Temple of spirituality or golden temple, amritsar jagjit singh

I!';!biicali.m S ...... No.9.

~emple

oft Ipirituo;lity OR

~olden '~mple,

It,mritoar

BY

JAGJIT SINGH

Those who look 011 tnefely the alabaster (HlJ the /.!old of this • jewel of architectu,.e· miss tht Imler Spirit ~'ic" il {f'O"ld .which pervades the whole building'6Ut,Jor , bee" Q"ollu,. colorl... T~I"I>U.

It"".

J'U BLI8uklJ flY

The Sikh Religious Tract SocIety, TARN TARAN (PUNJA8j

IU: IHCA'ftm I'll

PUBLISHER'S NOTE • To Sikhs their temples, whICh have played .. great part in their history, are more important than the as.ooiations. So muoh.n that their history oonsists of either establishment of temples or their proteotion against different kinds of aggressors. Sikh temples, bet.ter known as GurdtcaraR, constitute institutions of Hari Kirtan, where the Discipl.. ponder to quench the outer fire and plunge agoin into deep peace of life. The Golden Temple at Amritsar, the the premier Sikh Shrine, forms the nucleus, around whioh oentres the major part of the Sikh History and the .ucOPeding pages would aifor,i to our readers a peep into this • Temple of Spirituality'.

We owe a great debt of gratitude to S. Jagjit Singh, who has very kinnly .pared time from his oollege studies. to revise hi. writing, in appreciation of which he .... as awarded a prize-medal worth Rs. 100 'by th.. Macauliffe Memorial Committee, Khalsa 'College, Amrit.ar. Weare proud to place this publiQation in our readers' hands to unveil to theni tbe history of this 'Wond~rfnl Institution',· We need ".ot write more beside. what Master Mota Singh ji Akali, a venerable Sikh leader, .ays about this b .. ok ;

ii

"S ..TalZ.jit Singh, the younger son ofSriyut Vaidraj Bh"i Sahib Mohan Singh ji, the eminent writer and scholar, and ODe of mo.t distingui.hed member of tbe Sikh Community, i. a born author, gifted with spiritual philo_opbic&! conatu.. The public may be glad to receive from the pen of this young autho,' the history of the Golden Temple, entitled as 'Temple of Spirituality'. ' We 'owe to him a tribute of ... thanko l[or having thr<;>wn .so fre~~ a.lig!)t .. '.'d, glow lio"er ," compa.r..ti"ely lurid period of histor~'. I te · :h..s , deline80~d the whole n ..rrr.. tive in ' .. vivid alid ,attractivl' DU\lmer. The hcts are arr ..nged fnto a , .well.pl .. nned form, and are ,discretely wov~n into an ,inspiring .tory accompa.nied by a spirit of co'm men·tary. ,The Chronicled note. are brief .. nd judicious.

The Cbronicle... nd legend.~hich form" sigmfiCl\nt part of the book ,and enhance it. litera.ry gra~e ~re nowhere g .. rbled and tinged with 8uch ..ccretio'ns" ... conld be exposed ..nd condemned ..t the b~:r ' of reason. Such prodigious legends .. nd mir .. culous event. h ..ve been most , prudently .. nd ~rientific9.lIy ", . r purged . off, ,which m ..y,tempor..rily stimul .. te our thought, but do in n.o w ..y add dignity to the re ..li, ties oOife, and which ..re de.tin,ed, to f.. de und~r the · glare of so.und and pure r .. tion ..lism. .IJ:e has ' also · done well to escape .f rom dry "I)d, sceptic .r..tion .. · which deviating from . pure faith, ~uthle.;'ly le,!-ds ,us · to' "Destrllctive Nihilism.~'F Thqs. ~n ...ri ..dmirable manner,'the author h ....mQ8t, ..g~~e~[jly pal .. nced, 'the history. of, 'F..ith .,"'1dl Fr'l,e ,Th?ll~ht,' ' '\1d reprodltoed .altevent. quite . - . in , ,con8on~nce . . .. ... . witli ,)1io<ifern

lism,

science and philosophy. He possesses the quality, whioh eminently oharaoterises him of keeping h,storioal imagination under "'l"traint of evidence. Hi. research is striking and extensive.

This book is in every sense of the 'woni a \ great aOOessioll to our histoneal Iiteratll.r~, and .. worthy edItion to our popular history. I whole hea.tedly hail. and appreoiate the author's literary enthu:siasm, and r~.ommend the book to that attelltiv~ perus!'1 ,whioh , its title invites."

I orave the readers' indulgence' for a few misprint. which have crept in this bodk. A h.t of th~ most glaring of them i. given at the end.

TAItN TARAN. OCTOBER

1, lU3".

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Words fail to express the feelings of admiratioB and gratitude which I ent.rtain toward. S. B. Bhai Sahib Kahn Singh ji, Nabha; S. Guroharn Singh Ji, Delhi; Prof. Teja Singh ji, M.A. ; Master Mota Singh ji, Akali; and S. Kartar Singh ji; who very Irindly went through the manuscript and gave very valuable suggestions. To ,each of them I tender my most sincere and heartiest thanks.

I am indebted to all my friends, who helped me in the preparation of this book in various ways; to all authors whose works I have consult"d; to the Publicity Department, Indian State Railways, Delhi, . and Mana![er, Pritllm, Lahord for the loan of certain blocks; and the Sikh Relil1;ious Tract Society, Tarn Taran for undertaking the publication of this book.

Suggestions for the improvement of the book will be gratefully received.

J AGJ1T

SlNGH

j.'OREWORD

By S. B 8hzi Sahib B. Kahn Singh ji, Nabha Jlh ..i Mohan Sillgh ji Vaid, a Municipal Oommis.ioner of Tarn Taran and a member of the Gurdwara Parbandhak Oommittee, i. a learned scholar in the â&#x20AC;˘ Sikh OOllll'lUnity. He ha. written many useful book. on religion, history, sooiology, hygiene and .ocial r.form.. 1 am pleased to .ay, that his son S. Jagjit .Singh i. also following his father'. footsteps.

He ha. written the history of the Golden TempI., A mrit.ar. It seems that he ha. taken a great deal of pains in coll.cting the matprial and arranging it.

All those interested in the history of this Temple in particular and the faithful pilgrims in general will be greatly profited by it. I congratulate Sardar .J agjit â&#x20AC;˘ Singh on hi. laudable effort in writing this book.

PREFACE "The fir<t feeling that we have on entering church (temple) is one of peace and repose. Th. wor)d is in such a hurry, and is moving, 80S some people tell us, so much faster than before, that we seem -to wa.nt a few minutes of rest, an oooa.slonal

â&#x20AC;˘ time before we go hence. We desire to be breathing wIth God a. we beheve that we .hall hereafter be ",ith Him. Here, at any rate, the strife of tongues Ii" hushed, the strain of mind is taken oif', the cares of ),fe are no longer immediately present to us: "There lii a grea.t calm," Here we pause for & mom..ent in Ollr journey that we may proceed refresped. Here we are raisell above the mean thoughts of mankind: we hear t,he words of salllt. and prophets of t4e ,old; lI"",livefor a sqort time in the neafer companionship qf ,God aqd of another world; we pass in review the last day o~ two, and ask ourselves whether we ara doing enough \for others; we seek to realise in our ~ind8 a hIgher standard of duty and character. Here are revived in q.. those aspirations after another aDd 'better .tate of being, whien in good mlln are alway. rata.rung '/lnd are never; compl'ltely satisfied, but wMqJ>, like wi,ngs bear US on the selL of life, ~nd Pfev~nt Aur sink;lJlIIi il).to ,the rou,t;i/le of ousto,m w hioh prev~i,\1I, ",r~nnli ,us, :aere;WII re,ig/\ purselv"~ to t:p.e pl\re. t/l9u~ht, ~o, the pure ,;wil), to. the pure min~, ....hioh is the truer plLrt of Qur OW"" souls, and in whloh I I I I and throug~ which lVe see God." Says Benjamin

viii .Jowett, to them, who demand to know why they should go to their temples.

The world may rejoice in it many temples of many religions, and many mora might be the temple., great and small from different standpoints, but the G,ldeD Temple at Amritsar i. unique. Sri Guru· Arjan Dev left U8 an image of Hi. diviLe midd in this Dream of Marble 10 i. not .. .building, it is life in its myria<l glow of wor.hip going endlessly, ih selfattraction round itself. It is the great Soul that rio,. like a golden lotus on the blue watHa and is made manifest here in it. perfume and in it. live swarm of honey-bees buzzing about it.

Those wbu look on merely the alabaster and the gold mi•• the Inner Spirit whioh pervade. the whole building of this Te,nple of Spirituality- the tabernaole where the 'Eternal Nam resides and for whioh it is one of unique wonder. of the world. Only the "living ones" know this seoret influence of the Temple. A great Vai.hnava Faqir came from Brinda- ' ban, and was so impre.sed by the clear spiritUal 'aura of the Golden Temple that hi. Dhyanam passed to the Ma.ter. of this Temple, and he 'never left it. A Mohammed ..n .. dept residing in the Western Punjab Obll never p.... Amritsar in .. rail way-train' without ..lighting and p ..ying hi. homage to the H~rl Mandir (Golden Temple). Says he, "So wonderful" is the link .between e..rth .. nd He ..ven ,here, that e"/en now, ..fter the Guru has been personally absent for hu."dreds of years from thiS land, ,the place .still • Gor.u literally meau~ True Teacher.

ix

possesses that old enchantment. The extinguished one are rekindled, the broken made whole, so might;r is the remaining effect."

All initiates and disciples here feel a solace nnknown elsewhere. The other day the French Artist M. •Jarl spoke to us of the effect of the Golden • Temple on him. He said, "The light seems to come from within the Golden dome of the Temple, and . . it is this inner light that kindles the whole prospect around it."* This Temple is the favourite resort of the aspirants to the spiritual life; thither they come to dip their torches in its light, and they might fill the land and its heart with the gleam that M. J arl and others saw. The fresh vigour and in8piration that flooded the land can only be traced to the hc!&rt of the Guru.

To quench thA flames of outer fire the Sikh. hurried to this Temple.Tank. The time came when everyone was forbidden to have even 'darshallas' of this Temple, but its inner magnetio force drew the Sikhs and its lovers to it. Though they were 8U often orowned with martyrdom yet there was no abatement in their zeal to approach it. The Sikhs sa9riticed their lives Ilnd everything in Ilttempt ttl procure the light of this Soul. That very l!ght Illpng with the sacrificed blood has prol!lpted the author to pen' this short historioal sketoh of the ~mitter of thl't light-the Golden Temple•

.

• Put"an Singh, Teo Muters,

p, 5.7-56.

ILLUSTRATIONS 1.

2.

a.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Bhai Sahib B. Mohan Singh ji, Author'.

Father. 路Maharaja Ranjit Singh listening to the recitation of Sri Gutu Gr.. nth S"hib noar hi. grandson'. palatial Bunga.

Akbar the Great.

Ahmad Shah, Abdali.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

S. Kharak Singh, Ex-President S.G P.C. Lord Curzon. , Golden Temple-When there wa. no clocktower.

,9. Aka! Takht.

10. Baba Atal and .\rauls"r.

1,1~. Temple and Tank of TarA TafaD. 12. " 1)arn Taran Kar-sewa.

r1

,

J

路From Sikh-point of view' many a dis'creperlc'y i. seen in the illustration in ,,!hich Malilrraia Ranlit Singh' I. lIStening to the recitation'of Sri Guru Granth S"hib. IFb.. has been taken. from a'n old drawillg of that tiine and ~hll preserved in TQs/sa,Khanai 01. Sril ,Darba~ Sahib. 1;/le main point'is the pr.segee of tAe pala.tillh Bun~a of KunwjU' Nau Nihal Singh inst~ad of Clock- TJiwllr, I

CONTENTS 1.

2.

3.

"4.

5.

• 6.

7.

s.

9.

Dedication Publisher's Note Acknowledgement Foreword Preface • Founders of the Faith Amritsar The Sikh Gurus Persecution of Sikhs (a) (b)

(e) (d)

10.

i IV V Vl1

1

13

15 26

Banda Bahadur Bhai Mani Singh Massa Ranghar Afghans

Rise of Hikh Power

40

(a) Period of the M isal. " (b) Maharaja Ranjit Singh

11.

Brit,ish Period

46

(a) Sarbrahs or Managers (b) Gurdwara Reform Movement " (e) Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.

12.

•}S.

Income and T08ha-Khan..

Various Parts of the 'femple (al Darshani Darwaza (b) Ante-Clfamber (e) Bridge (d) Hari·Ki-Pauri

59 63

~ii

(.) The Temple Proper (f) Daily Programme 1~.

The Tank of Immort&lity

72

(a) Kar-Sewa (b) Pipli Sahib

ÂŤ) Khalsa College

(d) Pradakshina

15.

Other Plaoes of Wor~hip

78

(a) Akal Takht (b) Babe di Ber (e) Ramgarhia Tower. (d) Dukh Bbanjani Ber (.) Thara Sahih (j) Ath Sath Tirath (g) Guru ka Bagh (h) Baha Atal (.) Shahid Bunga (j) Illachi Ber (k) Santol<h Sat. (l) Gurdwara Lohgarb (m) Ram Sar (n) Bihe1< Sar

16.

Howothtl'!lgee the Golden Temple, Amritsar 17. Tarn Taran.

92

98

FOI<nders' of th~ Faitl.

'Sin is the king, Greed the minister, Faillehood the mint-ma.ter, And Lust the deputy to take counsel with; they sit and confer tog.ther.

The blind suhjects, out ,·f ignorance, pay homage like dead men.'

The Punjab which had once been the land of power and wisdom had, through successive rB.ids of the foreigners ([170·[469), become utterly helpless and ruined , and lay like a doorm .. t at the gate oE India. Its people wer. physioally and mor8.lIy bankrupt. They had no .en •• cf duty, no language, no inspiring religion ot their own. They had lost all self-respect and fellow feeling.. They were content to see their wives and childern being led away as so many cattle, without duing ..nything in clefence of them". Ferm.. nand Orenard writes-It The .Hindus were' mere subjects of the second class.' That is to say, they were the ordinary tox-payers, who gave their gold when the official. oalled for it, and opened their mouths when he wished to spit therein. Pi' • In thi~ dark hour of Indi .. , 1469, wben ignorance, w1th its twin .. sister, ~uper8tition, WR!!! reigning rampant inothe land, the Ipirit of divine laVA descended i~to .the worid in the person of our Saviour, Guht Nanak, 't

Tl\zji,)' nt~ul-Atn~:1r W'a, Tazjiyn.t.u}..~tiar by

t RahiT. Fint of tht'Mq:half'. p-161.

Abdulla.h Wa.ul •

the first Master of the Sikhs. He was a Wycliffe without being an Oxfordon. He was a Lllther without his vi~lent outburst and withont his 'slay and . spare not' slogans. He was a John Huss, a Savonarola but without their tragic ends. He had the good qualities of each and much more besides. He toured as .. pedestrio,,, rou"d the whole Asia and abroad to reform mankind. He never preached.

His only argume"t w ..s His own life, pure and simple, noble and virtuous that a.ptured the world and the Mtster planted with His own hand th~ seedling of spiritual lifa iu the soul of the disciple. He enjoined upon all men to live rightly and to abjure all fears and superstition. 'Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of Man' was practised by His disciples.

To purify the s )cioty- both Muslim and Hindu, of all corruptions Guru N anak stood as one man against the hosts of dark"e"s, unafraid of aught, blowing His horn of freedom, shaking all the old foundations of society. A new creation, a New Life!

Guru N anak left the earth amid a chorus of song: " The dead rose ol1t of their groves As they heard the song of Guru Nanak.

He healed us all by showering on us the sparks of Divine Fire!

The veils were lifted up, and the disciples went freely in and out of the door of death, in concourse of song with the Immortals!"

But His spiritual sell, His very presence pasoed into the' mind and body of the nine Masters, His sU.ccessora 2

AngAd, Guru Nanak's beloved disciple, received the sacred message and became the Second-Nanak, the apostle of His inspired faith in God. Guru Allgad reduced to writing the accounts of the travels and hymns of the Ma.ter Nanak and tbus made a begin: ning of the gift of literature to the people having at tbe same time given them an alphabet-Gurmukhi. 'fo.Guru Angad succeeded Amar D.s.

Guru Amar Das carried on the purification of the .society. C""te-res~rictions and the curse of untoucM1>ility were abolished by making it • rule, that none could see the Master without dinning in Hi. lal/gar or free kitchen, where all, 'rich or POOl', Brahmins or Slldras, dine.d together without any distinction'. The spirit of womenfolk, to play their part in the history with their husbands, was elevated by the Master by carrying on a vigorous crusade against the practice of infanticidism, sat.i· and purdah:,sty"tem, which were meant 't,o hind their presence from the eyes of the Moghal 'con'luero,", , so that they should not be carried ofi'.'t During Guru Ram Das, the Fourth Master, the want of National Shrine, where all conld meet frau. time to time, cultivate mutual love and understanding, and draw inspiration, was also felt. The Sikhs llad increased in numbers and were beginning to "roup tljemselves together to become It people, Thus ~he 'Temple of Spirituality' at Amritsar was ereeted as a comm on shrine .

•

• * A •cU'Itom am'Hl!.!:st

Hindus by which 3. W.)m!l.n Was fot"celi to oburn herself with het, dea.d husband, C. II. pII.YI\~. p. 3.

• .,

t

Hon'ble J. M. Kenworthy,

Indi~

a wal"lltllg. p. 84,

The next Master, fifth in the line, Guru Arjm, 'Who was a born poet., a practical philosopher, it. powerful organizer anel ~ groat st~tes:na!l,'* supplied "what was wanting. 'rile movement of service became most active and the Temple-Tank of Amrit.ar were completed., That meant .. new stage in the growth of the Sikhs: they were becoming a prnpertied people, acquirinll( a collective religiou. ~nd social sensE".

Then Guru Arjan conceived the idea of enshrining Song as the Deity of the llew Sikh TemJOI~. Accordingly, the Master collected the hymns composed

by His fore-runners and composed many more of His own. To this the Teacher addd the writings of I;p-ver'&l saints, Hindu and Mohammâ&#x201A;Ź'da.n, whv were noted as well for their keen interest in the worldly aff.irs as for their high flights in tbe 'piritusl domain and called the collection '\Vord of the Master'later Sri Guru Grant" Sahib-and placed it in the Hari Mandir as the book of the people.

Sat Guru's fame, and the growing wealth of His people, excited the enemy of the Emperor .Jahallgil'.t Dr. G. C. Naral1g, p. 31.

He suffered fnr His relistinn at. the hnndfoi of Jahangir may be lIeen from the following words taken from the Emperor's own Tallzak: " So many of the simple-minded Hindus, nay, many =II

t

foolish Moslems, too, had been fasci(Jated by His ways and teachiugs. He was noised about as a great religious aud worldly leader. 'l'hey called Him 0 uru, aud fram all directio1l8 crowds of pelrple would come to Him 3ud express great devotion to Him. This bU8Y traffic had b~en carried 011 for three or four geileratioHs. POl' maUl! years th~ thought had been preJJellfiu9 itself to my mind tllai ~ifher 1 IthOl'tld put au elltl to this t1'uffic, 'J" that lIe should be lJl'ought u'it/lju th~'fohl of18Iam." '

4

, He wa, attacked too becau.e of tbe heretical doctrilles, detected by the orthodox, in theGr~nth Sahib, G"rn Arjan was not to be moved. H~ was of the seed of the martyrs, and His doom was inevitable, U. was put to unthinkable tortllre. Burning sands â&#x20AC;˘ were !'oufed on His bare body. H. was compelled to sit on hot iron sheets. Besides this H. bore the torture of b'lrning and boiling water but all with unfailing firmness. His cause was righteous, and bravely H. sutfered for it. No martyr'. lot was harder than Guru AT,ian's and yet no body has sung of life more cheerfully than He. The disciples came to resc.'e the Guru but forbidding them He says, "Whatever .Thou givest, I treat as happiness. Wherever Thou placest me, there .hall be My heaven" 'fhe last message the Master sent by the Sikhs to His son and SUCCegSOf, Guru Har Gobind, was one that sounded ominously, the change from peace to war: " Let Him. sit armed on His Throne and keep up an army as best He can P' But Master's sword was struck neither in spi~it of anger, hatred or ago gressivenes., nor kingship or rule was the object of the conq uest. It was all done for the weak must not be trampled under foot by the tyrannous ..J ustice was secured to the poor.

