Khalsa
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Khalsa (Punjabi: ਖਾਲਸਾ, literally "Pure") refers to the collective body of all baptized Sikhs. Khalsa was originally established as a military order on 30 March 1699, by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru. It was the name given by the Guru to all his disciples baptized in the Amrit Sanchar ceremony.
A Sikh who has been initiated in Khalsa is known as a Khalsa Sikh or Amritdhari (as opposed to Sahajdhari).
History
The word Khalsa is derived from Arabic word khalis ("pure"). In the Sikh tradition, the term first appears in a hukmanama (order) by Guru Har Gobind (the sixth Guru), which refers to a sangat as "Guru ka khalsa" ("Guru's own Khalsa"). It also appears in a letter by Guru Tegh Bahadur (the ninth Guru), in the same sense.
Foundation
Although the early Mughal emperors had peaceful relations with the Sikh Gurus, the Sikhs started facing religious persecution during the reign of Jahangir. Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Guru, was arrested and executed by Jahangir in 1606. Jahangir's grandson Aurangzeb demanded that all Sikhs either convert to Islam or be killed.
In 1675, Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of the Sikhs was executed by Aurangzeb. In 1699, his son and the tenth Guru, Gobind Singh decided to establish a military order to stage resistance against the Mughals. He sent hukmanamas (letters of authority) to his followers throughout the region, requesting them to congregate at Anandpur on 13 April 1699, the day of Baisakhi (the annual harvest festival).[1]
Guru Gobind Singh addressed the congregation from the entryway of a small tent. He drew his sword and asked for a volunteer who was willing to sacrifice his head. No one answered his first call, nor the second call, but on the third invitation, a person called Daya Ram (later known as Bhai Daya Singh) came forward and offered his head to the Guru. Guru Gobind Singh took the volunteer inside the tent, and emerged shortly, with blood dripping from his sword. He then demanded another head. One more volunteer came forward, and entered the tent with him. Guru again emerged with blood on his sword. This happened three more times. Then the five volunteers came out of the tent unharmed. These five, who were willing to sacrifice their lives for their Guru, were called Panj Piare ("the five beloved ones").[1] These five volunteers were the first Khalsa Sikhs: Daya Ram (Bhai Daya Singh), Dharam Das (Bhai Dharam Singh), Himmat Rai (Bhai Himmat Singh), Mohkam Chand (Bhai Mohkam Singh), and Sahib Chand (Bhai Sahib Singh).
Guru Gobind Singh then took an iron bowl, and poured some water in it. Sahib Devan (later Mata Sahib Kaur) added some sugar crystals to the water in the bowl. Guru stirred this mixture with a sword, reciting gurbani. This sacred mixture, named Amrit ("nectar"), forms the root of the word "Amritsar" (the holy city of the Sikhs). Each of the panj pyares drank five palmfuls of the amrit, and had amrit sprinkled in their eyes five times. Each time, they repeated the phrase, "Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh" ("The Khalsa belongs to God, the victory belongs to God"). Then they received five sprinkles in their hair and sipped from the bowl of amrit. Guru gave them all the name "Singh" (lion), and designated them collectively as Khalsa. The members of the Khalsa consider Guru Gobind Singh as their father, and Mata Sahib Kaur as their mother.[1]
The Panj Piare were thus the first baptised Sikhs, and became the first members of the Khalsa brotherhood. Women were also initiated into the Khalsa, and the initiates were called kaur ("princess").[1]
Initial tensions with the non-Khalsa disciples
Sri Gur Sobha (18th century) by Sainapati (Saina Singh) contains two sections (adhyays) on the controversies that arose, when Guru Gobind Singh's disciples in Delhi heard the news of his new order.[2] Much of the controversy stated in Sri Gur Sobha revolves around bhaddar, the ritual shaving of head after death of a close relative, which was discouraged by Guru Gobind Singh. According to Sainapti, while creating the Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh said that bhaddar is bharam (illusion), and not dharam.[2]
