02 April, 2011

Veer Banda Singh Bahadur - A Vaishnava Vairagi Warrior

I recently had a heated debate with one so called Sikh historian who kept ranting on about how Sikhs have saved the Hindus & how much sacrifice we have really done for India as Sikhs. To be perfectly honest I don't blame him since for the 56 years of his entire life he has been living under some type of delusion, like most of us, until we actually wake up to the fact that thanks to Tat Khalsa scholars working under the influence of Gorre rulers, they sat about adding & subtracting records & presenting us with discrepancies within our history. Talking of the several discrepancies found today within the new versions of Sikh history, here is an answer for those neo-Sikhs out there who are full of inflated self egos when it comes to 'saving Hindus',when it is actually the other way around. Most of the Khalsa were Hindus of Punjab who fought bravely alongside their own Sanatan Sikh brothers in armies that created havoc against the Islamic forces. Here is an article I would like to share with everyone on the true history of Lakshman Dev Bharadwaj, originally a Kashmiri Brahmin at birth, who later on joined the Vaishnava Vairagi Akhara & trained as a military general possessing his very own army of thousands of Vaishnava Hindu sadhus who were fully armed. Neo Sikhs praise the brave sadhu sipahee as a Rajput who later on took amrit under Guru Gobind Singhji which is actually false propaganda. I am actually getting sick of the rubbish that most 'sikh' ( Talibani) sites out there are churning out..but this is an eye opener thanks to some good writers of authentic Hindu history out there!

Source: http://www.trinetra.org.uk/#/hindu-warriors/4549751595


The Legend of Veer Banda Singh Bahadur
Pavan Mishra

The medievel period between 13th century to 18th century was one of great turmoil in India. Muslim invaders from Asia Minor were ruthlessly looting, plundering, eroding and persecuting Hindu Civilisation. In the Punjab, which over the centuries had been bearing the main brunt of continuous Islamic invasions, terror, mayhem and murder ruled the roost, with the Muslim rulers carrying a systematic persecution of the Hindus. Thousands of places and structures of Hindu worship along with ancient centres of learning were being systematically desecrated and razed to the ground by the Muslim plunderers in an attempt to annhilate all traces of Hindu Dharma from its soil and to force all Hindus into submitting to Islam either through violence, treachery, extortions, kidnappings  or torture. It was during this period when Aurangzeb was the Mughal emperor that persecution reached its peak. Destruction of sacred Hindu temples, cow slaughter inside sacred Hindu sites, murder of men, rape and kidnapping of Hindu women had become the favourite passtime of Aurangzeb and his faithful Islamic army. The magnitude of Muslim barbarity against Hindus and Hindu Dharma was beyond measure, most of which was regularly documented by the Muslim historians in various chronicles celebrating the exploits of Muslim monarchs against the 'idol or Murtee worshipping' infidels.

Stretching from Sindh province, Northwest Frontier and into the Punjab, the Islamic invasions had led to many Hindus in these provinces living as second class citizens who could not practise ancient Dharmic rituals as this was seen as blasphemy by the Muslim tyrants, often leading to inhumane torture and persecution if caught, while other Hindus in these areas had been converted to Islam forcefully. Islam prescribed a death penalty for Murtee worship and many Hindus had been put to death in this region. However, while the Rajputs, Marathas, Ahom kings and many other Hindu warriors fought countrywide across the length and breadth of India against Islamic tyranny, there evolved alongside a spiritual and Dharmic rennaisance spurred by several Hindu saints and Akhara sadhus which became to be known as the Bhakti movement. Saints of the South such as Tyagaraja, from Mewar Rajasthan such as Meerabai to Tulsidas, Surdas, Kabir , Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, RaviDas in the North, all strived to rejuvenate Sanatan Dharmic philosophies through composing hymns and Bhajan Kirtans in praise of the Hindu pantheon of Gods such as Lord Rama and Lord Krishna, all echoing the message of the Vedas and Upanishads . They stressed devotion over theology.They travelled countrywide as poets or bards with their own groups of devotees and followers singing the greatness of the Supreme Being Shri Hari, a brave response of defiance against the Islamic onslaught, by involving local people therefore keeping the Dharmic tradition alive. In Haridwar, Kashi , Ayodhya and in the Himalayas, centres or ashrams of spiritual learning began to flourish and groups of sages known as Shiva Akharas, Vishnu Akharas, Vairagis, Nagas , Siddhas and Yogis known as Udasis roamed the forests keeping the Dharmic spirit alive. 

 In Punjab, Guru Nanak Dev, born in a Vaishnava family, founded a Bhakti movement or Panth which was based on Advaitic ( literally non-duality) principles, a branch of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy, found mainly in the Upanishads as well as other traditions of Hindu Dharma. Some authentic accounts prove he may have belonged to a Brahmin family i.e. the fictional story of his rejection on wearing the sacred thread which could possibly  have been concocted by the British 'historian' Max Macauliffe in an attempt to colour Brahminism with shades of superstition and arrogance since the so called Sikh history has been proven to be replete with later edited versions, which have been designed by those secularists with vested interests, as I will explain here. However, this new movement required none of the ritualistic worship of Hindu Dharmic traditions, though keeping in line with Vedantic thought, and instead flourished more in this region due to the fact that places of Hindu worship had been ransacked and ritual practises had been banned by the Muslim rulers. Soon several Hindus flocked to Guru Nanak and welcomed this new resurgent Dharmic movement as a way out of their oppressed and much downtrodden lives and in due course this, like many other offshoots of Hindu Dharma, crystallized into a distinctive sect later on during the 19th century, known as Sanatan Sikhism, while followers of this movement came to be known as Sikhs or Shishyas ( Disciples). Guru Nanak Dev had remained a Hindu throughout his life, while spending most of his time for spiritual quest in the company of sadhus such as Sant Gorakhnath and other great spiritual Yogis of Kashi. His elder son Shri Chand had become a Sanyasi and had set up the Udasi Sant order, with thousands of his own followers.

Baba Shri Chand


This Hindu tradition of associating with Brahmins and sadhus for  spiritual guidance had continued upto the last tenth Guru, Shri Gobind Rai who was a self professed protector of Hindu Dharma:  


Sakal jagat main Khalsa Panth gaje Jage dharam Hindu sakal bhand bhaje ~

Guru Govind Singh  :''The Khalsa sect will roar around the world. We will awaken Hindu Dharma so that its enemies will flee''His father Guru Teg Bahadur had maintained company of several Brahmins such as Mati Das, Pandit Sati Das as well as Dayal Das and also ensured Gobind Rai a good education in Vedas and Sanskrit as well as Persian languages under the guidance of a Kashmiri Brahmin teacher known as Pandit Kripa Ram, who was also a trained warrior belonging to the military Brahmin class. All the ten Gurus had lived as Hindus and married according to the traditional Sanatan Dharmic ceremony of walking around the sacred fires under the guidance of the Brahmin priests.

Historic portraits of Guru Nanak Dev painted during his time show Nanak Dev sporting  a sandalwood tilak on his forehead, wearing a Seli Topi ( a loosely woven cap) and wearing the Rudraksha mala typical of a Hindu saint of the medievel period and engaged in discussions with many Hindu saints and yogis of the time. However, by the end of the 19th century an Islamised version of portraits of NanakDev would take over the earlier images of this great saint.