Guru Bar Rai, the Seventh Master, devoted His ti~e and ~ttention to peaceful orgallisation. He kept 2200 soldiers but fought no battle as the Emperor Sh!h .Jahan had ..,een, dnring the Iile-time of Guru IIor Gobind, that it served no good purpose ¡to make the, Sikhs enemies. Guru H.r KrishaD, the next 5

Guru, soon after His accession at a tender age gave up His body.

The work of organisation and training for the future was oontinued by Guru Teg Bahadur, the Nineth Master. He was perpetually on tour, meeting His disciples in villages and in louely jungle-huts, burning lamps of human hearts in memory of Gurll Nanak, wherever the Master had been belore.¡ But the Mohammedan rulers smelt a growing menace in the rise of the Sikhs. Emperor Aurangzep,' determined to convert all men within his reach 'lo Islam, adopted a cruel policy of extermination against the Sikhs, whom he considered to be. a grave political religion. To kill a non-Muslim,. a 'kanT', was re! presented as a religious duty. Even the English and Dutch residents in India were SUbjected to the same obnoxious impost.- 'ro all's rescue came forward Guru Tag Bahadur and prepared the downtrodden people to raise their heads and achieve liberation.

Soon the Master was su'mmoned by the Emperor to Delhi, whither He went. He was kept there iu prison and tortured under the orders of Aurangzeb.

The Master was asked to embrace Islam or to die. He chose the latter and was beheaded at Delhi 8S He sat under the banyan tree reciting J apji. The tree still stands there-Shahid Ganj, to bear evidence to the fact that the Master through His martyrd'om 'Il-ved the freedom of religion and the Ii ves of m~my martyrs. ..

Guru Gobind Singh acceded to Nanak's Throne, â&#x20AC;˘ r.lboy'. Wheeler, a 8hort Hi.tory of India, p. 177-178.

.. ~er His father, at the tender age of nine, but He contmued the work. He gave all His soul to His people, brought new delight to them and scattered joy and light in abunda.ce hitherto unknown. It was the Song of the M~ster dissolved in water to convert the Sikhs into Singhs-the Khalsa, the Pure One. It was the first day of Baisakh 1699. 'I'he Master prepared the Neotar of Knowledge Absolute in t~e Immortal Draught-the Amrit, for the first time and administred it to His 'Five Chosen' and addressejl!

â&#x20AC;˘

" Ye are tbe Sons of Nanak, the Creator's own, the Chosen Ones. I name ye the Khalsa. Ye are i,he disciple, of Song, and ye shall be the ,aviours of man. Ye shall love man ..s man, making no dis_ tinotion of oaste or creed. Ye shan keep for ever this flame of light lit in you, unflickering, in deep meditation on the One Deathless Being. Ye shall bow your heads to your Master only. Ye shall never worohip stook, stone, idol or tomb. Remember always in times of danger or difficulty the Master.

Ye shall not pray eaoh for himself, but for the whole Khalsa. In each of you the whole Brotherhood shall be inoarnated. Ye are My som, both in flesh and spirit."* After this, the Master asked His 'Five Beloved Diiciples' to prepare the Amrit and to anoint others a' He had done. The Five obeyed. Nectar â&#x20AC;˘ was prepared. It was the Master Himself who oifersd ; first of all to dri,\k the Amrit from the han~s of the

*

Prof: PuranJ'illgh, Ten Masters, p-1()6,107.

.7

Beloved Five. From Guru Gobind Rai His name wa" changed to Guru Gobind Singh: With the Master thousands of Sikhs were anointed on that day with the sacred Amrit and federated into a Brotherhood of the Khalsa. It was this Amrit that changed the docile, poor, fearful disciples into t,he leonine men of the new Khalsa: Saint Soldiers; who were taught to salute God and the Master with a naked sword swung high in air, and to praotise the .jmri~ of Wah-Guru He, thus, elevated the spirit IOnd, made others like Himself. 'Besides the treJOendou. ohange ocouring inside the disciples, there' outward appearanoe underwent a marvellous chage. They came to be rpgarded as models of physical beIOuty and stateliness of mIOnner as muoh lOS they were respected for the truth and honesty of their charact... "" Guru Gobind Singh, 'a lawgiver in the pulpit" a champion in the field, a king on His rnasuad, and a faqir in the society of the Khalsa'i- could not escape from the vigilant eye of Aurangzeb. Battles were foroed on the Divine Master. He took up sword and with His God intoxicated followers strllok it, not for it was against Muslims, nor for winning empires, nor for oonquering men, nor even for spreading religion and converting people by I'orce but to champion in the spirit of nonchalance, the cause ot the rights of ft'ee life for the ..individtlal :II Cunningham's Hietory History of ,radia, ii. p-564.

of the Sikh!!, 1) 84i Elphinston'8

t Latif. Hi8tofY of the Punjab,

8

f.tfd thE! society withortt any personal motive or interest.

To liberate India·, Guru Gobind Singh in battles of 1!'reedom, sacrificed Hi. four so os, mere boys.

The two elder attained' martyrdom while fighting for mankind and the younger two, of nine and seven years in age, were arrested by the Emperot lind promised release on condition that they embraced Islam. The boys refused to agree with the tyrant's wish. They were bricked alive. But to the last I·hey stood with divine defianoo in their eyes, saying, " Do thy business, tyrant; we are happy."

Thus they courted and played with death as willingly and affeotionately as moths oourt and play with the fiames of light.

Ever cheerful Master clime to know this but not to indulge in lamentations. He rather exclaimed: "Glory to Thee, Divine Father: that my sons have been acoopted a sacriftcA for Thy truth and religion".

He still battled on till the year 1708. Agllin, while still Hi. wounds from the last battle He had fought were only half healed, He took up a mighty bow to try His strength. His blood burst out afresh. With His last breath, the Master left the Beloved Book, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the living spirit of Ten Masters, a. His successor with the Sikhs. . How, with the establishment of the Khalsa Corumonwealth, the fall of the Moghal Empire was • A MI1s1im poet, ·BuUeh Shah 8ay~, "agar Na hote Guru Gobind Singh, Bunat hoti lab ki" meauing , But fur Guru G()l:.ind Singh all would have been circumcised.'

brought about will beoome more evident by the hints of the following history of the Sikhs given in the suoceedil'g pages. India whioh, 4ad become somnolell.t by centuries of foreign rule rose, from its slumber and bpgan to str,ke ,unql'T \lim. In the first time in the history of ,the Punja!;>, 'Wqe.r the leadership of the Kbalsa, the stream of conquest .hegan to move westward, and IndIa .thl' ~own~roitden, became b,dia, the conqueror. $~ch was the ex(路raQrdinary impetus which the 路 Gurus and, His,; Khalsa brought to bear 011 : the mas,ses of t):le Punja:b.

10

Have se';n all places but, there is non. like thee, Thou art f!,unded 'by the Creator Himself, therefore thou al't beautiful; Around thee-the beautiful Ramda. Pur~the population will be dense and immen.e.

N anak says, all the evils will be washed away by bathing in the Tank of Ram Das, GURU

A~JAN

My earliest, acquailltance with the Punjab zeSt and especially the Sikhs, begins with the Gurdwaras. As my father was a lover of the Guru G ranth Sahib, he knew many verses from that Holy Book bv heart and used to recite them. He used to visit Hart Mandir when he stayed at A mritsar GIJa I used to accompan.y him. The great love of my father for Sikhism inspired me also to read its Sacred Scripture and to study its creed and history of tlte Sikhs. I have tried to acquaint my people with the mission of Guru Na1lak.

Through sacrifice, travail and persecution it has become a great rdigio". The Sikh Religion is meant Jar the whole humanity and is not at all sectarian.

RABINDRA NATH TAGORB

AMRITSAR Tbe Punjab and it.. natives o ...e mucb to tbe Sikl,t G-urus for tbe origin of many to ... ns in this, province founded as common centres of reJigio'; and 'l.ommerce. Tbeir locality h ..d some peculiarity. ' Either '~be town w ..s located on a predomin'antly high position to give it a strategic advantage or in the centre of a fertile tract of land to attr..ct a large â&#x20AC;˘ number of 'cultivators or a Trun'k Road or by the side of a river with the s..me, object in vie.... Sri Guru Nanak Dev founded Kartar Pur, while Hi. successor Sat Guru Angad Dev m..de Khadur S ..hib 01) popular. The Third Master, Guru Amar D ... m&de Goind ... al His headquarters whereas Guru Ram Das transformed a thick forest into a flourishing city, Amrit ... r. Sri Guru Arjan Dav left for Hi. people Tarn Taran, 'to ,swim across the Sea of Ignorance tl) .ave many a drowning soul.' Out-of-the .....y and in,,"ces.ible place was made renowned .by Baba Gurditta, sou of the Sixth Master, as Kirat,p'lr. Guru Teg Bahadur founded An ..ndpur, 't.he City of Imrroprtal Bliss. ' â&#x20AC;˘ In the times .immemorial the land, where tbe city of Golden Temple i. seen flourishing todAy, was siml'ly cove~.d with a thick secluded fOTest with a pool amidst it. It lay entirely shut off from the bustle of the ~utside world and offered to devo!;Qes.

.

13

of God peace and quietness so nenessary for worship.

So Rukis, Manis and Yogi.* of old frequently visited the place which had then become more renowned as the bAst retreat for contemplative minds and for â&#x20AC;˘ those who lived retired from the world. As time passed on the place fell into oomparative oblivion.

In the period of Lord Buddha the place once more attained' an importance. The Great Teacher while passing t.hrough the country is said to bave stopped for a 'while' at the' .ite of the pool and observed, "The spo~ is best for the Bhikh.h"s to' obtain their Nirvana, and is far superior in tiJ;'t respect to other plaoe. sO'far visited but it must have time for its celebrity." Accordingly it beoame a hermitage for Buddhist Bhikhshus and ascetics, who would meditate on 'the jewel in the lotus.' How long this oontinued one oannot say. But drie to lapse of time and great revolution, ' which had ooonrod in the country, the dawn of the Sikh History found it orice more a thick deserted forest., owned by the adjoining villages-Tung, Sultanwind, Gumtala and Gul wali.

* Who ~r.cti.e. lidga-th.

Psycho,p'hysical discip1i~e [Il'~d.

til!led by the Hindu! for liberation or salvation. "

14 â&#x20AC;˘

THE SIKH GURUS Guru N anak, th~ founder of the Sikh Religion, freq ue~t~d this place more than once. Going to Sultan wind in 1502, with His companion Bhai* Mardanat, t.he Moster came aero •• thi. land for the ,. lir.t time and predioted the holiness and importanoe reserved for it in after ages., Many a time afterwards the Guru aooompanied by Bhai Lehna oame to sanotify this place§ Mohd. Latif desoribes the visit of at this place a. follows:

.?UCU

N anak

* Precious to the Sikhs is the word Bhai. It means 'brothel" .

The Guru hILS taught the !acred truth of Brotherhood. HencE it 1M that every member of the Sikh Con:munity is a bhai; all are bhais or brothers, whether kings or warriors, preachers or students. t Bhlli Karda.na. was Guru Nan"k's rebec·pl8,yel' and a compauion with all the wit a.nd humour of a. Punja.bi Ministrel. He first, wet Uuru' Nanak a.t the time of tlie Ia.tter's marriaJl8. Mardllna capae and asked the bridegroom fOT- a gilt. The Master ~a.ve him the gift of Divine Song and said," Wait till I call y.ll1.'1 Mard:tlll\ was called. and he Dever left the rresence of the .. Bridegroom."

Born in 1459 be died in November 1534 alld hi' children took» iliA plaCe in toe service cA tht Uuru. t

'I'awarikh Kha.lsa. p-644.

§ Suraj Parkam, Wazir Bind PrE'S!!-. Amritsar fl·2081.

foot

note,

15

·, ODe day NaDak. becoming thirsty, asked Budh..• who was ..ttending his cattle near by to bring some water in a vessel from a tank closeby.

Budh.. said, 'there was a tank but it was dry' . . Nanak said, "Go aDd see; the tank is Dot dry."

Rndha went, aud to his astonishment saw that the tank was full of water, although it had not a drop in tbe morning. He brought water for Nanak ..nd became His disciple. At this place Guru Arjan con.tructed a new tank and called i~ Amrit,,-ar or the Water of Immortality."t The sanctity of the place was talked by Guru Angad to His beloved-disciple and successor Guru Amar Das,: Who sent Bhai Jetha, the future Fourth Nanak Guru Ram Da., to this place to found a eommon eentre of commerce and spirituality. He c&me here in 1670 and acquired a .ite of 260 acres • Bhai Budha W'as born in 1506 in the 'fiIJaae, Kathu Narillul.

While a lad or tWfllve be received the Diviue Gift of Nam from Guru N ..nak. Aftt:'r this he always took pieuare in being ser~ice­ f\ble to the Huru. Bba.i BOOba we of hwmble birtrh bat by hiB nobility. pamy aud RodliueM he became the moet trusted and the moet respected amonll'lt the Sikhs. 80 much 80 that during hia life time he ~ tomatal Gurus-the 2nd 10 the 6th-to the Gaddi.

Livinll on a few m"t acreS' Dear Amritsar w'ith a few cow. grazing by his side quietly~ Bhai Dudha or thA Brother Ancient lived eelt-cloeed .. imtaened wholly ill the GurU' to r~.:>td are aJd died bl....d by lhe M..ter in lear.

t

Riolo.)' ollh. Punjab, p-247.

t Sunj hrk..h,. W ••ir Rind Pre.... Amritsar, p-:lOIl8 foot note~

from the owners,' and laid down the fonndation of ... "iIlage by the name of 'Guru ka Ch"k.' According .Khalsa.

Tawarikb~

Writers err in mentio(lin~ thft.t Arnrit"lt.t was f011nded on the- , pllrt of the gift of land ma.de by the Emperor Akha.t to the Gunl, No dOllbt the Emperor came to pay homll.2'e to the Mll.ster 80 oftetl, and twice or thrice he himself offered the erant of t\\'"elve t'ill"",es to the Ma. ~ter but ever It was declined (M!l.lcolm) and the princiflh-l of Guru NaulI,k thllt GU1'lr-ka~Lallqar a.nd Ilther Sikh inst.itntjonA ~hould be supported by the hard-earned money Qf the diseiples.

WitS maiRtnined~

Baear the first Mojothllt Emperor, met Ouru N'anak amont!' the captives alt.'ilr Said pur WIlS raEed to the Rround, The would-l1P Emperorof Indift. then MW ill His presence the trutl Empire of Pnre Beauty and l.~ked Etim to ac~ept.... pre~ent from him. .. I neert uothing from you" 8aid the Guru: "set at liberty, if you plell8e. these ,peopl{\ who have heen "WRutollly oppr~Msed." Guru Nanak BCl"e-ptp.d uothiug for himself rather blesl!ed the Emperor with rule of Jlldil\ for seven generation".

Babar's SOli, Empernr HumIlY{)II~ came to the Second Nallak.

Emperor Akbar, th.e thirn it! line, came to Guru Amar DaB in 1500.

Hfl,vinll scen a Ia.rge number of people fed from GUl'U1S kitchen the Emperor offered to the Guru n large t'l!!tnte for the Service of Bread.

The Master declined t,hi!!! oller ann: ~:1.id, "t have alren.dy obtained ellough from my Creator. The people are my lande and eetates.

Enouli!'h that, daily we get our bread from God ~ and we do tlot thillk of the morrow. Enough that we aTe of tAs Poor,lIud thiuk of the Beloved." The Emperor pressed on .the Guru the acceptance of ~evf'rIll 'Villa.ges but"the Guru 'was firm in His refusal.

Here also the

AKBAR THE GREAT.

wi~iters

err wheu tbey say tha.t this grant of

17

to Ri. MMter'a instructions, to enlarge the pool . into a great tank, the work of excavation wa.

12 villages waf! granted to Bibj Ehani. the daughter flIf the Guru~ ' and thiH iR lUI el'otate that Jater 011 was connrLed into n flourishiug' colouy by Guru Ram Du. How could it be pOll!iible for tbe Guru to :t:CCflpt the efliate for His daaghter tbat was refuted by Him for ."ree

Kitch~1I

which

~81l11eaut

for others?

Secondly, tbe jagir of villages sorrouuding Jhabal. 12 miles t~ t.he South from Amntlal'. was oUefed and DO~ \he lilttd of AwritMr. X.hal~ Taws.rikh mentiolls another ,-jeit of Akb!lr ~ut IIOW to Guru Ibm Da~. in 1bW, 'l'he same offer was ~aiu made to tbe Maltte~ after pr~sentillR' 101 gold mohan. The 'gold moliar8 yere distributed to the poor all the spoi and the offer of the jagir refQsed with the Same r"markB as the Third Master had done.

AccorditJlil to ~i\Ch Reli,!:ion by Macaulifl路, Khalsa Tract Sol ~ it:ty.

Tract No: 601811d otbers AkbRr81:aiu vif!;ited the Guru inlGOO. . t\ow the Emperor mot Gllra Arjau and was charmed wllh Bis saintly lJeauty. He W;lIlIlO pleased with the impolling and beautiful Amritsar. which the Guru bl\" coulltru~ted, and the delightful melodies to which th~ hymns of the Gurus had heen set, t,bat words failed hilll Ie) express his gratificatiofl. He ca.lled himself Garu's slave alJd wished to make a contribution towards the upkeep of tho Golden 'l'emple. But the off'er Will declined all the grouud that the Temple most he supported by the people. As the Bmperor im~i8ted 011 doing somet.hing for the Guru befor~ he left the Golden Temple Ar;an aaid, " There is a severe fo.wiue iu the Coulltry, alld it w~uld he best if thy Imperial visit were to be markerl by the remisMi rm vf thill yeRr'S la nd revt:uue to the poor farm ers. " Akbar gave nrders accordingly.

From all this, it is nvident, tha.t never was luch estate or jaRir accepted by the Sikh GurDI!I from Akbar but Guru Ram DllS ha.d bought thi, Jaud rrom the laud-own ers to fOUlld Amritsar.

Wheuever any town was founded by Sjkh Gurus the site was ioVlLnablY,purchued from the OWDerg.

In t.his plt.tter &11 that Akbar did was t.hr.t he orde:'6d a 路 Jarlte plot of l&nd round this Sikh ceutre of Spiritual Humanity to be made revenue路free.

18

~ommenced by Guru R .. m Dall. in 15i3. The work w..s temporarily abandoned after .. year due to the depa<ture from this planet of Gnru Amar Das. In 1577, the work was undert~ken again by.

Guru Ram Das who then made 'Gllru ka Chak' Hi. headqu~rters and made it a new oolony of disciples.

Bhai Salo, a devotee of the Master with the efforts of ~is varions friends .. nd influential rel .. tives like Bhais Chandar Bhan .. nd Rllp R .. m brought to· gethp,r the people of all trades from the neighbouring vill~es and distant towns and had them settled in Guru ka Chak, which was then a collection of squalid huts, to make it an ever-growing centre for • the trade and industry besides the centre of spirit.,. ality. Thus the Chak grew into a small town oalled Ram Das Pllr, after the name of Guru Ram Das, alsu known as Amritsar after the name of the T"nk.

Mohd. Latif paying a tribute to the Guru write.: " In founding the town of Amrit.!!ar at a central

* The author of . Mahma Pa.rkash' writes that the elCca.vation of this Tank was undertaken by Guru Amar Da8. The stateme,nt is not tenable when we compare it with . Warp, of Bhni Gurdasji . tho contemporary of Guru Ram Das, who wl'ites that this all ·w as done by Guru Ram Das. Guru Amar Das 8tat~9 in Sri Guru Granth

"~3H2 fR~3t

@1

Sahib (p-1412)

~" i. e.. Amrit.s3r is the home of virtues,

So it is evidenUhatthe' Tank of Immortnlity' hettel' known at; A~ritsar, atter which the town was named. was exca vaterl dUlling the Guruship of the Divine MWlter Amar Das. Aud this taBiet! with the dates given .in this book.

