| Vaisakhi
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Many questions have been asked by the Sikhs and non-sikhs about Vaisakhi relating to significance of the Five Ks and regarding creation of the KHALSA. Answers to those questions have been given with the understanding Waheguru has conferred. Please use e-mail in the footer of the page to send your feedback
Vaisakhi -Questions & Answers
Q: What are the Five Ks and their significance
A: Five Ks provide distinct identity to the Sikhs and in addition carry religious & spiritual significance.
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for significance of the Five Ks.
A: Guru Ji himself preached not to tell lie or make false statements. Therefore, it is out of question that Guru Ji will say something & do something else. Therefore, Guru Gobind Singh Ji separated the heads of the Five Beloved Ones as he announced in the public.
Guru Ji did not kill Goats. You can just imagine when Guru Ji killed one goat; other four goats would have started doing “baa ... baa ....baa”. There was no such evidence to suggest that such thing happened.
Although, there is no need to further substantiate but if you still have doubts, explanation given below will provide you with realisation of the supreme powers possessed by all the Gurus.
Guru Granth Sahib reveals supreme powers of the Guru in the following hymn composed by 5th Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji in Raag Bhairon :
“My
True Guru is the Sustainer and Cherisher of all. My True Guru has power to kill
and revive” (Page 1142)
BYrau
mhlw 5 ] ...... siqguru myrw srb
pRiqpwlY ] siqguru myrw mwir jIvwlY ]
(pMnw 1142)
“Satgur
mera sarab pritpale, Satgur mera maar jivale”
Once, Guru Amar Das Ji was passing through the village along with his Sikhs when he heard a woman crying. Guru Ji felt moved and upon enquiry, the woman told him that her son had died. Guru Ji consoled her and advised her to accept God’s Will and offered her financial help & necessary support. But, the woman said she would rather die without her son. Kind & compassionate Guru Ji after prolonged persuasions felt very sorry for her and revived her son. He asked her & her son to be grateful to Waheguru and lead the remaining life truthfully serving the humanity. This incidence moved Guru Ji so much that he said the word “No mother should loose her child in Goindwal (the town founded by Guru Ji) during my life time. And these words came true in that no child died whilst mother was still alive.
But,
in Sikhism use of powers is not permitted for abuse. As the history goes, Baba
Atal, son of the 6th Guru, Guru Hargobind Ji, revived one of his best
friends so that he could conclude the unfinished game since the previous day.
Guru Hargobind Ji called Baba Atal and told him that interfering with God’s
Will was not appropriate and he owed Waheguru a life. Baba Atal left the house
and gave up his life while mediating on the bank of nearby pool. Baba Atal
Gurdwara stands there in his memory.
Similarly,
Baba Ram Rai, son of the 7th Guru, Guru Har Rai Ji, was kept deprived
of the Guruship after he had shown over 100 different tricks using miraculous
powers (e.g. reviving dead cow, walk over river the river water etc...) instead
Guruship was given to his younger brother Guru Harkrishan Ji who was just over 4
years old then.
Therefore,
conclusion is that Guru Gobind Singh Ji took the heads of the Panj Piyare as He
announced and there is no question about Guru Ji’s powers and ability.
A:
Taking
Amrit is the ONLY way for a person to become a Sikh. By taking Amrit, a Sikh
makes commitment to the Guru that he / she will follow “Code-Of-Conduct” to
lead a truthful life and work the way towards attaining union with Immortal
Waheguru (i.e. the objective of human life). Therefore, such a Sikh is called
KHALSA (Spiritually Enlightened). If a Sikh fails to practice the truthful
living, it is his / her fault. Since, by taking the same Amrit and
following the same “Code-Of-Conduct” , many Sikhs achieve the
goal of human life.
As an example, taking admission in a university does not guarantee anyone a degree rather one has to follow the course syllabus and pass the exams in order to obtain a degree. A Sikh, who has failed to practice the “Code-Of-Conduct”, is like a student who has failed exams due to his own negligence. It is not fault with the university or the syllabus, since, there are other students who pass with distinction.
Another example is that just by wearing the uniform of a famous football team does not make anyone the member of that team. Instead, one has to undergo necessary training and fitness courses to enable him/her self to become the team player.
