The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari
has said that great warrior, spiritual guru and scholar, Guru Gobind Singh ji’s
life resonates with a universal message that showed the masses can be motivated
to rise against tyrants; that there can be no political unity without social
cohesiveness; and that religious bigotry and intolerance have no place in the
multicultural tapestry of this land. He was delivering the inaugural address at
the International Seminar on ‘Guru Gobind Singh: Life and Legacy’ organized by
Bhai Vir Sahitya Sadan in collaboration with India International Centre, here
today. The former Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Union Minister for
Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley and other dignitaries were
also present on the occasion.
The Vice President said that the repeated harassment
and persecution of the still nascent Sikh identity led the Guru to organize the
Sikhs into a martial order. He further said that the Guru saw the Khalsa as
saint-soldiers and laid emphasis on social equality, universal brotherhood,
altruism and social service. If the weapon he gave to the Sikhs for political
determination was the ‘shamsheer’; then the ‘shabad’ was his weapon for
spiritual enlightenment, he added.
The Vice President said that Guru Gobind Singh took
forward the teachings of preceding Sikh Gurus, promoted social institutions
such as the langar, sangat and kirtan as great levellers and unifying agencies.
He further said that the Guru dreamt of a society outside of the prevailing
rituals and ethics, based on social equality and built on the ‘recognition of
light of the divine in all beings in equal measure’. Guru Gobind Singh Ji was a
learned poet and a philosopher and his works posses a sublime poetic beauty;
they were later compiled into the ‘dasm granth’, he added.
The Vice President said that Guru Gobind Singh ji a
spiritual leader, a poet, a scholar and a great warrior, fought, not only
against tyranny of the Delhi darbar and its religious bigotry, but also against
the ills of casteism and social exclusion, and against distortions in his own
faith and the growing cults of personality.
Following is the text of Vice
President’s address:
“I
deem it a privilege to be invited today to inaugurate this seminar on Guru
Gobind Singh: Life and Legacy, organized by the Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya
Sadan and the India International Centre, to mark the 350th birth
anniversary of an extraordinary human being.
Guru
Gobind Singhji, the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, is remembered for his role in
formalization of the Sikh faith. He was the founder of the warrior community –
the Khalsa, and gave to the Sikh a distinct identity by introducing the
five articles of faith that Khalsa Sikhs wear at all times. He compiled
Sikh spiritual texts and enshrined the Guru Granth Sahib as Sikhism's eternal
Guru.
Guru
Gobind Singh ji was a spiritual leader, a poet, a scholar and a great warrior.
He fought, not only against tyranny of the Delhi darbar and its religious
bigotry, but also against the ills of casteism and social exclusion, and
against distortions in his own faith and the growing cults of personality.
He
fought for preserving the religious and social identity, dignity, of his people
as also against ignorance and apathy. The conviction and magnetism of his
personality succeeded in defending faith and saw a strong growth in the number
of his followers.
The
repeated harassment and persecution of the still nascent Sikh identity led the
Guru to organize the Sikhs into a martial order. In his famous missive, Zafarnama,
addressed to the emperor Aurangzeb, he said:
Chun kaar az hameh heelate der guzasht
Halal ast burden beh shamsheer dast
When all has been tried, yet -- Justice is not in sight,
It is then right to pick up the sword – Is then right to fight.
The
formation of the ‘Khalsa’ was meant for the protection of truth and
justice. He synthesized Bhakti or Devotion to God with Shakti or
moral and physical strength and preached that the ‘strength of the Khalsa
came from righteousness and piety of the soul’.
His
personal integrity, sacrifice and courage stirred thousands to join the Sikh
cause. He motivated them to great acts of bravery. The tales of their courage
and valour- displayed in battle, whether at Guler or Anandpur or
at Chamkaur, remain a source of inspiration.
The
Guru saw the Khalsa as saint-soldiers. Martial prowess and strength
were, but a limited aspect of the Sikh ethics he envisaged. He laid equal
emphasis on social equality, universal brotherhood, altruism and social
service. He saw the Sikh community as the reservoir and the Khalsa as
the culmination of these qualities. He believed in self-actualization of the
individual, both politically and spiritually. If the weapon he gave to the
Sikhs for political determination was the ‘shamsheer’; then the ‘shabad’
was his weapon for spiritual enlightenment.
The
Sikh Gurus preceding Gobind Singhji had condemned and rejected the stratified
society and its caste and creed ridden structure. The earlier Gurus had
preached essential equality and oneness of humans. For example, Guru Amar Das
called the caste system an ‘abnormality and a ritual perversity in an
otherwise healthy society’.
Guru
Gobind Singh took forward these teachings. Alongside the development of martial
skills, he also promoted social institutions such as the langar, sangat and
kirtan as great levellers and unifying agencies. Caste was a taboo in Khalsa
and Guruji considered ‘all mankind of one caste alone’. He dreamt of a
society outside of the prevailing rituals and ethics, based on social equality
and built on the ‘recognition of light of the divine in all beings in equal
measure’. Ever sensitive to the need of social integration of the so-called
low castes, he said:
“The
service of these people, and I am not inclined to serve others of higher
castes. Charity will bear fruit, in this and next world, if given to such
people as these.....Whatever I call my own, all I possess or carry, I dedicate
to these people.”
Guru
Gobind Singh Ji was a learned poet and a philosopher. He was a precocious and
prodigious child and he mastered several languages- not only Sanskrit and
Persian, but also Braj and Punjabi. In the relatively more
peaceful times of his early youth, he had had an opportunity to assimilate the
music, literature and arts of north India, and was accomplished in many art
forms.
Guru
Gobind Singh Ji added the writings of Guru Teg Bahadur into the ‘Adi Granth’.
However, as a sign of humility, he did not include his own writings in the Guru
Granth sahib. He used poetry, not only as a literary piece, but also as a means
to instil valour in the people. His works posses a sublime poetic beauty; they
were later compiled into the ‘dasm granth’.
As
we celebrate this anniversary of this great warrior, spiritual guru and
scholar, his life resonates with a universal message. He said ‘whole of
humanity is the creation of one God’. He showed that the masses can be
motivated to rise against tyrants; that there can be no political unity without
social cohesiveness; and that religious bigotry and intolerance have no place
in the multicultural tapestry of this land.
Allow
me to conclude with another couplet from Zafarnama:
Chu haq yaar bashad chi dushman kunad
Agar dushmani ra basad tan kunad
What harm can the enemy do – If God himself is a friend
Though one may be alone – And the enemy becomes a hundred
I
wish the seminar success in its deliberations.
Jai Hind.”
***
KSD/BK