Diwali

Diwali is a Hindu festival, and is based around the story of Ram returning to his captial after 12 years of exile. Hindus worship Fire and the Goddess of Wealth on this day and celebrate it by playing with fireworks, eating sweets and drinking alcohol, the last one being strictly prohibited by Sikhism. Diwali is wrongly celebrated by a number of Sikhs: it is NOT a Sikh festival.

How did the mistake come about? • Sikhs have nothing to do with Diwali, and never celebrated it until the first decade of the Nineteenth Century, under Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s reign • It was the impact of his Hindu advisors, notably ministers like Khushal Chand and Dhian Singh Dogra, that influenced Maharaja Ranjit Singh into celebrating Diwali, betraying his own Sikh faith

The LIE: • The Brahmins convinced Maharaja Ranjit Singh that when Guru HarGobind Dev Ji reached Amritsar after his release from Gwalior jail, it was the day of Diwali, and as a result, the Sikhs lit earthen lamps to celebrate it

Maharaja Ranjit Singh did not know much about Sikh history or philosophy, so he was easily manipulated by his advisors, who wanted Hinduism to creep back into Sikhism.

The TRUTH: • Guru HarGobind Dev Ji actually reached Amritsar on December 28th 1620, NOT on Diwali. • It is true that Sikhs did light earthen lamps on that day but December 28th 1620 was not a Hindu Diwali Day. • Furthermore, to highlight just how much this lie was a lie, Guru HarGobind Dev Ji left Amritsar for Keeratpur Sahib in 1634-5. After he moved, Amritsar remained in the control of the Pirthi Chand Mina family, who didn’t like the Guru.

Question: If they didn’t like Guru HarGobind Dev Ji, why would they have celebrated his release from jail? Answer: They never did! It was ALL a lie!

The Sikhs used to gather outside Shri Akal Takhat on each Diwali and Vaisakhi day simply because in those days, there was no calendar other than the Hindu calendar. The Sikhs, who at this time were being persecuted, were living in hideouts in the hills and plains. As a result, it was easy for the Sikhs, even in their hideouts, to know about these dates and hold gatherings.

Otherwise, there was no question of celebrating Diwali or even Vaisakhi, which only became important after Guru Gobind Singh Ji formed the Khalsa Panth in 1699.

So you see, celebrating Diwali was an attempt by the Hindu ministers of Maharaja Ranjit Singh as well as the Hindu managers of Shri Darbar Sahib to bring back Hinduism, despite our own Gurus warning us against it!

The power that the Brahmins held over Maharaja Ranjit Singh was so immense, that in his later days, he made no decision without their approval, therefore laying the seeds of defeat of Punjab in later years. The chief priest of Darbar Sahib, Sant Singh, was more Hindu than Sikh: he even had a statue of Ganesh in his entrance!

These elements were successful in fooling the Sikhs to celebrate Diwali at Darbar Sahib and carrying on with the tradition even now. Let’s be clear: Sikhs have nothing to do with Diwali.

Be proud to be Sikh, be proud in the accomplishments of your Gurus and your forefathers, and be proud of your glorious history: don’t ever betray it! Let us stand shoulder to shoulder and celebrate Sikhi like it should be celebrated!

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!

(Facts taken from Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, Publishers: Singh Brothers, Amritsar)