Guru Tegh Bahadur
Guru Tegh Bahadur
Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth of ten gurus who founded the Sikh religion and was the leader of Sikhs from 1665 until his beheading in 1675. He was born in Amritsar, Punjab, India in 1621 and was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh guru. Considered a principled and fearless warrior, he was a learned spiritual scholar and a poet whose 115 hymns are included in the Guru Granth Sahib,
"In northern India, Gurdwara Sisgunj in Chandni Chowk, Delhi, stands witness to Aurangzebs idea of punishment to non-Muslims. Here the Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur was called upon to embrace Islam, and on his refusal was tortured for five days and then "beheaded on a warrant from the emperor" (December 1675)."
"It is the special Kripa of the Guru Sahibs that we will mark the special occasion of the 400th Parkash Parv of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji during our Government’s tenure. Let us mark this blessed occasion in a historic way and celebrate the ideals of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji."
"This morning, I prayed at the historic Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, where the pious body of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji was cremated. I felt extremely blessed. I, like millions around the world, am deeply inspired by the kindnesses of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji."
"This new community, the Khalsa Panth, remained an integral part of the Hindu social and religious system. It is significant that when Tegh Bahadur was summoned to Delhi, he went as a representative of the Hindus. He was executed in the year 1675. His son who succeeded him as guru later described his father’s martyrdom as in the cause of the Hindu faith, ‘to preserve their caste marks and their sacred thread did he perform the supreme sacrifice’. The guru himself looked upon his community as an integral part of the Hindu social system."
"At the end of the rainy season, Mata Bassi, grand- mother of Guru Har Krishan, led a sangat from Delhi to Bakala She brought with her the tokens of succession - five piece and a coconut consecrated by Guru Har Krishnan On the evidence of the Bhatt Vahi Talaudaa Parganaa Jind, Guru Tegh Bahadur was formally anointed Guru on Bhadon Amavas 1721 BK / 11 August 1664 Bhai Gurditta applied the saffron mark to his forehead The assembled Sikhs paid their homage and made offerings"