Within a span of a century, the movement had gained momentum and spread from Punjab to North West Frontier during and after Guru Nanak Dev's time and Gurudvaras were constructed in several places. This was an opportunity for the Hindus of these regions to install Murtees of the Hindu pantheon of Gods in these Gurudvaras which served as centres of gathering and worship in an otherwise hostile environment that had been imposed upon them by the Islamic rulers. Those Hindus who had already joined this sect as well as those Hindus who had chosen to remain within the traditional Dharmic fold, worshipped together at these centres. The fourth Guru, Shri Ram Das, had stumbled upon an ancient Vishnu tank, a very popular pilgrimage site for Hindu worship during the time of Emperor Ikshvaku, the ancestor of Lord Rama and it is a well known fact that Lord Buddha had also performed auterities at this very place when he renounced all material ties with his Kingdom and family members. Guru Ram Das excavated the tank and laid the first stone for foundation for a grande structure known as Hari-Mandir or Hari meaning Vishnu's temple. The site became to be known as AmritSar ( Pool of Nectar) and HariMandir soon became the centre for Hindu and Sikh worship, later on to be known as the Golden Temple. Here the compilations of writings of the Gurus known as Adi Granth was placed along with Murtees of Hindu Gods such as Goddess Durga, Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu as well as  a life size murtee of the sixth Guru Shri HarGovind, later to be removed by separatist Sikhs, some of them who had been converted to Christianity, belonging to the Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha movement during the end of the 19th century,which had been engineered and fostered by the British Regime occupying India at the time. This was a ploy to plant the seeds of  establishing a separate  Sikh identity from its parent  Sanatan Dharmic heritage , and the Singh Sabhias collaborated with the Colonial forces as their stooges and were launched as a movement towards the end of the 19th century. The Tat Khalsa began to radically change and rewrite 'Sikh' history, conveniently expunging all signs of Hindu philosophy and historical accounts which had been initially propogated by all the ten Gurus of this Hindu sect. Heavy tones of blatant anti Hindu as well as anti Brahminical  sentiments replaced the earlier authentic records of the great history of this region. The leading figure of the Tat Khalsa was headed by the 'historian' Max Macauliffe, an Irishman whom the neo Sikhs of today regard as a great scholar and historian and an authority on the history of Sikhism and Punjab. In a systematic attempt to turn the Sikh soldiers against the Indian freedom movements, the colonial forces ensured great minority privileges for Sikhs in order to make governing of the  Indian sub continent an easy task, and they began a massive drive to convert many Sikhs to Christianity whilst at the same time taking over the running of HariMandir at Amritsar. Their aim : To Christianise Sanatan Sikh heritage and to make HariMandir a place of Christian worship by drawing plans to turn the site into  a Church complex.

In 1882, Macauliffe achieved the position of Deputy Commissioner in Punjab. With the help of Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha of the Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha, Macauliffe wrote the popular Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha-sanctioned text that outlined Sikh history according to the views of the Tat Khalsa scholars of the time. In it, he states the reasons for writing his extensive work on the Sikhs:


"It is admitted that a knowledge of the religions of the people of India is a desideratum for the British officials who administer its affairs and indirectly for the people who are governed by them so that mutual sympathy may be produced. It seems, at any rate politic to place before the Sikh soldiery their Guru’s prophecies in favor of the English and the texts of their sacred writings which foster their loyalty."
- - - The Sikh Religion’,1909, M.A. Macauliffe, Preface xxii



This highly encouraged several Sikh scholars of the time to rewrite Sikh history in the manner that the British preferred, therefore promoting a sense of contempt towards anything remotely that sounded Hindu, especially  Hindu bravery against Islamic hordes. In an attempt to Christianise  and de-Hinduise the Adi Granth, additions were made to several instances of  Gurus' lives which were obvious copies of myths from Abrahamaic scriptures and many contortions crept in. HariMandir was replaced with Arabic/Persian words like Darbar Sahib. Myths of a sufi saint Mir Mian supposedly having laid the founding stone for HariMandir were circulated and widely promoted by the Tat Khalsa. Words of the great Gurus such as Tegh Bahadur were manipulated  in an attempt to give them a somewhat 'Sikh' appearance. The incident of the ninth Guru having died for Kashmiri Brahmins showed further contradictions present in Sikh historical accounts, in his statement to Aurangzeb  before his execution: 

Tin te sun Sri Tegh Bahadur / Dharam nibaahan bikhe Bahadur Uttar bhaniyo, dharam hum Hindu
Atipriya ko kin karen nikandu


Lok parlok ubhaya sukhani / Aan napahant yahi samani Mat mileen murakh mat loi
Ise tayage pramar soi Hindu dharam rakhe jag mahin / Tumre kare bin se it nahin


Guru Tegh Bahadur's reply to Aurangzeb's ordering him to embrace Islam:

(In response, Shri Tegh Bahadur says, My religion is Hindu and how can I abandon what is so dear to me? This religion helps you in this world and that, and only a fool would abandon it. God himself is the protector of this religion and no one can destroy it.)

According to his son Guru Govind Rai , his father had sacrificed his life for his belief in the preservation as well as protection of  'sacred tilak and thread' therefore affirming his strong belief in the Hindu Dharma.  Along with Tegh Bahadur, Mati Das, Pandit Sati Das and Dayal Das, all of whom were Brahmins died through torture for not embracing Islam. Neo Sikh scholars have clouded this particular information by carefully mentioning the sacrifices of the Brahmins as 'Sikhs' who died alongside their 'Sikh' Guru, replacing this episode with a highly debatable and unconfirmed incident of some 500 Kashmiri Pandits having approached  the Guru for help and for protection for which he nominated himself supposedly to be executed by Aurangzeb. Mati Das, Sati Das and Dayal Das have been described in the annals of the new Sikh historical accounts, as having died as brave 'Sikhs' instead of brave Brahmins who gave up their lives for Punjab and Vedic Dharma.

 The promotion of such fraud and deception is a trademark of the Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha authorised scholars and historians. One such fraud and deception promoted by the Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha is of the great bravery of a Hindu Dharmic warrior who was born in Rajauri Kashmir to a poor Brahmin known as RamDev Bharadwaj in the year 1670 AD. He was born as Lakshman Dev Bharadwaj as recorded in authentic accounts of the literary works Chhowen Rattan and as mentioned severally in local folklore of Jammu, a place where he had built his place. Eminent and well known authors such as Dr Nanak Singh as well as P.N Bali , have also acknowledged Lakshman Dev's family name as Bharadwaj, a lineage of Brahmins belonging to military traditions. After painstaking research, it has become evident to me that there were several authentic accounts of Kashmiri Brahmins known as Mohyal and Chibber Brahmins who had given a good fight against the Islamic oppressors in Punjab during this turbulent time alongside of the Kshatriya forces organised by Guru Govind Rai whom he would later call 'Khalsa'. Lakshman Dev Bharadwaj was one of them. His name has been played down by neo Sikh scholars as Lacchman DAS, Lacchman DEV, Lakhman DEV and more recently GurBaksh Singh, and have continued to portray him as a poor Rajput's son who later on would become a Sikh to protect the Hindus of Punjab. His family name had been conveniently left out by the Tat Khalsa 's anti Brahmin stance as they rewrote Sikh history to the wishes of the British, and in their blind haste to prove that he was a Rajput, they even overlooked the most important fact that all Rajput names end with the name Singh.

