GURU HARGOBIND JI

(1606-1645)

Guru Hargobind Ji succeeded his father, Guru Arjun Dev Ji, as the 6^th Guru. When Guru Arjun Dev was in captivity and under the cruelest torture, he concentrated on God and sought divine enlightenment to save the nascent religion from annihilation. The only solution revealed to him was to metamorphose the community into a determined and dedicated force. His last message to his son Hargobind was to "sit fully armed on the throne and maintain an army to the best of your ability." In the succession ceremony, Guru Hargobind was adored with two swords. The Guru declared that two swords signified Miri and Piri, Shakti and Bhakti, Teg and Deg. One symbolized temporal power, the other spiritual power; one to smite the oppressor, the other to protect the innocent. In the Guru’s house the mundane and spiritual powers stood mingled. He instructed the Sikhs to keep a sword and a horse. With an undaunted determination, the Guru organized his followers into a valiant and valorous army. Being witness to the brutal and barbaric torture of his father had steeled the heart of the young Guru. The Guru toughened his Sikhs against tyranny and oppression.

It is remarkable that in a short time, Guru Hargobind became a martial leader as well as a spiritual teacher. The temper and the circumstances of the Guru prompted him to innovations. He was convinced the Sikhs could not afford self-denial any more. There was need for assertion too. The Sikhs must wield arms and live an active life, the Guru felt. Therefore he grasped a sword and marched with his devoted followers among the troops of the empire and boldly led them to oppose and overcome tyranny and oppression. The genial disposition of the martial missionary led him to rejoice in the companionship of a camp, in the dangers of war, and in the excitement of the chase. This was the call of the time. Guru Hargobind had five sons, Guruditta—gift of the Guru, Suraj Mal, Ani Rai, Atul Rai and Tegh Bahadur.

In 1606, the Guru constructed Akal Takht in front of Hari Mandir. Whereas Hari Mandir was the seat of spiritual authority, the Akal Takht was the seat of his temporal authority. It was thus the beginning of militarism or the transformation of Sikhism. No more the Sikhs believed in self-abnegation and renunciation alone. They grew increasingly aware of the need of self-assurance and self-assertion. They now wielded arms and lived an active life.

The Guru created a government of his own like that of the Mughals. All his disciples formed a separate and independent entity. A state within Mughal State was created. A new fire, a new verve, a new zeal and the fierce religious fervor consolidated the strength and vigour of the Sikhs. All this aroused the anger of Emperor Jehangir. But the Guru convinced the Monarch that he did not preach anything against him or his Government. Yet at the instigation of certain conspirators the Guru had to go to Gwalior where he remained under captivity for a number of years.

Jehangir suddenly died in Kashmir and Shah Jahan took over as the King. Shah Jahan, an orthodox and bigoted Muslim, was impervious and overbearing in his approach. On the contrary Guru Ji was a generous and magnanimous soul and had always fearlessly provided his shelter to the defenseless, oppressed and the downtrodden. For his affability and consideration for the helpless, the Guru had to remain involved in a number of combats with the imperial troops. The Guru’s wearing of two swords thus symbolized piri and miri, a complete confluence of godly and the gallant command.

When the Mughal forces withdrew, the Guru along with his family members and close associates left for Kiratpur. Here Guru Ji maintained a strong force of a few gallant followers and a few hundred horses and horsemen. He also lost his eldest son Gurditta who eminently deserved the succession of the Guruship. Since Gurditta was no more, Guru Hargobind groomed his grandson Har Rai, son of Gurditta, for the succession. Anticipating that his end was very near, the Guru ordained Har Rai as the next Guru in succession and a few days later breathed his last after guiding the resurgent community for thirty-eight years.

Guru Hargobind’s greatest contribution is that he gave a new turn to the Sikh way of life. He turned saints into soldiers—Sant Sipahi—and yet remained a man of God. He was essentially a spiritual leader of a community that was merely a hundred years old. He fought a number of battles with the imperial forces and every time vanquished his foes because the truth was always on his side. The new trend he gave to the Sikhs polity found its finest expression in his grandson Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru.