THE GROWTH OF RESPONSIBILITY IN SIKHISM
GURU
GOBIND SINGH 1666-1708
DEVOLUTION
OF FULL RESPONSIBILITY
The
purity of judgement was further intensified
and made perfect by Guru Gobind Singh.
The Sikhs in the course of continuous
discipline had found themselves, and had
learned to find their leaders. Their admiration
for their leader was so great they would
stick at no sacrifice, if they could only
please him. Once a new musket was brought
to the Guru as a present. He wanted to
try it as he humorously said at somebody's
forehead. Several people were forthcoming,
thinking it a great fortune to meet death
at his hand. The danger of such a personal
devotion is that it may warp the judgment
of the admirers.
Their
vision, which is clear enough for finding
fault with themselves or others, is dazzled
when it meets the brilliance of glory
with which the loved person is invested,
as long as that was the case the government
of self was not complete and the granting
of full responsibility would have been
dangerous. The tenth Guru's task, therefore,
was to so train the judgment of his followers
that they might never be deceived by appearances,
and might find our evil, even if it be
lurking in the most sanctified of places.
He
began by raising their Self-respect; for
it is there that the true and independent
judgment begins. The Sikhs were freed
from the demeaning influence of the Masands.
It was made clear that the Guru also was
human, and to pay divine honors to him
was the greatest blasphemy.
The ceremony of initiation was modified
to suit the changed circumstances. The
water used in baptism, instead to being
stirred with the Guru's toe, was to be
stirred with a dagger, and the Sikhs thus
initiated, were to be called Singhs or
lions. The mode of salutation also changed.
Instead of touching one another's feet,
as was the customs before, the Sikhs were
to fold their hands and hail each other
as "the Purified Ones of the wonderful
Lord, who is always victorious."
The Khalsa was inspired by a sense of
divine mission to right the wrongs of
the world; and in the discharge of his
duties, no fear of earthly power was to
stand in the way, such was his confidence
in the strength of the righteous cause
that each Sikh called himself a unit of
a one lakh and a quarter. Even now one
might occasionally meet a Sikh who would
announce his arrival as the advent of
a host of one and a quarter lakh of the
Khalsa.
The Guru himself recognized the worth
and dignity of his nation, and would always
refer to the assembly of Sikhs with great
respect and admiration. It was in these
terms he once spoke of his followers :
"It is through them that I have gained
my experience; with their help have I
subdued my enemies; through their favour
am I exalted; otherwise there are millions
of ordinary men like myself, whose lives
are of no account." Though a leader, he
yet considered himself as the servent
of his people : "To serve them pleases
my heart, no other service is so dear
to my soul" "All the substance in my house,
and my soul and body are at their disposal."
The readers of history know how literally
this declaration was fulfilled by him.
He sacrificed all his sons, his parents,
and lastly, himself at the altar of his
country's service.
This raising of the Indian spirit from
the lowness and servility, which had dominated
it for centuries, brought about a great
change in the tone of the national character,
Even those people who had been considered
as the dregs of humanity were changed.
As if by magic, into something rich and
strange, the like of which India had never
seen before, the sweepers, barbers and
confectioners who had never so much as
touched the sword, and whose whole generations
had lived as groveling slaves of the socalled
higher classes, became, under the stimulating
leadership of Guru Gobind Singh, doughty
warriors, who never shrank from fear,
and who were ever ready to shed their
own blood where the safety of a least
creature of God was in danger. Even their
outward appearance underwent a marvelous
change. They come to be regarded as the
models of physical beauty and stateliness
of manner as much as they were respected
for the truth and honesty of character.
There is another feature of their character
which the Sikhs acquired at that time
and which we often forget to notice. In
the face of desperate circumstances, they
often put on a fine brag, -- that Hannibal
or Sir Walter Raleigh might have envied
- and literally shouted over a difficulty.
Once a small straggling detachment of
Sikhs was hemmed in by a numerous force
of the enemy. Their friends were far off,
and there was no hope of their coming
in time to save them. Yet they did not
lose heart. They took off their bread
while chaddars (Sheets) and spread them
over the neighboring bushes to make them
look like tents from the distance. All
the while they kept up shouting every
fifteen minutes the famous national cry
of Sat Sri Akal, The enemy thought that
the Sikhs were receiving so many instalments
of help, and did not dare to come forward.
As a result of this rave spirit, there
was growing up among the Sikhs a peculiar
slang, which was called the Vocabulary
of Heroes. In it the things connected
with the difficulties of life were expressed
in terms of such cheerfulness and bravado.
As if, for the Sikhs, pain and suffering
had lost all meaning. Death was familiarly
called an expedition of the Khalsa into
the next world. A man with an empty stomach
would call himself mad with prosperity.
Grams were almonds and onions were silver
pieces, while rupees were nothing but
empty crusts. A blind man was called a
wide-awake hero, and a half-blind man
an argus-eyed lion. A deaf man was said
to be a man in the upper storey. A baptised
Sikh was called a brother of the Golden
Cup, which by the way, was only an iron
vessel. To be fined by the community for
some fault was called getting one's salary.
The big stick was called a lawyer or the
store of wisdom; and to speak was to roar.
There is a superb humour in all this,
which breathes a full and healthy spirit.
It shows that our ancestors knew-how much
better than we do at present- that religion
is not incompatible with brightness and
vigour, Nay, explain it how we will, true
humour always goes with ripeness of wisdom,
and long-faced seriousness, at much as
frivolity is a sign of immaturity. Without
the sense of humour alone that can keep
our sympathies well-regulated and in good
trim. It is a fine corrective force in
character, and works like an instinct
against all excess. Without it, a man's
character is always underdone or done
on one side only.
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