Advice for you is to make those Sikhs your role models who are practicing Sikhs, not those who have failed. Be in the company of truthful people and make your life worth living and spread the goodness around to make other’s life pleasant.
Lastly, Guru Gobind Singh Ji himself took Amrit from Panj Piyare shows how important it is to take Amrit.
A:
A
person with good morals and leading truthful life is better. But, none of the
two is Guru’s Sikh as Guru Ji affirmed at the time of Amrit initiation that
“A person who would live according to the “Code of Conduct” (Rehni) is
ONLY my Sikh and I shall accept that Sikh as my Master”. “Code of Conduct”
includes possession of Five Ks and bearing good morals. Guru Ji’s words were
“Rehni
Rahe Soyee Sikh Mera, Oh Sahib Mein oos ka cherra”
Possession
of Five
Ks
signifies utter devotion for Waheguru and besides 5 Ks give unique identity to
the Sikhs. It is like a policeman who bears no identity without the uniform.
Also, a policeman without the discipline loses credibility & trust.
Therefore,
possession of Five Ks and practicing “Code Of Conduct” are complementary to
each other that inherit the Sikhs the appearance and morals of true human beings
i.e. “Saint-Soldier” or “Khalsa” as envisaged by the Gurus.
Guru
Ji empowers the practicing Sikhs to accomplish the goal without any difficulty
and hindrance. Guru Ji’s added that “As long as Khalsa will remain
distinguished (see note below), I will bestow him / her all my strength and
power, but if he / she will follow the worldly trends/mal-practices then I shall
not even standby him / her”.
Jub
lug Khalsa rahe niyara, tab lag tej diyo mein sara,
Jub
eh gahe bipran ki reet, mein na karo in ki parteet”
(Note:
The word “distinguished” means that Khalsa will maintain physical identity
& morals by overcoming the peer pressure and worldly fame)
Therefore, taking
Amrit is a FAST TRACK
to realisation of Waheguru.
May
I remind you that Guru Gobind Singh Ji himself took Amrit from Panj Piyare that
shows importance of taking Amrit., Do you think Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s heart
was not clean. In fact, Guru Gobind Singh Ji was the most pious person (Waheguru’s
own image).
Q : What is The Amrit ?
A:
Amrit
literally means Immortal, which refers to
Immortal God i.e. Immortal Waheguru. What
makes a person immortal is the meditation upon virtues of Immortal Waheguru as
is clearly mentioned in Guru Granth Sahib (Page 616) that as follows:
soriT
mhlw 5 ] ... AMimRq nwmu prmysru qyrw jo ismrY so jIvY ] (pMnw 616)
Guru
Granth Sahib contains virtues of the Immortal Waheguru and therefore is the
source of Amrit.
Q : What does “The Guru” mean ?
A:
By definition, Guru means spiritual
teacher. The Gurus were Divine Conscious (“Brahm-Giyanis”) who possessed
Divine Spiritual knowledge and had realised Waheguru. It is revealed on page
273/274 of Guru Granth Sahib that “Divine Conscious owns the entire creation
and is himself the Formless Lord”.
bRhm
igAwnI kw sgl Akwru ] bRhm igAwnI Awip inrMkwru ] (pMnw 273 / 274)
A:
3rd Guru, Guru Amar Das Ji has made it very clear in his composition
in Raag RAMKALI on page 918 Guru Granth Sahib that
“; ....... The spiritual persons and the silent sages search for the
Immortal (Ambrosial) Nectar; this Amrit is only obtained from the Guru. The
wording is :
...
suir nr muin jn AMimRqu Kojdy su AMimRqu gur qy pwieAw ]
“Sur
nur mun jun Amrit Khojde, So Amrit Gur Te Paayea”
The
first 9 Gurus blessed the humble
devotees with Amrit or “Naam-Daan”. The process of blessing Amrit involved
for devotees to take few drops of the water touched by Guru’s feet called
Charan-Amrit (crxwimRq).
Although, a touch or a merciful glance of the Gurus could enlighten anyone
spiritually but the Charan-Amrit prepared by a touch of Guru’s feet symbolised utter
humility & forsaking of one’s pride (the very first step towards
spirituality)
Guru
Gobind Singh Ji was the last amongst the 10 human living Gurus. Since, the
Guruship was to be entrusted to the Shabad (Word) Guru, Guru Granth Sahib (the
existing Sikh Guru), the method of blessing of Amrit had to be redefined. It may
be noted that Guru Gobind Singh Ji nominated Guru Granth Sahib as the living
Shabad Guru of Sikhs, 9 years after the 1699 Vaisakhi, in 1708 three days before
His heavenly abode.
