Legend has it that in the ambrosial hours of the morning, today, three centuries ago, Five chosen Beloved Sikhs assumed the authority of Khalsa and directed Guru Gobind Singh to leave the Garhi -Fort. The Tenth Master was duty-bound to adhere to the directive as now he wasn’t the master, but a Sikh and had to follow. In the annals of political, spiritual and religious history, this is rare. Writer-trainer Kamal Jit Singh Ahluwalia calls it an impeccable example of Collective Leadership -an HR concept, which is now being parroted the world over.  The celebrated mentor yearns to understand and imbibe the dynamics of the Guru’s life and spirit and urges every Sikh, nay, every human being to do so. WSN readers are invited to enjoy this poetry in prose, recreating the times of the Guru in its glorious splendour.

GURU GOBIND SINGH’S RESISTANCE OF NOT LEAVING THE BATTLEFIELD AND HIS REMAINING SIKHS UNMOVED THE FIVE WHO WERE CLEAR THAT HE NEEDED TO LIVE TODAY TO FIGHT TOMORROW.  He alone had the innate quality to create millions like them and was the source of inspiration and a leading light for many others.

Stepping back, let’s recreate the scene of the battlefield –bodies ripped open, arms amputated, flesh blood flowing like streams, his Sikh warriors lying in the open, butchered by the enemy, his two sons not to be seen in that commotion and now he has only 5 warriors left with him.

Yet, they are all still willing to fight on -no retreat, no going back, no giving up. The gory sight on the front couldn’t move, or shake them; no despair, no remorse.

Situation accepted as it is. The ones gone performed to their best, they were sent on a mission -a mission impossible. It was certain that they were not coming back -it was a one-way street.

Walking in jungles of Machhiwara, he lays down to rest a while -resting his head on a small rock, no bedding, no warm clothes and at that moment too -he is engulfed in thankfulness, gratitude to the Lord -no complains, no questions, nothing -simple distilled acceptance, celebration, joy and thankfulness.

The objective was clear -crystal clear -hit the enemy hard. They went in -they didn’t wait to be attacked or confronted. They changed the goal post for the opponents.

Death is the bride of a brave and so was they. Eager, excited, pumped up, in a state of readiness each time and every time. It was a team effort -to die as individuals first and then to rise up as a team -a team that redefined, reshaped, rehashed and re-wrote the new warfare techniques. Performers don’t wait for resources to arrive, they optimize what they have and create history.

And when the objective is ours, then nothing ever stops one. No pain was their experience. For them, there was no tomorrow. It was now or never. If it had to be done -it shall be done in the now. Remember when you have to go, you have to go. Thus let’s go. Also when you have to shoot, just shoot. Don’t talk.

Now let’s move back to the Sikh -Gobind Singh -a lion -a tiger- one who believed in his belief, one who knew how to expand himself in adversaries -one who knew how to leapfrog and effect a quantum leap. How on earth can he simply walk away in silence?

A General was he, one who was consumed with the power of passion and perseverance, one who was certain that God -nature was there always to help him even if the whole situation is an Everest of adversity. Isn’t it rightly said that the world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going?

One, who was living a life of abundance was forced to leave the place, his possessions for a cause that was for humanity, giving the have-nots the power to choose and live with grace and freedom, thus was in the open with blood-thirsty enemy troops steadfast in annihilating him and his Sikhs. He loses most of them yet still isn’t daunted, not down and out.

And he comes out not with fear but with courage, conviction -it’s unbelievable that he simply put aside the gory deaths of his sons, his warriors and he embarked again, near the enemy camp the lion in him roared again -by clapping and saying that he is leaving now and if they had the guts they can take him on. So powerful was his action that no one came out proving that even while leaving he gave his opponents a fair chance to settle scores if they desired, aspired.

And now he moves on in the bitterly cold night, his shoes are torn and so are the clothes, famished, thirsty, one who has seen gruesome deaths of his loved ones, the ones he admired, the ones he stood for, the ones he made and the ones that made him.

And walking in jungles of Machhiwara, he lays down to rest a while -resting his head on a small rock, no bedding, no warm clothes and at that moment too -he is engulfed in thankfulness, gratitude to the Lord -no complains, no questions, nothing -simple distilled acceptance, celebration, joy and thankfulness.

Unbelievable, unfathomable, inconceivable is this attitude.

Presently millions of articles, talks are on positive attitude -here is the case where even positivity bows, where even perfection becomes imperfect, where time and space standstill- where the moment expands till eternity.

I still wonder many times, “Can such a being be there on this planet? Was he real or was he an enigma? It’s too good to be true, how on earth can one celebrate and dance in the pain and turn the pain into strength -a strength which evolves and expands by each second.

No Sires, I still am dumbstruck -Was he real, yet the truth is that he was.

And now the difficult question for us all -he set the benchmarks so high -so vast that even to endeavour for them requires an Everest of determination, conviction, perseverance, courage and detachment while having a clear and unparalleled vision. Do we have it in us?

One, who was living a life of abundance was forced to leave the place, his possessions for a cause that was for humanity, giving the have-nots the power to choose and live with grace and freedom, thus was in the open with blood-thirsty enemy troops steadfast in annihilating him and his Sikhs. He loses most of them yet still isn’t daunted, not down and out.

How on earth can this happen? Yet it did.

As a scholar of management, my take homes with my limited understanding are:

• Living beyond and ordinary by effecting a quantum leap across all domains.
• Imbibing a conscious living by directing my own life based on evolutionary values and ethics.
• Understanding and imbibing my value compass by redefining and rehashing my purpose effect.
• Performing exemplary under extreme pressure -raising up my productivity index on a continuum basis.
• Be a realist and die empty.
• Saying yes to my potential by discovering my own potential.
• Being a lighthouse -lit internally while guiding others.
• Hit refresh every time, each time. There is no past. It’s the present that needs to be worked in.
• Swimming with sharks without being eaten alive -by doing more great work.
• Transiting from good to great and being great by choice.

Still, I harbour this doubt -How on earth could you do it, Sire? A million salutations to you till eternity is all that I can humbly do.

Grant me the boon to imbibe a drop from the mammoth ocean like you such that I can be liberated from my own self and I live eternally in gratitude.

Kamal Jit Singh Ahluwalia, popularly known as K S Ahluwalia describes himself as a student of Sikhism, endeavouring to uncover, understand better the Sikh ethos. For the past two decades and more, he has been sharing insightful thoughts in print, personal interactions, workshops and talk shows on Sikh Inc. -management principles from the House of Nanak and life-transforming leadership skills.  He is a regular contributor to eminent journals and he has impacted the lives of thousands of youth with over 5.6 million man-hours across diversified audiences at more than a hundred plus global locations.