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Guru Gobind Singh's Birthday
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Background
Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Nanak
(Sikh
Guru), was born at Patna Sahib on December 22, 1666, (Poh
Sudi Saptmi). His birthday generally falls in December or January
or sometimes twice within a year as it is calculated according
to Hindu Bikrami Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar.
According to the
Nanakshahi
Calendar, the birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib falls
annually on January 5.
A overview of Guru Gobind Singh's life
Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708 C.E.) lived
during an extremely dangerous time. His father, Guru Tegh Bahadur,
had sacrificed his life to protect the freedom of worship by
Hindus, who were being threatened with conversion or death by
zealous Muslim rulers. Abduction of women and pillage of goods
were rampant, but the people were too timid and terrorized to
resist. In the midst of this political situation, Guru Gobind
Singh gained great stature as both Saint and soldier: a leader
of firm spiritual principles and intense devotion to God, and
at the same time, fearless dedication to protecting all people
from oppression and injustice through the practice of Kshatradharma.
In 1699, He dramatically initiated five
men from the lower castes as His Five Beloveds, blessing them
with great courage as well as nearness to God. They became models
for the Khalsa, the Order of the Pure, which Guru Gobind Singh
created to stand on the front line against injustice. The Khalsa
were held to a very strict moral and spiritual discipline and
under Guru Gobind Singh's courageous inspiration, helped to
turn the tide against Mughal oppression in India.
In addition to his spiritual and military
leadership, Guru Gobind Singh was a gifted intellectual and
had many poets in his court. He was inspired to write many powerful
spiritual compositions that infused a martial spirit in the
people. This included the Jaap Sahib, but He did not include
them in the Sikh
scripture, the Guru
Granth Sahib. His writings have instead been collected in
a separate volume, called the Dasam Granth. Upon His passing
away, He instructed his Sikhs to regard the Guru Granth Sahib
as their teacher. 'Granth' literally means 'volume' (especially,
a Holy volume). 'Sahib' is a term of reverance used for anything
sacred. The Guru Granth Sahib is the perpetual guru of the Sikhs
today.
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