Celebrating the Birth of Sikhism's Classical Hero

I received a beautiful New Year message from a Sikh friend: "End 2024 with shukrana (thanksgiving), start 2025 with ardas (petition for well-being)." This naturally brought to mind that January 6 is the 358th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.

- RENUKA NARAYANAN

Date-wise, after Rana Pratap and Shivaji Maharaj, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, is India's last great classical hero, and Hindus revere him as devotedly as Sikhs do.

Among his many brave deeds, he founded the Khalsa, the Sikh army created to fight injustice and oppression. I can never forget the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Khalsa in 1999. Delhi was a festive sight, with thousands of cars flying saffron pennants with 'Ik Onkar' (God is One) in Gurmukhi script. To offer respect, I went to Delhi's seven historic Sikh shrines and was deeply moved by the sincerity of devotion there, the soothing sound of the shabad kirtan, the cleanliness, and the characteristic generosity with which the gurdwaras fed everyone langar, the free community meal.

Growing up in Delhi, I had the subconscious assurance that, should the need arise, I would never go hungry in my hometown. All I had to do was show up at one of the great gurdwaras, and I would be fed. This assurance gives a certain confidence to those who know it—I have never seen a Sikh beggar.

Of these historic Delhi gurdwaras, the one that hit me hardest in the gut was Gurdwara Shishganj in Chandni Chowk. It was built on the site of Guru Tegh Bahadur's martyrdom. He was the ninth Sikh Guru, the father of Guru Gobind Singh, and was petitioned by a group of Kashmiri Hindus to save them from the religious persecution of the Mughals.