The Tenth Sikh Master, Sri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji. A Father of Humanity and A Nation!
The tenth Sikh Master, Sri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji, was a great leader, musician, poet, philsopher, statesman, spiritual teacher, engineer, general and many other things that my little brain can not even understand.
A Father of Humanity and A Nation! To call him the father of India would be an understatement since Sikhism and Khalsa exist beyond the boundaries of Punjab and India. Here is something I found on the internet and thought to share. Another book about his military leadership and skills is "Guru Gobind Singh - Leadership in its finest mould". Many of the quotes below can also be found in that book as well. Enjoy!
Thus they spoke about the Great Guru Homage to Guru Gobind Singh Ji
DR. D. P. SINGH*
* Senior faculty member at Govt. Shivalik College, Naya Nangal – 140126, Distt. Ropar, Punjab.
SOME GLEANINGS FROM THE important utterances and historical writings about Guru Gobind Singh Ji (1666-1708 A.D.) are given below to commemorate the 339th birth-anniversary of the Tenth Master at Patna Sahib. Panth founded by him at Anandpur Sahib. These have been specially selected in order to enable the readers to form a fair idea of the vision, mission, thought, action, achievements and contribution of the Great Guru towards the uplift of man and welfare of humanity in his own inimitable way.
“So long as the instinctive dread and hatred of tyranny is alive in man, so long as quiet but unmistakable voice of his conscience, that brooks no compromise under political threat and pressure, is not stilled in him, and so long as the disgust for social inequalities, religious fanaticism, hollow ceremonies and rites remain an active condition of his mind, the world will not easily forget the name of Guru Nanak and of his supreme successor, Guru Gobind Singh.”
– Dr. Zakir Hussain, The late President of India.
“The Guru was a rare combination of multiple qualities. He was a true Yogi, a practical leader of men, a mystic, a saint, a great military general and a poet. His life and teachings shed lustre on Indian History. His glorious example infuses a new spirit in us for he said; “I will make sparrows tear hawks, then alone may I be called Guru Gobind Singh”.
– Dr. Hari Ram Gupta, eminent historian
“In him were united the qualities of a religious leader and a warrior. He was the lawgiver in the pulpit, a champion in the field, a King on the masnad and a fakir in the society of the Khalsa. …… Awakening his countrymen to a new and noble life and arousing their latent energies to a sense of Common duty, he blended the undaunted courage of the soldier with the enthusiasm of the devotee and inspired the peaceful ploughmen with ideas of Military glory and national aggrandisement. “
– Sayed Mohd. Latif
“It is undeniable that Guru Gobind Singh must be counted among the greatest of Indians of all ages. The object he attempted was great and laudable. It was the emancipation of his tribe from oppression and persecution; and the means, which he adopted, were such as a comprehensive mind could alone have suggested.
He brought into being a moral force of an intensely dynamic character and kept before his led two options either to live with dignity and stand for the righteousness or die for the same, and thus, to an atmosphere of gloom and utter degradation, he brought a message of hope and deliverance. Guru Gobind Singh’s handiwork, viz.
The Khalsa carved its way to renown and glory and played a noble part in the arena of Indian history.”
The Guru’s conception of the Khalsa was a fully democratic, compact community, armed to the teeth, struggling to maintain, what is conceived to be the right path and fighting incessantly and without compunction, tyranny and injustice in all their forms.
– Indu Bhushan Banerjee, scholar historian
“Guru Gobind Singh anticipated Lenin by a couple of centuries. He was a true socialist in thought, word and deed.”
– Arnold Toynbee
“Guru Gobind Singh saw that the people were slaves of prejudice, pride and passion and they attached undue importance to the theological disputes, conventions and customs, with the result that either they were unbalanced or steeped in sloth. Political tyranny of the Mughals, shackles of caste system, vested interests of the obscurants and obstructionists and religious fraternities were the odds he has to contend with. Guru Gobind Singh put an end to all hazy in determination, impotent rage and idle dreams of the sluggards and cowards.”