Charan-Amrit was changed to “Khande Bate Da Amrit” (also known as “Pahul” pwhul) in 1699. Gurbani (spiritual hymns) were recited during the Amrit preparation by stirring mixture of water (life-line of living beings) & Patasey (For Sweetness) in a Bata (iron bowl) with the Khanda (double edge sword; representing Omnipotent Waheguru and Sikh had to give up self-pride and surrender to Waheguru’s Will). In the new process of Amrit preparation, recitation of Gurbani and stirring with Khanda was similar to the touch of Guru’s feet.
Initially,
Guru Gobind Singh Ji gave Amrit to the first Five-Beloved Sikhs and then asked
them to bless him with Amrit. From then on, Panj Piyare were given the
authority on behalf of and in the presence of the Guru (now Shabad Guru) to
bless Amrit to the Sikhs
Q : Do you
think that a non-sikh person will never be able to
achieve salvation.
A:
As
described earlier on, leading a truthful life is the ultimate goal. Anyone from
any religion can practice it without taking Amrit according to the Sikh practice
and God bless all, he or she may be able to attain union with God / Waheguru.
All the Sikh Gurus preached that the best religion is to “Love
& remember Almighty Waheguru and serve His creation lovingly”.
Gurus never forced anyone to join Sikhism rather preached all to follow their
respective faiths sincerely and be good citizens to make the earth a peaceful
and pleasant planet to live.
All
the Spiritual & holy persons have been sent by the same Waheguru from time
to time in order to show the misled people the path of righteousness. Their
preachings were based on the circumstances at the time. Sikhism is the youngest
and latest religion of all other world’s religions. During the era of Sikh
Gurus (1469 CE till 1708 CE), Gurus advised people against smoking &
drinking as people were indulging in these activities. All the Holy persons
before did not have to preach these principles as no one was abusing intoxicants
& tobacco. The
new directives / rules are imposed only when there is violation.
For example:
There
was no need for traffic lights until the cars were invented. It was felt
necessary to put up the traffic lights in order to enforce discipline &
therefore prevent accident.
Law of prosecution against the under 16 was implemented as
they became nuisance to the society.
The
Sikh Gurus made people aware of the bad effects of intoxicants (which can
destroy a generation) and smoking (which can destroy generations)
and science today has
confirmed that a child born to a smoker mother can be infected with smoking
related deceases.
Sikh
Gurus preached about the family values and voiced against adultery. Today the
world is suffering from the consequences (e.g. STDs, AIDS, mental agony &
social problems) of not practicing this principle.
It must be said that the principles of Sikhism apply to the whole humanity.
The Gurus strictly advised people against cutting hair. Now, looking back in the history, all the Holy persons kept their hair. Even pictures of Jesus can be seen with hair. In olden times, the hair were removed as a punishment or to humiliate some one. Everything Waheguru has created, has a specific role to play e.g. eye lashes stop the dust from going in the eyes, similarly nostril hair perform the same function. Facial & head hairs, besides providing unique identity, protect & provide necessary nourishment to the brain (author is trying to find reference to a paper published lately by an American scientist; your help will be appreciated). The spiritual aspect & other benefits of hairs are beyond human perception. It must be said that a tree without the leaves does not keep its beautiful appearance, a flower plant without flowers can not be called a flower plant. Waheguru has created the creation with a specific purpose and respecting it is our duty.
Although,
all the spiritual leaders preached the principles of righteousness, yet some
malpractices in some of the faiths have been induced as a direct result of
convenience for the monarch or political authorities of the time. Typical
example is Henry the 8th who systemised the law for divorcing through
the Church of England, as he wanted to remarry. He also disintegrated the power
of the Church of Rome and brought monastery to an end. Now a days, divorce has
become a common practice & is socially accepted.
It
is concluded that the principles (“Code Of Conduct”) established by the Sikh
Gurus applies to the whole human race and in fact is need of the present time
for maintaining social order and harmony in the world.
Q : Can a Sikh use surname ?
