What is the significance of the Vaisakhi of Guru Gobind Singh? Every Vaisakhi, what transpired in 1699 at Anandpur Sahib and how it transformed a people is a story that needs to be retold.   Through the prism of Vaisakhi, WSN editor Jagmohan Singh peeps into the doctrine of the Gurus, the Sikh legacy, its imagery and its current-day relevance.

Yesterday, when the Sikh world was celebrating Vaisakhi, imbibing the spirit of the Khalsa, it was natural to experience thoughts of reverence and pain in view of present-day Punjab.

We are used to this pain.  In Sikh parlance, there is a quip,

ਕਾਬੁਲ ਦੇ ਰਹਿਣ ਵਾਲਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਨਿੱਤ ਮੁਹਿੰਮਾ
essentially meaning, the Khalsa is always on a mission 24 x 7 x 365.

So, every Baisakhi, we rededicate ourselves to our glorious legacy. On this day, we
fondly, in the most reverent manner possible, recall the contribution of our Gurus,
who over a construction, reconstruction and consolidation period of 239 years, created the Khalsa –a sovereign sui generis people, who fear God and no one else, who owe allegiance to the God and Guru and no worldly rule or authority, a people seeped in spirituality yet martial to defend their own rights of and that of others -Saint soldiers, who invariably do not stray from the life mission of Sarbat da Bhala –welfare of all –an epitome of human excellence.

Over a period of two centuries, the Gurus shared the wisdom of being part of a
Universal force –Ek Onkar – a wisdom, in the words of the Gurus, revealed to us
through the Gurus from Akal Purakh –God Almighty.

This is the spirit that makes the Sikhs a unique and distinct people. The outward appearance of the Khalsa is a manifestation of this spirit and a self-discipline, so
graciously bestowed by Guru Gobind Singh at Takht Kesgarh Sahib, Anandpur Sahib that we have to remain steadfast in our uniqueness and always be Ever Ascendant –’Chardikala.’

Over the centuries, Sikh history records how the adherents of this young religion of
the world have demonstrated this unique character of the Sikh people, in word and
deed. On this day, we recall the valour of the founder of the first Sikh rule -Baba
Banda Singh Bahadur in 1710. On this day, we cannot help but reminisce about the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, beginning 1819 and lasting nearly half a century. Both sovereigns ruled in the name of the Khalsa and struck coinage, reading in Farsi,

Obverse
Persian Script: Sikka Zad Bar Har Do Alam Fazl Sachcha Sahib Ast Fath-i-Gur Gobind Singh Shah-i-Shahan Tegh-i-Nanak Wahib Ast

“Coin struck through each of the two worlds (spiritual and temporal) by the grace of the True Lord. Of the victory of Guru Gobind Singh, King of Kings, Nanak’s sword is the provider.”

Reverse
Persian Script: Zarb Khalsa Mubarak Bakht Ba-Aman Ud-Dahr Zinat At-Takht Mashwarat Shahr. Sanah 3

“Struck by the Khalsa of auspicious fortune at the Refuge of the Age, the Ornament of the Throne, the City of the Council. Year 3.”

Or the simple language,

Degho-Tegho-Fateh Nuzrat Bedrang
Yafataz Nanak Guru Gobind Singh

meaning,

In this rule, no one will go hungry and without justice
This is the rule with the Grace of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh.

“Sikhism is not a Hindu sect but a prophetic religion and a unique political society, guided and led by an Order of the elite Sikhs, the Khalsa, whose unshorn hair and turbans are merely an exteriorisation of their religious psyche, natural, spontaneous, evolutionary and authentic.”

Bhai Sahib Sirdar Kapur Singh

Sikh ideologue and Sikh National Professor of Sikhism –Bhai Sahib Sirdar Kapur Singh, in his monumental speech said, “Sikhism is not a Hindu sect but a prophetic religion and a unique political society, guided and led by an Order of the elite Sikhs, the Khalsa, whose unshorn hair and turbans are merely an exteriorisation of their religious psyche, natural, spontaneous, evolutionary and authentic.”

Furthermore, Kapur Singh stated, “Sikhs are committed to help the establishment of a world-society which is plural, non-coercive, expansive and forward looking, motivated God-wards, in which there is maximum toleration, ever-growing affluence and minimum of mutually destructive ambition.”

Every Vaisakhi, this is the legacy to which we rededicate ourselves to. Any other
explanation thrust on the Sikhs, is an excursion, away from facts, the
Sikh doctrine and a perverted diversion from the glorious history of the Sikhs. Such fiction will not stand the test of times.

Photo adaption: https://scottishsikh.wordpress.com/blog/