GURU TEGH BAHADUR
CONTEXT
Sri Akhand Path was inaugurated at Gurdwara Guru Ke Mahal, the birthplace of the ninth Sikh guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, to mark the 400th Prakash Purab (birth centenary) of the Guru.
MORE ABOUT GURU TEGH BAHADUR
Guru Tegh Bahadur had resisted forced conversions of non-Muslims to Islam during Aurangzeb’s rule
He was publicly killed in 1675 on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi
Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib and Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi are the sites of his execution and cremation
Guru Tegh Bahadur’s term as Guru ran from 1665 to 1675
In the Guru Granth Sahib, there are one hundred and fifteen hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur
Guru Tegh Bahadur is remembered for his selfless service to people. He travelled across the country with the teachings of Guru Nanak – the first Sikh Guru
Guru Tegh Bahadur had set up community kitchens and wells for the local people wherever he went
Anandpur Sahib, the famous holy city and a global tourist attraction in the foothills of Himalayas, was founded by Guru Tegh Bahadur Sikhism (ref – Indian Art and Culture for Civil Services by Singhania, Nitin)
Sikhism belong to Nirguna school of Bhakti movement
The history of Sikhism commences with the life, times and teachings of Guru Nanak (1469–1539). He was a nonconformist with a different vision.
Guru Nanak did not merely denounce or condemn the existing social order but he gave an alternative to it. For him, the supreme purpose of human existence was salvation which can be attained by getting relieved from the endless cycles of birth and rebirth.
This salvation was a prerogative of all humankind irrespective of birth, creed, caste and sex.
Initially the Mughal-Sikh relations were very cordial, but the execution of Guru Arjan Dev on Jahangir’s orders
became a cause of dispute.
Guru Hargobind (1595-1644) set a trend of militancy and organised an army of his own at Ramdaspur for resistance. The Guru transformed the Sikh CULT into Sikh CORPS in which the adherents would act as the ‘saint soldiers’ or ‘soldier saints’ who would attain heaven.
Nirguna School
Nirguna School of thought imagined God as formless with no attributes or quality.
They are more focused on acquiring knowledge. They rejected the scriptures and condemned every form of idol
worship. The prominent figures of this school of thought were Kabir, Guru Nanak and Dadu Dayal.
Other prominent figures of this school of thought were Kabir and Dadu Dayal.
The last physical guru was Guru Gobind Singh after whose death, the system of ‘personal guruship’ came to an end and the authority of the Gurus was transferred to Guru Granth and Guru Panth.
Guru Gobind Singh also founded the Sikh warrior community KHALSA who were markedly different from the non-Khalsa Sikhs who came to be called Sahajdhari Sikhs, they constituted the Nanak-Panthis, the Bhallas and the Udasis.
The baptised Sikhs were called ‘Singh’ and the women were called ‘Kaur’.
By adopting the uniform for similar external appearance, they got another level of uniformity. The Khalsa Sikhs were not allowed to cut their hair and they possessed the five k’s (kachcha, kesh, kangha, kirpan, kara).
This kind of differentiation at a very physical level gave uniformity to the movement and made them different than their own co-religionists.