Govind and Guru Att.a

SIKHISM

Sikhism is the ultimate of Hinduism. In Sikh scripture Guru Granth is basically Vedas in the present Living Language of Punjabi instead of Sanskrit.Thus it is easy to understand & interpret. The Essence is one God, and the purpose of life is to achieve unity Of Atma with Parmatma.This unity is achieved by constant recitation of Mantra with love & purity of mind. The Sikh Mantra is Vaheguru which is the Mantra of four Uga's(Kaljug, Dwaper, Treta & Satjug) The letter V stands for Vaudeva, H stands for Hare Krishna, G stands for Guru Nanak ,Gobind & R stands for Rama i.e. the Avtaras of 4 yugas.Guru Nanak we consider as the Avtar of Kalyug.He was born in 1469 AD followed by 9 guru's, the last being Guru Gobind Singh.The essence of their teaching is in Guru Granth Sahib which is considered as the present Guru & the whole scripture of 1430 pages is nothing but Mantras giving guidance of living a pure life with humility , Love & Service of Mankind.Guru Nanak told the followers to discard ritualism, caste system & obtainequality of men & women.Thus Guru Granth Sahib has hymns of Muslim Sufi Faqir like Baba Farid, Hindu Brahmin Ramanand,& low caste hindus likeRavidas (cobbler),Namdev & Kabir (weavers) etc. Altogether there are hymns of 15 Bhagats & muslim faqirs along with various Guru's shabads, all in RAGAS.The Hindu Bhagats are from all castes (low or high) without any distinction & from various parts of India.These were the spiritually evolved souls whether Hindus or Muslims.Thus Guru Granth is a book with universal message for any one who wants to follow the spiritual path.Unfortunately the Sikhs seem to feel as if it is their property.

The essence is to control five enemies 1.Lust 2 Anger 3Greed 4.Attachment 5 Ego.You control these five enemies by meditation of Mantras.The three pillars of conduct are 1 Naam Japo(meditation), 2Wand Chakoo ie share with the needies 3 Kirat Karo ie earn an honest living.

Unfortunately Mughal period was very tough for the budding Sikh community.The 5th Guru-Guru Arjan was tortured to death by the order of King Jahangir.The 9th Guru - Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded in Chandni Chowk Delhi by the order of king Aurangzeb.The story behind his murder is that the Hindus in Kashmir were being persecuted & converted to Islam by force.The Kashmiri Hindus approached the 9th Guru Tegh Bahadur to help them.Guru Tegh Bahadur said that a supreme sacrifice of a great soul is required to stop this.Upon hearing this Guru GobindSingh son of Guru Tegh Bahadur(he was only 9 years old) said to his father as to who was spiritually greater than him.After listeening this Guru Tegh Bahadur told the kashmiri hindus to give the message to Aurangzeb that if he could convert Tegh Bahadur then all the Kashmiri hindus will convert to Islam.Since Guru Teghbahadur could not be converted, he was beheaded in Delhi

From here onwards Sikh movement took a turn to Militaristic force under Guru Gobind Singh (10th &last Guru).He gave a martial spirit to not only protect themselves but also help the meek.He said if all efforts fail to achieve peace then it is OK to take up the arms.During his Guruship several battles were fought with Mughals,his two young sons died in one of the wars.His two younger sons age 7 & 9 were burried alive since they would not accept conversion to Islam by the order of Mughal rulers. During this period of turmoil & armed conflict with Mughals Guru Gobind Singh reminded his followers that conflict was not with Muslims ,it was against the tyranny of the rulers..The end of Mughal empire came in North with Sikh Militancy. On the lighter side about the sikh joke (12 o'clock ) started from the fact that Sikhs would invade Muslim rulers at midnight to retrieve the loots & Indian women who were being abducted by the Muslim invaders.

The last Guru (Gobind Singh) who created this force of Khalsa to end the tyrannyy of the rulers was killed by Pathans in Nanded (Maharastra) at the age of 42.He was a scholar of Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit & Brij Bhasha.His spiritual Poem JAAP Sahib is worth reading It is the salutation of Creator threaded in various languages.Besides this he wrote extensively on Krishan & Ram Avataras. Just before his last breath, he told Sikhs to follow Guru Granth for enlightenment & that there will be no more living Guru's.

