(By: Pritpal Singh Bindra, Canada) During his life time Guru Hargobind, the Sixth Supreme Master of the Sikh religion, had to bear a few family bereavements. One after the other, his wife and three of his sons left for their heavenly abodes, ‘OF the two sons who survived him, Bhai Suraj Mal was fond of worldly pleasures, and (Gurv) Tegh Bahadar, had retired into solitude.’ His eldest grandson, Dhir Mal had already turned a traitor (and till today his lineage is outcast from the Sikh folds). His younger grandson, Har Rai, according to some records, was brought up by the Grandfather and reared by him for the Guruship. He was consecrated as the Guru as soon as Guru Hargobind divined the approach of theme of his ecclesiastic journey.
Guru Har Rai was born posthumously. Mai Nihal Kaur gave birth to the future Guru on Saturday, January 16, 1630, shortly after the demise of her husband, Baba Gurditta; He was married to Krishan Kaur. She was the daughter of Bhai Deya Ram, a resident of the Anoop city in the province of Uttar Pradesh.
‘Along with the Guruship, an armed cavalry of 2,300 horses was consigned to Guru Har Rai, He was enjoined to maintain the cavalry for the defence and hunting, but not to partake in any armed conflict.
Guru Har Rai was endowed with a very soft and compassionate heart. Once during his childhood, while passing through the garden, the flair of his coat got entangled in a plant and a flower fell down ‘on the ground, His tender heart could not ‘bear these parathion of the flower and started to cry. He was, no doubt, very fond of going on hunting; the habit he acquired from his Grandfather, but he never killed any creature, He always captured the beautiful animals alive and established them in a private zoo; this was an important innovative enterprise of his life.
The country was affected with a famine during his pontification; the arrangements made by the governmental agencies were very scant and tainted with malpractices. Adhering to the benevolent tradition of the Sikh Guru Dom, Guru Har Rai opened Udall his resources, and directed his Congregationalist to the service of the needy. At the same time, to help the sick and poor, he initiated medical care, and established a number of medical dispensaries. He was foremost to render his assistance whenever there was any epidemic such as Cholera, Plague or Smallpox. Very often he used to distribute food himself in his langar (the free kitchen), and this humane venture enhanced, for a time, the respect. Ability of Guru’s domain in the Mughal Court.
Not only Dara Shakoh was the eldest son. Of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, he was very favorite among the common folks 10, Hehad greater chances of succeeding to the kingdom. Aurangzeb, younger in ave (and when he was just a prince). Wanted to annihilate all his family opposition to acquire the Kingship. Through devious plans, engineered by him, he janaged Dara to swallow a few pieces of hair {from the moustache of a lion, Dara fell ill seriously. The Roval Hakims (Doctors) pronounced that the sickness could only be cured with the use of cloves. The search for the cloves in all the Royal Hospitals proved futile. The fame of the Guru Har Rai’s dispensary had gone far and wide and on approach by the Royal personnel, Guru’s ever benevolent per spectate On pe of Mughal atzocitpast) made the cloves available and, consequently, Dare’s health was restored. Tater when Aurangzeb chased Dara to eliminate him, Dara came to Punjab and he sought the protection of Guru Har Rai ‘The Guru did not want two defy his Grandfather’s (enet, and, therefore, would not ‘enter into an armed confrontation. But his tactical man oeuvres detained the ‘Aurangzeb’ Army away from crossing the river at Goindwal, and enabled Dara to escape; The Guru’s strong cavalry of 2,300 riders had taken the possession of all the boats which Mughal Army resdedio cross the river.
Emperor Shah Jahan had promulgated to demolish all the newly built Hindu temples, and banned the construction of new ones in future, this order specifically targeted the temples with idols in them, Sikh faith did not allow the idol worship ‘and, therefore, Mughal orders did not prelude the flourishing Sikh pursuits and the Gurdwaras. Consequently, for four years, Guru Har Rai travelled across Punjab unhindered, and he visited most of the sacred places. In Amritsar he stayed for about six months. Bhai Kala, a village head and an ardent devotee, presented his half naked orphan nephews, Phool and Sandy, to the Guru, when the children displayed their deprived state of nourishment, Guru Har Rai bestowed them with a prophecy that their descendants would rule the area between the rivers Satluj and Jamuna. The prophecy came true with the formation of the Phulkian States Patiala, Nabha, and Jind.
Dare’s escape had already developed bitterness in Aurungzeb’s mind against the Sikhs, Both, the humane treatment by Guru Har Rai, and Mughal Rulers atrocities, had initiated lot of Hindus and Brahmins to come under the folds of Sikhism instead of accepting Islam. Guru Har Rai’s endeavors was soaring the Muslim clergy around Aurangzeb. They instigated him against contents of the Holy Granth Sahib and asked him to summon the Guru to Delhi to explain certain references denoted to the Quran and the Muslim doctrine.
