the reward for what (devotion) he gave;
He who gives nothing receives nothing.

Bhai Gurdas was deputed by Guru Ram Das as a missionary to Agra, where he came into contact with emperor Akbar. He developed his knowledge of Sanskrit and classical music and wrote a lot of poetry. The fifth Guru, Guru Arjan became fond of Gurdas, whom he lovingly called "Mamaji". He told Gurdas to use the Gurmukhi script for transcribing the compositions of the Gurus. He dictated the hymns of the previous Gurus, his own and those of the medieval Indian saints to Gurdas at a place in Amritsar, where we now find Gurdwara Ramsar. Though Guru Arjan invited him to include his compositions in the Adi Granth, he declined to do so, out of a feeling of humility.

Later when Guru Hargobind became the sixth Guru of the Sikhs, Gurdas was surprised at the change in style of the new Guru. Even so Bhai Gurdas defended the policy of Guru Hargobind because the times had changed. Military training imparted by the Guru to his Sikhs was necessary to resist the injustice and cruelty of the Moghul ruler. The Sixth Guru had to use the sword for self defence and survival of the Sikh community. Bhai Gurdas wrote:

"Just as a fence is necessary to keep away stray cattle from the farm,
Just as the thorny kikar tree guards the orchard
Just as the dog guards the house against strangers"
Therefore, he argued, violence as to be met by violence for the defence of freedom and righteousness.

Bhai Gurdas was a trusted and devoted Sikh of the house of the Gurus. He was sent on several missionary tours to places such as Lahore, Agra, Kabul and Benares. Then after the death of Baba Buddha , he was appointed the Head Granthi of Harmandir Sahib.

Bhai Gurdas composed 40 Vaars and 556 Kabits. He has furnished a brief account of the travels of Guru Nanak and also offered a scholarly interpretation of the teachings of the Gurus. His compositions are regarded as a key to the understanding of the Adi Granth, and  are approved for recitation and singing in all Gurdwaras.

Bhai Gurdas remained unmarried until his death in Goindwal in 1531. Guru Hargobind performed his funeral rites.

Dr Gobind Singh Mansukhani
from his book Aspects of Sikhism