Bharadwaj is a Brahmin Gotra of Kashmiri Brahmins originating from the lineage of Guru Dronacharya, which has produced several great Hindu Kings who fought bravely against the invading Muslim hordes. However, the bitter truth is, like so many brave Hindu warriors of the time,  whether a Rajput Kshatriya, Shudra or a Brahmin, it took a Hindu warrior to organise the Khalsa and to establish the first Khalsa kingdom in Punjab, who was brave enough to continue after the tenth Sikh Guru Govind Singh's passing away, with a daring approach on tactics and  assaults when it came to confronting  the Islamic tyrants on many a battlefield. The participation of several Brahmins alongside the Khalsa during their struggle against Islamic tyranny is nowhere mentioned by neo Sikhs who have succeeded in supressing  all historical facts, at the same time brainwashing Sikh youth into following an anti Hindu Talibanised version of ancient Sanatan Sikhi traditions. Instead of acknowledging the fact that Hindus saved the Khalsa in order to uphold Hindu Dharma, we are constantly fed on a diet of how  'Sikhs saved Hindus' and when a lie is circulated over a thousand times, it almost tends to become 'true'. No doubt the struggle of the Gurus against Islamic fascism at the time was a struggle to keep Hindu Dharma alive which firmly puts the Sikhs within the same camp as the Hindus.
Not much has been recorded about Lakshman Dev's early life but there are a few folk stories/myths and some may appear to be highly exagerated since most have been sung as oral traditions which tend to be passed down from one generation to another. According to Gyani Budh Singh, as a child Lakshman Dev was a recluse who was more interested in training in martial arts combats, weaponry, horse riding and meditation. His family was extremely poor due to the fact that Brahmins and other Hindus of this region had been denied basic human rights by the Islamic Governors of the time and were a downtrodden people who were forced to live under humiliation and tyranny. It is believed as he grew up, Lakshman Dev left Rajauri to join the wondering Vaishnava saints known as Vairagi Akharas and travelled to Haridwar and later on to Nanded, Maharashtra.  Janaki Das, his guru named him Madhav Das.

The period of 20 years (1688-1708) of Vairag, that Lakshman Dev  spent before settling down at Nanded, situated on the bank of the river Godavari, has been taken as a dark period with no available historical account. He spent these years amongst the various Akharas or sects such as Nagas, Sanyasis, Yogis, Gosains, Dasnamis, Dadupanthis and many other sects with their Akharas under charge of their own mahants. Akharas were mostly founded to defend Hindu temples from the Muslim invaders at the beginning of the second millennium CE. By Mughal Emperor Akbar's time, there were already large numbers of armed ascetics all over India. Some of the Vairagis had become mercenaries fighting large scale battles, while some had become land owners, cultivating their lands to provide food for the rest of these saint warriors. Madhav Das learned from them training of mind and body and battle strategy. The Vairagi Akharas of the time were highly organised whereby peasants, farmers, Brahmins, shudras, kshatriyas, including orphans even could be hardened into effective, disciplined soldiers and had a good reputation as fierce fighters and loyal soldiers. Their weaponry was state-of-the-art and included musketry and artillery, materials for mounting sieges against well fortified locations as well as  camel guns.They also possessed horses, elephants and other pack animals required to transport heavy equipment.  The Kumbh Melas served as the staging ground for the mobilization, recruitment, and mercenary employment for the Akharas which sometimes expanded in numbers over 10,000 recruits to fight for Dharma against any foreign occupation.

Madhav Das soon had over the years, earned himself a notorious reputation with an army of thousands of armed followers of his own. News of this had reached the tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, who arleady had heard of Madhav Das and his command over a strong army of  Vaishnava saint warriors and decided to meet Madhav Das at Haridwar, and later on again at Nanded where Madhav Das had set up his own ashram ( hermitage). The Guru spent a year with Madhav Das, watching and studying the battle tactics of the Vairagis and requested the Vairagi to assist him in freeing  Punjab from the Muslim oppressors.  The meeting between Guru Govind and Madhav Das is described in many literatures in various ways and there are many contortions that have crept in over the years especially within Sikh historical accounts which were edited during the 19th century by the Tat Khalsa under the guidance of Macauliffe. Bhai Santokh Singh in his literature 'Suraj Prakash' describes Madhav Das as nearly 7 feet tall with athletic build and one who knew the art of warfare very well. The dialogue between the Guru and Madhav Das was, as Dr Nanak Singh (historian and scholar) describes this  as ' similar to the dialogue of Lord Krishna and Arjun on the battlefield of Kurukshetra'. The Guru it seems had lost everything in the past few years including all four of his sons, while his wife Mata Sundari had been left behind in Delhi at the Moghul headquarters. It was a wake up call for Madhav Das to stand up and liberate his land which was being ravaged and plundered by the Islamic barbarians; at a time when Hindus were being tortured and persecuted endlessly, it was time for Dharma to be re-established.

According to many distortions in various Sikh literatures, it is widely believed that Madhav Das had taken 'amrit' or become baptized into Sikhism but Bhai Santokh Singh and various other authentic sources have proved that this was simply not the case, since the Vairagi remained a Vaishnava and Sikhism as it is known now had not come into existence even at the time.  Guru Govind Singh, had sent him along with the rest of the Vaishnava saints to Punjab to fight fierce wars with the Muslim forces of Wazir Khan- the Guru named the fearless Vairagi,  Veer Banda Bahadur.

In September 1708 Banda Bahadur set out towards Punjab with the help of Guru Govind Singh's men - he would enter Punjab like a tornado and through his expertise of guerilla warfare, organise the Hindus/Sikhs into a military machine that would eventually establish the first Khalsa kingdom.
(Part 2 to be followed)

Copyright Trinetra 2011
 
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28 March, 2011

Sanatan Hindu Gurus of Sikhism

      Guru Nanak Devji - His Life in Brief

Guru Nanakji sporting a Chandan Tilak -Circa 1800

ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਨਾਦੰ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਵੇਦੰ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਰਹਿਆ ਸਮਾਈ
गुरमुखि नादं गुरमुखि वेदं गुरमुखि रहिआ समाई ॥
Gurmukh nāḏaʼn gurmukh veḏaʼn gurmukh rahi▫ā samā▫ī.
The Guru's Word is the Sound-current of the Naad; the Guru's Word is the Wisdom of the Vedas; the Guru's Word is all-pervading.

 ਗੁਰੁ ਈਸਰੁ ਗੁਰੁ ਗੋਰਖੁ ਬਰਮਾ ਗੁਰੁ ਪਾਰਬਤੀ ਮਾਈ
गुरु ईसरु गुरु गोरखु बरमा गुरु पारबती माई ॥
Gur īsar gur gorakẖ barmā gur pārbaṯī mā▫ī.
The Guru is Shiva, the Guru is Vishnu and Brahma; the Guru is Paarvati and Lakhshmi.



Historic portrait of Guru Nanak Devji with red tilak, with Brahmin yogis
Circa:1600


The first Guru Shri Guru Nanak Devji was born in April 1469 in Rae Bhoi di Talwandi, now known as Nankana Sahib in Pakistan, during the time of the Lodi Empire. His parents were Kalyan Das Mehta & Mata Tripta Deviji, who were Hindus belonging to the Vedic Brahmin varna [caste]. Guruji also had an elder sister Devi Nanaki, who was 5 years older than Guruji. Nanak Devji mastered the Vedas and the sacred language of Sanskrit under prominent Brahmin teachers of the time. He even studied Persian under Kashmiri Pandit teachers later on during his lifetime.




                                                                                                                  Janam Sakhis & Myths
                                                        
                                                                                        

Nanak Devji & Brahmin priests
 Now a lot has been misinterpreted about Guru Nanak Devji's earlier life which has been written in the form of a collection of books known as Janam Sakhis which are short narratives of his birth & life. Janam Sakhis meaning 'Birth evidence/ stories'.The first set of Janam Sakhis was put into written form a hundred years after Guru Nanakji's death & cannot be considered as totally accurate since they were re-edited shamelessly by the Tat Khalsa to take out that which they disagreed with & whatever pleased them was re-written.The Sakhi tradition had existed & based an oral traditions which may have started during Nanakji's lifetime. These have changed over time as they passed from one person to another. Most of its content was put into written form during the 17th century upto the end of the 18th century, one transformed into the Puraatan Janam Sakhis (orthodox) while the other heterodox Janam Sakhis came into view upto the early 19th century. Many are full of mythological stories of miracles performed by Nanak Devji, such as the one found in Mirharban Janam Sakhi, of his travel to Mecca where he moves the mirhab or stone with his feet, which hardly lets one understand as to when he went to Mecca & for how long.