A : After taking Amrit, a Sikh is given the Khalsa family name “Singh” (for male) or “Kaur” (for female) to be added to the original name. Therefore, all the Sikhs must use “Singh” or “Kaur” in their names. “Singh” literally means “lion” and signifies bravery. “Kaur” means “Princess” and signifies royalty. Presence of “Singh”/ “Kaur” in the name provides the identity & represents sense of belonging to the Khalsa family and commitment towards the Guru.
Usually, “Singh”/ “Kaur” is added to the name of a person born in a Sikh family, which is considered to be acceptable as it prevents un-necessary trouble of changing the name officially after receiving the Amrit.
Since,
after receiving the Amrit, a Sikh must maintain 5Ks but can wear a jacket or
dress of his/her choice in addition to 5Ks. Similarly, use of other surnames is
acceptable as long as “Singh”/ “Kaur” is clearly used in the name for
official and general purposes.
However, taking pride in the surname or caste or victimise someone on basis of caste / creed goes against the principles of Sikhism. Surnames are just labels in the same way as the actual name. Guru Nanak Dev Ji clarifies in the 7th Pauri (verse) of Jap Ji Hymns that “Having a beautiful name or high caste may bring a person fame and glory throughout the world but it will not help the person to obtain merciful Grace of Waheguru without which the human life is wasted”.
(cMgw nwau rKwie kY jsu kIriq jig lyie ] jy iqsu ndir n AwveI q vwq n puCY ky ] Chunga Nayon Rukhayeke Jus keerat jug ley, jey tis nadar na awyee ta vaat na puchhey ke) (Guru Granth Sahib, Page 2)
Q : What are the main Sikh greeting slogan ?
A : The main Sikh greeting slogan is
"Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh"
The above slogan was uttered by Guru Gobind Singh Ji during the Amrit Sanchar on the day of 1699 Vaisakhi. The slogan meant that "The Khalsa had been created by the Almighty Waheguru and who has conferred victory (in this world and thereafter) to the khalsa. Hence, the great & humble Guru Ji who took no credit of creating Khalsa rather proclaimed that it was Waheguru's mercy.
Guru Gobind Singh Ji instructed all the Sikhs to greet each other with this slogan and said that the Sikh who will say it first & inspiringly will be most loving to me (I will have my face towards that Sikh). The Sikh uttering it second will have my right shoulder towards him/her (indicating Guru's annoyance). The Sikh uttering without inspiration will have my left shoulder towards him/her (indicating Guru's greater annoyance). A Sikh who will not utter the slogan at all will have my back towards him/her (indicating Guru's total disapproval)
For enhanced understanding, further analysis of the slogan is given below.
"Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa | Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh" -> means that Waheguru through Grace turns an ordinary person into a Spiritually enlightened one (The Khalsa) and confers victory to the Khalsa (that means that the Khalsa wins the battle of human life against the influence of Maya i.e. worldly attachments/peer pressure therefore attains re-union with Waheguru which is the only goal of human life).
Distorting the slogan in anyway is a SIN. One may argue that in fact the whole universe is created by Waheguru but unfortunately not everyone is able to receive Waheguru's blessing to be the Khalsa, hence looses the gift of human life and therefore is not victorious.
Q : What does "Sat Sri Akal" Mean ?
A : The other slogan which is quite often used in the Sikh Ardas (prayer) and for greeting is "Sat-Sri-Akal"
The Greeting "Sat Sri Akal" which is made up of three words.
Sat
= True (with respect to time i.e. past, present & future + places (UK,
India, USA ... earth, moon, sun and other planets....)
Sri = Greatest or respected
Akal = Timeless OR Immortal referring to
Waheguru
Therefore, "Sat Sri Akal" means "True & Greatest is
Almighty Waheguru". By saying this greeting, we are in a way doing Naam
Japna (singing praises of Waheguru).
In the Ardas, the wording is as follows :
"Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal" which means that "Who-so-ever shall utter 'True & Greatest is Almighty Waheguru' will attain eternal happiness (spiritual bliss).
Author : The information in this web has been published with inspiration and wisdom imparted by Immortal, Omnipotent Waheguru to the Author(s) of SATNAM NETWORK Team (Sikh Assets Teachings News And Mission). Regards, Amar Deep Singh
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Date (First Published) :11 March 2000
Date (Modified) : 21 March 2001