Dear Editor,
After the martyrdom of Arjundev the next to succeed him as the Guru of Sikhism was Shri Hargobind Singh. Gruesome repression meted out to their former Guru in the hands of brute Jahangir, the Mughal King, opened the eyes of so far peaceful Sikh devotees. Merely counting the Mantras with rosary in the hands or singing the Bhajanas[devotional songs] in isolation will no longer serve good to either Dharma or their community this Sikhs had come to realise too well. Consequently, bringing about the revolutionary change in the prevailing tradition in order to infuse martial spirit among the followers, Shri Hargovind made it mandatory for them to bring horses, weapons or some money with sweets and other edible items as offerings in the temples. Together with that he began to raise the army of dedicated and, also, of paid soldiers, and even built the fort of Lohgarh to protect Amritsar. Not only this, he also laid the foundation of Akal Takht in front of Hari Mandir in Amritsar in 1606 and began to deliver the discourse on the worldly affairs from there; the tradition of giving spiritual discourse from Hari Mandir was already in vogue since the time of earlier Gurus. So also, he was the first such Guru who initiated the tradition of mass prayer so as to strengthen the spirit of organisation among the followers. It was the time, living mainly in the rural areas of Punjab, the Jats were known to be the indomitable fighters gifted with the robust physical structure. Taking the revenge of injustice, come what may, was rare feature of their tendency. Keeping this into view, Hargovindji made a large numbers of Jats join Sikhism.
Yet this is not all. Knowing the fact that the followers imitate those whom they worship, he initiated the tradition of Guru wielding the two swords i.e. Peeree, the symbol of spiritualism; and Meeree, the symbol of material prosperity. Himself being fond of hunting, he allowed it [hunting] and, also, the consumption of meat for the followers; though, he continued to prohibit non-vegetarian food in the sacred Langar [ Sikh tradition of mass-feast],which is still followed presently. The practical approach thus adopted by the Guru greatly served the cause of Hinduism. For also were such Hindus then who were inspired to adopt Islam solely for the sake of consuming the meat. But, now they had the option of taking the refuge in Sikhism, than in Islam. The transformation thus brought in the very ethos of Sikhism by Hargobind Singhji was to prove epochal in the Sikh history.
And, therefore, it can be said that the valour and prowess that we see later in the deeds of last Tenth Guru Gobind Singh and his loyal warriors in their so many fights against the Mughals they were essentially nourished in virtues of these traditions of martialism originally laid by Guru Hargobind Singh.
Er.Rajesh Pathak
Bhopal