                                                  Guru Nanak Devji born a Brahmin

While some authors/ scholars of the Singh Sabha have mentioned his father's name as Kalu Mehta Bedi, others have mentioned his name as Mehta Kalu Sodhi, exposing the amount of inconsistencies to distort the truth about the fact that Guru Nanak Devji was indeed born a Brahmin. The controversy about Nanak Devji's rejection of the Janeu or sacred thread of Brahmins, again there are discrepancies & plenty of inconsistencies. One story mentions how the Guru's father had arranged for the family priest Haridayal Purohit to initiate a 9 yr old Nanak Devji into wearing the sacred thread when the latter rejected the thread by throwing it at the priest, therefore causing great anger to the priest, while W.H. McLeod claims :
  
Later, when Babaji turned seven, all preparations had been made by his father & Sloka :
 
(From the) cotton (of) compassion (spin the) thread (of) tranquillity, knotting (it with) continence (and) twisting (it with) truth.
Babaji was bathed and robed, and (then the priest) invested (him) with the sacred thread. (As he did so) Babaji said (to him), "O Brahman, give me that indestructible sacred thread which never breaks and which retains its purity both in this world and the next." Then Babaji recited a Sloka:

If this is the thread which you have, O pandit, then bestow it (upon me).
(Such a thread) neither breaks nor becomes soiled ; neither burns nor goes astray.
Blessed is the man, O Nanak, upon whose neck (this spiritual thread) is laid.
The priest was speechless with delight. "Kalu," he cried, "your son is a mighty ascetic, the solace of the afflicted!


Historic portrait of Nanak Dev receiving Janeu -Circa :1600
Now all this seems absolutely confusing since different versions of the Janamsakhis narated by different authors, contain various accounts of this controversy. But the so called 'rejection' of the sacred thread by a 7yr old or 9 yr old Nanak Devji belonging to a Khatri or Jatt family has actually been used throughout as a stick for Hindu bashing of the highest level in the history of India. One minute the family priest is angry at Nanakji & the next he is delighted & speechless. So why so many contradictions to something that Nanakji may have or may NOT have said?

Looking closely at the Sloka sung by Guruji, it has a great philosophical meaning which has been mostly manipulated to make it appear as a rejection rather than an acception of the spiritual kind. Nowhere in the Sloka does Nanakji mention to the family priest to stop with the ceremony but instead Guruji is requesting the Purohit gives him a sacred thread in the form of deep spiritual enlightenment that can never be broken nor tarnished - one that will remain forever in life as well as in the world after i.e. spiritual enlightenment that will transpass the material worlds of life & death. In an atmosphere when Brahmins were highly persecuted by the Muslim rulers, their sacred threads burnt by them, it would seem more sensible to assume that what Nanakji actually could have been referring to here is that a Janeu which can never be destroyed by the Maleshas [filthy barbarians] and one that would stay with him in this life as well as the next. So it is possible that NanakDevji indeed wore the Janeu. It also appears that this particular episode has been added in to further the anti Brahmin stance of neo Sikhs & a way forward to ridicule all Hindu practices which are millions of years older than even Guru Nanakji himself. So as a matter of arguement, Nanakji at the age of 7yrs would be ignorant of the ancient ways of Dharma & how on Earth can anyone believe how a 7yr old child would be in a position to ridicule this ancient sacred philosophy is truly beyond me. But to the more grown up neo Sikhs it is acceptable just because it represents their anti Hindu cause which I believe actually exposes them & their discrepancies in re-writing history by suppressing facts at the same time.
                                                  
                                             Twisting of facts by Neo Sikhs
Neo Sikhs led by Kahn Singh Nabha & Macauliffe, have used this particular Sloka of Guruji & turned it into some type of anti Brahmin statement & given a handy tool to the Sikhs to outwardly reject Hindu spiritual concepts just because according to them 'Nanakji rejected everything that was sacred to the Hindus'. Again they forgot that while twisting the facts of Nanak Devji who was a Brahmin boy at the time, they have painted a very arrogant child who takes great joy in insulting the family purohit who is many years wiser than him & his elder. In those days it was unheard of to insult one's parents & elders. This episode makes it difficult for one to understand how a 'great soul & saint' like Nanak Devji was indeed an arrogant & ill mannered 7yr/ 9 yr old child who lacked respect for his teachers & gurus. After all he required the help of these very Brahmin gurus to teach him the spiritual Dharmic values which he later on would promote in his life as well as his Banis.

                     'I am Not a Hindu - Not a Muslim' but did Nanakji say ' I am a Sikh'?

This is usually pushed in front of most of us who believe that we belong to our original Sanatan Hindu Sikh heritage when confronting the Talibani neo Sikhs. They love this particular incident in Guruji's life, which is
A disciple of Guru Nanak Dev : 1800
an episode of a Janam Sakhi & one I want to refer to is well known to all of us. The editor of Puraatan Janam Sakhi has named this incident Vehin Parves. According to this Sakhi, after his spiritual experience for some days Guru Nanakji had disappeared into a lake while bathing & doing his prayers, similar to the Brahmin yogis,but then finally on one day, he emerged & declared the essence of his new experiences in these words:
Jo Na Koi hindu hai, Na Koi Mussalman,
verily meaning: 'There is no Hindu nor Muslim'.  What he actually meant was :
Do not compare/label your material body with your religion, You are the Self & Soul only which is not affected by the colours of race nor creed.

It is in confines of the Vedic philosophy of Bhagavad Gita where Krishna says to Arjuna not to grieve nor identify with the material body but it is the soul which is free from all such bondages of 'Aham' or ego.This simple phrase which is at the same time highly spiritual has become twisted around to be magnified by neo-Sikhs in an attempt to declare the Guru as having said
' I am not a Hindu, nor a Musim' - giving a colour of rejection for Sanatan Hindu Sikh Dharma in order to support their separatist agendas. Had that been the case, then Guru Nanakji would have added : But I am a Sikh only! If he did say that, then it is certainly not found within any of his writings.Neo Sikhs always use this incident as an arguement when portraying a different image of our Gurus & Sikhism through twisting words & Banis of the Gurus. They have succeeded in conspiring & twisting the fact that the whole identity business of dividing mankind into Hindus/Muslims is actually a spiritual message of the Upanishads where the trap of human identity is rejected & is originally a Hindu one in the first place, which can be found severally in various Sanatan Dharmic scriptures.

                          Guru Nanak's message & Vedic philosophy

'I will not pray to Idols & will not say the Muslim prayer' is another favourite of Talibani Sikhs of today when quoting the Gurus. Well let us go deeper into this : For Hindus there are 2 forms of Vedic philosophies where one suggests it is NOT important & a must to worship idols; in other words the Nirguna Nirankar form of Paramatma is worshipped while the other Vedantic thought allows idol worship or murti puja to fix the mind on a subtle form basically representing Symbolism. Whilst it is a MUST to pray 5 times for Muslims, this statement is actually anti Islamic rather than anti Hindu.

Nanak Devji was a mystic & saint who didn't differentiate between different types of people & aimed at creating a spiritual movement for the unity of Mankind. Again, as it is a well known fact that most of Guru Nanakji’s life was spent on travels known as Udasi. It is during these Udasi one finds in real sense ‘dialogue in action’ where he visited many ashrams of Hindu saints from North to South India. He merely expressed himself through poetry to enlighten those around him on spiritual realisation through Jaap & Simran, a concept which had begun earlier than his birth during the Bhakti movement from South India spreading into the North. His thoughts were strongly influenced by the Hindu concept of Sant & Nirguna tradition of North India, though some neo Sikhs like to include the Sufi traditions also. The Sant traditions were a combination of pure Vaishnava philosophies which provided the basis of Guruji's thoughts, such as Karma, Dharma, Kaam, Lobh, Moha,Maya, Moksh, Bhakti & rebirth of the soul - all are Vedic concepts to be found within Sanatan Sikhi traditions. Jaap of name as well as Simran is mentioned in several chapters under Kaliyug in Veda Vyas' Shrimad Bhagavatam which Nanakji also took up to remind his people of the sage's message to counter the evils of Kaliyug. Everything which is found in Sikhism is actually sourced out from all Hindu scriptures.

