When Shivaji was celebrating the establishment of a Hindu sovereignity in Maharashtra with the aid of orthodox Brahman priests from Benares, events of far-reaching importance were taking place in the north-west of India, where a national awakening similar to that of the Deccan was approaching fulfillment in the creation of a nation of patriots, warriors and martyrs out of the um e peasants rude hill-tribes, who were groaning under the soppression of the Mughal rule and sinking into ignorance and lifelessness under the deadening influences of caste and idolatry. Guru Govind, the tenth from Guru Nanak, became the head of the `Sikhs in 1675 and organized his followers not like Shivaji in absolute disregard of the popular aspirations, but for the preservation of those high ideals which have ever been the inspiration of India’s liational life and the invariable teachings of her prophets and saints.
The beneficial influence that Islam could exert Leven in those days of plunder and massacre was nowhere so conspicuous as in the lives of the great -religious reformers of North India who flourished in the 15th, 16th, and the 17th centuries. There was a gradual and steadily increasing appreciation of the evils of meaningless social distinctions, of the futility of rituals to produce spiritual benefit, and .of the evils of worshipping god in numberless forms and names. Rarnananda established a new sect with Sree Rama as the supreme object of adoration, preached the equality of’ man before God, and proclaimed Bhakti or devotion as the best means of obtaining divine grace and salvation. Goruknath was another teacher of the same period who admit-ted all castes to his fold. A century later (about 1500 A.D.) Chaitanya roused a new enthusiasm’in Bengal by the fervour of his devotion and self-surrender to the god of his heart, Sree Krishna, and he too appealed for the recognition of human brotherhood. But Kabir, more than all others, expressed the spirit of the age by boldly assailing idolatry, denying the divine authority of the Quran and the Hindu Vedas, and protesting against the neglect of the people’s language and the exclusive use of Sanskrit.
It was, however, reserved for Guru Nanak the become the founder of a new order of things, a new nation free from many of the foibles and superstitions of the Hindus of those days. He taught that God should be worshipped as the One Supreme Invisible Being and that salvation lay in a life of virtue, purity and good works, and implicit faith in and surrender to God. He denied that it was necessary to give up the ordinary life of the world in order to attain peace here and liberation hereafter, and set the example by resuming the householder’s life after many years of renunciation, austerities and wandering which did not lead to any real good. His teachings appealed to Hindus and Muhammadans alike; and both the communities regarded him as an inspired teacher. He was followed by a line of nine other Gurus of whom Guru Govind was the last. He gave the Sikhs a religious, social and political constitution which has-served to hold them together as a united community ever since. As in the case of Shivaji, whom the priests succeeded in persuading that he was a special vehicle of the goddess Bhavam, so was an attempt made to impose upon Guru Govind the authority of the goddess Kali. A human sacrifice is said to have been performed with the help of Brahmans from Benares. Anyhow, it happily failed to impress the honest and fearless heart of the great leader who but for this would have dedicated his followers and kingdom to priestcraft and idolatry instead of raising them from their degradation. The Guru refused to be victimised. As he said in his dying address, he preferred to attach his followers to the skirt of the Immortal God, and entrusted them to Rim only, and called upon every-one of them, “ever to remain under His protection and trust no one besides.”
The chief articles of faith and discipline of the Sikhs are: (1) They must believe only in the One Immortal God. (2) They must not worship idols, cemeteries, trees or spirits. (3) They must ever help the poor and protect those who sought their protection. (4) They must have no distinctions of caste or class or profession and must deem themselves members of one family. (5) They must practise the use of arms, must wear arms constantly, must never flee before an enemy, and must’ be prepared to die for the cause of truth and justice. (6) They must lead a pure life of chastity, moderation, *discipline, benevolent actions and dedication to God and the nation. (7) The Central Committee called the Khalsa was to be the final authority in all matters. (8) The teachings of the ten Gurus embodied in the Granth was to be their religious text. ‘(9) Any five Sikhs could meet and give initiation to others and take them into the fold. (10) Women were to have all the consolations of religion which men enjoyed. (11) Everyone was to live by honest labour and shun the company of idlers and wicked men. (12) As a sign of the new life they had entered, all Sikhs were to be known as Singhs (lions).
In a short time, 80,000 men became his followers and the number went on increasing. A large number of Brahmans and other twice-born Hindus deserted the Sikh-fold when he insisted on the observance of these disciplines.’ Guru Govind wel- comed the departure of the incorrigibles who clung to their old customs and castes, and in their place, admitted thousands of the humble peasants and hill- tribes who were thus enabled to realise their man- j, hood, and become the respectable citizens of the Khalsa State. “Govind Singh thus appealed to the etenal instincts of equality, liberty and brotherhood, I broke forever the caste prejudices and received into the Khalsa people of all classes who had hitherto been debarred from bearing- arms and participating iii religion. The Singhs of the Khalsa felt themselves at once elevated and equal to the proud and martial Rajputs. Personal pride and strength were infused into them, and Sikhism knitted them together into one common brotherhood, animated by a common faith, one social life and national ion in . The effect of these new teachings, it is sal , was immediate and profound. The Sikhs began to manifest great chivalry and courage and live in sweet social love and harmony among themselves. Wherever there was oppression or cruelty, the Sikhs were there, and with ready heart and brave arms, helped the persecuted. Among themselves, they lived like brothers, they used to feed one another, shampoo one another when tired, bathe one another, wash one another’s clothes, and one Sikh always met an- other with a smile on his face and love in his heart.”*
Guru Nanak caught the spirit of the age and perceived the correct lines of regeneration and unification of the people. Guru Govind built on the foundations so nobly laid an enduring nationality. He infused a new enthusiasm for freedom, democracy, righteousness and self-sacrifice into the minds of a vanquished people, he roused their native
*Pags 22, Guru Govind, by G. A. Natesan & Co.
potentialities which lay dormant under the killing weight of Mughal despotism and the social ignominy of Hinduism, he filled their humble lives with a glorious yearning to live and die for the sake of truth, righteousness and country, he restored to them their natural simplicity of beliefs and customs from the degradation and corruption which surrounded them, and kindled an inextinguishable passion for brave deeds, all of which made the Sikhs a distinct people, a model and inspiration to the lowly and oppressed of all times, and a memorable contrast to the Brahman empire of Maharashtra.
But the peril is still there. The Sikhs, along with the rest India, are sinking under the curse of Brahmanism.