• In 800rt the moft.ern history of Amritsar commences with the First Master whereas the Temple and Tank were completed by Guru Arjan Dev ji.

'19-

•

spot, the Guru laid the foundation of the future greatness of the Sikh. as a nation, for they were enabled now to rally at a common place of worshi p, conveniently situated, both as regards distance and fertility of the soil. Peaceful iu mind and gentle in their behaviour, following yet the mild and pure tenets laid dOWll by their first leader, they learnt to 'write together and to foster and engender tlIose feelings of brotherly love which tendered to strengthen the natiolla! tie, and paved the way to the formA.tion of a commonwealth on true .l'atriotic principles". * Sri Guru Arjan Dev followed Sri Guru Ram Das in 1638 and continued the work left undone by the, "Fourth Master to completion. t People flocked from far and near and partook enthusiastically in the labour of love. They worked to oomplete the Tank with such desparate devotion and nnsparing energy, •

History of the Punja.b, p-25B.

t Lord Buddha denounced the

world but ascetism and renunciation of the world or retirement to forests was not needed for Mlllv&tion according to the Sikh Gurus. They believed in ; a.ll that exists is'Hisown image' and a. true man was he who performed his household duties to the best of his ability, was undaunted by ull 80r~ of difficulties. and WM purged of his conciet through selfless ~ervice to others. So the traders of various sects were invited to ply their callings at lluru-ka-Chak and were taught to practice pure and true life which was the only recommendatinn for a Man. Wha.t a happy contrast with the Teachers of other faiths adv~at­ Ing belief in them for remission of sins. ~e8ide8 thi~ Guru's prol"idinga mosque land a,-n:andir for Muslim aDd Hindu citizens of Guru-ka·Chak at H& own cost pro~jdes another vent~lation of His magnanimous mind for religious tc.lera· tioD for His subjects.

20'

that Guru Arjan, when saw the sute ot their bodies, shed tears and said that as the tank had been constructed by sitch devout and sincere disciples, all sins should be removed .. nd desires fulfilled by bathing in . it and duly worshiping God: Be who b ..theth herein, having meditated on his God. Shall be completely restored to health.

He who batheth in the Tank of Saints Shall obtain Salvation. ,) )He who meditateth on God's name Shall not die or suffer migration.

On completion of the T .. nk of Immort ..lity it was devised by the Master to erect the 'Temple of • Spirituality' amidst it. Great religious ceremony was observed on 1st Magh, 1645 sambat (January 1589) and Guru Arjan Himself· laid the foundation stoae of the Great Temple. The master mason, who was of the earth.earthy, finding the brick laid by the M"ster not in plumb-line moved it to set it right.

The Divine Master sawall this and predicted, " Master mason! you have moved the original brick.

The Temple sh ..11 be rebuilt in the times to come."

But the work was not discontinued. All laboured h ..rd ~o complete the new institution of Bari Ki,tan.

When the plinth of the Temple was being laid, so",e Sikhs represented to the Master in an impulse of natural pride: "The Temple, Sire, should be built higher than all otherbuildings". But explaih-

•

Ellcyc10predia of Sikh Literat,UffJ, p-288; Sikh R~igion Vol. nI. p~10~ Khalsa Tract Society, Tract No: 596, p-14; Suraj Parkash, Wazir Hinft. Frees, Alllritsa.f, p:l856.$;

21

ing an abiding symbol of Sikh humility came Divi~e fermented answer: "What is low and humble shall . be exalted by Him. The branches .of a fruit-laden tree, bend low to the earth. By whatever path thou desireth to approach thou shalt descend and in thy humility thou shalt attain Hari Mandir. This shall be the lowest of the edifices; for lowly shall be honoured by Him". * ,.

In 1601 the edifice of the Temple was completed and sanctified by Guru Arjan by His life.giving hymns, which He sang every morning and ,e'Veing in accompaniment with saranda. Lovely music Howed from under the dome, until it was absorbed and reabsorbed by the walls and waters of the lake outside, which has, the'refore, become literally a Temple of Spirituality amidst the Tank of Immortality. But for all this the Divine Teacher thanks the Almighty Lord in the following words: God Himself dirl come; He stood up to the work Of His bhakta•.

On this beautiful spot, In this beautiful Temple-Tank He poured Himself Hi. nectaroUB water!

Granth Sahib was compiled by Satguru Ar,ian aud enshrined in the Temple in 1604, (Bhadron Sudi 1., 1661 Sambat) to keep up the How of Nam. Sri Guru Granth Sahib and the TeIll{lle are not -two,' but indissolubly one, even as are the body' and the • • M.A. M.c.ulm~, The Sikh Religion, ~<>l. III, I'-'J.

22

•

SGul. Bha.i Budha, the fa.mous apostle, wa.s appointed the first Granthi, the reader of the Holy Scripture.¡ The service of the .Master created envy in many a heart. One of them was Prithi Chand, the elder brother of the Fifth Master. He regarded as an injury inflicted on him by his father's withholding from him the 'fhrone of Nanak, for which the best disciple was ever seleoted. Prithi Chand made many efl'ort~ to convince the Sikhs coming to Amritsar that he "'as the real Guru. But who had no spiritual peace, consolation, truth, love and devotion could not communicate theRe gifts and virtues to others . â&#x20AC;˘ So the Sikh hearts withered and pined like a lotus without the Sun. Through the vigilance of Bhai Gurda.s and Bhai Budha the truth was revealed to the disoiples. Thus the plans of Prithi Chand were frustra.ted. He left Amritsar a.nd at Hehar in Lahore District he built a similar place of worship as his younger brother, the True Master, had done. It laoked the Divine Touch. It was never worshipped and fell to ruins. Similar efforts by others were subsequently made to build places of worship after III Sri Guru O.'aoth Sahib forms II. great landmark in the religious history of the world in as much as it contains besides the hymns of the Sikh Gurus, the re1igious songs of the great teachers Iiki' Kubir (If Benaras, Nam Dev and Trilochan of Maharashtra, Farid of Pak'Pattan, Dh:l.una of Raj.Putana and Jai Dev of Bengal.

There was no distinction of caste, creed, rank or station but .the soul of the love-songs was in sight. All the songs were compiled and -the Hual seal was"'Put 150 that nothing could be addl"p' or altered thereafter. Thus Sri Guru Granth' Sahib is the Holy Scripture of not the Sikhs oDly tojlt of the whole Bkaratvar,ha, India

.

23

the style of the Golden Temple at Batala, at Haran 'Munara in Sheikhupura District and other places.

There was absence of the megnatic touC"h and charm. So none cared for these. In mosj; of these places the tanka built at heavy expenses are dry forsa:ken ponds, while the Golden Temple stands ant shedding forth raye of peace and etherial joy of whioh a soul is always desirous.

Guru Har Gobind, the Sixth Nanak, made an important addition by building Aka! Takht i.u the viscinity of the Golden Temple. Its impol'tTtnce i" -related somewhere else in those pages. But Master's · wars against the tyranny of the atrooious Government were responsible for the removal of His headquarters from Amritsar. The Warrior Saint wished that this Shrine should not be made a zone of war but should continue to he a centre of worship. The Temple's charge was entrusted to highly reverend Sikhs like Bhai Budha, Bhai Gurdas, Bhai Siddu and others. The Seventh and Eighth Gurus did not visit Amritsar at all.

Guru Teg Bah •.dur, the Ninth-Nanak, paid a visit to Hari Mandir in 1664 with Bhai Makhan' Shah and other disciples. Thara Sahib, a Gurdwnra, only a few paces to the north of Akal Takht, ··commemorates the site where the Master stayed and watered the seeds of N am SOWD in His people by the J'fr~viou. Masters, Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth N anak, bei.ng engaged in continuous war. against tyrantlY of the Moghal Emperors and the Hill RajasJ very seldom 24

I

came beyond SaUuj. The Master at the t.ime of Hi. passing away ordained that the spiritual leadership of the Sikh. would be here"fter v~sted in Sri Guru Granth Sahib and the general body of the Khals ..*.

So to .a >I,kh now Gtlru Granth Sahib was NanakGobind Singh. Hence the Sikhs do not give snch .. designation of ' Guru ' even to the most revered of their poly men, their highest religious title being "Bhai" , lit~rally "brother", but oorresponding with the En~lish t<lrm " eMer".

• Tbe M..t:.r .old ! -

" So doel'l th~ Akal Purshu. ordaiu!

• The Word is Myter noW ~

•

'rhe IIbog of Sam, the' Guru Orauth j

An KhalSfl8hould eeek th e Master iu His 'Vard, Alld bow Lo Cluru Orant.h' lUI my luccea&e>r," j

.

25

PERSECUTION OF THE SIKHS Banda Bahad ar, * after various victories over the Moghals came to fay homB.;e to 'the Tempie in 1713. Some people came forward with various elaims of GurushiP. So at this time the elders of the Sikh Comlllunity displayed a great foresight and statesmanship hy placing Guru Granth Sahib in the Temple once again, as that placed by the Fifth Master had been removed, so that the spiritual symbol should always he Banda Bahadur

â&#x20AC;˘ Banda. BahadllT, known as Lllchhman Dev in" his boyhood, WRS borlt on the 27th Octohel"', 1670 at Rajauri in the Puu~hh

District of Westiprn Kashmir hut J. D. Cunningham follt)wed by :Major Browl! (Itldio. Tracts ii. 9) says that he was born in Jullundur Doab. He was fonit of ShOOtilll!r and hunting. But Il. 8. sight of dying doe, shot by him, called forth his renunciation of the world. He acquired the science of Yoga. and il1cautatiom~ ; and finally settled on the bank of t,he rivf"r Godavari. in the Deccan, ' It was here that Guru Gobiud Singh wrought an uuimal{inable change iu a twinkling in th9 lifo of this allstere ,bermit and traus~ formed him into B.mda, a slave or a m!l.n of His. The Maetf'r administered to him the Awrit of t.he Khalsa. aud )(!l.ve him the name of Gur Bakha.sh Sill~h (llee History of the Puujab by Kanhaya Lal p-56, by Mohd. J.atif p-294 ; History of the Sikhs by C. 'H. Payne, J. D. Cutwingham, W. L. M'Gr6t1or, Matcolm, owther, Macauliffe, Dr. O. C. Naran~ and others). After this conversion the MlLSwr :deputed Bhai Gur 81 khash Singh,' well known as Banda Bahadur, a.ion2 with His <sikhs to lU'illg iU the oppressors1and tyrants to book irrespective of their beitlg Imperial Mohammadan oommanf'1ers or Hill Rajas .

26

â&#x20AC;˘

fount! there wi~h the temporal ODe to instruct the people in the path of salntion. Sinoe then this practice na. been follC)wed oonstantly.

M0re than once came Band.. to serve 'his Ms.sler's T~mple. But hi. victories over the Imperi ..1 forces caused B ..hadur Shan, the Emperor, to come to Lahore where he died in 1712. Farrukn Siyar beca..... the Emperor and sncceeded in arresting Banda B ..hadur, who died like .. truo Sikh .. nd 1\ gallont.warrior of Guru Gobind Singh.

The ,,"cident of Banda's death i. narrated in 'Early records of British India' p·180 as follow.:Th. great rebel Banda, the Sikh who has been for ArrellUl and ,rnn these twenty years so troublesome in the . at. Delhi province of Lahore. is at length taken

l 8<t.cre of the ~lkh!

with all his family and attendance by the Subedar or \,iceroy, 'of that province. Some days ago they entered the city laden with fetters. his whole attendance which were left alive being about 780, all severally mounted on camels, which were sent out of the city for that purpose, besides 2,000 heads stuck upon poles, being those who died by the sword in the battle. H. was carried into the presence'of the King and from thence to a close prison. He at prosent has his life prolonged wi th most of his officers, in hlJpe to get an aC'CQunt of his treasure in several parts of his kingdom, and of those that assisted him, when after~ wards he will be executed for the rest. There are on. hun4red each day beheaded. It is not a little remarkable with what paiienc. they undergo their fate, and to the last it bas na.t . been found that one has apostatised from tbe I'orme{religion.r So much so, "They even 'clamoured

ne\v

.

• Frotr/'a letter WT'aten by an eye·witnf!l!l, John SermoIl 1 the English Amoo88ador.'e the theu Governor ot BeuKa.L • 2~

for priority of martyrdom."*

Cunningham in his history of the Sikhst says, .. A hundred Sikhs were put to death daily, contending among themselves for priority of martyrdom, and on the eighth day Banda himself was arraigned before his judges. Hi! son was placed before his knees, a knife was put into his hands, and he was requirej to take the lile of his child. He did so, silent and unmoved"; his own flesh was then torn with red-hot pincers, and amid those torments he exIi'ired. "

With the death of Banda Bahdur the persecn. " h tion of the Sikhs commence~"U nforn'b 31." ..nlun SlIlg â&#x20AC;˘ . .. tunately minor dIfferences arnse amongst the Sikhs at Amrits~r at that time~ . Learning this Bhai Mani Singh, the most learned Sikh of the time, was deputed by Mata Sundr;; in 1721 quash this dispnte and take charge of the Tem pie.

From that time Bhai Mani Singh began to live at Amritsar, where he daily worked in the Durbar, and read the holy hymns of the Master to the. people. 'rhe Singhs were not allowed to stop there; bnt his devotion and learning drew round him a vast multitude of tile common Hindus and Muslims. And thougll this Silrine of the Khalsa rankled like a thorn in the eyes of the Muslim Governors, yet hi. quiet behaviour and peaceful deportment had won their a,surance. Anyhow if any perverted, prejudiced or

to

*

La.tif, Historyof the PUlljab. Atlothf'r Mohammadat\ al80 writes: .. It is singular, tha.t these peopl~ nut ouly l!ebaved firmly dllrillg the executiofl, but they would dispute and wrauSlle with each other as to who shouldfuffer first j and they made interest with the execution~r to obtain the preference (Malcofm). ' t. p-182 ; Elphiuston's sketch, p-S78; Sairul¡Mutakhrin. t lfata SuudrilwRs Guru Gobilld Sillgh's "-vidow.

28

,

avaricious person worried him in hi. hymn al devotion or vexed anyone of the frequenters of the Durbar, he would doff him off with surest word. or with sweeter still money.

Under these circumstances the governor of Lahore felt that the progress of the Khalsa could, in no way, be ohecked. The Sikhs were really raised b)\ the Almighty from among the birds to sw&llow the eagles. Then he proposed an annual jagir of Rs. ,1,00,000 and sent a title of N awab, with a preci<1l.\S robe of honour for the Singhs, and a. jagir of 19 villages for Guru ka Chak,* to be on friendly terms with the Khalsa. The Imperial mandate was sent to the Khalsa at Amritsar in April 1733, through Bhai Subeg Singh.t The Khalsa were holding II diu,an at Akal Takht. They refused to acoept anything sent by the Emperor, as they did not like to give up the iuaependent empire by submitting to the Mogha1s. The messenger politely argued for the aoce?tanoe of t1.is all. But none would aooept it for himself, and it was oontemptuously thrown from one to another. Bhai Kapur Singh was t.hen PILtlth Parka~h. Bhai R~ttall Siugh Bhaugu, p·257.

Bhai Snbeg SiniZh was one ·of the courtiers of, Governor (If Lahore. Whenever any question touching Sikhism arose, he WItS selected as an advocate. He had a son na.me Sabaj 8ingh. Some harsh ex~ression pastled betwe€'n the young boy and his Muslim tutor while having religious discussion.'. The report was lodged with t,he (lovernor, who apprehf!lIded both the ann and the lather.

E\ther they should embrace Ishlm or the hoth clenched to the wbeel &Ild tortureft to death "was the order eiven. The brave PooldieTS pt'efel'red the latter. 'There was no sorrow. There was up in the fuUnees of a. willing death. the iuner joy bloSrioming . =II

t

.

29

fanoing the assembly in the diwan and all unan imoudy dressed him with the imperial robo and proclaimed him N.. wab. In all humility Kapur Singh accepted this honour bestowed upon him by the Khalsa with a condition that he would pasJ hi. days in the same service of the Panth which eventually eleyated him to the leadership of the Khalsa.

Mohd. Latif remarks about him, who later founded the State of Kapurthala, that "he Ins undoubtedly the most distinguished of the Sikh leaders who paved the way for the greatness of the nation' as an independent ruling power". Thus the treaty was formed, due to which mo,t of the Sikhs engaged ,themselves in agriculture, trade and other peaJefui occupations. The days passed in harmony and the perpetual Divine music and worship was carried on in the Temple.

Hardly two or three years had passed when the ..dministration changed its hands.' Zakaria Khan was appointed the governor of Lahore. au seeing the Sikhs settled the treaty Was broken by the governor and the jagirs granted to the Sikhs confiscated.

This deceit of the Mogha.ls once again created 'bitterness in the Sikh hearts against the rulers. The game became serious when Bhai Mani Singh devised to celebrate Diwali festival at Amritsar. He undertook to pay a heavy subsidy of Rs. 5000 to 路Zakaria' KhB);'. 'the Viceroy of Lahore, if the Sikhs were allowed to go to the Temple unmolestl'd. The wary Mogh ..ls phl.yed a treacherous game Bnd bagan to murder and peril8c~te the pilgrims as thi.Y approached 30

the Temple. Consequently there WM a \'ery poor attendance at th" fair' resulting in meagre offering of money at the Temple. Bhai Mani Singh was unable to pay subsidy and was condemned to ?eath ..

He was offered the usual a!t.ernative of Islam. Bu~ he stoutly refused to barter his religion. So in 1738 his bbdy was cut to pieces, limb by limb and joint by joint.

â&#x20AC;˘ The saint passed away but this widened tb~

gulf runninll: between Muslims and Non-Muslims.

A n~ .. :proposal was brought forth, The Moulvi. and Qazis advised the Governor of Lahore to prevent the t>ikhs from bathing anil drinking the Water of Life in the Sacred Tank at Amritsar, if he wanted to destroy the opponent power and extirpate the race of the Sikhs.t Accordingly a detachment of soldiers was cantoned to prevent the Sikhs from approaching their National Shrine. Notwithstanding.ll the obstructions the Sikhs continued to bathe in the Tank though in disguise.

* 1111617 Gun Ha.r G ,bind's release from Gwalior fort was ordered. The Master would not go unless the Emperor agreed to sel-all prisoners in the fort at liberty. The Emperor gave way and all thp R-Ija prisoners were released on the personal security of the GIlt'Il. Therefrom the Master gets the name .. B;lDdi Chhor" -the 'treat deliverer, who cuts the fetters of the' prisoner's fdet and sets them free. To cQmmemorate this liberality Diwali festival is ('~lebl'atEfd on the corresponding day. The other fair held i~ Ba.isakhi iii 'April. It was'held for the first time in the time of Guru Amar Das. This is also the birth-day of the Khalsa-when they were regularly administered Amrit by the Tenth Master for th~ first 'ime. (EnclIt:lol'aJdia of Sikh literature). t Bhai Ratta.n Singh, Paoth Parkash.

31

Dissatisfif.d

wi~h previous

management

•

the

.

Moghal Governor established a police. . h' 40 post and a CIvil Court . t ere m 17 .

The Temple, meant for imparting the Divine Musio was profaned by the presence of the Muslim officers holding n~utch.partips. This could not be relished by the Sikhs, who though hunted then like wild beasts yet managed to revenge the insult. Boois Mehtab Singh and Sukha Singh came from Bikaner, disguised as peasents wilh bags full of coins as reve.nue, in the presence of Massa H•.nghar, the officer incharge. 'rhe Hashing swords of the two undaunted lions fell on necks of Mass" Hangh"r and his assistants instead . of r.wnue. The Muslim soldiers preoent there were too astonished to offer any resistance or capture the brave Sikhs, who fled back with the decapitated head of tbe officer. This causeel. the persecution of the Sikhs t.o commence with right earnest. The offical. became still more repressive and the Sikhs were forced to conceal them in jungles and forsaken hills.

But Cowards die many times before their deaths, The valiant never taste of death but once. ~Ias••

Rang".r*

(Shakespeare)

The Temple wa. locked. Sontinal. were placed at its entrance with very striot order. and no one was allowed admission to it. One who at,tempteu was to be crowned with martyrdom. But the fire of Sikh faith burnt clear and strong with the severity '" Raughar is n term Ilpplied to the Rajputl who hu'e become Muhammadans.

