THE MARTYRDOM OF GURU TEGH BAHADUR SAHIB

MARTYRDOM OF

GURU TEGH BAHADUR SAHIB

TEGH BAHADUR: HIND DI CHAADAR

From the Gurbani written by Guru Nanak Sahib Himself and the practical examples He set during His life period clearly show that the image of The Sikh that He conceived was supposed to have the following main characteristics.

· Unshakable belief in one Supreme-Being – Akalpurakh (Waheguru) - and in no other god or goddess

· Any ritual like idol worship, pilgrimage, donations to undeserving people, fasting, self-inflicted hardships and the like are completely worthless; so are strictly prohibited

· Being the Creation of the same Waheguru, all human beings are born equal. So no discrimination based on clan, caste, colour, religion or faith, and gender

· Earning one’s livelihood by honest means and working with one’s own hands. Sharing one’s fortunes with the needy who must be helped all the time

· Enjoying life but controlling one’s sensual pleasures, and leading life of high moral values

· No undue praise,  and no undeserving malicious criticism of anyone else

· No injustice to anyone and be forgiving.  Not claiming any property or wealth that rightfully belongs to others. However, fight against injustice or oppression even if it is not directed on you.  As far as possible, such a fight (or struggle) should be peaceful, but force may be needed in some situations

· Not intimidating anyone and not getting intimidated, meaning “Live and let others live honourably”

Leading such a life was not easy and there were oppositions to Sikhism from its very inception. Religious leaders of the Hindus and Muslims both opposed Guru Nanak’s philosophy because such beliefs hurt their very livelihood. Hindu priests were particularly unhappy because they promoted rituals and idol worshipping to which Guru Nanak Sahib was vehemently opposed, but the priests were minting money by misleading the ignorant masses.

Sikh Guru Sahiban and many Sikhs had to suffer severe hardships and had to sacrifice their lives as well to defend their beliefs and to fight oppression.  Guru Arjun Sahib, the Fifth Sikh Guru, was tortured to death when He refused to give up His beliefs and embrace Islam. The Sixth Sikh Guru, Har Gobind Sahib had to fight four big battles to defend Faith when He was attacked by large Muslim armies.  The Ninth Guru, Tegh Bahadur Sahib was also tortured to death when he launched a struggle against the forced conversion of Brahmans by Aurangzeb - the Mughal Emperor of the time.  Aurangzeb was the fifth successor of Babur to the Indian throne. Babur became the first Mughal king of India in 1526 after defeating Ibrahim Lodi in the battle of Panipat. He was succeeded by Humayun, Akbar, Jehangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb in that order.

Aurangzeb was a very cruel ruler who ascended the throne in 1658 after incarcerating his father, Shah Jahan, and killing his three brothers very treacherously.  To wash away his sins, and show repentance, he had the misbelief that he would be forgiven by Allah if he converted as many Hindus into Islam as possible.  So, he launched an ill-conceived crusade to forcibly convert Hindus into Islam.  During this forcible conversion, someone advised him to convert the Kashmiri Brahmans first because they were the most educated and dedicated among all the Hindus. If the Kashmiri Brahmans could be converted first, no force would be needed to convert the rest of the Hindus as they would be demoralized.  Aurangzeb was easily convinced by the advice and he soon began to use “carrot and stick approach” to convert the Kashmiri Brahmans.  The Brahmans were not willing to relinquish their religion, but did not have the strength to resist.

There lived a Brahman named Braham Das in Kashmir during the period when Guru Nanak Sahib was enlightening the world.  Braham Das was highly conceited of his Vedic knowledge and was known to have beaten every other Brahman in debates on Vedic knowledge.  It is said that he always used two camels to carry his books wherever he went to display his knowledge.  When Guru Nanak Sahib visited Kashmir during His third odyssey, Braham Das tried to impress Guru Sahib with his knowledge.  But when Guru Sahib explained him what True Knowledge was, he became speechless and surrendered himself to Guru Sahib’s feet.  Braham Das became a dedicated Sikh of Guru Nanak Sahib from that day on. His sons and grandsons, and all their successors remained dedicated Sikhs of the house of Guru Nanak even though they were still calling themselves Hindus and still observing some rituals.

Kirpa Ram was a great great-grandson of Braham Das at the time when Aurangzeb started the conversion of Kashmiri Brahmans.  Kirpa Ram was also a dedicated Sikh of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib who was the Ninth Guru at that time. Kirpa Ram led a group of Kashmiri Brahmans to seek the help of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib.  They reached Anand Pur Sahib and told their sad story to Guru Sahib to find a solution to this serious problem.

Guru Sahib pondered over the gravity of the situation and after a deep thought proposed a highly effective yet very risky solution to the visiting Brahmans.  The Brahmans did not realize the implication of the solution at the time that Guru Sahib could lose His invaluable life.  Guru Sahib told the Brahmans that they go back to Kashmir and tell Aurangzeb’s agents that if Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib embraced Islam, all of them would also do the same at the same time.  The Brahmans left happily and conveyed Guru Sahib’s message to Aurangzeb’s agents.  When Aurangzeb heard this, he was overjoyed because it would not be difficult for him to convert a single saintly person.   He quickly dispatched a small army to arrest Guru Sahib and take Him to Aurangzeb.

In the meantime, Guru Ji prepared Himself to go to Delhi to surrender to Aurangzeb knowing full well that He would have to sacrifice His life while peacefully fighting coercion and defending the rights of the people to practice freely the religion of their choice. It is important here to note that Guru Sahib did not support most of the Hindu rituals and Hindu beliefs, but was going to fight against oppression and forced coercion. It is the only example in the world history where a religious leader willingly gave his life fighting for the rights of others.

Guru Sahib passed on the Gurgaddi (the throne of Guruship) to His son, Gobind Rai, who was only 9 years of age at the time, issued some instructions to His family, and left for Delhi with a few Sikhs. The most prominent among the Sikhs who accompanied Guru Sahib on His mission to Delhi were Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Sati Das, Bhai Dayala, Bhai Jaita (later Bhai Jeevan Singh) and Bhai Gurditta who was from the family of Baba Buddha Ji, a highly respected and a prominent Sikh of Guru Nanak Sahib.  Guru Sahib had planned to go to Agra to visit a Sikh before going to Delhi. He spent a few weeks making short stops on His and disseminating the Word of Waheguru among the masses.  Aurangzeb’s soldiers could not find Guru Sahib and returned to Delhi to report that Guru Sahib was on His way to Delhi to meet with the Emperor.  Guru Sahib arrived at Agra; stayed there for a few days and made a voluntary surrender to the soldiers. Guru Sahib told all the Sikhs to go back to Anand Pur, but the five Sikhs named above made a strong plea to stay with Guru Sahib to which Guru Sahib could not say ‘no’. So, they were also arrested. There is a Gurdwara in memory of the Guru Sahib’s visit in Agra.

When Guru Sahib was taken to the Emperor’s court, the sly Aurangzeb received Guru Sahib respectfully and made arrangements for His stay but under strict supervision.  Soon, Aurangzeb asked Guru Sahib to embrace Islam to which Guru Sahib responded in a firm ‘no’.

Guru Sahib told Aurangzeb that if the latter believed that Islam was in some way better than Hinduism, he should preach to promote his religion; and if masses were convinced they would embrace Islam voluntarily.  Nobody should be forced to change their beliefs forcibly. Everybody should have the right to follow their own beliefs.  When people listened to Guru Nanak Sahib’s ideas about God and what they do to be good human beings, they rushed to embrace Guru Sahib’s ideas. Nobody forced anyone to embrace Guru Nanak Sahib’s philosophy.  Still, people are embracing the new Religion of Sikhism in large numbers.  If you believe that everybody has been created by Allah, and thus everybody should have equal rights to follow their beliefs. You can offer them choices, but as a fair ruler, you must not force anyone to embrace your personal choice.

But, rather than respecting Guru Sahib’s just and fair logic, the Emperor was infuriated at Guru Sahib’s response and he put Guru Sahib in a cage which was not tall enough for Guru Sahib to stand erect.  There were sharp knives on the sides of the cage so Guru Sahib could not even lean against the walls of the cage without being seriously wounded. He could only sit.  Aurangzeb had believed that some severe physical punishment would force Guru Sahib to change His mind and He would eventually embrace Islam.

A few days went by in this highly torturous condition. Bhai Mati Das Ji could not tolerate this barbaric behaviour of the Emperor towards Guru Sahib and became emotional. He said a few words challenging the power of the Emperor which made Aurangzeb even more furious. Also, he was looking for some excuses to torture the Sikhs too.

Aurangzeb ordered that Bhai Mati Das Ji be sawed into two pieces from top to the bottom.

Shortly before the implementation of the barbaric orders, the Emperor asked for the last wish of Bhai Sahib.  The Sikh in high spirits asked for only one thing that during the sawing operation, he must be faced towards his revered Guru. When the sickening operation began, Bhai Mati Das Ji began to recite Jap(u) Ji Sahib, but Bhai Sati Das ( a brother of Bhai Mat Das) and Bhai Dayala Ji could not watch such a despicable gory punishment.  They shouted at the Emperor for the inhumane behaviour.  At this, the emperor ordered that Bhai Sati Das Ji should be burnt alive, and Bhai Dayala Ji be boiled alive in water.  However, Bhai Gurdita Ji and Bhai Jaita Ji were let go with the hidden message for Guru Sahib that if He embraced Islam, He would also be rewarded. Such were the disdainful treatments meted out by the Mughal Emperor to the peaceful Sikhs who had surrendered voluntarily for a dialogue on forced conversion.

