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Monday May 20, 2024 |
Zafarnama means "Declaration of Victory" and is the name given to the letter sent by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh in 1705 to the Emperor of India, Aurangzeb. The letter is written in exquisite Persian verse. In this letter, Guru Ji reminds Aurangzeb how he and his henchmen had broken their oaths taken on the holy Koran. Despite this deception, this treacherous leader could not harm the Guru. Guru Ji states in this letter that in spite of his several sufferings, he had won a moral victory over the crafty Mughal who had broken all his vows and had resorted to underhand behaviour. Despite sending a huge army to capture or kill the Guru, the Mughal forces did not succeed in their mission. The letter reads like a reprimand by a superior personality on a higher plane to a cruel and distorted inhuman being on a lower and pitiful plane. Guru Ji in the 111 verses of this notice rebuke Aurangzeb for his weaknesses as a human being and for excesses as a leader. Guru Ji confirms his confidence and his unflinching faith in the Almighty even after suffering extreme personal loss. .....More |
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Section for Young Sikhs:A cousin of Guru Ram Das came to Amritsar from Lahore especially to ask the Guru to attend his son's wedding. The Guru said, "I will not be able to go because I can't leave my duties as Guru. Perhaps I can send one of my sons instead." Guru Ram Das had three sons: Prithi Chand, called Prithia, Mahadev, and Arjan Mal. Prithia was in charge of collecting donations, of which he secretly took a portion for himself. When the Guru asked him to attend the wedding, Prithia said, "I have to take care of the collections. And I hate going to weddings." Actually, he was afraid if he were away from the Guru for too long, he might not be appointed the Guru's successor. Having no luck with Prithia, the Guru then turned to Mahadev. Mahadev lived his life in meditation and said, "I have no desire to involve myself in worldly affairs." Finally, the Guru asked Arjan if he would go. Arjan said, "I only desire to do what you wish." The Guru was very pleased. He asked Arjan to spend some time in Lahore to share the Guru's teachings with the city's inhabitants and Sikhs. Any donations he received were to be given to the free kitchen to feed the poor. The last words he said to Arjan were, "You should stay in Lahore until I send for you by letter." .....More Important Links: Learning Gurmukhi/Punjabi | |||||
Baba Banda Singh Bahadur (16 October, 1670 - 9 June, 1716) (Lachhman Dev alias Madho dass Bairagi), originally from the Jammu region, is revered as one of the greatest Sikh warriors as well as a most hallowed martyrs of the Khalsa Army. The Khalsa were engaged in a prolonged fight against the cruel Mughals, who were practising their tyranny and mass terrorism on the general public. His confrontation with the Mughal administration in Northern India, though brief, was strong and extremely vigorous, enough to shake the foundations of this evil empire. The agrarian uprising that he led in the Punjab was the underpinning on which the Dal Khalsa, the Sikh Misls and Maharaja Ranjit Singh built the edifice which finally culminated with Ranjit Singh capturing Lahore in 1799 and establishing the Sikh Kingdom in the Punjab and finally the defeat of the cruel Mughal empire. This resulted in the end of a dark period in the history of India. .....More Most people in the west who wear the turban are Sikhs. All Sikhs, but particularly male Singhs are required to don the Dastaar due to the pronouncement in 1699 by the tenth Sikh master, Guru Gobind Singh. "Dastaar", is the native Punjabi term used to refer to this headdress. Even 300 years on, it is in compliance to the Hukam (or order) of this supreme Sikh leader that all Sikhs today wear the dastaar. It is in honour and obedience to this one person! The Sikh prime minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, displays his sky blue trademark turban out of respect for the Sikh Guru; the famous record breaking, 95-year-old marathon runner, Fauja Singh proudly wears his dastaar in honour of the tenth Sikh teacher; Bhagat Puran Singh the humble humanist and philanthropist used to don a simple turban in respect of the Sikh master. Why do the Sikhs go to all this trouble so many years after the diktat? The dastaar comes in many different colours and styles and to the keen eye, each turban is different. Some are simple but regal; others may be bright and sporty; yet others may be stylish and extravagant – each one has it own special and unique statement. Every morning, most Sikh man and many Sikh women, spend some 5 to 20 minutes to comb their long hair and then carefully handicraft the link to their Gurus – a daily reminder of their heritage and its responsibilities. .....More The Guru's Message...Believe in One God:- The Guru tells us: "There is only the One Supreme Lord God; there is no other at all. ... Meditate twenty-four hours a day on the One who created all beings and creatures. .. He is the Supreme Lord, the Creator of all the universe. .. He has given us body and soul. .. Attuned to the Love of the One, there is no sorrow or suffering. .. " Only " in His Sanctuary is there eternal peace." (page 45) Do not be jealous of others:- The hukam of the Guru is: "One whose heart is filled with jealousy of others, good never comes to him. No one pays any attention to what he says; he is just a fool, crying out endlessly in the wilderness. .. The body is the field of action; in this Dark Age of Kalyug; whatever you plant, so you shall harvest. (page 308) and also "Jealousy and envy bring terrible pain, and one is cursed throughout the three worlds. .. They do not focus their consciousness on the Lord; they love to engage in arguments. They speak to cause arguments, and earn their living by telling lies." And finally, "In this world, only the Lord's Name is immaculate and pure. .. Without the Lord's Name, the world is poor and no one is satisfied or fulfilled." (page 1091) |
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