Guru Nanakji makes specific references to Lord Rama and wrote several hymns about Lord Krishna. All throughout the Granth, praises are specifically addressed to the avatars of Vishnu, particularly to Rama and Krishna. A very interesting observation of the literature is the occurence and reference to the name "Bithal", which is found throughout the Adi Granth. Bithal is the Punjabi version of the Marathi name "Vithal" which is another name for Lord Krishna. Hardyal Singh M.A., a famous Punjabi revolutionary during the time of the British Raj, said that "if you were to remove every page that contained the name of Bithal or Ram from the Granth, you will be left with nothing more than a few pages and the book case." Shri Adi Granth clearly states that Bithal is the Lord.


Below: Shri Adi Granth sloka which is similar to the Sloka taken from the Bhagavad Gita where Krishna tells Arjun in the 15th Chapter, verses 1 & 2 the secrets of the Peepal Tree whose branches are below while roots face upwards:

This Tree has its roots above, and its branches below; the four Vedas
are attached to it. He alone realizes this tree with ease, O Nanak, who
remains awake in the Love of the Supreme Being ||2||. This Tree of the
Divine is inside me; in it are the flowers, leaves, elements, and branches.
Meditate on the self-existent, Pure Being, whose Light is pervading
everywhere; renounce all your worldly entanglements (Shri Guru Granthji 503)
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                                  Vedic Gods of Shri Adi Granth

Neo-sikhs also argue that Guru Nanak Devji didn't worship Hindu Gods & make us believe that Sikhism is a monotheistic religion, to further their separatist agendas. Let us take a closer look at the Banis which are in the traditional Braj Bhasha with sanskrit words all dedicated to Shri Krishna, Lord NaraSimha ( Vishnu Avatar of half-man half lion), Lord Rama, Vamana Avtar of Vishnu, incarnated avatars of Vishnu etc:


ਅਚੁਤ ਪਾਰਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਪਰਮੇਸੁਰ ਅੰਤਰਜਾਮੀ ॥
अचुत पारब्रहम परमेसुर अंतरजामी ॥
Acẖuṯ pārbarahm parmesur anṯarjāmī.
The Supreme Lord God is imperishable, the Transcendent Lord, the Inner-knower, the Searcher of hearts.
(Similar sloka to be found in Bhagavad Gita when decribing Lord Hari/Vishnu)
ਮਧੁਸੂਦਨ ਦਾਮੋਦਰ ਸੁਆਮੀ
मधुसूदन दामोदर सुआमी ॥
Maḏẖusūḏan ḏāmoḏar su▫āmī.
He is the Slayer of demons, our Supreme Lord and Master.

(Krishna is destroyer of the demon Madhu)

ਰਿਖੀਕੇਸ ਗੋਵਰਧਨ ਧਾਰੀ ਮੁਰਲੀ ਮਨੋਹਰ ਹਰਿ ਰੰਗਾ ॥੧॥
रिखीकेस गोवरधन धारी मुरली मनोहर हरि रंगा ॥१॥
Rikẖīkes govarḏẖan ḏẖārī murlī manohar har rangā. ||1||
The Supreme Rishi, the Master of the sensory organs, the uplifter of mountains, the joyful Lord playing His enticing flute. ||1||

(Krishna who lifted the Govardhan & one who plays the flute)
ਮੋਹਨ ਮਾਧਵ ਕ੍ਰਿਸ੍ਨ ਮੁਰਾਰੇ ॥
मोहन माधव क्रिस्न मुरारे ॥
Mohan māḏẖav krisan murāre.
The Enticer of Hearts, the Lord of wealth, Krishna, the Enemy of ego.


ਜਗਦੀਸੁਰ ਹਰਿ ਜੀਉ ਅਸੁਰ ਸੰਘਾਰੇ ॥
जगदीसुर हरि जीउ असुर संघारे ॥
Jagḏīsur har jī▫o asur sangẖāre.
The Lord of the Universe, the Dear Lord, the Destroyer of demons.


ਜਗਜੀਵਨ ਅਬਿਨਾਸੀ ਠਾਕੁਰ ਘਟ ਘਟ ਵਾਸੀ ਹੈ ਸੰਗਾ ॥੨॥
जगजीवन अबिनासी ठाकुर घट घट वासी है संगा ॥२॥
Jagjīvan abẖināsī ṯẖākur gẖat gẖat vāsī hai sangā. ||2||
The Life of the World, our eternal and ever-stable Lord and Master dwells within each and every heart, and is always with us. ||2||



 ਧਰਣੀਧਰ ਈਸ ਨਰਸਿੰਘ ਨਾਰਾਇਣ
धरणीधर ईस नरसिंघ नाराइण ॥
Ḏẖarṇīḏẖar īs narsingẖ nārā▫iṇ.
The Support of the Earth, the man-lion, the Supreme Lord God


(Narasimha the half man - half lion avatar of Vishnu)

 

ਦਾੜਾ ਅਗ੍ਰੇ ਪ੍ਰਿਥਮਿ ਧਰਾਇਣ
दाड़ा अग्रे प्रिथमि धराइण ॥
Ḏāṛā agre paritham ḏẖarā▫iṇ.
The Protector who tears apart demons with His teeth, the Upholder of the earth.


ਬਾਵਨ ਰੂਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਤੁਧੁ ਕਰਤੇ ਸਭ ਹੀ ਸੇਤੀ ਹੈ ਚੰਗਾ ॥੩॥
बावन रूपु कीआ तुधु करते सभ ही सेती है चंगा ॥३॥
Bāvan rūp kī▫ā ṯuḏẖ karṯe sabẖ hī seṯī hai cẖanga. ||3||
O Creator, You assumed the form of the pygmy to humble the demons; You are the Lord God of all. ||3||



ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮਚੰਦ ਜਿਸੁ ਰੂਪੁ ਰੇਖਿਆ
स्री रामचंद जिसु रूपु न रेखिआ ॥
Sarī rāmcẖanḏ jis rūp na rekẖ▫i▫ā.
You are the Great Raam Chand, who has no form or feature.

( Lord Raam, the son of King Dasharath)
ਬਨਵਾਲੀ ਚਕ੍ਰਪਾਣਿ ਦਰਸਿ ਅਨੂਪਿਆ
बनवाली चक्रपाणि दरसि अनूपिआ ॥
Banvālī cẖakarpāṇ ḏaras anūpi▫ā.
Adorned with flowers, holding the chakra in Your hand, Your form is incomparably beautiful.

(Traditional form of Lord Vishnu)

ਸਹਸ ਨੇਤ੍ਰ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਹੈ ਸਹਸਾ ਇਕੁ ਦਾਤਾ ਸਭ ਹੈ ਮੰਗਾ ॥੪॥
सहस नेत्र मूरति है सहसा इकु दाता सभ है मंगा ॥४॥
Sahas neṯar mūraṯ hai sahsā ik ḏāṯā sabẖ hai mangā. ||4||
You have thousands of eyes, and thousands of forms. You alone are the Giver, and all are beggars of You. ||4||
( Again reference to Krishna)
ਭਗਤਿ ਵਛਲੁ ਅਨਾਥਹ ਨਾਥੇ
भगति वछलु अनाथह नाथे ॥
Bẖagaṯ vacẖẖal anāthah nāthe.
You are the Lover of Your devotees, the Master of the masterless.

