Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Jagat Guru belongs to all – The love and mercy of a Prophet, a Messiah
-Tiger command
On the auspicious occasion of the 400th birth anniversary of Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib ( Jagat Guru ) I extend my greetings to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and to the nation.
Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib was the ninth of ten Gurus who founded the Sikh religion and the leader of Sikhs from 1665 until his beheading in 1675. He was born in Amritsar, Punjab, India in 1621 and was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind Sahib, the sixth Sikh Guru .
We are thankful to honourable Prime Minister of India, Home Minister and Ministry of culture for organising a historical grand event on 20th and 21st of this month at the Red Fort to mark the 400th Prakash Gurupurab of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib (Jagat Guru )
The great sacrifice made by Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji to vindicate the right of the people to profess and practice the faith, meant, in fact, the assertion of the principle of justice for which the ruling Mughal rulers of the day had very scant regard. For this reason, the life and teachings of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib are of immense significance even in contemporary times, when the forces of hate, fanaticism, and tyranny are still very dominant and assertive.
Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji was a multifaceted genius. He was a prophet and a great poet. Guru Tegh Bahadur sacrificed his life for the sake of the Kashmiri Pandit community.
Kashmiri Pandits were subjected to forced conversion; many thousands were killed for refusing to change their religion. The great event which sensitized the world was His martyrdom. This was an extremely important event in the Sikh history that had a profound impact on the future direction of Sikhism.
Guru Tegh Bahadur was publicly beheaded in 1675 on the orders of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi for refusing to convert to Islam and resisting the forced conversions of Hindus in Kashmir to Islam.
The Kashmiri Brahmins were Hindus renowned for their high intellect and education. They had a good relationship with the Sikhs and their Gurus.
Guru Nanak Dev met Pandit Brahm Das, who was an ancestor of Pandit Kirpa Ram in Mattan. Kripa Ram had known the Ninth Guru and also taught Sanskrit classics to the young Gobind Rai. During the reign of Jahangir, Guru Hargobind came to Srinagar and met Kashmiri Saint Mata Bagya Bari, who lived at Rainawari. It is interesting to note that Mata Bagya Bari’s spiritual interaction with the sixth Sikh Guru is incredibly well preserved in the Sikh religious tradition. In Pandit tradition, Mata Bhagya Bari is a person renowned for her high spiritual merits .
Guru Teg Bahadur ji symbolised the triumph of good over evil. Guru Ji‘s martyrdom, unique in the history of mankind, inspired many Sikhs to lay down their lives for noble causes and moral values.
The sacrifice roused the Hindus from their passive silence and gave them the fortitude to understand the power that comes from self-respect and sacrifice. Guru Tegh Bahadur earned the affectionate title of “Hind-di-Chadar” or the Shield of India
In addition to his 57 Slokas, 59 of his other compositions (Shabads), written in 15 Raagas (measures) are included in Sri Guru Granth Sahib. His hymns deal with the pathos of the human predicament. Though he articulates on the unreality of human passions and possessions, yet his hymns have been a source of spiritual succour and solace to millions of people in their hours of personal grief and affliction. He brightens our awareness of the ephemerality of the material phenomena, however instead of creating a sense of despair and depression, elevates the human mind and imbues it with the hope which permeates the cosmos. He fortifies our faith in human nature and makes it possible for us to rise above the irritants of the immediate problems of existence and keep our attention focused on the everlasting and eternal .
Guru Tegh Bahadur ji’s martyrdom is particularly meaningful as it reflected two important principles of the Sikh faith. The first is to stand up for not only one‘s own but also others’ religious practices, even when one does not agree with those practices. The other principle manifested in the Guru‘s martyrdom is: “No one is an enemy, nor a stranger, I get along with all” (Sri Guru Granth Sahib).
The Sikh principles were clear that anyone needing help must be helped. Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib’s sacrifice for the Pandits of Kashmir has to be viewed in this background and context. He, being the Jagat Guru, belongs to all, the whole universe. The love and mercy of a Prophet, a Messiah, a Jagat Guru is impartial, it knows no difference. It showers like rain on all alike.
When Pandits of Kashmir, subjected to untold persecution and tyranny, approached Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib for protection, the most compassionate Sri Guru had shown an unexampled mercy characteristic of the House of Guru Nanak.
“Jo Saran Awey Tis Kanth Lawey, Eh Birad Swamy Sanda ” Sri Guru Granth Sahib (544) . The Gurus believed in One Universal God and in equality of all human beings. Guru Tegh Bahadur‘s martyrdom has no parallel in history. He gave his life so that the candle of religious freedom could remain aflame in our sacred land for all times to come.
We, Kashmiri Pandits, bow to Guruji and seek blessings. He gave us hope for life. Even today when Kashmiri Pandits, a community which was the first victim of terrorism in Kashmir, are waiting for justice, we pray to Him to for His blessings.
Centuries ago He showered His blessings upon us, we pray to Him for the same again today.
