Guru Gobind Singh Maharaj — A True Hero
A saint, a poet, a soldier, and an inspiration to all
Guru Gobind Singh Maharaj — A True Hero
A saint, a poet, a soldier, and an inspiration to all.
Guru Gobind Singh source sikhwiki.org
Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru is one of my favorite Teachers, Gurus. A true Master who was accomplished in all spheres of life. Guru Sahib was a Saint, Poet, and a Soldier. To be all of it at once is an idea as romantic as the creation itself.
Guru Gobind Singh born Guru Gobind Rai was the son of the ninth Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur, who was martyred by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb when he refused to convert to Islam. Aurangzeb, a tyrant of a ruler was on a killing spree forcibly converting all of India into Islam. It is at this point that the Kashmiri brahmin pandits went for refuge to Guru Teg Bahadur for saving their faith.
Guru Teg Bahadur knew that only the sacrifice of a great saint could put a stop to the atrocities of this tyrant juggernaut. At that point, the young Gobind Rai who was only 9 had shown remarkable wisdom and equanimity, when he suggested who else would be suitable for the task than his father the Guru Teg Bahadur. Would the young Gobind Rai have known that he would see his entire family being sacrificed in what can only be called a holy war, is beyond me. But this article is not about the wars fought and the sacrifices made.
This article is about the persona of Guru Gobind Singh, a king among kings and a saint among saints. It is about the goodness that he inspired and an astute example of how to live in this modern world.
So that brings us to a question — What is it to be a Saint, a Poet, and a Soldier all at once?
Who is a Saint?
Is a saint just an ascetic, a hermit or is it someone who has devoted his or her life to experience God? In simpler words can we say a saint is a good person?
Hmmm. For me perhaps the easiest way to express it is someone who has good thoughts, good words, and good actions. How difficult can that be?
If you ask me, an optimist, it seems not very easy. Perhaps the challenge herein arises from the very fact that it is not easy to know what is good. In a world that is painted grey, it requires an able and keen eye to separate the right from the wrong. For this reason, the title of Saint is not conferred upon just about anybody. So the journey of knowing what is good is the beginning of a saintly life. But rather than getting trapped in the vernacular of good or bad let’s try to look at the definition of a saint from a different angle.
The title Saint is often associated with a person who we feel has realized God, someone who is holy. Can we then say that a Saint is someone who is in sync with the law of nature — Dhamma(in Pali as said by Buddha) or Dharma ( in Sanskrit as said by Krishna) or Hukum (as said by Guru Nanak) or Will of God ( as said in the Bible). Dharma the Sanskrit word h here doesn’t mean religion but the path of righteousness, the way of truth. How does one walk on this path? Well, firstly I believe it requires us to be aware of who we are and what path we are on. When one reaches this stage one can see through; know what is it that’s missing? It is only then that one can consistently work on themselves to walk on Dharma. And when somebody does manage to walk on this path, they become one with the universe, life, creation, God.
One becomes a creator when one is a saint. And a saint is someone who remains unattached to what is created because they know this is temporary; ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Who is a Poet?
Having tried my hand at poetry, I formed my understanding of being a poet. For me, a poet is someone who romanticizes life, a dreamer. Someone who is in love with life and has a zest for living. A person who doesn’t settle with just seeing things and takes a closer look. Someone who is in love with the creation and sustains it through their dreams and imagination. Poetry involves giving wings to an idea, a thought, and watching it fly. When one is a poet, intuition steers the flow of life. It is celebration and rejoicing. Living is such that every little action or inaction reflects in the poetic mirror of life.
And that perhaps is the reason why the Khalsa Panth was born, a flag, a symbol came into being that gave the Sikhs to unite under a common banner for a cause.
There are numerous verses in praise of God and its bountiful creation that Guru Gobind Singh has written. These verses are holy for they have the effect of bringing the reader closer to the truth and giving the seeker a taste of the divine.
Then be it Jaap Sahib a prayer written in various languages, in praise of God or the Chaupai Sahib that was written when Guru Gobind Singh had his whole family sacrificed to the cause.
Who is a Soldier?
Soldier! Why does Guru Gobind Singh talk of being a soldier? Who is a soldier? Broadly speaking soldier is anyone who takes up arms for a cause. Guru Saheb established the ‘Khalsa Panth’s. Khalsa means — a soldier of God. In those times people were not able to practice their faith freely or protect themselves. Hence the double-edged sword was taken up by Guru Gobind Singh Ji to fight the injustice and tyranny of oppressors. The cause for which Guru asks to take up arms is to uphold the Dharma. Today I feel the fight is more ‘within’ than outside. I feel if I can tackle the enemy within, the enemy outside ceases to exist. It is me who needs to destroy, that part of me that stops me, from walking the path of Dharma. The soldier moves forward with a single point of focus, fighting for a just cause.
It is the destruction of evil that prepares the field of mind to sow the seeds of peace.
May the Guru’s blessing be upon each one of you as you prepare to be -
the Creator, the Sustainer, and the Destroyer.
The Saint, the Poet, and the Soldier!