Hinduism, Budhism & Sikhism are spiritualy same except that Sikhism is more recent (less thn 500 years) with less adultration.Also Guru Granth is authentic edited by Guru Arjan(5th Guru) & nothing can be added or removed.Original copy is still available

Regarding 5 K's,these are external disciplines which should lead one to internal discipline for the Khalsa or Pure Ones.
1 Kesha ,unshorn hairs,this is the gift of the Creator & it is accepting His Will.2,Kirpan,it is to protect the helpless & one's Honour.It was the need of time.If you reflect the history, India was invaded by hoards of invaders & Mughals, who were converting people to Islam by force & were abducting the Indian women. Guru Gobind Singh added Shakti with Bhakti to protect the honor of the country & that
Kirpan was never supposed to be used as an offensive weapon.It also signifies conquering five evils, Lust, Anger Greed, Attachment & Ego.
3 Kara, the steel bracelet which signifies( as a wedding ring) wedded to the teachings of the Sikh Guru's.Besides Kara should remind to do honest deeds , earn honest living &not hurt any one.
4.Kanga (comb )keeps hairs clean & signifies good mental thoughts.5 Kachha(a distinct undergarment is worn to signify chastity.Sikhs are also prohibited to use of Intoxicants eg tobacco, alcohol or intoxicanting drugs. ( ! Very difficult to abide by these in the present day world,Unfortunately I wonder how many sikhs are following these ).These disciplines should lead to the following Daya (compssion),Himmat ,effort of simran&proper behaviour 3Dharam Faith in Guru's teachings 4 Mohkam,accepting the Will of the God 5Sahib ie the highest state of spiritual developement leading to purity & unity with the creator.( Interestingly the first five sikhs who accepted the baptism from Guru Gobind Singh had these names Daya Ram became Daya Singh, Dharam Das as Dharam Singh etc)They were known as Punj Pyaras ie five beloved sikhs .

A few important things that might interest you that the foundation stone of Golden Temple was placed by a Muslim spiritual fakir Mian Mir,stressing again that sikhs were not enemies of Islam but fought against the cruel leaders. LANGAR is also an important service,where vegetarian food is served after the religious service & that all participants sit at one level to breakdown the caste barrier.It may surprise you that 30 -50 thousand hungry people & Yatru's eat Langar daily at Golden temple

Re the beginning of Guru Granth Sahib ,it starts with JAP Ji by Guru Nanak.It starts with
Ik ONmkar,Sat naam,karta purakh,nirbho,nirvair,Akal moorat ajoni sai bhang,Gurprasad meaning there is only one all embracing&all poweful Divinity-which manifests in the shape of Word& then through the whole created Universe-He is One in all & all in One-He is an eternal reality&His name is also EternalHe is the creator& has the power of independent self creation.He is above all fear& above all enemity.He is deathless,is immortal &free from birth& rebirth.He is self existant & fountain head of all motive force in the Universe.He can be realized through a Satguru.The rest of Japji is explanation of this Mool Mantra After wards whole Guru Granth Sahib (1430 pages ) are in praise of the Creator,gives guidence to moral living,medtation,service & Love for all creation. All the hymns are in Ragas & at the end of Guru Granth is Raga Mala describing about the ragas

Finally I will mention a few words about the prayer that is said at the termination of any Sikh Religeous gathering.The prayer has 3 segments,first segment is the prayer of 5th guru , Guru Arjan, 2nd portion is of 10th guru remembering the names of first 9 Gurus, 3rd segment is the community prayer in remembering the past heroes & Martyrs & worldly desires.:The real prayer is first segment of Guru Arjan (5th Guru ) which goes like TUM THHAKKAR TUM PE ARDAS meaning To Thee my Lord, I offer this prayer,To Thee I Offer my body & soul,Thou art our mother & father,we are thy children,It is by your Grace that we are given the countless comforts of life,No on can fathom thy limits,Thou,the Highest of the High.The Universe is a marvel of thy craetion,Its working reflects thy wishes.Only Thou knowest the limits of thine grand design.Nanak,thy servitor,is forever willing to sacrifice his all for thee.