32

'

or their suffering, A. visit to their National Shrine was more d~ar to them than their Own lives. So some performed this pilgrimage in disguise but in general; according to ,a contemporary Mohammadan author, the bands of Sikh horsemen were seen at dawa riding at flill gallop, 'towards "their favourite Shrine of Devotion, running the gauntlet of the Mohammadan troops. They were often slain in mak• attempt, and sometimes taken prisoners; but ing this they used, on such o,caslons, to seek, instead of avoidhi. g, the crown of martyrdom"; 'and the same authority 'states that "an instance was never known of a Sikh, taken in his way to Amritsar, consenting to abjure his f"ith."· The b .nds were formed by sending a message round the distant villages, "Who will ride to-night?"-the watchword for a dash to be made to bathe in the Sacred Tatlk.

This all was done bec ..use " a pro~lamation was issued b)' the Lahore Viceroy ordering a gAneral, massacre of the long haired Singhas (Lions) wherever found. They were hunted ,like wild· beasts, a price being placed on their head,; thousands were put to ne ..th, refusing pardon on condition of renouncing their faith and cutting their hair. They wPre looked as martyrs of th~ ' cause, but despite all, the Khal~a grew and increased in boldness."t At this time Nadir Shah, the king of Persia, in• , vaded India. Finding this unrest the Afganll.

Sikhs came out of their distant alld

.I

The authpr is .quoted but not named by M LbolJn, Sketch, p-SS; History of the Sikhs, Sir J. H. GOrdOD~P 59. t History of the Sikhs, Gordon, p-59.

•

•

hidden abolles to wreak vengeance upon cruel and unjust officers. They openly visited the Holy Tank at Amritsar and held councils there. Oppressed !Iindus often oame at Akal T ..kht to seek tlleir aid and tile ungrudging help rendered by these Sikhs was proverbial. This liberty was short-lived. The old fate revived with the retirement of Nadir Shah, who was. soon after assassinated and Ahmad Shah AbdaJi was crowned king of Kandhar. !Ie had ohanged the name of his tribe frqm Abdali to Durrani, hy which name it has eyer siu:ce been known.

Anxious to found an Empire Abdali marched to India with hi. Argan forces, Mohd Latif writes: ""The invasion of Abdali was a matter of all absorbing interest, upon which the attention of the whole empire was oonoentrated and it afforded the ever vigilant Sikhs a favourable opportunity of springing up in numbers and renewing their acts of deprenation. t • Hi,tory M the Pllojab 1891, p·2'20.

t To punish the cruel Bod unjust was considered

au act 'of depl'edatiou by the author. Qazi Nur Mohd, who accompanied Abdali, writes ill his Jang Nama:"'rhey never pounce upon the emasculated or the fleeing one'8.

It may he a maid-servant or master, obe of fair sex is never robbed.

1'hese dogs ..re neither loos8 io character, nor take to thefts nor enjoy acts of depredation. Sucb are these humRiated on8S, They never befriend tbe thieves Or 8yil~per8Qus."" • . In the end Qui realise's' and lays, 'call Dot t\le dogs but the lioll!. they are brave." ' Tn] Silths, whJ laid their lives to ff~ht for t:18 co'~utry against the iDvacien, caunot be acculed of this. Also see Forster'.

Travels.

They again began to pay visits to the holy Tank a~d , Shrines" at Amritsar, had even the audacity to throw up II fort of mud, which they called Ram Rouni, which is now called Ram Garh, in the vicinity of Amritsar, J assa Singh, the Kalal, one of 'their lead"h, rose into ' power and' ventured to proclaim tnat the \'Dal" of the "Khalsa" or th~ â&#x20AC;˘ army' 'of the ' theocracy of the Singh. would be AJlPALJ, the new power that should govern th~ otate," Abdali ransacked the whole country, ChaJ)enging the honour of India he WI'S ,goip.g back . to Kabul carrying with him the young Indian girls,- The Sikh. came to tbeir rescue and Abdali hlld to yield and retreated witbout them, leaving behind Mir Mannu for the Sikhs. So "firmly established in his authority, '" The following is one of the many iust.ances from History of the PUlljab by MC'hd. Latif-ll~a17. '_Ouce wh~1l Ahmad Shah was returning to' Kabul , he took with him a,body of two thousand Hindu women from the Punjab to ~rve a~ shlve-Ijl:irls for his countrymen, Prompted by a 8ellse of duty of his countrymen, 8. JassB. Singh fell on the Shnh'M troop~ olLe night and rescued the innocent creatures from the c1utdhe~ of tae hardy Afgha,.s. He then liberally provided them with money and ~ent th~m flll ullder proper escort to tht-if- respective I homes'.

Also see 8i~h Martyrs (Ganesh & Co., Madras)p¡1P4 .

Mir Ml1.nnu (the then Governor of Lahore) oonsidered , the best mode of oha$tising the Sikhs. His first act was to storm tbe fort of Ram lio,qni, which he capo tured and reduced, He then s&nctioned det&chments of troops in all puts infest~d by the Sikhs with string.~t orders to shav~ their heads and "beards wherevdr they might be ' found. These measures, being vigorously enforced, inspired publio confidence, ,, checked the progress of Sikhs proselytism and com\pelled the vot&ries of the Guru to conceal thelll8elves 'in the mount&ins •.nd jungles. Mir M&nn<l' iss ned .t~ct orders to hill-rajas to seize the Sikh. and send' them in iron8 to Lahore. These orders were duly obeyed and hundreds of Sikhs were' brought d&ily to· Lahore and butohered at the N,akhlls outside the Delhi Gate, in sight of multitudes of spectators. The yOllng M&nnu became an irreconcilable foe of the Sikhs, and was determined to extirpate the nation."· But the ever oheerful Sikhs were not dejected. They had elevated spirits and they sang while going to their Holy Temple:" We are the grass, And Mannu the siokle; The more he cuts us, The more we grow".

Several souffles took pI&oe near the Temple and t.he faithtul gladly saorificpd their lives. Tile plares of their burial are now marked as "Shabid 'Ganj".

Harrowing tales are desoribed ,how the Afghan , rulers behaved ~o as to terrify the coming'pilgrims. Some., Latif, HistJ'ry of the Punjab. f'P.. 220, 221, and Browne India Trf.Cts, ii.-p-16. '

36

'

time! the dead bodies were hung from the TempleGate. or numerous pyramids made before the Temple from the heads of those who had suffered decapitation.路 Even hundreds of Sikh women, on their ..ay to the Temple, ' were. arrested by the then' Government officials. The women were kept on starvation diet: but they would not renounce their faitfi. "God will .hield us," they said, and as they went on grinding corn in the prison-house of Lahore they .. ang the songs of the Master. Their babies were kil\ed in their presence; they themselves were threatened with execution, but they would not renounce their faith.

Mir Mannu died in 1752. His widow succeeded in producing the acknowledgement of her infant son as governor under her own gu ..rdianship, but he was .removed by Adina Beg. 'rhen the Punj ..b remained under his nominal rule for a time until Ahm ..d Shah again marched to Lahore and made it his own. The Durrani King left for Delhi in 1756 leaving his SOil, Taimur, as Governor of Lahore, with orders to take vengeance on the Sikhs of the past. So his first object was to thoroughly disperse the insurgent Sikhs and pull down their Great Temple and fill up the Sacred Tank.t This action provoked the whole race of the Sikhs, who united under two ..bl" leaders, ,both 61l.11ed :B~ai J ass.. Singh, drove out the invader and occupied Lahore .. nd. Amnt...r. In this temporary rejgn of 1758 the disciple restored the Temple ',and . ~

* I Mohd. La.tif, History of the Punjabp-284. t J. D. Uunningham. History of the Sikhs (1904),

1"146, and

Malcolm, Sketch, pp-93, 94.

37

the Tank. The first Sikh Coin was also struck lit -this time,' bearing the inscription in Per.ian meaning, ,"By the grace of God', the coini. struck in the world, J assa Singh' having oaptured the oountry of Ahmad}'" Much chagrined at the growth of the Sikh.

Ahmad Shah, the Durrani ' Monarch, invaded the Punjab in 1762, t,he 6th time, in order to reduce the Sikhs to submi••iont. Severe defeat was given to the Sikhs in the battle at Kup Rahira' in ...rhich very large number of them were killed. The event is still remembered as Ghallughara. Under til'e impression that with the disappearance of theifN aHonal Shrine the power of the Sikhs' would vanish, Ahmad Shah, while going back to Kabul made a big assault upon Amritsar. 'He gratified his own resentment,' and indulged the savage bigotry of his followers by destroying the renewed Temples of Amritsar, by polluting the Tank with slaughtered cows, by encasing numerous pyramids with the heads of decap.itated Sikh. and by cleansing the wal1s of desecrated mosques with the blood of his infidel enemies,: This action eventually'caused Monarch's death.

It is stated that when Abdali was engaged in hlowing up the Temple, a missile from the blown-up edifice • The Punjab lUI a l!Iovereign 8tate, Gulshan Rai. p-240.

Browne. Tracts; ii, p·19 i Malcolm, Sketch, pp-93,94; Elphinstone.

Kabul, ii, ,-209 i and MOl-ray, Ranjit Siol{h, p-15.

t GulshaD Rai, Billtory of India, 1'-407. l Sketch of the Sikhs, Malcolm, p-98; Hi.tory of the Sikhs, J. 0. Cunningham, p-I52; Forster' Travels, i, V-B20; MurJnY-.

Ranjit Singh, p-25l1nd Punjab District Ga?ett:ers Vol. X-XA 1914; p-16.

38

•

struck the Monarch on his head. The wound subs.... ' quently turned into a cancer and gave him an exoruciating pain until he died of it in .rune 1773, in the fiftieth year of his age.* Wise men ne'er sit and wait their lo.s, But cheerly seek how to redress their arms.

(SltalwlJ>eare).

The Sikhs, on hearing this invasion, rose from their a.hes like tbe proverbial PhOlnix, and spread over the country like swarms of locusts. Under their blighting lhadow the Turkish power lost all vitalising force, and fell like Lucifer to rise no more. Their wrath did not let the invader evan eros. the river Chanab unmolested. His army was surrounded, reinforcements were cut off and hundreds of their offioers and leaders were captured and brought to Amritsar. They were forced to dig and clean the Tank, which they had so ruthlessly filled up,t but not a single man was murdered from those captured.t

.

~

Umda·ul·Taw."kb.

Sulla'. Mohd. Khan-Tarikhe-Sultani, p-WI. History 01 the Punjab by M. Latif. .I·238, and Forster's Travels. t FOl'8ter's Travels.

•

t

39

RISE OF SIKH POWER The Sikh. were finally able to get together and Amrit.ar became once more safe. The Sikhs heW .. big oouncil in Amritsar and took this .acrilege at the hands of the iconoclast as an eternal reminder. that the soul of the Temple wa. not its brick and. mort..r, but that impalpable, yet thoroughly real, Nam, of whioh alone they were the worshippers.

It was decided to rebuild the damaged Temple. Sardar .J as... Singh, a renowned general of the Sikhs, laid the foundation stone on B"i.akh 11, 1821 sam bat (1764 A. D.). About seven lacs of rupee. were collected for the new building, by the Sikhs, while whole of the mortgage money was paid by the Sardar."

Ahmad Shah again marched into the Punjab in 1765 and 1767 but without achieving any .uccesâ&#x20AC;˘. t So the Khalsa .... embled at Amritsar and decided to take up the task of governing the Panjab. General Gordon write. : .. A general IIs.embly was now held at A mrit.ar and by a decree the Khalsa.w ..s now proclaimed the dominent power of the Punjab and the Sikb Religion supreme. The as.umption of sovereignty was m ..rked by striking a coin with the ins~Iiption, 'Guru â&#x20AC;˘ Lapel,H. Griffin, the Rajltl!of the Punjab,pp 471472. t Gulshan Rai, BiNory of India, p.-407.

110bind received from Nanal. Degh, Tegh and Fateh -hoSpitality, valour and victory."· Time brought back the Khalsa to power. The Period of Ibe Misalst were founlied . Their primary, Misal.. object of power was to rescue t·h. I Sikh Shrines from the hand. of aggressors and reform. others by removing the unftt oustodians. The Ud.~is,! who had served t.he Temple with gre •.t devotion in trOllblous times, finding the peaceful atmo:!phere.,banded over the management to the regularly

*

Gordon, the Sikhs:. p-6;) ; Latif. History of the Punja.b. p-287; Browne, India. Tracb, ii pp-25,!!7; Cuuuiogha.m, Sikh HilStory.

1'-154; ,"'orster's Tran:ls; pp·321. 323; Elphiliitone, ,K"bul, i; 'Pll_296, 207; and Murrny, Raujit Singh, pp-':NJ, 27.

The author of 'The Punjab as & Sovereigu State' (p-241) writ,es ' t·hat there Rre rupeeKor l11mOflt pure silver each weighing 177 gn.

He ndds that. the writiua' ou the reverse of the coi,u meall!:J: Struck 1U Lilhore, the Seat uf Ooverumeot in the auspicious Sambat, year 1822. The year cc>rrespouds to 1765 A, Il.

tSome English historians have trausla.ted this word into con· fedemcies. Hilt Mi,~(llis au Ar:~hio wllrd meanin~ alike or equal. n WIt.S that governmelJt. where the rulerlf and the ruled were equal -4 repUblic. Lt, Col, 8teiubach ill bill book. The Pnnjllb, IJtates: 'The poase8sion of em.ch Sirdnr wa~ called a Mi81!1U1, but he exercised no 8upormacy O\'er it. for his followere exacted a share in the- Ia.ud proport-iont"d to rhe !l.ervice eRch had rendered, merely lookirl, upau the 8infar lUI the chief in war And arbitrntor ifJ peAce.' The' Sirdnr presf'fved his power and authority by pro feNjng to h3 the Rervant of 'the KhalM, (Mllloolm p·114), 'lThe U<\iIeis had origilllily be~tI a.ppointed in the time of the sixth Guru a" preachers of Sikhism, The peculiar dress they wore had hUll bestowed upon them by Bli ba GUI'ditto., the f!ldest IK)n "'f the Sixth M3"ter~ ill memory of the dress worn by the Gr.... t GuniNaue.k during His Uduis or preachillll tl.turs. They inburred no danger. because not being bllptised'a! fall and regular Bi1dllll t they did uot ~eep the baptismal forJus.'

•

41

baptiseJ Sikhs, appointed a~ ,repre$entatives of the various Misal. by the Sikh Commonwealth, and again adopted their own preaching t ... k. It was at this time that mo,t ()f the services and canons of different 'Ceremonies,._ eotaMished, which have come down to the present day. As district after district of the neighbouring territories came uuder the sway of the Sikhs they were enabled to lavish large sums on the additiOn< and maintenance of the Golden Temple, which served as a bond of unity between all. '1'he difference existed between the variou. leaders ~f the Mi.als 'bnt when ~ollected at Amritsar no mark of strife or discord was allowed; all was harmony and peace,'*

General Gordon writing about management states, "'I'he Sardars agreed by common consent that some one from among themselves should, from time to time, be appointed by the popular voice of the Khalsa to be the head of Church and State in the national council at Amritsar and to be guided by him in all matters requiring united action, thus forming a fecleral union."t It was in the year 1803 that the management of the sacred shrines, particularly Akal Takht, was vested in the hands of Ahlees under the leadership =II \V. J.l. )l'Gregt'f, History of the Sikhs, ~hlcolm in his Sketch of the 8ikhs. ,路-120, sto.t('s, 'When the chiefs meet (at Amritsar) it jill路 concluded tha.t all priva.i.ts a.nimosities cease and that every wan t'acrifices his personal feelinKs at the Shrine of the generel J(ood i and ,actuated by principles of pure patriotism, thinks of nothing but the interests of the religf()n and commonwealth, to whicf\. he belollg!!.' (; t Tho Sikh_, p-73.

42.

of Akali Phul. Singh." The word Akali meaps Immortal, and refers to a ell'" f)f zealot" whom Sir John Gordon dejcribe, as, "They exercised a fierce sorutiny as censors in upholding striot compliance with the militant creed of the Singhs; constituted them.elves defender. of the faith against innovations; took a prominent part in the Caunoils, in the planni~ and arranging of expedition for averting na'ional danger and in educating the people in dQ!ltrines of Sikh,Religion."

Mataraja Ranjit Singh, the Lion of the Punjab, 8ubjug.ted the Pnnjab and the Singh.

North'Veste'll Frontier. The ten misal. emerged into one and the Sikh Ruler estaolished the central government at Lahore, Under this reign the country was on the whole wonderfully prosperoust ..s it formed a barrier for ever against the M.har.j" lIanjit

.Akali Phuto. Sillllh born ill 1761 breathed his Jalt in 1823. While an infant he lost hie father. 80 Akali Narain SinRh, (alao known u.s Naioa Singh), a. friend of hia father, took charge of him. He wnll brought up, He ne\'er married but de~oted bis life to the service of the Pallth and the country. To eiug hymns and to recite the aongs of Sat Guru 'Was the joy of his lifp.. Though he was a. mighty oUy of Maharaja. Ranjit Singh and h&d (ought many a battle on hiB behalf yet he preferred to live iu a Gurdwara thaD to ata)' at Maharaja.1s court .

•

•

He """ ....pecled alld fe ....d.

[f

h. found Mahamja Ranlit

Singh wrong. he ,,·ould uDhel'litatiugly tell 110 in his face. Though faced by odd. he never lc..st heart. The Sikhs remember thi. hero ,,·fth pri<\e and gratltude to thi, dar.

t

Punjab Admini.tration Report. 1921-1922. Vol. I, p-65.

43

invasion from the north-west.. ' Mah ..raja Ranjit S\ns;1l found~d .. big empire but .pride failed to conquer the true spirit of a Sikh. He was very particul ..r about the daily recit ..l of Sri Guru Granth .sahib in his presence and used to visit in state the 'l'emple twice in a yeart but we.. as humble then as • an ordin .. ry pilgrim.

Where ..s Ile spent lacs of rupees on mosques for Muslims and Hllldu temples, his services to Amrit.ar were m~ny and varied. He did .much to beautify the Temple with /told work, gilding the upper half with gilded ~heets and the lower half )Iaharajn. Hanjit Singh with inlaid marble mosaics and precious stones. The pavements were made in beautiful marble. Many beautiful presents that came to him were offered to the Shrine.

Once a very rich c..nopy was brought and spre ..d =II X II.polean aIready 1l8ill~ every means to Jlet at Britaiu was cnrrespollding with Tippu and W3$ discussiug ill\'asiolls of India. throu~b. Afghanistan and the British were preparing Coulltrr-movt!8 . ill India anci Persia. At this juncture came the yOUIl~ Rl\ujit Rill~'l on the stalle to p1ace very unexpectedly a barrier Oil the Illdu~ ........ . ...... Arured kingdom it WM and to the East India Company it seemed a most efficient barrier aga.inst illvasioJI from ~he nortk· west. (Sir Getlrire MacMum, Martial Races of Iudia. pp·134·138.) tGulshau Rai, The Punjab a~ a Sovereign Sta~, p·204. ·

)

over the place where the Maharaja was to take hi,. seat. It was made of gold work, very richly decked with pearls and jewels. Maharaja, while stepping beneath Ute canopy, noticed it. beauty and ran out exclaiming, "I . am unworthy of it. Take it for my Gurus." Never was such a simple and unshaken faith displayed by such a great ruler. Sir Lepel Griffin writes in his book, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, "We "'succeed in establishing him as a hero, as a. ruler of men and as worthy of a pedestal in that innermost shrinewhflre history honours the few human-being. to whom may be indisputably assigned the palm of greatness. He ruled the oount,ry whioh his military genius had conquered with a vigour of will and ability which placed him in the front ranks of the statesmen of the country."

Mahamja R.anjit Singh, as a ruler, did not control the places of wOr3hip. But the council of the Sikhs, which managed the Temple of Divine Musio at that time, had elected him its lea.der for his service â&#x20AC;˘.

