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AN UNPARALLED MARTYRDOM
- Maheep Singh*
To protect their sacred thread and their frontal mark,
In this dark kali age
He performed the supreme act of sacrifice
For the sake of Dharma
He gave away his head
Without a sigh on lips
He surrendered life
But not his resolve.
So wrote Guru Gobind Singh in his autobiography, entitled Bachitar Natak (Strange Drama) in which he mentioned the sacrifice made by his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru (1621-1675).
Guru Tegh Bahadur gave his life for the sake of the freedom of belief for every human being. Only within a few years of the assumption of power (1658 A.D.), Aurangzeb had exhibited an extremely perverse and bigoted frame of mind and its intensity had almost reached its zenith during the eleven years of the spiritual office by Guru Tegh Bahadur.
A wave of terror had been let loose in the whole Mughal empire. After a long journey of eastern parts of India, when Guru Tegh Bahadur returned to Punjab, he found how the proselytising frenzy of the emperor was playing havoc with the peaceful population.
Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur was an extraordinary act of vindication of human freedom and dignity. For this heroic deed of sacrifice he is remembered to this day as Hind Ki Chaddar i.e. protector of the honour of India. In Kashmir, over-zealous governor Iftikhar Khan set about converting the Kashmiri Pandits by force and those who refused to accept his orders were put to death. Those who would not succumb to this pressure feared imperial troops and, in despair, fled Kashmir. Ultimately under the leadership of Pandit Kirpa Ram of Mattan (a sacred place near Pahalgam in Kashmir) a delegation of the Pandits approached Guru Tegh Bahadur (May 25, 1675) and apprised him of the woeful situation. They sought protection of their religion and to preserve their honour in whatever way he deemed expedient. The Guru, after a thought, said to them – "You go and tell the Mughal governor that we will gladly accept the conversion if Tegh Bahadur, whom we revere as our Guru, is persuaded to do so." The Guru thus took upon his person the challenge of an empire on behalf of a whole persecuted humanity. How, at crucial times, a single man’s soul with nobility of ideals to inspire him even to death can turn the course of human history, no matter how staggering the odds, is best illustrated by exemplary manner in which Guru Tegh Bahadur stood up to the challenge of times.The reply of the Guru was duly conveyed to the emperor, through the governor in Kashmir, which must have poured oil on the fires raging in the heart of Aurangzeb, and orders were issued for Guru Tegh Bahadur’s immediate arrest.
The Guru had realized that before he could preach to his people, he must fight for them. He prepared himself for the great ordeal. He installed his only son Gobind, later known as Guru Gobind Singh, as his successor. Then taking leave of his family and followers he began his journey to Delhi with three of his devoted Sikhs, Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Sati Das and Bhai Dayal Das together. On the way, the Guru halted for the night at a village near Ropar. There he and his companions were taken prisoners and were hurriedly whisked away to Sirhind. After some months, they were brought to Delhi, and put into heavily guarded prison. He was repeatedly asked to change his faith with alluring offers of material rewards and high position in the Government. Nothing succeeded. He was also asked to show some miracle. The Guru replied that showing a miracle amounted to interference with the work of God.
The emperor ordered that the Guru be put to the severest tortures. After five day’s persecution, the most heinous and most horrible scene was enacted before the very eyes of the Guru. Bhai Mati Das, Sati Das and Dayal Das were brought to the open space in front of Kotwali where now stands a fountain. First Bhai Mati Das was sawn across from head to loin. Bhai Dayal Das was pushed into a huge cauldron of boiling oil and Bhai Sati Das was roasted alive with cotton wrapped around his body. Thus did the Guru’s companians sacrifice their lives for the cause of freedom of faith, with god’s name on their lips. On November 11, 1675 at 11 O’ clock in the morning, the Guru was brought to the open space in Chandni Chowk for execution, where now stands Gurudwara Sis Ganj. He offered himself to death with the dignity of a martyr. Verily as Guru Gobind Singh wrote in his autobiography, he gave his head, not the faith – Sis diya par sir na diya. Thus did Guru Tegh Bahadur gain martyrdom which stands unparalleled in the history of the world.
It was a self-sought martyrdom.
Unmindful of the suffering, agony and anguish of life, the seeker gets liberated. This achievement is not through ascetic practices but through action in life by observing the cardinal virtues laid down for such a liberation. Amidst the sufferings and much of the human sins, like a lotus in the mud, he lifts himself up and tries to uplift mankind fallen from the high ideals of spirituality. Guru Tegh Bahadur had a vision of such a Jeevan Mukta personality, the man who maintains his balanced in all times. Sayeth Guru:
The one who rises above comforts and sufferings,
The one who is indifferent to joys and sorrows,
The one who listens not to praise or abuse,
Such one is truly liberated and enlightened.
Guru Tegh Bahadur was a poet of distinction His compositions have been included in Guru Granth Sahib. His poetry is the expression of the illumined soul written with flexible ease. The intense content of his poetry is concerned with the emancipation of the individual from the bondage of ignorance and illusion. He explicitly says that man wastes his whole life in the pursuit of the transient material pleasures. Steeped in ignorance and illusion, he has no time to devote himself to the ‘reality’ beyond the visible.
The spiritual master was a great thinker and philospher too. He wanted that the people must learn to sacrifice to attain their freedom of faith and belief. The great Guru set a heroic example before masses through his deeds. He was such a liberated soul. Gurudwara Sisganj in the heart of Chandni Chowk, Delhi will continue to remind the posterities about the supreme sacrefrice made by him in the age of fanaticism.
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