Tensions developed between the Punjabi Khatri disciples of the Guru in Delhi, and members of the newly-formed Khalsa. A prominent Khatri disciple was expelled from the place of worship (dharmasala) for refusing to join the Khalsa. Another disciple was expelled for eating with him, starting a chain of further expulsions.[2] The expelled disciples convened a community gathering, at which two wealthy Khatris demanded that the Khalsa produce a written order from the Guru that a new mandatory code of conduct had been promulgated. A Khatri family that refused to follow the bhaddar ritual was boycotted by the Khatri community.[2] The Khatri council (panch) closed the bazaar (market) to pressurize the Khalsa. The Khalsa petitioned the state officials to intervene, who forced reopening of the shops. Later, peace was established between the two groups in a sangat (congregration). However, hostility between some Khatris and the Khalsa persisted in the later years.[2]
Another rift between the Khalsa and some other Nanak Panthi groups seems to be the Khalsa's firm adherence to the doctrine that Guru Gobind Singh had ended the line of human Gurus, declaring the Adi Granth as the next Guru. However, some eighteenth century Sikhs (urban Khatris most likely prominent among them) extended the line of Gurus to include Banda Bahadur, Mata Sundari, Mata Sahib Kaur, Mata Sundari's adopted son (Ajit Singh) and grandson (Hathi Singh).[2]
Khalsa as a military force
One of the duties of a Khalsa was to practice arms and be ready to defend the weak. This was deemed necessary due to the rising religious persecution from zealous Islamic Mughal rulers. In this context the Khalsa rose as a group as saint-warriors to withstand the Mughals.
After the death of Guru Gobind Singh, his disciple and Banda Singh Bahadur led the Khalsa warriors in an uprising against the Mughals. He and his comrades were eventually defeated and executed, but he became an icon among the Khalsa Sikhs. By the late 1730s, the Khalsa regrouped as a military force under Nawab Kapur Singh Virk, who gathered local chieftains and created Dal Khalsa, a coalition army.[3] The Dal Khalsa fought with the Mughals and the Afghans, eventually resulting in the establishment of a Sikh kingdom in the Punjab region.
After the fall of the Mughal empire and the later establishment of a Sikh state in Punjab, the Khalsa became an instrument of the Punjab Maharajas: the Khalsa was a democratic body, and could oppose the Maharaja. By the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839 the regular army of Punjab was assessed by Sir Lepel Griffin at 29000 men, with 192 artillery guns. The irregular levies were estimated at a similar number. [4]
Modern status
The Khalsa order attracted the vast Jat peasantry of middle and easter Punjab, and over the years, the Khalsa Sikhs became the orthodox majority in the Sikh community.[5] The rise of Khalsa dominance in the Sikh community is sometimes associated with rise of Jat influence in the Sikh community, and the decline of the Khatri influence (all ten Sikh Gurus were Khatris).[6] However, W. H. McLeod states that while the Khalsa may incorporate powerful Jat influences, it would be a "naive interpretation" to regard the Khalsa as an "institutionalized conquest of the (Sikh) Panth by its Jat constituency".[6] Under the Khalsa dominance, the Sikh religion came to be identified with the Khalsa and the Jats, although not all of the Khalsa Sikhs are Jats, and not all Sikhs subscribed to the Khalsa code of conduct.[5]
Today, the Khalsa brotherhood is respected by the entire Sikh community; however, not all Sikhs are Amritdharis.[1] The issue of Khalsa code of conduct has led to several controversies. In the early 1950s, a serious split occured in the Canadian Sikh community, when the Khalsa Diwan Society in Vancouver elected a clean-shaven Sikh to serve on its management committee.[7] Although most of the early Sikh immigrants to Canada were non-Khalsa, and a majority of the members of the society were clean-shaven non-Khalsa Sikhs, a faction objected to the election of a non-Khalsa to the management committee. The factions in Vancouver and Victorial broke away from the Khalsa Diwan Society, and established their own gurdwara society called Akali Singh.[7]
In the United Kingdom also, there have been tensions between the Khalsa Sikhs and the non-Khalsa Sikhs. Many Sikhs in Britain have insisted on their right of not confirming to the Khalsa norms, while maintaining that they are truly Sikh. On the other hand, some of the Khalsa Sikhs think of the non-Khalsa Sikhs as having abandoned the Sikh faith altogether.[8]
Khalsa code of conduct
A Khalsa needs to follow rules and codes of conduct set by Guru Gobind Singh and the Guru Granth Sahib (considered the eleventh Guru). It should ben oted that the current Reht Maryada (code of conduct) was not laid down by Guru Gobind Singh; it is an interpretations compiled in the 20th century.