This continued till his life-time and after his passing away his son Maharaja Kharak Singh, grandson Maharaja N au Nihl Singh and Maharaja Sher Singh were appointed as heads of the council of management, from time to time.

45

BRITISH PERIOD. 'Vith the advent ,?f the British-rule the old relations between the Panth and the oontrol of the Gurdwaras were entirely upset. Col. Sir. Henry Lawerance, the Agent to the Governor-General appointed Sardar Lehua Singh as the first MLuager of the Golden Temple, which had been so ,far under the control of the Panth through local Sangat. But the appointed Manager was not empow~red to do anything that the Sikhs desired for their Temple .â&#x20AC;˘ Daily allowances and expenses even were to be sane ... tioned by the Resident, before these were spent. The following important orders, issued by the Resident, (Lahore Political Diaries 1~47 -48, Vol. III) will he read with interest: " S. Lehna Singh shows to the Darbar my proclamation forbidding Europeans from entering the holy Temples of Umritsar with their shoe. on, killing of cows in Umritsar, or interfering In any manner with the Sikhs of that place."

5-4-1847. p-88.

It is cleared by another order in the s.."'e book â&#x20AC;˘ P"ge 233.

"Major Mainwaring and Captain Knyvett, think themselves as much aggrieved as tbl' priest~ of -tbe temple; and the whole thing turns on the oonstruetion to be put OIl the order. whioh .angravad ou a +6'

,

brass tablet in three languages, were given by me to the priests for, their prorection. 'rhe tablet certainly' only says that persons are not to enter the Darbar Sahib with their shoes on, and a lawyer' might possibly rule it that this meant only the Temple itself and not its preoincts; but the tablet further direots that the priests are not to be molested. and therefore I shonld have thought it might have been clear to any sensible person that the spirit of the orders was to e~clude all strangers from the holy ground (wherever tile priests considered it to begin) nnless they chose to' comply with those forms and ceremonies which the priests prescribed to save the object of their veneration from disrespect."

'.

The brass tablet is still preserved with other valnables in Tosha¡Khana. The trne copy of the tablet runs as follows:'The priests of Amritsnr having complained of annoyances, this is to make known to all concerned, that by order of the Governor-General, British subjeots are forbidden to enter the Temple (called the Durbar) or its precwlCts at Amritsnr, or indeed any Temple with shoes on. Kine are not to be killed at Amritsnr, nor are Seikhs to be molested, or, in any way to be interfered with. Shoes are to be taken oft' at the Bhoon,ga, at the corner of the Tank and no person iito walk round the Tank with his shoe. on.' , â&#x20AC;˘ H. M. Lawrence LAHORE,

Maroh 2~th, 1847.

Hesident.

Concerning the Golden Temple two Illore orders . 'were issued by the same Resident, They are: 'II I requested that orders might be issued prohibitingany of the soldiers stationed at Gowind Garh from wearing arms on oocasions of their visiting the Holy Temple of Umritsar."

7-9-47, p-280 "I sign an order for a daily allowance of RUl'e •• 3-12-0 to be expended on the religious offerings of the Umritsar Temple." " 20-11-47.

This management oontinued till Amritsar District :;..brah. or was placed under a Oivil Officer in 11"59, Manager..

The management of the Temple was' then entrusted to a c<>mmittee of Sikh Sardar. and Raises to settle the long standing disputes of the pujaries about their pays. A manager was appointed by this committee to look after the concerns of the Temple with the consent of the Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar. The committee met rarely. * About 1883, The real position is depicted by the priests in their ~titiou ali{aiust the Gurdwara Reform Movemetft to Sir Edward Doghla!.olo Maclagan, the Lieut.enant·Governor, Punjab in 1920. It assumes thtlt no such committee W:t8 formed: "RI'!!lerriug to preceding records of the Gurdwaras your petitioners observe that there was some invitation made by the l>eputy Commissioner to some selected Sikh Sardars to discuss problem~ in cO'noection with management of Gurdwaras or &ettlement of do'sputps between pujari8 and Granthis. This practice ceased jll the time of Col. Lang findios useless 3S party feeling. 1'he manage mSllt in that period remained in the bands of Deputy Commissio~er and the Manager." 'I'he selected Sardars jotbiug the c.ommittee Bever

claimed to undertake control of the sacred shrines' thoU!ilb

they alwayp, paid

48

hom~M'e

to ,bem by presenting mndreds."

it ;'as reduced to a manager (Sarbrah) who used to. deal with all the aff"irs of the Temple. Thus the popular control of this Temple passed' off iu to the hands of the Manager who looked upon the post as si!lecnie. Eventllally' theab~lition of democratic principles r~.ulted' in an unpopular management.

Instead of making the Holy of Holies the radiating <' â&#x20AC;˘.ntre of light and devotion, the priests considered it as the practi.ing grounds of robbery and began to appropriate the offerings. The costly brocades offered a. coveriny for the Holy Soripture went to mltke their childern'. clothes. The Temple precincts were infested with Brahmins who fleeced ,the 'simple pjlgrims. The places of h!llding congreg~tions were infested. with hawkers ,elling their wares. This set up a great reaction and we find kaces of discontent against the management since then.

Matters went from bad to worse till we find the Hhrines managed by some interested person, under the orders of the Deputy Oommissioner, without any respect or regard for the religious feeling of the community. It was during this regime in 1914 that the Sikh' "ictims of Kauma Gata Maru tragedy' were condemned at the Akal Takht ~nd General Dyer, the perpetrator of .JallianwalaBagh's massacret *Fol' deta~s see 'Gur.dwara. Reform Movement' pp.57-";'3.

tP'ublic agi~'9tion against the Rowb,tt Bills was ,at its heigltt wht'll the administration of Amritsar was J:iven to' the military. \Uldt'r the command of General Uyer Oil tbe 10th April, 1919.

On t;he 13th April Gl!lleral Dyer issued a proclamlitiQII : "No proceaaion of any kind 'is peI'lmitted to parade the st ..eet~ . in the city or outside tit. at .ally . time. Any sUih procession or

â&#x20AC;˘

pi 19t9, 'who had also thought th..t he might h ..;"e -to fire &gain to send the mob out of the Golden gR.thering of four m~D will be looked UPOQ a. unlawful ...embl,. and will be dillpersed by force of arm. if neee8.&I'Y." The Dumber of people who could have heard the proclama· fion promulgated is pat down at 8 to lOOCO people; the total popu)a.iion of the city i. put down as 160.000 to 17010Cl0. Belidu thilt here wu " large i'lflll" of peo pie from outside owiOSl to t116 Bo.is~kbi fair, "hieb ia at) important "HllOm ieaii.,..l and there wu allO acatUe fair. ..

Under these circumstanoes A. public meetiull Will beld in Jalliallwal& Bagh all the lIltb n.ftel'·noon. General Dyer did not; mana~e to prevent thill Rlillemhly but went to the Bagh with a' mind tn fire upon them with machine-guu8, which be could not olle owimf tt) the accident. of hi, bejll~ ullable to ta.ke the armourf'd ca.rR intn the narro.... ent.raDce leadillJr to the Ragh. So General Dyer with his military open~ fire on the people. ill the wcetio, who were at JI, diatanee of 100 or 150 yarda, without lli,.iCljil any wirninll d o' IlsltillJr the people to dis~ne. The pAOple. U KOOn Il& the fint shots were fired, be.jlall to rUIl away through the few exits the place hftli got but. General Dyer continued firinl( till the a.mmuoition ran ahott.

In a.n 1650 round" were fired. The Geller"l admitted that he could disperse thi8 meetin" without fire. The Di"orders Enquiry Committee under the p""ident8hip of the Hon!ble Lord Hunter opined, 'we feel tbt flener... Dyer by adopting /lll inhumane IUld un-British method of dealin« with suhjeetfl of His MajeRty, the Kill(r Emperor, hns doue areal. dweMiee to the interests of Briti!!h rule in India.. The action of GeneQi Oyer u well u some act~ (cra.wling order) or th~ martial·lw admilliatn~ioll, to be referred lot) h"reafter, have been compared to the act.s of 'frightfulness' c:ommiUed by ~me of tbe German milita.ry comma.nders durinq the war ill Belgium and l"ra.nee.'

(Hunter', DisorderR Enquiry Committee Report).

The then GO'fern(lr nf the provinoe, Sir Miohelll 0' Dwya.\' approved the action of General Dyer whereat Mr. <tF. AndrewR ~e(..eribed it as '" coM and calculated massacre.' He aaye, "1 have "one illin every eingle det.ail with aU the care and thorougbues., that. a pef~nal iU'fes~i[Ea.Hoo could commau!; and it re'Paina \0 me !til unspeak ..ble dis~ce , indereu"ible, unpardonable and inexcusa· ble." Euch is the ... ?rdict of non·official EuglillJiman,

50

Temple" it the occasion arose, was given an ovation by the priests and presented with a robe of bonour. ,This incensed the Sikh public very muoh. The oontrol of the Premier . Temple was demanded by tbe .

Sikhs from the Government but in vain. Tbe ma!}ager, who had done this all as the Punjab Government wished, before he was taken to task, apologised to tbe "Khalsa and resigned the managership. It will be interesting to view this incident with that of Mahat;aja Ranjit Singh's life. The great Sikh Ruler, defender ,pi the poor and the helpless, came to the Temple. He was condemned by the fearless Akali Phula Singh, the then incharge of Aka! Takht, for .,some of his acts. 'rhe Maharaja to expiate his sins prepared himself for the punishment. He was ordered to be flogged in the public. The tamarind tree still stands as a witness to which the hand. of Maharaja were tied. The Ruler bored hi. back in all humility and faith to have the punishment meted out to him. The Sikh audience held their breath and many a tear was shed. This was, however, dramatically averted by the magnanimity of the Sikh leaders, who let off the Maharaja with some fine only, keeping in v~ew his services to the Temple and the public. History has very few reoords of suoh de,mocratie religious congregations where justice was ,m,ted odt to the Ruler arid the ruled with the same striotness 'and has no instance on record where an emperor displayed ' suoh humility in the religiO'Us â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ .FroU: Dyer's statement giveo to t.he DisordEfts Enquiry

Committee.

51

,matters of th. State. ' , This was because the Pauth is ',considered to l>e supreme in all matters and none .dares to d~fy its behests with impunity, whatever .his rank and position in life may be.

GURDW ARA REFORM MOVEMENT The tragedy of .Tallianwala Bagh has brought awakening amongst the Sikh.. It was the 12th October, 1920. Some newly baptized Sikhs were brought by the reformers-the Khalsa Brotherhood of Amritsar, to offer Ka"ah Prasad at the Golden TemFle. It was customary with the priests then to. turn out from the Temple the Sikhs baptized from the low caste. 'fheir l'rasad also was not accepted. This refusal of l'rasad being against the doctrines of Sikh-, ism,路 the reformers insisted on the acceptance. This was, however, agreed upon to be referred to the Holy Granth. A hymn was decided to be read from the Guru Granth, the orders according to which were to be binding and final. The hymn was read out a. : .Sikhism rellar'(jg 110 caste-system, 路Fatherhood of Gud I1nd Brotherhood of Man' being its cardinal doctrine. That the Guru~ laid a. SOild roundatiou for the obliteration of social distinctioll!!! Ilnd fostered social equality and racial sameness will be evident frum the folhiwing quotatious from Sri Guru Or8.l1th 8ahib:1. Vain are distinctions ba8~d 011 caste and pedillree, AU human beingg look to One Protector. (Guru N allkk).

2. Caste and distinction depend upon olle'sRctioll'!l and deerlM.

(IH',o Nar'l'k).

3. God will not enquire of the caste or race of a 路person.

He will ask of what olle hM done. (Guru Nanak).

1'4. Do uot be proud of the caste, 0 Ignorant fool.

C (Guru ,Amar bllll).

5. When the whole uuiverse has emerged out of the some Lij,(ht, '\Tho ca.u be gO,?d and who can be bld? CKabir ji).'

5Z'

"Brother, He sends grace even to those who hltve no merit, and takes from them the true Guru'. services, which is most noble, as it turns our hearts to the love of God. He Himself forgives and brings U8 'into union with Hi'mself. Brother, how worthless, 'were we, and yet the perfect and the true Enlightener took us on His seciety. My dear, what a lot of sillners He has forgiven by the reason of His true , Word! How many He has ferried across the worldoce..." in the \turu's ,safety bark! By t,be touch of the Ph>losopher's stone, that is the Master, base met"l has become gold. Selfishness has departed and the Nam has come to live in the heart. Our light has blended with His light and we have become one with Him," (Sarath 111). , The words had a wonderful effect. Hundreds of ,men in the audience were visibly affected. The priests, too, were convinced and they agreed to offer ,prayer and accept the' Sacred Food from the hands of the newly-converted Sikhs. There was no unpleasantness in the whole proceedings and the priests were left to carryon their work.

The whole party came out successful and went ,to Akal Takht. The priests lied from their posts. The Throne could not be left vacant. The assembly led 9Y Bhlli Kartar Singh Jhabbar called for 25 volunt"ers to 'sit and watch there temporarily without touch ing the money or property. The Sarbrah Wag inf6rmeq of it. The priests were called upon to express regret for having deserted the Sacred Throne. They did not come.'

53

â&#x20AC;˘

The next day on October 13, the Deputy Comm1uioner convened a meeting to disouss the new iurn of events in the Golden Temple. The prie.ts did not attend it. So a provisional committee of nine 5likh8, all reformers, was formed inoluding the Sarbrab at its head, to manage the Holden Temple. This committee, l"ter on, handed over the charlie of the Temple to the new organization-Shiromani Gurd w.ara Parbandhak Committee-and thus it was brought under Panthic control.

SHIROMANI GURDWARA PARBANDHAK COMMITTEE. This

awakening regarding Gurdwara-reform. otherwise known a.

Akali Movement was discus!<ed by the Local Government with H. M. the Maharaja of Patiala, and a provisional advisory committee of 86 members was appointed to frame a constitution for, and to temporarily supervise the mansgement of Darblll' Sahib. r The ~xt day after this decision of \he flovernment the

â&#x20AC;˘

S. Kharak Singh.

Sikhs of all shades of opinion from different parts 9f th~ country, inoluding the Sikh States, oame to the pre-arranged meeting held before Akal Takht. The assembly appointed a committee of 176 members known as Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Commi~ ttee, whioh was not only to conoern itself with the management of the Golden Temple, but to reform and oO'ltrol all the Sikh Shrines and Gurdwaras. S. Kharak Singh, whose sacrifice for the pan/hie cause is wellknown, was electe~ its president. The new committee inclu'ded the 36 members of the Government-appointed â&#x20AC;˘oommitt,ee. They were also efected on a subcommittee formed to manage the Golden Temple and the Shrines allied to it.

The Gurdwara Reform Movem~nt being a purely religious movement naturally oommanded the sympa.thy and snpport of all right-minded men. BnL the G0vernment viewed with snspicion the organisation,* tho rapid progress, and development of this movement and had from the very start of the movement kept its *The Government officials rem&rk as follows about the Sikh" hut their religioui3 organization wa.s viewed with Buspicion'I appreciate highly the manly qualities ot the Rikhs-their loyalty and devotif)u.' H. M. The King George V. 'Every traveller, and still more every Viceroy, must be aware of the loyalty a.nd the- valour of the noble race of the Sikhs. These virtues are illd('lpendent of loc:i.lity, or clima.te, or conditions of K~rvice. lAg under-secreta.ry for Foreign Affairs in England, I was brnuR'ht inoo contact wit'b the brave deeds of Sikh soldiers in he!J.rt of Ea.st Africa and at the source of the Nile; wherever they go they are courageous, manly and true,loyal to the sovereign whom they'ervA, faithful to the regir.lellt whose badge they wear, devoted to the offi..

CPfS whom thpy follow, and fearless even into death such are the Sikh soldiers, theiith of the'lodiati &I'my. fa I move about India,

55

iron·hand stretched out to check or stem this risingO tid.e of Sikh refc'rm by all direct and indirect methods.

The massacre of Nankana Sahib along with such other acts gave a rude shock to the general apathy of the Sikh community and the brave Sikh masses shuddered with horror and rose as one to •• crifice their lives for the noble work of purif~'ing their holy temples. But a wholesale repression of the Sikhs I see at the site of hi!'ltoric seigea or enR'agements, the sceIl8s()'f their' heroisD: and lIelf-sacrifice."

(H.E. Lord Corzon, Ex-Viceroy and the Governor neneral of Illdiaf.

•

'You belong to a race "bolle name stands for the m!l.nly virtue'" of, courage and loyalty, not only in yOIll' home between your five rivers, but throoghllut the whole civilized world.'

(H.E. Lord Hardinge. Viceroy of India).

'It was the Sikh soldier~ who bore an honorable part in the eOlllil:uest and pacification of the East AfricBu COUll tries.'

(Rt. Hon'ble Wiuston Spencer Churchille, M.P.)

'Since the aonexation of the Punjab to the Briti~b Crown the Sikhs have been athongst the brave8t and moet loyal soldiers of tlle Indian army as the Mutiny, the Tirah campaign Bud Somali~Lalld lmTfl testified:' (Morning Post-London.) ·Strong of body;. &cti ..e, intelligent, unfettered by the bOUlldl'\ or caste-prejudice, ftfll of courage and ,;rifted with wffilderful stamina aceostomed to live on Hesh or to diftpense with it, the Sikh has the making of the finest soldier in the world.' "

tCol. G.B. Malleson C.R.I. Decisive Ba.ttles of India, p. 301)).

'Despite this all the Sikhs, during thi~ Reform movement '~tlder~ weut undeterred and undaunted into disma,. all "'A.r~l,Ltions pf poten~ tial sufferings. Whether they were trampled un9~ the hoofs of hurses, '\,udgeUed with the buttend8 of gun!!, thrown into the Potter's. kiln and burnt alive, their flesh minced fired a.t or pyt uuder inhurn:l!l' jail treatmentthe,.stricUy noo"voilent Sikhs did not raise their litt~ finRera by waf of reaiitante or tetaliatioll,

,56

'.

followed.

Instead of being allowed to manage thElir shrines, whence they are to get inspiration to ennoble their souls, they were harassed by tbe Government. * On November 7, 1921, after the Government bad. publicly declared so many times that it' had given up the control of the Golden Temple an,l the Sbiromani Gurdwara 'Parbandhak Committee had beell incbarge for.a year, the Government considered it ad vis able to snatch away the keys of the Golden Temple. The *~ord Olivier's statement ill HouRe of J..~ord8. 011 Februar,\' 26th, 192¥throws some Ji!{ht 011 Goverument's jlH~tificatiou ill iI~ repressive policy ror the Gurdwara Heform Movement: "The Sikhs are a religious denomirmtioll ..•..•.•.....••.............•• ...... Accoriiin~ to Profes!!or Keit,h. the Sikhs al'e olle of thefiuest bOUI in bone conformation and in brain cOllformation. of any of the r:tees that ever appeared 011 t,he earth. I know all Englishman, who came illto conta.ct with the Sikhs alld who has the Ii:'reatf'At adlIliration and affection for them. They are a people of fine, aneient. Hoble race and they a.re olle of thos~ lUlcient snd lIoble races which have, if I mlly I\ity so, ,1\ constitutional apprehension of the Rpiritual life. They are profoundly relillious. Somt- little time a~o, the Sikhs had a religious rflvival.

They foullo themselves ill this posit,ion. that the Shrines that had been est,ahliflhed for the readimc of their Scripture and for the worship of God had in later times fallell into the hauds of corrupt priests. :1faha~j'lf. whn had tnkpn possession ~f properties and aunexed Shrine!! arid were abu8irlg their authority fur the purposes of gain iUld dis~ipatioll. The Sikhreligiouscommullityclamoured for reform. They formed them!.(plves into a puritan reform movement. It is lltlfortll!m.te that the Sikhs were not pblCed. when t.heir RAformatioll came, as we wltre. If this thinR had taken place in thiM country, it wouln have been solved without difficulty. The rehmifJg Prince would have placed himself at the head of the reform movement·. He wouln ha\;e declared hi"~8elf a defender of the Faith, and himself w:mhl lIa\:9 confi.l,cated the'disputed properties and would have bestowed • them UpOIl his principal relhrious supporters. . ..... Such a method did not occur to til.» authorities of the Punjalf.