Guru Har Rai, disillusioned with the intolerant attitude of the Mughal Ruler, resolved never to see his bigoted face. However to elucidate the piety of the celestial Gurbani of the Granth Sahib, he sent his elder son Ram Raito Delhi Darbar, ‘After prolonged discourses Ram Rai did manage to convince the Emperor of the impartiality of the Gurbani. But this could not satisfy the preconceived contemptuous attitude of the Muslim Court Clergy. ‘They incited the King to ask Ram Rai to ‘explain why the earth from the grave of a Muslim was demanded in such a way “Miti Musiman ki pare pai ghumiyér. Ram Rai, instead of getting involved in further discussions once again, told that there had been an error in writing the hymn, instead of Mussalman it should have been “Beiman, the deceitful.” This no doubt pleased Aurangzeb and he showered Ram Rai with mundane honors.
Once Guru Har Rai, lying on his bed, heard chanting of Gurbani by a group of his devotees coming towards his house hold. He was delayed in getting up in reverence, but when he did stand up, he tripped over and hurt his leg, He con sired this as the punishment for still relaxing on the bed while the Gurbani was enunciated, He decided, then on ward, to sit on the floor only during the day times whine the followers. We’re coming in of going out reciting the Gurbani. “The Guna, who revered the Bani so much, could not acquiesce to the action of Ram Rai, He disowned his son and debarred him from Guruship, (Ram Rai remained in agony throughout his life at Dehradun, When he met Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth Master, at a right old age, he begged to be pardoned and he was, then, blessed by the Guru with the deliverance.) Gury Hur Rai, the great apostle of mercy, lived nearly 42 years of his life imbued with the Gurbani and its celestial, humane and compassionate teachings, He com minced his journey for his heavenly abode ‘on October 6, 1661, after endowing Guruship to his young son, Guru Harkrishan Free Sikhs all over the a lobe designate January 26Republic Day of India as: Black Day Sikhs are the member of the world’s human family Ang are unyielding supporters of the fundamental rights of all mankind. Unfortunately they are the most oppressed segment of minority populations in India. Human Rights violations are being covertly planned, sanctioned, committed and rewarded directly from the halls of Indian parliament. India now ranks 117th position among a list of 174 Nations who respect Human Rights.
An example is Jaswant Singh Khalra who was instrumental in investigating the truth behind the 25,000 bodies cremated by Indian police in the cremation grounds of Punjab, has been abducted by police since September 6, 1995. Even Supreme court the highest court of law, has not been successful to direct the police or the government to produce Mr. Khalra to court or to know his whereabouts. Mr. Khalra presented the plight of Sikhs in India to our Canadian parliamentarians in June ‘95 at Parliament Hill. Unfortunately it is feared that he has paid the price for his humanitarian cause by becoming the victim of state terrorism in India.
With an eye to systematically destroy Sikh Nation, Government of secular India has destroyed our religious relics, archives and historical manuscripts by burning down the Sikh reference library. The most unrestrained and premeditated barbaric act of violence in the history of mankind has been recorded in June 1984, when a full scale army assault with tanks, artillery, mortars and helicopter gunships was carried out on The Golden Temple and 37 other historical Sikh shrines. Thousands of innocent pilgrims were murdered in cold blood as a result. Since no other option was left for the Sikhs to defend their very existence together with their nationhood, they are striving to control their own destiny since then. Sikhs feel that it can only be achieved by having their own pre British Rule Status of an independent, sovereign and democratically ruled state. Similarly a historical mosque Babri Masjid of Muslims, who are also a minority like Sikhs, has been razed to the ground. Rape of women has been used as a weapon against the Sikhs other minorities who raise the voice against oppression by Indian police and paramilitary forces. These human rights violations are recorded by Amnesty International, Asia Watch and others.
Sikhs who constitute only appox. 2% of the population of India made 85% of all the sacrifices in terms of serving prisons, being hanged, killed or exiled in the struggle for India’s independence. They were recognized as a Nation by Indian leaders such as Gandhi and Nehru during talks that lead to India’s independence in 1947 and were promised “glow of freedom” in independent India. After independence Sikhs felt badly betrayed when article 25 of the draft of the Indian Constitution declared “Sikhs as Hindus” thereby declaring Sikhism as an offshoot of Hinduism the Sikh protests of no avail and the Indian Constitution was promulgated on January 26, 1950, without the signatures of the two Sikh members of the constitution assembly. The Sikhs have not accepted this constitution till this day. We appeal to our fellow Canadians to take note of the situation and ask our Government to rethink their policy of taking trade missions to a country like India which has not allowed Human Rights groups to investigate/monitor the basic human rights violation of minorities. For more Information contact: Gurdev Singh Gill (905) 672578 Gurpreet Singh Bal (905) 567179 Satbir Singh (416) 4517100; Kulwant Singh (905) 6648393.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 31, 1996