Five Ks
The Five Ks, or panj kakaar/kakke, are five items of faith that all Khalsa are required to wear at all times, at the command of the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh who so ordered at the Baisakhi Amrit Sanskar in 1699. They are:-
- Kesh (uncut hair)
- Kanga (wooden comb)
- Kaccha (specially-designed underwear)
- Kara (Iron bracelet)
- Kirpan (strapped sword).
They are for identification and representation of the ideals of Sikhism, such as honesty, equality, fidelity, meditating on God, and never bowing to tyranny.[9]
Distinction between Khalsa and Sahajdhari
All Khalsa Sikhs are Sahajdharis (non-baptized Sikhs) at some point in their life. In Sikhism, the children are not baptized at birth because the ceremony requires the individual to become a Khalsa Sikh by free will. The person aspiring to be a Khalsa must be able to speak, read and recite from the Sikh scriptures. All Khalsa Sikhs must follow a very strict code of conduct for the rest of their lives. As Khalsa all Guru Gobind Singh's codes of conducts and daily religious practices must be followed for life with no infraction (only exception being if the person is ill or unwell so can't do the daily pray). Since the initiation into the Khalsa is a serious step, only a person mature enough to understand and accept the Khalsa way of life should undertake it. However, there are several cases of younger people being initiated into Khalsa.[10]
Due to these hard requirements many people are Sahajdhari Sikhs. After the Amrit Sanchar ceremony, they become Amritdhari, and formally obtain full voting and challenging rights at the Golden temple on all major decisions taken in India on Sikhism.
See also
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e Mahmood, Cynthia Keppley (1996). Fighting for faith and nation dialogues with Sikh militants. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 43–45. ISBN 978-0812215922. OCLC 44966032.
- ^ a b c d e f Deol, Jeevan (2001). "Eighteenth Century Khalsa Identity: Discourse, Praxis and Narrative". In Arvind-pal Singh and Mandair, Gurharpal Singh and Christopher Shackle (ed.). Sikh Religion, Culture and Ethnicity. Routledge. pp. 25–26. ISBN 978-0700713899. OCLC 45337782.
- ^ Mahmood, Cynthia Keppley (1996). Fighting for faith and nation dialogues with Sikh militants. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0812215922. OCLC 44966032.
- ^ Major Pearse, Hugh; Ranjit Singh and his white officers. In Gardner, Alexander (1999) [1898]. The Fall of Sikh Empire. Delhi, India: National Book Shop. ISBN 81-7116-231-2.
- ^ a b Ahmed, Ishtiaq (1999). State, Nation and Ethnicity in Contemporary South Asia. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 115–116. ISBN 978-1855675780. OCLC 33008494.
- ^ a b Karine Schomer and W. H. McLeod (ed.). The Sants: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 238–242. ISBN 978-8120802773. OCLC 17747311.
- ^ a b Paul Robert Magocsi, ed. (1999) [1998]. Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples. University of Toronto Press. p. 1157. ISBN 978-0802029386. OCLC 56300149.
- ^ Parsons, Gerald (1994). The Growth of Religious Diversity: Britain from 1945. Routledge. p. 231. ISBN 978-0415083263. OCLC 29957116.
- ^ Eleanor Nesbitt, "Sikhism: a very short introduction", ISBN 0-19-280601-7, Oxford University Press, pp. 40–43
- ^ Fowler, Jeaneane D. (1997). World Religions: An Introduction for Students. Sussex Academic Press. p. 369. ISBN 978-1898723493. OCLC 37560846.
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External links
- Khalsa at SikhWiki
- Birth of the Khalsa