57

high-handed acti~n of the Government was deeply resented, especially in view of the fact that the keys of the Gurdwara treasury being with the Government the jal.", or exhibiti~n ceremony could not be held 011 the sanred day of Sri Guru Nanak's birth. 'fhere was a great chaos and those wbo prote.ted were fiullg into jails. \Vi.er counsel, however, prevailed and the Government restored the keys on the 12th February, 1922 and the prisoners were rele~sed.

After It long period of more than five years the Gurd",ar.. Bill rang a final curtain down over this movement. But the complicated clauses and sections of the Bill had involved the community in endless quarrels, litigation, and expenditure since tben . .

'I'hroughout this movement, Akal Takht, whence the ' HukamnamaJi WE're issued, rema.ined the centre of the Sikhs' attraction.

With the establishment of the Panthic committee the long-standing evils have been removed. All the shops in the Parkarma, which used to give refuge to men and women of evil repute, have been abolished and the hawkers of all sort. forbidden to carryon their trade within the sacred precincts of the Temple.

The whole place has acquired again the traditional Sikh view. Holy congregations and unceasing Divine Musio in the Temple revivd the glories of the Khalsa. which. are reconnted in the daily prayer. c Present-day management of the Goldell Temple is i<.l the hands of the local committee with S. ,J"swant Singh .Jh~balia as it.- president, eleclrJd under, Section 85 of Sikh Gllrdwaras Act (Punjab Att No: VIII 19~6) for a periool of three years .

â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘

INCOME AND TOSHA·KHANA Income :-The offerings and donations mad. at the Temple form the main source of inoome. There were no offerings at tbe Temple during the liCe-Lime of Gurus as they were pr... nted to the Maoter direotly. nari Ma"di,r was a simple institution of Hari.Kirt&n: 'l'h~ Tellth·Nanak passed away vesting Guruship in Guru Granth. So tbe offering. were tben mad. at'the 'l'emjlle to Sri Guru Grantb Sahib, the Spirit,ual.

Living-I~hlru oC the Sikhs. In the beginning, for some years, the inoome of offdrings was forwarded to Mat .. l:illndri, the widow of Guru Gobind Singb , at Delhi and its use was at her discretion.

With the lapse of short time, the persecution of the Sikh. oomlnenced. Due to this h&rassment the income of the 'l'emple was not permanent. It was very small, hardly sutficient t,o maintain the incum· bents. There wa., therefore, no temptation fcr them to be corrupt or defy the congregation. Besides this the offering of money was looked upon by the selftes. incumbents as pois"nous.* It was spent on the free *The Sikhs are forbidden the use IIf offerill~@. Guru Gohinrl Siugb threw gold muhars iuto the river 8atluj. He prererred it· than to distribute tlu'm to the 8iuflhs. The "'&la8181" wish~d Hit( ~ikh8 should ea.rn their OWl! livelihood nud it was in Cllmbeut upon .. em to 'ubiist by honest meall!, leediug the pOOl' out of their lAW' ful illcomer wherea.. these muhara were the product of the jncom~ brought by offering8. which was t ..mtamonnt to poison. As mother WSluld Dot admiuister poison kJ ber 8008, 10 would He reft'ni,~ from ~erviug poison to ~8 80118, the Khalsa.

AI•••.., Macaolill'e, Vol. 1. 1'-45 ""d Vol. Ill, p.S; Bh.i (}ord.. ,

Ya,r V.12; And

Ua~&u

SiDgh's Pllnth Parka¥.

59

, kitohen. invariably aUaohed to the temples, or .~me other way beneficial to the Sangat.

ill

In the times of Misals and during the period of Mabaraja Ranjit Singh the offerings at tbe Temple }ncreased. Persons of exemplary cbaracter were incbarge of I.be. Temple. They even refused to accept jagir. for them.elves whenever olfered by tbe Sikh Sardars. The inoome was then mostly spent on the decorative work of the Temple and fret-kitchen.

After the Sikh-wars and with the advent or the British rule, the Panth lost its control ov'or their premier Temple. It passed off into the hands of the Government. The priests had no vigil~nt eye to watoh them and they were overt&ken by greed.

So very meagre 8ums were expended on tbe Temple or tbe La¡ngar, wbile most of the money was pooketed hy the interested persons. The result waa th&t the 'remple'. treasury began to dwindle away and there arose the mutu&l quarrels among.t the prie.ts. As a result of some agita.tion the c.;.overnment introduced

a Code-of-Law called /) .",tur-ul-a",al, whi ob required the priests to depo.it certain "mount ill tbe treasury.

It was sbort-iived. The corruption could not be eradicated and toe misuse of the trust continued till the management of the Temple passed into new hands.

Now the expenses are under the control . of the oommittee appointed hy the Sikh-S&ngat .. Regular provisions have since been made by the committee for the free-kitchen, oharit&ble hospital, ,. Khalsa High Sobool, Lit-rary, Guru Ram D&s Niwas A.th&n and other import.ant addition â&#x20AC;˘. , 60

During the Sikh Raj and after, the whole octroi , revenlle of the city had been dedicated to the Temple, on account of which the city enjoys world-wide fame.

Gradually the revenu.e allowed to Darbar Sahib was cut down, until only six pies in the rupee were paid.

This, too, was taken away and now only the partial light expenses of the Temple and the canal charge on t~e water supplied to the Sacred Tanks are paid out of the Municipal Funds. This was all due to lack of proper Sikh representation on the administration of'the city_ "

The annual income of the , Temple amounts approxim~tely to as. 300,000. The amount of Jagi,s ,endowed for Sri Darbar Sahib at the time of 'the Lion of the Punjab, was worth 1 lao 75 thousand, which has been red'lced today to that of Rs. 6000 per annum only.

Tosha-Khana -The usual place of safe-keeping of the valuables, ofi'ered at the Temple, is l'osh,,¡h..hana or Treasure Elouse. It is located on the main-gate or the Darshani Darwaza, which leads to tbe bridge. Entering by the doors of massive silver plates, a staircase leads to an upper chamber which contains a big chest in which repose the different valuables:- A gold pankha . (fan), two gold fly-whisks (ckauri.s), one fly-whisk of Sa"dal wood;' a canopy embruidered with pure gold wuighing 10 Ibs set with diamond., emeralds and rubies; a "gold pendant; a canopy richly embroid.red giving colo1lred plan of the whole Temple; .. vdry

.

"

*This ~as offered by a Mohamma.dan Faqir, Haji Ji.tohd. Maskin ou December 31, 19-~

â&#x20AC;˘ 61

,beautiful jalau set with diamonds.路 A diadem of . precious .tones with strings of pearls worth lacs, prepared at the marriage of Kun war Nau Nib.al Singb., the grandson of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, hut presented to the Temple, is still exhibited in this jalau on cert ..in ceremonial occasions: i. e., on the birthdays of Guru Nanak, Gnru Ram Das, Gurn Gobind Singh and Bhadron Sudi 1. In addition to these valuables ~here are innumerable canopies, carpets, brooades and several other objects of art and ..ntiqnity, pesides many paintings depicting the lives of the Q-urns and other Sikh Heroes.

Formerly there existed a hnge building in the open space between Akal Takht and the main-gate., It was used as Tosha路Khana. But 8S this obstructed the view and crowded the pl ..ce it was pnlled down.

Since then the chamher in the upper storey of the m..in-gate has been used as Treasure-House.

VARIOUS PARTS o.F THE TEMPLE Darshani

Darwaza :-The

main-gate or Darshani Darwa.za is through an archway facing the Akal Takht. There i. always an Akali-Sewadar standing there as a sentinal with the silver-staff in hi", hands. He watches the endless stream of worshipI'l'rs, which pours through the gate day and night, so that none may take sticks, umbrellas, wet clothes or unsightly things in the Sacred Shrine . â&#x20AC;˘ Maharaja Sher Singh had a purd .... bath room, for ladie., built in 1841 on the southern side of the gate.

It wa. demolished recently. Guide's Office i8 in the adjoining rooms of this main-gate.

The marble door-frame of the gate is about 10 feet in height and 8 feet 6 inches in width. The doors fixed in it have beautiful ivory wo.k carved on them. To the north-west corner of the gate otand two golden flag-staves on marble pedestals with . saffron coloured flags, with Sikh National emblems, fluttering on them.

Ante-Chamber :-The ante-chamber in which the gate, opens is 45 feet long and 14 feet broad. The d"corativll work on the ceiling was done by Raja Sangat Singh of Jind, while the other gold work by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Both in northern and southerl. walls ~re stairways leading to .the upper storey, which h,as Tosh....Khana.

â&#x20AC;˘

.63

• Bridge :-The bridge connects the gate-way with the Temple proper, 240 feet long and 21 feet wide, it is built in water with ten arched spans.

There are other 38 small spO-ns to support the larger ones. On either side of the bridge are fixed ten marble lamp-posts with gold lonterns on them. A fine marble railing runs throughout the length between the lamp-posts. On·the northern side a lamp,post bears a sun-dial instead of lantern. It-was built by Sardar Lehna Singh Majithia in 1852. The pavement was laid with coloured marble by, Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1865.

On festival days a movable timber partition is placed in the middle running through the whole, length of the bridge to divide the stream of pilgrims into incoming and outgoing passages.

Hari-Ki-Pallri:-Thirteen feet wide p"odakshina or the procession-path runs rouud the Shrine. To its east are steps leading to the Holy Tank, called HariKi·Pauri. Gurn Arjan, after finishing the building, drew forth and partook of the Amrita or the sacred water of the Tank from this pl ..ce. The Kar-SewaOeremony in 1923 was "Iso inaugurated here. The pradakshina is roofed here. The roofs of the Temple and Hari· Ki-Pauri were silver-plated and the walls marbled in 1820 by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and in 1867 by Maharaja Kharak Singh. The roofs we:e afterwards gold-plated by Sardar Amrik Singh Ss:udhawalia. ,

The .Temple Proper :-bolated by a sheet of blue water, the Temple ramains immune from all

6+ .

";'orldly trouble, whose dust and smoke can never touch its pearly .urf~ce. The holy waters wash its walls which remain firm in a Sea of Maya.' Mark the contrast b.tween this tempestuous Sea, on the one hand, and the Firm Throne of the Akal-Purakh. which i. poised in the afore â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘ i,1 Lake like one big lotus. If one has lU~.tered the underlying ideathis eternal contr ..st hetweeO: Maya and PU"Rha, and the 'conn'eoting bridge of Nam, tllen alOile one nan realise the ground-plan devi~ed by. that Supreme Archi~ect, Who fashioned the Golden 'fern pIe on earth on the s~lf-same lines on whic 1 the heavens and the cosmos it ,elf are built!

The Temple is '40.6 feet each way on a raised rlatform of 67 feet sq Itare. The lower part of the wall. is faced with marble slabs inlaid with arabesques of conventional flower .prays in many precious hued stones. But above this gleaming white dado all the Temple w~lIsand cornices, dripstone and roof, slender columns, cupolas and finials are one blaze of gilded copper. The Temple has four doors, one in each direction. It represents that this is a Temple mea.nt not for a.ny part.icular eect or denomination, but for one and .. II, as much for the East as for the.

West, North or South.

In the Temple on a smaUlow bed repo,es Guru C\ranth Sahib. the symbol of devotion and spiritual guida;'ce 'o f the devotee., under a beautiful canopy. 'fhe pilgrims come, bow down, kneel with follied haO:ds orprostatlJ ;'lUttering, all the while \n prayers, .. Delusion. _

6S

tbe Divine Na.me and plAC'" their oWerings which ';"oge . from .. pice or a handful of grain to a gold coin or the riche.t treMU reo Behind the Holy Book sits 1\ Granthi .. nd on his right the musicians chant hymns day and night with the accompaniment of the usual Indian orc~e.tra. Be. hind the musicians. is fixed in th" wall a beautiful clock which was presented .by Lord Curzon. Ex. Vice. roy and the GovernorGeneral of Ind ia. on the \lth .A pril. 1900 ... a token of homage and respect to the Shrine. Opposite the Holy Granth where the pilgrims make thf'.ir otferI.Hltn lHJKi'!I;!'i' ing.. sits a party of priests distributing PraRad to every pilgrim who put. forth hi. or her hILn.h.

Beautiful !lowers altd garland. are brought 8. offerings, whicb. lie in hlissflll repose on or "bont the Sacred Granth. The pilgrims .. ooept tho.e reverently and reli.b. tb.em as .. tGketl of Hi. Or ..câ&#x20AC;˘.

It will be interesting to nGte the inscription which was to be found au the left .ide wall, of the Darohani Darwa"" .. but has beell repla.ced . now b'j its Vernacillar translation. , 'It should be generally knowu lhat a wonderI.ul event took 1>1",<8 in the Golden Temple. 'fhi.' building was erected u;'I' the Great Guru R..!" D.... King of (,6

'

Iting'l, W'lto give. bleHin~'I Ilnd reoeive. worship from aU oreature.. The following i. an acoount bf what ooourred on the 1I0,h of April, 1877 at 4-30 A. >I. About four hundred persons according to "ncient ollstom were in this Dolrbar Sahib and lis. tening to p.alms whose music was almost drowned by the roar of thunder. fluddenly a flash of light. ning fell from Heaven and ent,ered the ltoly Place by'the northern door, clo.e to the musioians. A baU of fire about two .ee.. in weight bnrst in the Temple shini"g with dazzling and terrible brightnes•. Then immediltely after shining before the Holy Book, it returned to tho .kv by the sOllthern entrance and although it {ell with .Ilch awful violellce and so loud a report, yet there w,," no injnry "aused to the Darbar Sahi, or human life. 'rherefore all were •••embled in ... cribing this miracle to Guru Ram Da., Who dedicated this Temple to ltari.. ............... .

Suffioient monAY was gathered to pay for seven readings of Guru Granth Sahib and to feed some thousa.nd. of poor people who all "xpressed their gr"titude. Thi. notice i. intended a. a remembrance of the miraole of Guru Ram Das'.

The ea.tern loggia of the Temple was gilded by Rani Sada Kaur* at a cost of Rs. 175300, while the other three side. were done in' gold by Maharaja Ranjit iilingh at the heavy cost of Rs. 535332. The ~hole of.the decorative work wrought in gold was executed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, his son ,and grandson Mahvaja Kharak Singh and Kunwar Nau Nihal Singh .

• Mother-in-Ia. of Maharaja Ranjit Siugh.

67

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• The upper floor of the Temple, 40 feet eaoh side, i. approached by two flights of step. near Hari-KiPauri and ODe 0<1 the external north-west oorner . .The floor is paved with marble and the ",ails are deoorated with rioh floral designs.

There is a sma,ll 'han of mirrorSl' in this floor known as 8hi.h Mahal. Originally it was a pavilion where Uurus used to sit, in contemplation. 'l'he modern decoration was made by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. On the .ide-walls oC this -",lah"l or palacio, the hymns of .lapji anel ,Jap are inscribed in gold' lett~rs.

N ow it, i. used for A khalld Path, the continuous recitation of Guru Granth Sahib. On the second floor is the big golden dome. Smaller domes deoorate the parapet. On the stairs leading to this floor there is a paint.ing d"picting the Tenth Uurn riding with Hi. Five Chos.n Ones out on hunting. It is beautifully executed. Apart trom the religiou_ aspect the picture has much ar:tistic value.

No dnubt, that the 'remple i .• . tastefully decorated but those who look on merely the alabaster an,1 the gold miss the inner spirit which pervades the whole building, but for which it wolud have been another colourle.. temple. Tne whole place is literally crammed wit.h Divine influence, and no one who enters the .acred precincts of the Darbar Saj,ib oan fail to be stirred by that immanent Light ,which {s oongealed. as it were, ;,to form the bedrock of this Temple. l Daily'Programme :-The usnal progra~me or daily routine of t~e roligiou. function", in the Golden liS

T~mple is very faithfully and rigidly ohserved since the Tempie was built. A few modifications wer; intr.)duced by Pujaries (Priests) but were abolishe,j with the new management. A visitor, if he be keen to see these ceremonies carried on with a. medimval . reverence should vi.it this place at about two or three in the morning. Tbis is the time, when the devputs leave their b.ds to serve the Lord and sit for sometime in contemplation of the Great One. It provides a spiritual joy aud elation (A mrit-rasa) now o very rarely found in any temple of worship. After the o whole plaJe is cleaned and washed it is ready for the reception of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. It is brought , in a very beautifnl golden palanquin accompanied by singing of the hymns and the lurid soft glow of the torch light from Akal Takht. At t.he front door of' the Shrine the Holy Book IS taken out from palanquin on the priest's head, who takp. it to the low bell on the eastern-side. This is covered then with sheet. and drapery richly perfumed and finely embroidered. 'rhe Guru Grant,h is opened flat. The devotees strain their eyes and stretch their neoks to have .. glimpse of the Master. Ears are attentive to catch the voice of the priest, when he reads out the first hymn. The eager and yearning faoes of the people present, the subdued light, the s ....eet perfume of the i,.oenseoburning, and the tense religious influence of the PUoe, makes an atmosphere of reverenoe and religious faith. All initiates and disoiples feel a .ol"ce udkno,,:n else~ere. The living presence of the Gurus is realized. After this th" Saore'!l. Book is covered with .heet.. The musieian'\, begin to recite â&#x20AC;˘ 69

.Ala-di-Wm', the morning ode. Tbis takes about tbree to four bonrs. Then all standing with (olded hands offer Arda. (Prayer to God). The priest chants in 1\ low sonorou,s voioe the names of the GIlru. and then tb~ Heroes of tbe Sikb Nation, followed by the names from who •• permanent funds daily oirering. are made at the Temple. Another hymn is ra.d from the Sacred Book and Karah Prasad is distQhuted among the congregation. The Divine Music never ceases. The mU9icitLns keep it oontinp.ously for the whole day, while in the Temple the ,tream of pilgrims continue pouring.

With sun-set Rahra., the Evening Prayer i. recited by the Granthi. Then all standing offer.

Arda. at His Feet. Shortly after this a party of priests and pilgrims with .. standard and torches starts from the main-gate of the Templ.. They go round the Tank reading and reciting hymns in tho praise of Great God.At about eleven in the night Kirtan Sohila. the last prayer of the day, is· reoited. The Sacred Book is wrapped up and oarried back in palanquin to Akal Takht. The doors of the Temple with its main-gate ·Ouru Bar Gobind had to move out of Amritsar. The Sikh!!.

I'tlft at Amritalll'. felt very keenly the pana" of His separation .• Readed by Bhai Budha, they commenced a divice eervice of DhlJfllUJm ill 1612. E...ery ennitur they would HIM torctaee andeae iu proceNion round the 8hrine. feeling the Muter to iN with them.

On Guru'. return He told Bbai Budhl. how that del'otion bad. :\t.tr\cted Hi, mind to the Golden Temple everyel'eniDg. He blessed them. Hyin, that the niabUy choir orgarft.ed by B~ai BuAh. ",ould abide for eYer at Hari MaDdir. aQd, thai He would al".,. be wi\h· it.

70

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•

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a.re &180 olosed. Thus praotically the Temple remains open for pilgrim. and the hymns in praise of the' .Lord are sung without any mterruption.t No leoture or discus.ion is allowed in the Temple. The religiou. and political gathering. are held at Akal Takht aurl other places outside th. Temple proper. In the Temple itself thp continuous riv<r of elevotion and . wor'l.hip How. at all time, so that ..ny one may drink hi' .till, wherea. in oth.. temple, th~r. are fixe'! times for Divine Sen,ice.

~ tThis ~imple and bea.u~irlll custom ~DlOllg the Sikh. wu seen a.ntt TCIDarke<i upon by Bujen Rai of Bat..ala. who "l'~ie in 1697 ill bi8 Kbulastul Tawarikb :

•

~"The

1mly way ,f 'll'onship with them is that they read the hymns' composed by their Guru! and sing t.hem 6\fee1Jy in aecom· pauiweut with musi.f al io.trua:.ents".

•

11

THE TANK OF IMMORTALITY The Holy T~nk, a square of about 510 fee', is 17 feet in depth. It gets most of it. wat.r from the na.tural springs. HanJlli,* the wa.ter-chanDel ~ also feeds it with water. There are separate bathing arrangements tor lad ie's at different !11acef.!, which are properl)' screened and managed. A low

wall has been put all arQund in the T~nk to "voU persons going into the deep water.

