By Mike Bhangu
Sometimes a noble army rises. Sometimes the righteous ones come together and battle the wicked. Among the Sikh people can be found such an organization, and amid them is the greatest covenant of the past 1000 years, the Khalsa. Established in 1699 by the Great Gobind Singh, the Khalsa is an armed union that exists for the purpose of defending against all tyrannical powers, protecting dharma, and protecting the holy of all religions—without taking anything in return. To this effect, death is a companion of the Singh (a member of the Khalsa). There is no compromising. Puran Singh, a renowned Sikh academic writes in his book, Spirit of the Sikh:
“Death, apparent death, is embraced by The Khalsa as no lover ever embraced his sweetheart. The Khalsa dies like the dashing waves of the sea, creating in the wake of its death millions more like itself. The life-breath of The Khalsa thus is losing its apparent life to gain its life everlasting.”
“In the ideal of The Khalsa, one can see the Ideal spirit of the passionate love of death for the sale of life as is seen in the Bushido of the Samurai of Old Japan. In that fervour of Yamoto, the physical life turns all into a little moth flickering its wings in infinite impatience to die. Death is the bride of the brave.”
Max Arthur McAuliffe, in his book, The Sikh Religion: Volume 1, writes, “…no superiority of the enemies in number, no shot, no shell, can make his heart quail, since his Amrit (baptism) binds him to fight single-handed against millions.” Rightfully so, the tyrants of the world are as strong as a million giants and those brave enough to stand against them as the Biblical “David”. Only without fear, and a will to sacrifice everything worldly, can the giants be defeated.
Not only is the Khalsa a community of warriors, the Khalsa is also a community of saints. Each member is humble, kind, gentle, loving, peaceful, fearless, forgiving, God-oriented, communally aware, soft-spoken, rational, truthful, mentally disciplined, knowledgeable, poetic, worldly, and detached from the self and Maya. The Khalsa only unsheathes the sword as a shield and not for secular gain. Puran Singh once wrote:
“Once it is said The Khalsa occupied the throne of Delhi when the Mughal Emperor submitted and acknowledged the power of The Khalsa, the leader Jassa Singh said—‘Ah! The Khalsa is atit (untouched by Maya). What has it to do with thrones’—and gave the throne back to the Mughals.”
“No one need be afraid of The Khalsa of Guru Gobind Singh, that it would ever think of seeking the bones of material objects. The eyes of The Khalsa are fixed heavenward.”
As dictated by Guru Gobind Singh to the great Sikh scholar, Bhai Nand Lal Goya, and recorded in Goya’s book, Tankhahnama:
“The Khalsa is he who protects the poor, who destroys the wicked, who recites the Name, who fights the enemy, who concentrates his mind on the Name, who is detached from all other ties, who rides the horse, who fights every day, who bears arms, who promotes dharam, and who dies for his faith.”
The famous Sikh historian, Rattan Singh Bhangu, writes in his book, Pracheen Panth Prakash, the following on the Khalsa’s creation.
“The perfect Guru, the Tenth, created the Khalsa Panth in this manner, so that they must wage a war against oppression.”
Guru Gobind Ji further describes the Khalsa as “he is whose heart burns unflickering the Lamp of Naam, day and night, know him the Khalsa, the pure!” As recorded by Puran Singh.
This connection to the essence of God is the reason the Khalsa’s history is full of Singhs able to overcome incredible odds and achieve superhuman deeds, akin to those performed by Banda Singh, Deep Singh, Hari Singh, and Jassa Singh. As the Jedi draws power from the Force, the Singh draws power from the Lamp of Naam (the Primal Energy that pervades within all known and unknown).
The true Singh, a replica of Gobind, is able to harness Naam because those who serve the Khalsa serve God. The Khalsa is a union of the Pure (the spiritually liberated) and sanctioned by The Lord for the purpose of ushering in the “Kingdom of God”. An era on earth the Singhs call the “Khalsa Raj”, in which God, truth, equality, justice, freedom, and righteousness prevail. It’s said that so long as the Singh is true to the principles of the Khalsa, God will protect the Singh. However, The Great Architect is quick to abandon those who forget.
According to author, Narain Singh, in his book, Guru Gobind Singh Re-told, a year prior to the creation of the Khalsa, Guru Gobind withdrew into the Naina Devi Hills to meditate. He sought to connect with God and request The Eternal’s guidance. He was troubled by the fact that he was forced to resort to violence to combat violence. He was aware that aggression is an evil which destroys human values and an idea that contradicts the core teachings of Sikhie—love and non-violence. However, the Mughal Administration, in their quest to convert all of India to Islam, unleashed hell on the people of Hindustan. Only those who unsheathed the sword were able to retain their non-Islamic identity. Guru Gobind unsheathed out of necessity, and even though each battle resulted in his victory, he fully recognized that violence is unbecoming.
Gobind eventually united with The Formless One, and after his union, Gobind proclaimed, as written in his book, Bachittar Natak:
“The Lord has sent me into the world for the purpose of spreading Dharma. He said to me, ‘Go and spread Dharma (righteousness) everywhere, seize and smash the evil doers.’ Know ye holy men, I have come solely for the purpose of bringing about Dharma, saving holy men and completely uprooting wicked men.”
After his union, Guru Gobind established the Khalsa and initiated the quest to restore the conditions of an honourable existence. Conceived as a champion of dharma, the Khalsa is sanctioned by The Eternal to unsheathe but only in the face of extreme evil, and when peace is useless.
Sometimes, a noble army rises. Sometimes, the righteous ones come together and battle the wicked. Among the Sikh people can be found such an organization, and amid them is the greatest covenant of the past 1000 years, the Khalsa.
– By Amazon best-selling author, Mike Bhangu ([email protected]). To view Mike’s book catalogue, please visit Amazon.com and search: Mike Bhangu. Or use the following URL: https://www.amazon.com/Mike-Bhangu/e/B00ZXHPGQI/