ਗੋਪੀ ਨਾਥੁ ਸਗਲ ਹੈ ਸਾਥੇ
गोपी नाथु सगल है साथे ॥
Gopī nāth sagal hai sāthe.
The Lord and Master of the milk-maids, You are the companion of all.
( Gopi Nath is Krishna)
ਬਾਸੁਦੇਵ ਨਿਰੰਜਨ ਦਾਤੇ ਬਰਨਿ ਸਾਕਉ ਗੁਣ ਅੰਗਾ ॥੫॥
बासुदेव निरंजन दाते बरनि न साकउ गुण अंगा ॥५॥
Bāsuḏev niranjan ḏāṯe baran na sāka▫o guṇ angā. ||5||
O Lord, Immaculate Great Giver, I cannot describe even an iota of Your Glorious Virtues. ||5||

(Basudeva - name of Krishna)

ਮੁਕੰਦ ਮਨੋਹਰ ਲਖਮੀ ਨਾਰਾਇਣ
मुकंद मनोहर लखमी नाराइण ॥
Mukanḏ manohar lakẖmī nārā▫iṇ.
Liberator, Enticing Lord, Lord of Lakshmi, Supreme Lord God.

ਦ੍ਰੋਪਤੀ ਲਜਾ ਨਿਵਾਰਿ ਉਧਾਰਣ
द्रोपती लजा निवारि उधारण ॥
Ḏaropaṯī lajā nivār uḏẖāraṇ.
Savior of Dropadi's honor.
(Draupadi of Mahabharat epic)

ਕਮਲਾਕੰਤ ਕਰਹਿ ਕੰਤੂਹਲ ਅਨਦ ਬਿਨੋਦੀ ਨਿਹਸੰਗਾ ॥੬॥
कमलाकंत करहि कंतूहल अनद बिनोदी निहसंगा ॥६॥
Kamlākanṯ karahi kanṯūhal anaḏ binoḏī nihsangā. ||6||
Lord of Maya, miracle-worker, absorbed in delightful play, unattached. ||6||

ਅਮੋਘ ਦਰਸਨ ਆਜੂਨੀ ਸੰਭਉ
अमोघ दरसन आजूनी स्मभउ ॥
Amogẖ ḏarsan ājūnī sambẖa▫o.
The Blessed Vision of His Darshan is fruitful and rewarding; He is not born, He is self-existent.

ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਜਿਸੁ ਕਦੇ ਨਾਹੀ ਖਉ
अकाल मूरति जिसु कदे नाही खउ ॥
Akāl mūraṯ jis kaḏe nāhī kẖa▫o.
His form is undying; it is never destroyed.

ਅਬਿਨਾਸੀ ਅਬਿਗਤ ਅਗੋਚਰ ਸਭੁ ਕਿਛੁ ਤੁਝ ਹੀ ਹੈ ਲਗਾ ॥੭॥
अबिनासी अबिगत अगोचर सभु किछु तुझ ही है लगा ॥७॥
Abẖināsī abigaṯ agocẖar sabẖ kicẖẖ ṯujẖ hī hai lagā. ||7||
O imperishable, eternal, unfathomable Lord, everything is attached to You. ||7||

ਸ੍ਰੀਰੰਗ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੇ ਵਾਸੀ
स्रीरंग बैकुंठ के वासी ॥
Sarīrang baikunṯẖ ke vāsī.
The Lover of greatness, who dwells in heaven.
(Baikunth the highest heaven is where Krishna dwells)

ਮਛੁ ਕਛੁ ਕੂਰਮੁ ਆਗਿਆ ਅਉਤਰਾਸੀ
मछु कछु कूरमु आगिआ अउतरासी ॥
Macẖẖ kacẖẖ kūram āgi▫ā a▫uṯrāsī.
By the Pleasure of His Will, He took incarnation as the great fish and the tortoise.

( Vishnu avatars of Matsya the fish & Kurma the tortoise)

ਕੇਸਵ ਚਲਤ ਕਰਹਿ ਨਿਰਾਲੇ ਕੀਤਾ ਲੋੜਹਿ ਸੋ ਹੋਇਗਾ ॥੮॥ केसव चलत करहि निराले कीता लोड़हि सो होइगा ॥८॥
Kesav cẖalaṯ karahi nirāle kīṯā loṛėh so ho▫igā. ||8||
The Lord of beauteous hair, the Worker of miraculous deeds, whatever He wishes, comes to pass. ||8||
(Keshava, the one with beautiful dark locks of hair)

ਨਿਰਾਹਾਰੀ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ ਸਮਾਇਆ ॥
निराहारी निरवैरु समाइआ ॥
Nirāhārī nirvair samā▫i▫ā.
He is beyond need of any sustenance, free of hate and all-pervading.


ਧਾਰਿ ਖੇਲੁ ਚਤੁਰਭੁਜੁ ਕਹਾਇਆ ॥
धारि खेलु चतुरभुजु कहाइआ ॥
Ḏẖār kẖel cẖaṯurbẖuj kahā▫i▫ā. He has staged His play; He is called the four-armed Lord.
( Vishnu has 4 arms & known as Chaturbhuj)

ਸਾਵਲ ਸੁੰਦਰ ਰੂਪ ਬਣਾਵਹਿ ਬੇਣੁ ਸੁਨਤ ਸਭ ਮੋਹੈਗਾ ॥੯॥
सावल सुंदर रूप बणावहि बेणु सुनत सभ मोहैगा ॥९॥
Sāval sunḏar rūp baṇāvėh beṇ sunaṯ sabẖ mohaigā. ||9||
He assumed the beautiful form of the blue-skinned Krishna; hearing His flute, all are fascinated and enticed. ||9||


ਬਨਮਾਲਾ ਬਿਭੂਖਨ ਕਮਲ ਨੈਨ
बनमाला बिभूखन कमल नैन ॥
Banmālā bibẖūkẖan kamal nain.
He is adorned with garlands of flowers, with lotus eyes.
(Krishna as described in all Hindu scriptures)

ਸੁੰਦਰ ਕੁੰਡਲ ਮੁਕਟ ਬੈਨ
सुंदर कुंडल मुकट बैन ॥
Sunḏar kundal mukat bain.
His ear-rings, crown and flute are so beautiful.
( Shri Krishna's attire & flute)

ਸੰਖ ਚਕ੍ਰ ਗਦਾ ਹੈ ਧਾਰੀ ਮਹਾ ਸਾਰਥੀ ਸਤਸੰਗਾ ॥੧੦॥
संख चक्र गदा है धारी महा सारथी सतसंगा ॥१०॥
Sankẖ cẖakar gaḏā hai ḏẖārī mahā sārthī saṯsangā. ||10||
He carries the conch, the chakra and the war club; He is the Great Charioteer, who stays with His Saints. ||10||
(Shankh, Chakra, gada are the weapons of Lord Vishnu)

ਪੀਤ ਪੀਤੰਬਰ ਤ੍ਰਿਭਵਣ ਧਣੀ
पीत पीत्मबर त्रिभवण धणी ॥
Pīṯ pīṯambar ṯaribẖavaṇ ḏẖaṇī.
The Lord of yellow robes, the Master of the three worlds.
( Lord Vishnu who wears Pitambara or saffron Yellow robes)

ਜਗੰਨਾਥੁ ਗੋਪਾਲੁ ਮੁਖਿ ਭਣੀ
जगंनाथु गोपालु मुखि भणी ॥
Jagannāth gopāl mukẖ bẖaṇī.
The Lord of the Universe, the Lord of the world; with my mouth, I chant His Name.
(Here JaganNath Gopal is none other than Shri Krishna)

ਸਾਰਿੰਗਧਰ ਭਗਵਾਨ ਬੀਠੁਲਾ ਮੈ ਗਣਤ ਆਵੈ ਸਰਬੰਗਾ ॥੧੧॥
सारिंगधर भगवान बीठुला मै गणत न आवै सरबंगा ॥११॥
Sāringḏẖar bẖagvān bīṯẖulā mai gaṇaṯ na āvai sarbangā. ||11||
The Archer who draws the bow, the Beloved Lord God; I cannot count all His limbs. ||11||

ਨਿਹਕੰਟਕੁ ਨਿਹਕੇਵਲੁ ਕਹੀਐ
निहकंटकु निहकेवलु कहीऐ ॥
Nihkantak nihkeval kahī▫ai.
He is said to be free of anguish, and absolutely immaculate.