Kar·Sewa:-The T~nk ofImmortality was filled up with earth by the Mo~hal Governors and Afghan invad(>rs and cleaned by the devutees more tha.lJ once.

In the day. of harmony and peace it was under the leaderohip of Akali Phula Singh in 1800 that the Tank was oleaned for the first time.t Mahara.ia Sher Singh al80 planned to do this service. But owing to hi. early death, only a part of the Holy *Hansli, the water· channel. wap, du" by the 8ikhfll IOllg before the Britip,h rule in 1781 to prOTide river-water from the Rllvi to the Iu&cred hnkil of Awrit!1ar. This aU was doe to the effort!!! of Raut PritamdR8 and Santokhdas. This channel was connected with crmal 'nari Doob'. In 1914 the Ueputy Commiesioner stopped tbht ) aqueduct and made insufficient arrllllgemenhi for providing tubc~ well water to the tanka. Th~r6 "la.s" great llpt'Oar and profdst lIKainst this action. 80 the old system was restore~. Now the underground Hau"li. 8946 feet 101lR. provides canal·water to"the Holy Tallk. Recently this water-challDel WaS cemented through the effort. of Sant Gurmukh Singh ji.

I'!'

• tB. Prem Singh, Ak.li Pbula AilJR'h,p-34.

72

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Tarlk could b,e 'oleaned ~nd -th... !Work lW"$ : left UI\. done. tl Once again the Sacred 'Tank oleansing oere· mony o~ Kar-Sewa WJlS undertaken ·by •the - Khalsa, Panth in the' - Summer of 1923. Kar.' SlIrow"r Oommittee, with Bhagat .la.want Singh a. it. secretary, was set up. It planned out the whole thing and carried out the details with faith,zeal and per.everano.. The Nation ' also responded to the clarion ciall and lacs of people from ' all corners of the ' world and all walks of ' ilfe gathered atAmritsar to p~rtake of t his service. A I gratit!

Ol:gl'njsed _P/peession started .e/l.l'ly in the morning • o~ th~ ' 17th Jun~, 1923 ,after religious diwan at Gu~dwljA'a ,Pipli Sahib,· near Khalsa Colleget to inaugurate . the Kar-Sewa Ceremony of ti\I,e Holy 'l,'ank.. As the advance pa~ty . of the procession *NeW8 woulrJ come t.hat pilgrims to Hari Mandir were (lU their Dtel:lf.ed like a pea~allt. the Vifth-NaulLk. Ouru Arjllu, would go out of Amritsar harefooted, His wife ~ccompanyililor Him with.:, bnket contuiuillg bread and vegetables, Both would wait qn the I"pad~ide. where Uurdwara Pipli Sahib flOW stands, ror (he disciples who caDle along sin~iug the hymn" of the Guru. The Master would welcome thew. all th~ Mother, distributed bread aud wnter. without letting people kf~O'" .... ho ~hfl); ".'ere.. 'f I way from KI,bul. Qaudhar or other distant pla.ces.

tTwo miles down ~he Great 'l'rul1k Road in the direction tit L'fure is, the fine Sikh educational institutioll, the Khalsa Coqege. it IS a.ffiliatej to th~ degree standard of the Punjab,University. is. a strikiugly handsome and dignified building with many architec· tural feature,. "'ounded in March lfi92.. ·jt is (,o.w, Que ot:'tlre vre'm ier illf~titution8 :11 the Province. Attached to it is a.n agri. {'ultural dai~y.fa~~. One of the grea.t ~mbition8 01 the ~ikh Commuriity il'3 to couvert the Khalsa College into n Uui,·er8it~·.

n

15

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nacned the Golden Temple, & prayer, for the he fulfilment of the Service undertaken, was offered.

After invoking tbe Gurus and all tbe religious The, five ,celebritv the Prasad was distributed. ohos.n-:-R)v. San! Sham Smgh; S. B Mehtab Singb, President S. G. P. C.; Bhai Teja Singh, Jatnedar Akal Tokht; Bhai Pritam Singh of Anandpur and Bhai Gulab Singh of Gholia-took,up the gold spades and silver pails and inaugurated the

.

ceremony. The procession consisting of ·no~. less than a million of devotees terminated at th~ Temple late in the afternoon.

The water had been allowed to run dry and the lilt wa.s then removed in buokets, basins, sha.wls and even laps by every Sikh present tbere, On Ihe fir.t day tbe people were allowed to giv~ free play to their faith and do the service iu sny way they liked, But all, in a spirit of devotion and with calm dignity, took up tha work and performed it in an organised. disciplined, effioient and work-man-like spirit. People of otber communities were wonderstruck when they saw His Highness Sir Bhupindra Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala and big sardars with their poor brAthern, joi.ing in a file inte the Tonk and filling their vessels with the saored silt and carrying npon their he.ds to take it • ontside the preoincts of the Temple. From tbe next day regular parties of different districts w!'Te org-dnioed at different places and the work started in a systematic manner.

Rela~ of ladies and gentlemen \..ore daily s:.n carrying baokets of mnd on their heads, chanting ,

.

7.

.

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Satnam- Wahiguru, Sa/nam- IVahiguru.

Hindus and Mohammedans, me.n and womell of all ages and different social positiolls, from ·prince. to the keep~r of shoes, f100ked from all sides to share this noble service. They worked for labour of laVA with' ecstasy 011 their faces and a thrill in their heart.. It was .. beautiful sight to see a band of 200 MohammeQans working in mud, after taking food in Guru', kitchen and reading Nimaz in Guru Ka Ragh with hundr.eds of Sikh. looking Bnd pouring blessings ,)11 them. ~ll, who came burning with love of service, were accommodated in Banf/II. and other buildings close to the Temple.

Thousands of ru}ees wer6 daily spent to run the Temple of Bread-Guru's Langa,·. But thank. to the philanthropy of people, the mauaging committee had no difficulty in finding the money, which came unsolicited and the devotees vied with one another in providin~ the rations for the kitchen.

The best spirit of the Khalsa, which the Tenth Master inc11lcated, preaohed -and lived, wa.s seen infusing the whole affair an:! for once united all r"nks of the community in one object, one purpose, and one method. The whole took up three weeks . only. The fresh water of the springs was let out, the canal was opened and the Tank was cnce again • fttll on th\, 9th July. . Pradaluhina:-The outer marble pavement, of the 'rank or pradakshina (oircumambulation)is 2& 'J feet wide. Wi'th a sum of Rs. 22000, paid- by Raja Randhir Singh, of Kapurthala, its !,orthem side was 75

r

paved in beautiful matble . . The. paving expenses .'.of the ...estern side were, met from' the income of the Temple ' ",nd of other sides by Maharaja Raghbir Singh of Jind •. Surronnding the pradak.;lUna are 'bungas* of the past and the present Chiefs a'od other. notables, There was' a · palatial . bunga built by Kunwar Nau Nih .. l · Singh, at 1 he present site of CIoek Tower:t Til. Bunga w..s demoli.hed by r,he Government in 1867 and Clock To wer erected indead. as an emblem of Christianitly,

*Bon'fllo il'!

:1.

technic.lt name in vel"nacular for. the houses huilt

roond a sacred shrine.,. They are meant for the residence of the pilgrims. (

tLord Corzrm sa.ill, "1 have intense dislikeninq- for this 1l1l!~i~htI, tower erected just neltr the beautiful 'remp}p," '

(Kha.lsa S,\machar, April 16. J!JOO)' 'I hope that the next time T (~ome the most horrible brick tow,·f-,. rclock tower) will be destroyed,,' R. Bnionty, En~ineer Liege, lJplgiuru.

I

'Very lIi('e vi",it of the U:)lden Temple. dock tower.

.. J. ~im",.

'My wife 311111 feel that. the clock tower's

I

Much better without

P4tia:-

nrchite"-.ln:6 ' ll'1h()~ld

he tpore in kcapillll with the deaiqn of the Golden Tem'ple 14., mIt-

toappil the,beauty of the locality;' Captttil~ J OI.cksorlo

Will the'lititbori~ies cooaider this?

76

Amba\a. , IIi

a,-;

1-7

AKAL TAKHT In the precinct. of the Temple are the following other important place. either of worship or of hfstorical record.

Facing the main .hrine, but .eparated from it by an open compoand, .tands a large building called Aka! Takht or the Throne of the Immortal.

This important addit,ion was mad. by Guru Har Gobind in 1609. Since then it has been oustomary to i ••ue from thi. Throne such religious, social and political edict. known a. Hukam-Nam •• , a. the Rikh Pa.nth considered necessary and conduoive to the growth of the Common wealt h, It was here that Bhai Budha, the hoar-h.aded Saint, placed before GuruH .. Guru Gobind the SaUj-, He .alnted it and .aid to Ehai Eudha, "No, give me t ...o ....ord. to wear inatead". And the bixth Master donned the double sword .ignifying a oombinatJon of .piritual and temporal leadership, .ymbolizing a Dew phase in the development of the Sikh character. This 'l'hrone was used for holding Mogre. gati"n, and oourt. in the time of the Mast,,~. All ol....e. of men and ...omen have, from time to time',

•

• Saili wasa Ribbon of RenuQciation that Gut-u.Nanak ,,01"e and gaye to Guru Atlgad .. from whom it passed to Gura Amar DaBr RIlID Du and Arjsn itrturn.

78

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appro~ched

thos" incharge of the Akal Takht ~o seek help and protection against the tyranny of the strong and the wicked. On the other hand, the award of a robe of honour by the authorities ofthe Golden Temple "or Akal Takht has ever been· regarded as a m'lrk of very special favour, which is only conferred on those, who may have rendered di~inguisbed services either to the Panth or the public at large.

When a Sikh Sard ar succeeded to his estate in the d."ys of Sikh Misal_, it was customary for him to be confirmed in his succession at Akal Takht.· N ow, the novice Sikhs are also initiated here into the ceremony of Amrita prior to the,r becoming Khals.. or the POlre Ones. The Immort ..lising Draught, the Amrit of the Khalsa, was prepared here for the first time in 1713 on Banda Babadur'. arrival. All the great meetings of the Community'. represent..tives are also held at Akal Takht from time to time and every Sikh looks up to the place from which the guiding orders, considered as binding upon tne whole Panth, are issued.

Akal Takht i. a fine massive building of five storeys in height. While it was being constructed Emperor J ahangir offered to complete the building oft hi~ .r,,::n expenset. Guru Har Gobind thankfully d.\lclinefi the offer, saying, "Let me and my Sikhs

.

.

, .Ca.ptain C. M. ,Wade Political Assista.[lt Ludhiana to Sir c:r.

Metcalfe!l821. • '• tProf. Teja Si?gh, Growth and Respoosibility o.f the Sikhs.

79.

di.e 'thfi' T!;ron .. of' God with 'the le:hou:r of our o....n little resources-~ .J want to makp it 'e, symbol of my Sikh.' servic. and sacrifice and not " monument 1'0 a·.king's generosity." dThi~ building, too, was used to ' -be demolished hy ' the ,'aggressors along with the Gdlden Temple, 'l'be Ii ..t' storey of the prosent builriing was prepared in 1774 while the upper four storeys were added' -b y M .. b&roj .. R .. lljit Singb , General HOlri Si~gb Nlllw,,,Iollated a ' hllge 8U,n for its gol<f work, but - the rlonation was mis·appropriated and _the work '\"as lefi undone for the San!J~t to :complete it, .

There i. a well, known as Ak .. l Sar, just ' by th" Akal T&kht. It W&8 built by Guru lI&r Gobind ill 1612, A vi.itor would do well to gee the T .. kht contaimng the arms with which the - Warrior-S.int &nd His disciple. fought freedom's battle. over tW(} centuries ago, These a're preserved th"re with gre&t ollre and &re shown daily in the morning and the evening to the publio;-1; Guru Har Gobind's sword of 'Miri'-symbol of sooial and politioal emancipation. tAmolig the general!' of Mahllraja Ralljit Singh, lIone is more

t-elebrated thali Brother Ha.ri Siu'lh, Naiwa, 'in ~hoiD the OLJru ....livell J.ight of Nam burllt brilliant.,. He hss been described r~celllly h,au English hil:ltoriall as thf'l world's grea,'~!t ge',' eral-head Blill lIiJould€rs ab:'ve the Napoleau and ~~lIiug.t:oQ. C/ . • . 'Nalwa. proTed bims~1I oU,e ot t};le mOllt able and P'1'uhu Sikh Ko,emo", which the Siklu. baye had' {€apt.: Wa.dJll); Be \Vh :'ppo\nted Rnfernor of Kll8hmir in 1830. It. ma.y be rema.rked that hill beroic deeds i'n the ba.tlles were the caU88100( iriteDle . d~e~d of the Sardar'8 llH.mc fI() that the Afghan mother. still tetTi'ry Daughty

,.hild"'. theroby (Hiotory of til. l'*"j.b; 1188). ,

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• .l.AL. TAKHT

2. . GurulIar Gobind's sword (,f 'Piri'-emblem' of ;piritual salvation.

B. Swords of the Tenth Master, Bhai Budha, Bhai .Tetha, Baba Karm Singh, Bhai Ude Singh and Dhai Bidhi Chand.

4. Two-edged daggers of the martyrs Babas Dip Singh, Gur Baksh Singh and Naudh Singh.

6 Pistols of Baba Dip Singh and Balla Gur Baksh Singh.

6. Two arrows of the Tenth Master with gold ends. â&#x20AC;˘ 7. Kirpans of Guru Har Gobind and Baba Dip Singh.

8. A mace of Guru Har Gobind, 16 seers in weight. This was given to Nawab Jassa Singh by Mata Sundri.

9, Khara.'I (Tegha, a long and heavy sword) of Bhai Bachitter Singh; 10 seers in weight.

10. Kala,. (Poni..rds) of Guru Har Gobind and of Sahib Ajit Singh and Sahib Jujhar Singh, the two elder sons of Guru Gobind¡Singh.

11. Pe,h Kabaz (Rapier) of Guru Har Gobind o.nd Baba Dip Singh.

12. Chakkar. (Thin sharp edged quoits) of Bab ..

Dip Singh.

HI. Ranjit Nagara (Battle conquering drum).

This was presented by Late Maharaja Hira Si'lgh of' Nab\la. "

82

Babe Di Ber :-This is ,.. tre.e iu, tile prad4k.hina just' .near .the steps 'leading do';Wn ' from the Clock Tower. It is famou~ for it shelt!lred ;ahai Budh.. from the Beorohing heat of t/le SUIl w/lile super.visingthe oonstraotio!l 01 the T~nk-,').'emple the time .df Gurus. It was at this place that the necessary,implements for the w,ark .were .daily distri, bllted to aIL RamgarhiaTowers:-- About j&couple ,of hungred ·.feet farther from thi~ tree are seen two octagoQ,,1 tower. known as 'RamgOorhia Towers' lifting their head. far into the az.ure sky.

A street leading frnm ,pradak"hina gi~~" Oocce~s to these, which were originally taller. The Upper marble domes cr!\cked witlt ehe earthquake .of April, 1905. InsteOod of repairing, 'these be ..ut.if~l domes were pulled down by the orders of the th,en Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar. These to,w~r.a~e exceptionally vantage places to gain abird's eye-view of the city. .

Dukh Bhanja'ni .Ber:·-At ,a few paces dist,l!nce to these towers stands a famous tree, Du.kh Bhan/aniBeT or Healer of Affiictian, on the side of the 'l'allk. 'l'he pilgrims Hook to this ,site of thA Tank for a bath hOoving faith in .their hearts that this spot hOos an efficiency of curing every disease. The following o£ory i"related in this concern:• bo.;ing the life-time of Guru Ram Das, the y~)tingest daughter of Dani Chand, a rich m..nof Patti, .in Law:8re District, had her fat;e like the youngest daughter of King Lear of the Shakespeare'.

,at

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PMY, The girl wa~ married ' to an i;"ourable''Iepe: because she had said that it was the Almighty God , Who cherished them 'all, the parents were' only a pretext , to carry out His will. Wandering and ,oarrying her husband in ~ basket the faithful girl e&me to Guru k& C,h&k. Laying, the basket by the side of the Tank, which W&8 then in the form of .. shady pool and being excavated, the girl went to Ihe neat by village to heg "lms and p"y her' obeisan~e to Gnru Ram Da., the fountai;'" whence she had derived the True Light. ., "

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In her abse;"a~, the iepe~ heard' fro~ the Sikhs, who were working near by, about the greatness of the Master and His Tank. So he determined to test the efficacy oftha 'Wate, of Imnortality' on himself. He left the basket and crawled into the water; holding the bank of the popl with one hand. To his great" sur,prise he W&8 cured 9f his leprosy in a fi •• h. He oame ,out 8o)ld sat beside the bank, waiting for his faithful. wife. She returned, but her consternation the knew no bouJ;lds. , 'r n the perfect proportions man she could not disoover her husband. ' She 'took him to be an impostor. "Ill -w;ain did the man 6ssay to explain to her the calise of this," metamorphosis.

Remonstranc!' ~nd argument had no efi'ecton ' her. rhe devotees of the Gurll, :~ho were working ' near by, bore witness to the fact that he 'was' retlly tl:.e .a~e man she 'had brought in her basket but tli,d"d y .till remained sc~ptioal. On this they told her ·that the matter. might be referred to the M@ster. So both then came to Sat Guru. Whose Itlance broullht ttl

of

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·them et<orno.i p.aee, ' The r....hol.e m&tter was n&rr&ted. ·The Guru: smiled tond !&id, "Than o&yeot thia poql bath no efficaoy. It is in fact supreme among ~I pll.oes of pilgrimages. If thou even yet believeth not, see the man is still ' &fi'ected .with leprosy on one hl.nd with which he was holding the bank of ·h e pool. Let him dip it into the wl.ter I.nd thou shtlt. see the r..,sult. And . whoever batbeth in th;" Tank shall obtain balm foc his wounded spirit. The I&te ,leprous oripple put his hand into . the . w:ater and It:was immediately healed. The II.~. .WOj' oonvinced ~f her mistake. Both fell &t Master', . feet '.and .thereafter worked in labour of love e.~ Ilis disoiples.

Than Sahib :-Adjoining the I... t mentioned 'place is a room known'·a. Thara Sahib where Guru 6ranth Sahib remains open throughout the day . .The historical fact linked with the holiness of this pi ape is related thus :.' "W 4zir KhaD, Emperor's . oourtier of the time, struck down 'with dropsy and given \lp as in~ura­

was

ble by 'all the physioians. He had oome hope in Divine Power. So he o&me to Guru Arj ..n and p¥y~ for a oure. The Master asked Bhai Bud ha, . who ,..as ol.rryiog a· bl.8ket of earth from the Tank .. t. that ·time, ,to cure the patient. Wholly absorbed in servioe ·Blil.i Bud b.apoured tbe contents of the basket on ~ ...,ii'Khan. This had a wonderfu~ and miraoulous ' pffe~t: "The dropsy disappeared at' once. Wuir . Khan's· faith in 'hislll.8ter w&s ,more: oanfirmoo &{ld he wilt .. r"i.8'I' pI&tform at this , place to k.e!,R a4"V,e thito fact, Tbis 'wa8'ln.ade paeca lb)l ¥"rharaja ; ~\'4Ij,it!l'Iingh. ~>

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Ath 8ath Tirath :-Adjoining Thara Sahib is

another small shrine called Alh Sath Tirath~· shrine equivalent to 68 Tirath.. Guru N anak, ODce left quietly the busy city of Kartarpur and sought ser,juAngad, the Second-Nanak, aion in this place." acoompanied by Bhai Budha came searching and found the Master here in wrapt contemplation. Bhai Budha inquired of the Spiritua.L Tdac her a9 to why Jle had renounced a popul," place like Kartarp'ur for thi. lonely spot. The Master, in reply, declared this plaoe to be Holiest of the Holy and blessed it with o follo;ying words;'ilerve Sat Guru ·Who i. likened to a fathomless sea, earn the gem of the True Name. The dirt of p ... ,ion.i, washed away by bothing in the Tank of Immortality and ·one gets full contentment.'