In addition to punishing the three Sikh Martyrs for their devotion to their Guru and for their bravery even in incarceration, Aurangzeb had another objective behind these barbaric martyrdoms. He wanted to strike terror in the mind of the Great Guru, Tegh Bahadur Sahib, that if He did not embrace Islam, He would also meet a similar fate. But, the Emperor was dead wrong in his estimation.  Guru Sahib was even more determined and no physical torture could intimidate him, and He would not accept Aurangzeb’s evil proposal.  When Guru Sahib gave a flat ‘no’ to embrace Islam, Aurangzeb felt defeated, and he could not continue with that type of disgusting torture of Guru Sahib. He ordered that Guru Sahib be beheaded the next day on a very popular and crowded place of Delhi, now called Chandni Chowk.  The police station where Guru Sahib and His Sikhs were imprisoned was very close to the Chandni Chowk, and the Sunehri Masjid was on the opposite side of the Police Station.

On Thursday, November 11, 1675 Guru Sahib was brought to Chandni Chowk in the late afternoon for a public execution.  There was a large crowd of people to witness the terrifying scene of martyrdom of the Ninth Sikh Guru.  There were strict orders from the Emperor that nobody was allowed to take Guru Sahib’s holy body for last rites and cremation.  He wanted to demonstrate to the

Bhai Gurdita Ji did not have the heart to witness Guru Sahib’s supreme sacrifice, so he left the scene and went to the bank of Jamuna where he ceased to breathe to become one with Waheguru soon after he had heard the news of Guru Sahib’s martyrdom. However, Bhai Jaita Ji masked his appearances and mingled with the crowd with the intent to receive Guru Sahib’s pious head in a piece of cloth before it fell to the ground after He would be subjected to the sword of the executioner, Jalal-ud-din of Samana.  Another Sikh, Bhai Lakhi Shah Vanjara (a nomad) who was a contractor in construction and was carrying lime powder in bullock carts along with many other colleagues purposely decided to pass by the Chandni Chowk with the hidden intent to take the holy body of Guru Sahib in some way.

Bhai Jaita managed to get very close to Guru Sahib. It is said that as soon as the executioner applied his sword to Guru Sahib’s neck, a strong wind carrying a lot of dust began to blow. The strong wind also caused the powered lime from the bullock carts of BhaI Lakhi Shah’s caravan to spread the lime dust in the sky and it became very dark. In that blinding environment Bhai Jaita Ji was able to receive Guru Sahib’s holy head as planned, and almost at the same time Bhai Lakhi was able to steal Guru Sahib’s holy body from the scene. Bhai Jaita Ji carried the bundle with Guru Sahib’s holy head wrapped in it to Anand Pur and delivered it to the Tenth Guru, Gobind Rai Ji (later Guru Gobind Singh Ji).

On the other side, Bhai Lakhi Shah put the holy body in his cart and took to his hut-like small house in a nearby small village named Rakab Ganj.  He put the holy body on a clean platform inside his house and set the house on fire to secretly cremate the body.  Soon after setting his house on fire, he began to shout loudly for help to put the fire out.  People rushed in with buckets and other vessels to help quench the fire and began to throw water on the house on fire.

After the dusty wind storm had subsided, the authorities were taken aback when they found that both the body and the head of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib were missing. They launched a quick frantic search for the missing head and the body, but they could not find them.  Some clues guided the search party to Rakab Ganj.  When the Party arrived at Rakab Ganj, they found people quenching a fire.  The search party suspected that something was being hidden, but they could find no trace of any remnants of the holy body. They did take Bhai Lakhi to the police station for questioning, but could not establish any links to the fire and the cremation of Guru Sahib’s body. So, they let him go.  A beautiful Gurdwara where Guru Sahib’s body was cremated stands now in Rakab Ganj, very close to Gurdwara Bangla Sahib.

In Anand Pur, Guru Gobind Rai Ji received the holy head of His father, Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib with deep reverence from Bhai Jaita Ji and hugged him.  Bhai Jaita belonged to low caste as according to the Hindu caste system, but Guru Gobind Rai Ji blessed Bhai Jaita and his clan by declaring them as Guru’s sons.  A Gurdwara, called Sees Ganj also stands in Anand Pur Sahib on the spot where Guru Sahib’s holy Head was cremated with full honours.

Bhai Kirpa Ram who had headed the delegation of the Kashmiri Brahmans to Guru tegh Bahadur Sahib for protection was so moved by the supreme sacrifice of Guru Sahib that he came to Anand Pur Sahib, took Amrit from Guru Gobind Singh Ji, and changed his name to Bhai Kirpa Singh. Bhai Kirpa Singh laid down his life in the battle of Anand Pur Sahib in 1705.

Bhai Jaita Ji became Bhai Jeeven Singh after taking Amrit and he too became a martyr in the same battle as Bhai Kirpa Singh.

IMPORTANCE OF THIS SUPREME SACRIFICE

This supreme sacrifice by Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib and His Sikhs is the only example so far in the world history where some great soul laid down his life willingly to defend the rights of common people whose beliefs are not even shared by the Saint undergoing the sacrifice.

Aurangzeb was so demoralized by this sacrifice that he quit forcible conversion of Hindus from that day on.

For His supreme sacrifice, Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib is held in great esteem by all Indians.  They call Him, the Chaadar (Shield, Dignity or the Saviour) of India.

Tegh Bahdur: Hind Di Chaadar