Hind Di Chaddar

Guru Tegh Bahadur

 Hind Di Chaddar  

With my usual routine of the day as of now, I got up and as you all know it is a ritual nowadays to open your eyes and unlock your phone so as to check your Whatsapp and other social networking apps to find out whether you are still important to the social apps friends. Today I found that my whatsapp was filled with forwards of celebratory messages of the birth anniversary of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib ji. For those who may be unaware, Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji is the Ninth Sikh Guru among the Ten Masters or Founding Fathers of the Sikh Faith. So reading all the messages and photographs my day began. One by one I browsed through all the social media apps and finally when I had got the approval of the social world I thought of getting off my bed and to continue with the daily chores. Later in the day, when I opened my laptop to do some of my office work I thought of listening to kirtan along. So currently I am listening to Derby Samagam 2018 wherein Manpreet Singh Kanpuri is reciting gurshabads in his very melodious voice. As I am trying to concentrate on my work, there is a poem which is continuously running in the back of my mind. Thanks to my morning ritual I came across this beautifully written poem on a Instagram page titled Sikhism

It was written by an individual with the name Prabhdeep Kaur, and lately I have been loving the poetry universe and have started writing some it myself as well. But this piece was something which makes you remember the horrific times of the Mughal Empire but also shows you the calm and composure of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahibji.  

                 She quoted “Vaara Khud Ko, Putar ko b yehi sikhaya, Yeh to batao itna day aka bhaav kaha se aya, pandito  ke liye shaheedi paa gaye, apne 3 sevako ko b mukti dilva gaye, itni gareebi kahin aur to dekhi nahi, Guru Tegh Bahadurji aapke dar pe peeth kisi ki lagi nahi, Aap khud Khuda ho, ya uska koi roop ho, itna to nahi pata is nacheez ko, par Khuda ka beshumaar Noor ho, Beshumar  Noor ho.” The very first line tells us all about the sacrificing nature of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahibji, He not only sacrificed himself, but also his entire family. Yes, Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahibji sacrificed himself, his wife Mata Gujri, his   four grandsons Baba Ajit Singh ji, Baba Jujhar Singh ji, Baba Zorawar Singh ji and Baba Fateh Singh ji in one of the most direful conflicts of the Sikhs against the Mughal Empire. Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib ji attained Shaheedi for the sake of freedom of practicing one’s own faith, Guruji laid down his life as Kashmiri Pandits had come to the resort of Guruji to free them of Aurangzeb’s atrocities of forcing them to convert their faith and practice Islam as their religion. This action shows that different faiths and religions were meant to co-exist and lead to a peaceful and harmony in society.

            As we move forward and look at what is happening all around us, it seems as if we have forgotten or want to forget how to co-exist and to respect other faiths and religions. Numerous lynching and strikes happening all across nation, makes me wonder that whether  are religions about peace or they are just about downsizing the other faith and establish  the faith’s superiority over the other?? But when I come across such beautiful written thoughts, it is only then that my faith gets restored and I come to the conclusion that humanity is the only way forward for humans to co-exist and live in harmony.

                                         -Jasलेख