ਧਨੰਜੈ ਜਲਿ ਥਲਿ ਹੈ ਮਹੀਐ
धनंजै जलि थलि है महीऐ ॥
Ḏẖananjai jal thal hai mahī▫ai.
The Lord of prosperity, pervading the water, the land and the sky.
(Shri Guru Granthji pg1082)

                                            Modern day Sikhs are victims of fraud

Guru Nanakji has beautifully described the forms & avatars of Lord Vishnu in these verses which the neo Sikhs refer to as some other Ram or other Krishna when confronted with these facts...it couldn't get any worse when it comes to the logic of the neo Sikhs. I suggest they study Sanskrit first in order to understand fully the great Banis of our Gurus which were mostly in Braj Bhasha rich with Sanskritic thoughts- a dialect of North India at the time mainly for Vaishnava scriptures, kirtans & bhajans. Through twisting of the real facts, neo Sikh Talibanis have thrown out Sanskrit, Braj Bhasha, Sanatan Dharma , suppressed historical facts & the truth of what the Gurus all preached during their time - in a nutshell we have been made to blindly follow their version of the new Talibani Sikhism which was set up by Gorres ( British ) and their puppets of Tat Khalsa, to further weaken our original Hindu society, where we must not dare even ask any questions from them. Are we people who have become reduced to belonging to only 500 years of history or are we the proud inheritors of a great heritage that spans back milions of years way back to Shri Ram Chandra the Surya Vanshi King? They have managed to flood the internet with anti Brahminical & anti Hindu venom, with anti Brahmin myths such as the famous 'Gangu Brahman' myth which appeared during the 19th century. Shame on them!




Copyright©Arjan Singh Virdi 2012. 

26 March, 2011

British Stooges & Distortions of Sikh History






Traditional Puraatan Shri Adi Granth with Hindu Devas Circa 1600
Vaheguruji Ka Khalsa
Vaheguruji Ki Fateh

Jo Bole Saunihaal
Satsriakaal

May Vaheguruji always bestow upon us the strength to uphold the kesari flag of Dharma & Truth.

ਗੋਪੀ ਨਾਥੁ ਸਗਲ ਹੈ ਸਾਥੇ ॥
Gopee Naathh Sagal Hai Saathhae ||
गोपी नाथु सगल है साथे ॥
The Lord and Master of the milk-maids, You are the companion of all.
~Shri Guru Granth Sahib p. 1082

I would like to begin with the true accounts of Hindu Sikh history which have been supressed for so many years by narrow minded neo Sikhs, who have behaved as stooges of the SGPC & Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha, that was initially set up by the British colonial forces to enslave the Hindu Sikh nation by spreading distorted history, through cutting out, editing, expunging the true facts of Sanatan Hindu Sikh history.Instead, today we are fed on a Sikhism which is based on lies, biased views & anti Brahmin/ Hindu agendas of the neo-Sikhs who have completely suceeded in Talibanisation of the ever changing 'Sikh history' and the rich Hindu heritage of Shri Adi Granth. They are the Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha & the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee  (S.G.P.C).

All  our ten Gurus were in fact from Hindu families and lived as Hindus until their final days. They stood for Hindu Dharma & preservation of the spriritual essence of Sanatan Dharma.They married under the Hindu ceremonies officiated by Brahmin pandits also. The Sanatan Sikhs regard Classical Sikhism – which arose from the Sanatan Dharma and Vedic culture - to be a denomination of Sanatan Dharma. In the early days of Sikh history, the Gurudwaras were managed by Mahants (caretakers) who were descendants of the Gurus. Frescos of Hindu deities, murtis of Hindu deities as well as images of Sikh gurus formed part of the sanctum since the time of Guru Nank Devji. When Punjab fell under the British rule, hordes of missionaries moved in to harvest the lost souls in the name of Jesus. A Sikh religious administrative body, Sanatan Sikh Sabha was established in 1873 by Sanatani Sikhs in Amritsar to counter the rising influence of Christianity and conversion to Christianity when several Sikhs had been converted at the time. Those who had been converted by the missionaries worked as paid agents for the British colonialists in destroying the Sanatan Hindu history of Punjab.In many such cases, valuable material, rare literature, architecture and signs of much celebrated memories were completely destroyed. Their sole purpose was to destroy all evidence of Hindu philosophy, Hindu history & Hindu lifestyles of our ten Gurus - to separate Sanatan Sikhism from Hindu Vedic roots in order to divide & rule over Punjab, making it easy to exploit the Punjabi nation wherever/whenever it suited them.

The history writing by the British was a deliberate & systematic effort. The British used history of India as a tool for demoralizing the Indian natives. History of India was twisted, falsified and misinterpreted on a grand scale. In the South, false Aryan invasion theories were floated to alienate the Hindus of the South from their Vedic brothers in the North, who actually share the same DNA with them as has been proven in recent years. The respected Brahmins had become outcasts due to anti Brahminism spurred by the British missionaries - their's was to weaken Sanatan Dharma from its roots & the Brahmins had proved to them to represent the strong roots of ancient Dharmic traditions, which was the main secret behind the once powerful India. In a letter dated December 16, 1868 the famous Indologist Max Muller wrote to the Duke of Argyll, the then Secretary of State of India, 'India has been conquered once, but India must be conquered again and that second conquest should be a conquest by education'.. (Ref: 'The Life and Letter of F. Max Muller, edited by Mrs. Max Muller, 1902, Vol.1, p.357). Prof. Max Muller was not just a philosopher, he was also an examiner for the Indian Civil Service (ICS) examination. Teaching of falsified history played a great part in this 'second conquest'.
Who were these British history writers ? They were mainly army officers and administrators of the East India Company. For example:
  • Major General John Malcolm - A Memoir of the Central India (1824)
  • Captain Grant Duff - History of the Marathas (1826)
  • Gen. Briggs - History of the Rise of Mohammedan Power in India (1829)
  • Lt.Colonel James Todd - Anals and Antiquities of Rajasthan (1829-32)
  • M. Elphinstone (Resident at Peshwa Court, later Governor of Bombay), History of India (1841)
  • Joseph Cunningham (brother of Gen.A.Cunningham) History of Sikhs (1849)
  • Lt. R.F.Burton - History of Sindh (1851)
  • Max Arthur Macauliffe - Translated Shri Adi Granth; The Sikh religion (1909)
In Lahore Punjab, the Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha movement emerged from the neiferious designs of the Colonial parasites in 1879 & it began radically to alter the Sanatan philosophy of the Gurus as it had existed since Guru Nanak Devji, so to ensure it conformed to their new British Raj -accomodating perception. The leader of this movement was Max Arthur Macauliffe who helped establish a bunch of puppets known as the Singh Sabha scholars ( Teja Singh, Jodh Singh, Kahn Singh Nabha to name a few) to suit the whims of the British who ruled by creating divisions through tactics which included altering and editing Guru's scriptures & historical facts to divide and conquer and keep the native Indians subjugated, ignorant and subservient. All forms of Indian Nationalism and unifying aspects like religion were manipulated and suppressed.

Max Arthur Macauliffe, the British Deputy Commissioner of Punjab, saw an opportunity with the establishment of Sanatan Sikh Sabha and engineered the formation of a second Sabha, Tat Khalsa (the 'True Khalsa') Singh Sabha in Lahore in 1879, as a political rival to the Sanatan Sikh Sabha. Whereas the Sanatan Dharma Sikhism acknowledges its roots in the Vedic culture and believes in Hindu-Sikh unity; the Tat Khalsas are focused more on having a Sikh identity, separate from the non-Sikh Punjabis. So, the motive for the formation of this Tat Sabha were primarily to push Sikhs over to a pro-Muslim stance, put a wedge between the Sikhs and non-Sikh Punjabis thereby weakening the Hindus, and also to propagate the belief among the Sikh soldiers serving the Raj that their Guru’s prophecies coincided with the interests of the British Raj. It was a deliberate act in their “divide and rule” tactics and to get the Tat Khalsa Sikhs to be loyal to the British Raj.