Maru Mahalla I. Guru ka Bagh ;-A little further from the last plaoe i. a pa"aga Ie ading from pradak,hina to Guru ka Bagh or Gurn's Garden and Baha Atat. Beside$ the beautiful plots for holding religious congrega'ions, the free di.pensary, Guru ka Lang" (free kitohen), .Snraj Parkash. p~1765. tWbat is 8piritua.llife in the templE of fle"h. without R fun m83.1? 'rhe very fir~t Ttlmple m1.de by Gllru ~l1l1l\k. therefore was the Temple of Bread or G.tru ka Lan~ar. III this common Tp.mpie of Brea.d, the Bread of Uod was made free to the childre'bof mall.

Flvery Sikh SanJlat alld Gllrdwara is marked with the presence of this Temple. No one could }lny bnmafle to the Th'rfl-~flII8lr, irreaptctive of callte, creed or rank, without takiuA' meals in thr8 Tempit'. This aimple Temple bas a lofty id,al of "Universal "Rrotherhooil". ~Servillg all by this Tflmple, 'Brelld and \later beIouI:' to the Lord' is.the common otteraoce of the Sikhs~

1!6

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Khalsa High School are located in this g~rden. ~ beautiful Sera; Guru Ram Dls Niwa.a Asthant for pilgrims has recently been coustructed here, to which is att ..cbed a grand 'Guru Ram Das Library' to satisfy the thirst of the literary publlc. Not many ,; year back this garden was a staying place for Sadhu. of an kinds and sects, ' who used to visit the Golden Te'l'ple at the times of the (airs. Here one could see then corpufent naked faqirs, sitting in meditation, besmeared with ashes and surrounded by devotees; &sceti~s sitting or lying in beds studded' with point• • ed iron-nails; sadhus in contemplation near the smouldering fire, distributing ashos to women and • men around them. Bat with the reform, this has pas>ed away and the place is left in peaceful repose as a smaH publio park. Now offices of Local and Shirom ..ni Gurdwara Parbandhak Committees are situ~ted in this park.

Besides the pavilions with artificial water-falls and springs, therA are two pavilions of historical import'.nce. One is known as Manji Sahib, whioh commemorates the place where auru Arjon' nsed to ,.. hold congregations. The other i. remembered as 'Shahid Ganj. It stands a witness to the sacri:fic99 of the Sikhs, which were made to rescue', the Golden

..

t'The marJal{ement for the comfort of for;ignel'8 is excellellt ani praisetorthy. Free l(}l)ging, free uoarding from LIUli/ilr, free electric"r~If5, free be-ding etc... are the most importaut features of thetm.U1:l\Zemeut. , Every facility which ·PardelSi· requires is alai1 abil ill this Sera.i and oue f~rgets his home after he puts up tnere.

I am'of i-piuiotl WA this 8erai is one of its kind 'lud Mecoud to

IlObe il)cllldi,,> '

r

'jll.~.

qbafoor, Gr&d A.E.,.M.E.E.

87

Te.~ple 'from tj,~' tyr;',inical ~uler. who were profani~g this 'Saored PlaQe. The dead bodies of some mart,yrs wer!" blunt ' here: . Baba Alial :-Through Guru ke. Bagh the pilgrims, go to ~a1>1L Atal whioh is located to the southwest of the , Golden, Temple. Beautifully planned .."d exquisitely finished ' B"b.. A tal, a nine-storey \ower,150 feet ,high ..nd surmounted w,ith giIJed dome, stands on'the h""k of tank ~alled Kaulsar.

The number of storeys oounts the years of tho f.gO, of At"l Rai, son of Guru Har Gol,lind Sa"ib, "ho ,wa. cremated at this site in 1628. ' Spirituality and wit attained by Atal Rai had him known as Baba, an old man. In his memor), the public raised a mound here.

Later in 1778 the foundation of the present building was laid and in 178! it bore 'the shape of a lofty tower.

a

In th~ ground-floor of the tower there is a small it!ner room where Holy Scripture is kept open.

Hundreds of pilgrim. go round this place, touoh their forehead. t., take off the dust and press the marble edges of it reverently as if to shampoo the tired lim~. of the young Baba. Here the poor are fed in hund~ reds' every day. 'rhe first iloor has its walls and ceiling decorated with frescoes, representing episodes from thr life of Guru Nanak. A fine panoramio view of ~i),e whole oity may be had from the upper storeys.

The ~nk K auls..r attaohed to t~. templfl derives its name ireID Mala Kania .. , lhe daughter of Qui 88

of ),{ozang, a suburb of L"hore, and " devotee ofo Guru Har Gobind.· o In the outer pradakshina sta.nde II cenotaph of Nawab .Jaua Singh, who died at Amritsa.r in 1783.

While that of Nawab Kapur Singh, whioh was ju.t near by, was demolished by the Gurdwara Managing Committee in ] 931 . .

Bhahid Bunga :-Next place of importance in the outer J>radahhina of Darbar Sahib i. Shahid Bunga. or 'House of Ma.rtyr.' In 1760 Baba Dip Singh, a Sikh General, on hearing tha.t the Golden TeJ»l'le wa.s being defiled by Ahma.d Sha.h Abda.li, OILlqe with an army fighting his wa.y through the enemies.

About four miles awa.y from Amrits~(, his helLd wa.. almo.t cut off. The invetrat~ hero holding hi. head with one hand went outting through the flanks of enemies, who werevanqui.hed and pursued with great sla.ughter to the town of Amritsar, which they were compelled to evaouate then. On re&ching Darbar ~ .. hib, Baba ji expired at this place. A cenotaph wa. built and the .pot is muoh respeoted by the Sikh •. t . The la.t historioal plaoe in the outer pradak,hillC' i. a tree o,.\led Bhai Salo'. Ber. It is sitnated near the bridge and is al80 known as lIlachi Ber. *lIacauliffe's Sikh Religion, Vol. IV. 'P ·49:- Gurl1 Har Oobind ill 1621 caused a. t·ank to be dUllliear the Gnlden Temple. The TAuk, called Kaulur, iA one ot the holiest in Amritaar. But the date i. mentioned as 1627 in Eneyclopoodia of Sikh Lilerah,l'e, Vol ..

1. p-229. n i. al80 held ~hat ""me • Kaulnr I w:u give-.It . to"' the 'rank because lotus (KaHT) flourished there.

• • tShahid Ganj, where Daba Dip SiuJilh'. body was cremded. .b.nd. near Ch3.t~wiud G~te and is worth seeiug• .

90

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Although the Golden Temple i. unique in its charm and is most important of the attraotions ·of Amritsar, there are in the city many other Sikh temples with historical associations: They are : Santokhsar, tbe Tank of Contentment, is situat· ed in the heart of the city just near the Town HaU. 'I'he exoavation of the tank commenced in the time of Guru Ham Da. but Gtlru Arjan completed it in • 1588.

Th seek Masin's blessing. for a son Bbai Santokha of Peshawar came to Amrits~r, hut the DivTne Master hlessed His disciple · with something immortal. It was nA.ming this tank after disciple'. name as Santokhsar.

Gurdwara Lobgarh was, in the time of the Sixth Guru 1629, the scene of an engngament between the Sikh army and the forces of the Moghal Emperor. Its fundation was laid by Guru nar Gobind in 1614.

Gurdwaras Bam Sar and Bibek Sar are situated near the Chatiwind Gate. Gurdwara Hamsar was prepl\red in 1602·03 . It marks j,h. site where the Fifth Master, compilej Guru Granth Sahib.

Bibeksar wa. rai.ed by Guru aar Gobind in 1621:1.

Thus the Sikh. had to fight so hard and continuously for the retention of these Sacred Places that, in course of time, there came into existence .. s..ying Joh ..t ullder every iuch of the Golden Temple there lie9 ·tlu!l head of a Sikh. Marked with the blood of ~"rtyr. the Gorden Temple still stands a9 an in»titu·1;ion Qf a ..ri,liirtl\u imparting the teachings of Truth, Love and Sacrifioe.

91

HOW OTHERS SEE

GOLDEN TEMPLE, AMRITSAR 1. The more I see it the more 1 wish ~o see it.

More wonderful than this Unique Golden Wonder, this divine goldlln lotus that glooms night and 'day, is the spirit of perfect fraternity and equality between men of all races and creeds and between men and women tbat. reigns here. Still more wonderful is the burning devotion of all the people, young and old, .. ho stream in to offer prayers and worship from 2 A."'. till 11 P."'. every day, a thh,g unpard Ie led in the world. Many a house of God of Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Parsee_, Jains and Jews have I seen and I can say that I have found the t.rue spirit of religion more alive here than anywhere else.

Bruised, broken, bleeding in spirit I came here and go hence healed and made whole, a better, .tronger, happier wan. For this rich, this priceles. and spiritual gift I am indebted immeasurably t~ Sri narbar Sahib. To all pilgrims of the Eternal â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘ Truth and Beauty ' I may in all humility sl'y 'yo,n oannot do better than oome to the Golden Temple.:

S. M. Micheal, Journal.ist and Author Rownad. ' 92

2. A rare and impressive monument to the spirituality of a' distinguished race.

O. E. Lewis De-Premier, Baha,ain, P. C" En,l/land. ' 3. To enter in the 'Golden Temple of AmritBar is to obtain comfort for the body and peaoe for the soul. At least I embraced indesoribable comfort and pe&jle of heart. For the time being all worries and troubles .lett me and I was feeling as if I were .. ohild just beginning my fresh start.

Dr. M. N. Ka ..l, M . .d., Ph. D., Berlin.

4. The Temple just m ..kes you feel the truth and God with you.

ROBam and Bruce, Glen Green, Ro/lylCood.

6. A journey haif arouud the world would b~ well taken if alone to see this jewel of architecture. ' E. E. Van Sickle, New York City.

0. There is no sep..ration.

Panlin. Bolke~, Holland.

7. The India League Delegation from London visited the Golden Temple. We congratulate ' the Sikh Community on the permanenoe of their tradition, tAe magnificence of their art and the disoipline 1fhioL t>~. offered an example and proved enduran<Ml t:o ine world.

Ellen Wi,kinson, Nomia W1Iattl,~ Leonard W. Matter.

93

" I!I, Immortal memory of Darbar Sahib vJill )inger in my memory uutil the last day. of my death.

S. Kane Ko U.aka, JJpan.

9. A marvellous place "nd unforgettable.

June lJarner, Harmover, Germuny.

10. I have to admit that Golden Temple is oue of the wonders of the wurld, but rh ..ve foulld a temple .till infinitely more beautiful i.1 the lofty teachings of the Sik h Religion. " Emgineg, Mariud, llQit. Port, Belqium.

il. Remembrance of my vi,it to a marvellous 'remple where the real spirit of brotherly love is not only preached but carried on without distinction of creed, race or political ideals. If more of my countrv. men should vi.it this delightful place of rndia, how much better understanding of our people then would "be.

J. H. Wande,wall, 250 New York Cily.

12. One of my greatest impre.sion of India.

Rev. Lou"e! of Paris, Pranee.

1/1. Solemn, ;uperb and splendid.

Rabindra Nath Ohattt!flji, Calcutta.

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'1:4. Really i. it a true fact that if any b6o.y'visits the;temple, will not like to go away and leave the doors of the Temple. â&#x20AC;˘, ' ' . Shaftti R. Shah, W",.ld CycZe TouriNt.

â&#x20AC;˘

15. We haye travelled in many Jands, hut nowhere have we ever seEn such an exquisite gem of ~ tAmpJe as the Oolde!! Temple of Amritsar.

Lee Merizeether St. Loui" U. S. A. and Jessie (lair Wether.

16. Friendly feelings :for mankind irrespective of caste and creed I\re appra.via.s;ng. The arrangemoot in thp fre~ kitchen is prai.eworthy, there everyhody i. fed whosoever comes and asks for food.

N. R. LeMBllul'm, Germany.

17. So far the passive resistance is concerned one could haYe a guiding sta.r in Golden Temple at Amritsar.

H. B. L. Clanle Radlelh, England, 1~.

It i, really a very inspiring and touching hUilding. One cannot but become tempted to pa.ss bi. greater port of life here.

Abin. S. Under brill, Counsell.. at Law, New Y<wk.

19.

Univers"l brotherhood' is the tenet which

i. â&#x20AC;˘ .. me to be found, if one were to visit Golden

Temple at Amritsar where everyone is treated equally and on brotherly feelings withollt 1Jrejudice of caste ur creed and irrespective of any religion.

B . .rkharas, Bombay. ~O~ 'Two h"urs 1 spent in the Golden Temple The whole visit was "ery r..marbble Bilft m&de me feel fairly torn .in two.

Gwrgina A. Go/lock, London.

95

are impossible to forget.

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21. ·We have heen very fortuna!.!> in being .:t\ermitted to visit this most beauliful Temple in ~ndia. The beauty oonsists not only in the ma6nifi~ cont gold work and lovely p~inting buo in the beauty .of loveliness and service which comes from the Vf"y presence of the Great Re.lity. Its cosmop~litan and puritan spirit ca.n contribute mnoh t1 the new India. .

B. W. Tuckl!'f' ' .A merica,~ " f' Santi NiketJn, Bengal .

22.

23. seen ..

• A usual joy a.nd spiritual uplift.

• HeR Tunker, M. D., New YO"k One of the most impressive sight.. we have

Charlotte Webb, Syvia.

24. Caunot speak too highly of th~ wonders of the place. It is really marvellous.

A. Smith, London.

2n. It is a beautiful religion and so .the Temple is. I think this religion. i. the finest religion in the world. Love which I have found in the Sikhs is the best thing in the world. t Yoyawachal'a, Mohana, Buddhi.t Monk.

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25. The Golden Temple at Amritsar "truely , deserves the title "Golden". A. one looks and' won, ders ,,,t it, one cannot help recalling to one's mind, the lives of that noble band of great SIUUS wao by devotion and'self-sacrifice established it. The Temple 96

bea.'ltlh,l "nil mqje.tio is very muoh grander

on

feStival U(·cassions.

B. J. VaHU"ani, England.

26 I was very much delighted with the pioturesque .. lid real god-like view it (the Golden Temple) presented. The singing inside the Temple was simply chlj,rming.

Dukhundke, England.

27 .• The fealures of the Temple shall ever remain green in our minds. Really we feel proud to have such a Holy Temple which ,en~s a thrill when looked at. , L. Bahadttf' Lal, rily Scout Commi ..ion" G Taa.ipore.

I 28. It is one of the . mo.st ooautiful temples, I ha'1e ever visited duri"ng my wan~erings around thei world. i E . .Jones, London.

: 29. Very beautiful, very sacred and a lesson in religion and art. One is not liable to forget.

John B .•~htad, U. S . A .

30. I visited the Golden Temple and was highly pie&sed"' \'I'ith whatever I 's";w. I am sure there "ann~t"he anything like this in the whole world.

The precepts of the Sikh Religion if fully folIo'wed w'ill so~ve the illIliculties of the human raoe.

K . .1.. Modi, .Karachi. ~7

TARN TARAN rourteen miles to the south of Amrita&t, at>d on the branoh uil .....y路line to Patti and ~B"Ur, an路 other noteworthy place i8 the great Sikh Shriqe at Tarn 'raran.

The "pot ...here the town Bnd the temple were founded by the Fifth.Ndnsk, Guru Arjan, in IbfO,

Temple aftd Tank of Tarn TILf'.l"

was "bpfore thIS time a thick jungle with a ferWe ';oil and the freslJ and exbil ... ting atmosplful.e. The.fertile soil w ..s annuslly cultivated by the neighbourin~ 9t:i

I

villagen and yielded good h&rvest. Might..... ijle only oriterion to determine the proprietorBhip of this yield. Sat Gnru Arjan, after completing Hari Mandl< at Amritoar, came here while going to Goind ..alo and sugge.ted to the villag"n to end their annual feni!. by parting with the land that was proving a bone of contention. The villagers agreed and thi. land w... pllrohasett, by the Master from themt to build the present temple and tank for the devotional abIn- · tioll. of the disciples and n&med it Tarn Taran meaning 'wItenoe people swim across the !;leo. of Ignor&nce . to save many a drowning Bonl.'

In order to make this tomple &nd tank, &long with a few hnts, pnooa, Gnrn Arj&n, at a gre&t expense, built lime-kilns and C&nBed brick. to be b&ked.

When theBe were seen by Amir-nd-Din, son at Nurul-Din, the 100&1 Mohammed&n governor, they were, according to the tyrannic&! oustom of the age, seized by him for the oonstroction of a seraglio designed by the Emperor. The Sikh. on seeing this suggelted to the Guru to write to the Emperor to allow the tank to be finished and to inspire fear in the tyrant. The Gnru, Who was the essence of humility, refused to · take notice of the ootr&ge. lie ,aid that God h&d not yet ordered the tank to be made pucca, wherefore tiley were to stop its construotion altogether. 'Mercy,' -·oon~in~.~d the Guru, 'i. the basis of religious wonhip;

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• • OoiDdwal i. another Sikb sbrine of great biltorieal .. impo!'Canee fouflded by. Guru Amar Du 00 the bank of the riYer BeM . ~lI.lIdabJut twella miles aW&J from Tarn Tw. •

.- t :Tbe ••tI10..0.1 pape.. of Amrilaar ~ialricl, 1$1-92,

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wherefore We sbould haye Dleroy on everyone. All the acts of him, who :hath no meray in his heart; are invain.'· Acoordingly the construotion was, ..bandoned.

After Guru Gobind Singh, as previously stated,' the Sikhs were hunted with the fullest venom, with all resources that the Mogh ..l Empire had at its command,. So the temple remained a 'kacha' hut and the tan'k an irregular pond till the Sikhs came into JIOwer.. It was in 1775 that Sardar Khushal Singh aad Sardar Budh Singh of. Faizullapur joined

by Sardar J assa Sillgh R ..mgarhia destroyed N ur-ulDin's edifice and employed the bricks, of which Nur-ul-Din'. son Amir·ud,Din had robbed the Guru, in the oonstruction of the tank and the temple. The remaining part of the work wa. oompleted and the final shape given as we see to-day by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Hmo. The temple, the nuoleus round whioh the de. velopment of the town centres, is situated on the southern edge of the tank, which is about 1,000 feet square. The magnificent temple bright with gilding like that of Amritsar is beautifully decorated with paint and mosaic inside and i. an i»tereating piece of architecture.. At one corner of the tank stands a tall- m!gnificent tower of maaonary work.t It was tuill; by,Kunwar N au Nihal Singh. He intended to Itujld three others, one at each corner, but died before lae 'cou.ld 'accomplish his project.

•

J

eM••aulUr.,"Tho Sikh RelirioD, Vol. III,1-m.. tPuDjab GOII. Gaaotto.r, Amritaar Di.triol.

101

_, Crowd. of pilgrims, amounting to one hun(h~d' thousand, and even more, Hock to this shrine everY t-month, on the occa.sion of Amava,s fair, to have ba.th in tbe holy'tank and pay homage to the Guru. Tbe . fair held in March (Ohet): altd'i tbe other' 'in ~Ull:ust (Bhadron) ate more illlporte:t1t, being"ili memory 'of commencement and completion of the tank.

This tank has gainetl 'much f"me 'iletause' or.the many thonsand's of lepers' W'ho "hilve been 'ci1~ed'by bathing in the tank, "wbich has'miriculous' ~Iillg effect on persons' so '.filicted: This mytbicll power of the 1vater would appear to have be'en pronouiced

by Guru Arjan.'* .

The management of this te';'ple and ' that ¡df 'l!\mritliar remained in the 'sam~ 'hands till the' recent Gurd wara Reform Movement: Sci' practically ~very rule and custom observed at' Ainritsar is pritbii.ecl 'lit Tarn Taran and even history of the' littt"r 'resembles that ' of the former:' Since the' enactment Of the (}urdwara Act the management 'of the temple i. under the control of a Sikh Committee, ejected every third year.

Thtre are other places of Sikh hiotorieRI importance in the "icinity 'of the temple and in the neighbourhood of the' t:own, fdr' wbich o~e is referred to 'Brief History of Sri Darbar Sahib, 1'..rn.Taran.,' in Gurmukhi, by the same author. .;....

'II

â&#x20AC;˘ Punjab ~ote. aDd :Querr:ie8. 186.

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