Soon after their establishment, the Tat Khalsas with the institutional support of the Colonial missionaries & rulers, began throwing out the Jathedars from the management of the Gurudwaras; using force when needed. To promote a Sikh identity separate from the former glory of Hindu-Sikh days, a reform movement was initiated - older source material was suppressed, marginalized, denied, invalidated or even, as in case of Gurbilas, banned outright. Sikh scriptures were reinterpreted to expunge any hint of Hindu-ness in them. All Hindu frescos, paintings and murtis were removed from the Gurudwaras and all practices deemed to be Hindu were discontinued.  Rumours were spread that the Jathedars were promoting rituals that were 'forbidden by the Gurus'. HariMandir ( Vishnu Temple) became to be known as Darbar Sahib, which is Arabic/Persian for 'The court of God'. In 1905, the murtis removed from HariMandir included lifesized murtis of Lord Vishnu, Chandi-Durga, Lord Krishna, Lord Shiva & of Guru Ram Das Sodhi. Gurubanis were highly mistranslated & Janamsakhis of Guru Nanak Devji were not spared either. 


Most of the stories of the Gurus are now obvious copies of Bible & Kuranic stories & even though it is well known that the Gurus throughout their lives kept good company of eminent Brahmin sadhus, scholars & teachers to help them with the translations of sanskrit verses of the Vedas & Upanishads, a hint of anti Brahminism eventually had crept in. All Brahmin practises were being frowned upon by using the Gurus as those very people who were against the Janeu or the sacred thread as well as murti puja. There is a famous story where Guru Nanakji himself is mentioned as 'throwing' the sacred thread at the family Brahmin priest & rejecting the sacred thread altogether- again highly questionable since he himself was born into a Brahmin family. Most of whatever Guru Nanak Devji has been quoted to have said against Dharmic traditions, as per the re-interpretations of the Singh Sabha stooges, seem more like verses full of hatred, contempt & Hindu bashing for the very ancient traditions that the great saint had spent most of his life promoting. The Singh Sabha have spoken of NanakDevji as a Khatri, a farmer, a Jatt, sometimes a Vaishnava but have conveniently left out the fact that he was born into a Brahmin family & his name has also been twisted around with the last name Bedi attached to it. The present so called history & twisting of the Shri Adi Granth is full of contradictions throughout - an open case of fraud perpetrated upon us the Sikhs of Punjab.

The British further instigated & fanned more fire by adding their own conclusions & opinions:

The Religion of the Sikhs (London, 1914), p. 19: Granth strongly suggests that Sikhism should be regarded as a new and separate world-religion, rather than as a reformed sect of the Hindus.
To quote Dorothy Field, the author of History of Sikhs:

'There is a tendency at the present day to reckon the Sikhs as a reformed sect of the Hindus; and this has become a matter for controversy among the Indians themselves. The word Hinduism is undoubtedly capable of a very wide application, but it is questionable whether it should be held to include the Sikhs in view of the fact that the pure teachings of the Gurus assumed a critical attitude towards the three cardinal pillars of Hinduism, the priesthood, the caste system, and the Vedas. A reading of the Granth strongly suggests that Sikhism should be regarded as a new and separate world-religion, rather than as a reformed sect of the Hindus'.

Teja Singh Bhasauria was an employee of the British Government. He was given a school and funding to finance both the school and a printing press by the British. He intended to change Gurbani as directed to him by his British masters and his own ideas that were against the Brahmins & Hindu Dharma or any association of Hinduism in Gurbani. This has been recorded in history both by Prof Sahib Singh, and by the fact that a Hukamnama ex-communicated him from the Akal Takht. One of his associates Giani Kartar Singh Kalaswalia was the head Granthi of Sri Harimandir Sahib. It was during his term of seva that the Chaupai and Dohira were removed. Teja Singh's son Ran Singh, wrote Dasam Granth Nirney in 1919, in which he claims that another Bani starts after the 25th pauri - Dustt dokh tay layho bachaaee. This is untrue. This is the first reference to the short Chaupai Sahib. Before this time there has not been discovered any reference of anything but the full Chaupai Sahib.

Ancient Hindu martial aspects of Sanatan Sikhism have become mostly symbolic in modern times. The overall goal was to make Sanatan Hindu Sikhism as a strictly Bhakti (devotional) religion instead of the Shakti/Bhakti (power/devotion) balance which it always had. With the Bir Ras (warrior spirit) Banis compromised, the Sikh identity disappearing, and martial aspects becoming purely symbolic the British had their way to control Sikhism. Then it was a matter of bribery, intimidation and manipulation of Sikh leaders to create a new 'modern Sikhism'

Over the last few decades, Sanatan Sikhism has become a cult of the 'Book' like that of Islam & Christianity & Sikh youth have become brainwashed & indoctrinated into the Tat Khalsa mold. With over 3000 websites on the internet, all dedicated to & preaching the Singh Sabha version of a 'new' religion known as Sikhism, there has been a steady Talibanisation of the Sanatan heritage of Sikhism. Rife with anti Brahminism & articles demeaning Hindu Dharma, the message of most of these websites is that Sikhs are not Hindus & the Gurus preached as prophets a new religion which was devoid of any varna (caste) system, rituals etc, ignoring the fact that we Sikhs are very much divided into our respective castes just as the Gurus had been during their times. 


As for rituals, the neo-Sikhs have overlooked the fact that despite their efforts to point fingers at various ones practised by Hindus, Sikhs still practise similar ones such as bathing in Amritsarovar just as any Hindu would in the sacred Ganga. Symbolism too which is part of Hindu Dharma is still being practised by worshipping the Khanda, an ancient array of weapons sacred to the Hindus also, along with the similar style of Kesari jhanda, found on top of all Hindu temples. Worshiping of the Book Shri Adi Granth as an object, clothing it & placing it on one's head when taking it inside another room so to put it to sleep - all this is murti puja in its various form - again this is part of Hindu Dharma. The Tilak [mark on forehead] is also frowned upon but if we take a closer look at the original paintings before the time of the Singh Sabha British puppets, we see historic portraits of Nanak Devji with sandlewood and kum kum Tilaks on his forehead, at the same time with Rudraksha mala around his neck, looking very much a Hindu in the exact manner that he was, but newer paintings of him generated by the Singh Sabhias, portray him similar to those of Muslim sufi saints & those Arabs from the Bible stories of Jesus.


It is truly disheartening to see where we Sikhs are actually headed by this intense brainwashing & manipulation,Tat Khalsa style, whose intentions it seems are not that Pure in the first place. At this rate, we will not have any ancient history nor any heritage left, unless we stand up & expose the fraud that we have been forcefully succumbed to during the last century.

Famous words of Master Tara Singh:

“Protection of Dharma is our Dharma. Khalsa Panth was born for that purpose. Never have I left Hinduism. Guru Govind Singh has produced a lot of Gurumukhi literature based on Vedas, Puranas and the like. Are we to leave all that? In fact Hindus and Sikhs are not two separate communities. Name is Sikh and beard… Mona (non beard) Sikh and Sevak… That is all… Sikhs live if Hinduism exists. If Sikhs live Hinduism lives. They are not two separate communities. They are one indeed. Lack of mutual confidence has been a small problem. This situation must be put to an end. I want to see that. A Hindu revival movement is very necessary and it will certainly come up.”


Copyright©Arjan Singh Virdi 2012.