– Prof. Abdul Majid Khan (Forman Christian College, Lahore)
“Guru Gobind Singh was a Full Man – an Insan al-Kamil, as the Sufis say, a Purna Manava, if we consider his many – sided personality, his wide and varied experience, and the variety and extent of his actions in life. A religious teacher and a philosopher, he was also a soldier and a leader of his people who was to be their saviour against tyranny and destruction, and besides, he was a poet and a scholar, and a mystic as well as a practical reformer.” – Suniti Kumar Chatterji
Eminent Philosopher
“He awoke his countrymen to new and noble corporate life to inspire them with till then unknown sentiments of nationality and nationalism, with the will and zeal to dare, do and die for the common cause. He wanted to make himself and his people so strong in body, mind and spirit that the foreign tyrannical Government would no longer be able to withstand them or to keep under subjection. He transformed the brotherhood of God-fearing republicans formed by Guru Nanak into a military commonwealth of God-fearing republicans of saint-soldiers.”
– Khushwant Singh
“The struggles of Sri Guru Gobind (Singh), throughout his life are examples of matchless bravery, heroic deeds and chivalry, that infuse a spirit of courage and fortitude in the people and specially among the lovers of freedom in the world.”
– N. B. Joshi
“Never before has any son, mere child of nine, advised his own father, a pious reputed religious leader to go and offer himself to be beheaded for the sake of his country. Never has any father directed his young sons to go and fight against heavy odds, where death was certain. Never has any patriot sacrificed every thing dear and near to him without any remorse and without any murmur. Never before has any religious prophet given his own people a new status superior to himself, and knelt
before them to raise his equal to themselves. Never has any other general fought battles retaining his equilibrium and composure, and never before has the cult of sword been so reconciled with spiritual values as was done by the great Guru Gobind Singh.”
– Late Sr. Hukam Singh, Speaker, Lok Sabha
“Prophet, poet, soldier, philosopher, prince and recluse, Guru Gobind Singh is lovingly remembered for his deep humanity and compassion. He played within the brief span of forty-two years a wide diversity of roles with extraordinary resource and purposefulness.”
– Late Prof. Harbans Singh
“Guru Gobind Singh was a man with nerves of steel, a will of Iron, the look of Venus and heart of Gold.”
– Colonel Ravi Batra
“Na kahun abh kee, na kahun tab kee,”
agar na hote Guru Gobind Singh, to sunnat hoti sab kee.
– Bulay Shah, Sufi Saint
“Guru Gobind Singh was a great scholar, a renowned general, a fine soldier and a shrewd organizer. But his greatest achievement was his conversion of the chicken hearted, frail and downtrodden individuals into brave lions, courageous and self-respecting patriots who would sacrifice their all for the country and the community.”
– Bahadur Singh
“Whereas Guru Nanak gave meaning to life, Guru Gobind invested death with a new purpose.”
– Dr. Gopal Singh
“Guru Gobind Singh by a flash of his sword filled the dying soul of India with life-giving light and truth, and Lo! It shone in its glory again in the life of newborn Khalsa! The light of reality had kindled the spark of life again in the dying soul of India.”
– Swami Vivekananda
Through the creation of Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh roused the dormant energies of a vanquished people and filled them with a lofty thoughtful longing for social freedom and national ascendancy. Thus, the Khalsa, by virtue of their faith to fight tyranny at all costs, engendered by Guru Gobind Singh, rose as a political force to be reckoned with.”
– Cunningham
“The Khalsa was an astonishingly original and novel creation and its face was turned not to the past but to the future. A very striking instance of democratic institution towards making a compact nationalism was the founding of the Sikh Religion, its long line of gurus and the novel direction and form given to it by Guru Gobind Singh.”
– Aurobindo Ghose
The creation of Khalsa was the crowning achievement of Guru Gobind Singh. The Khalsa was a call to the Sikh community and the Indian people.”
– Sadhu T. L. Vaswani
“Under Guru Gobind Singh’s leadership, nationalism itself became religion and the result was the creation of a fraternity unique in character.”
– Gokal Chand Narang
“Khalsa lived poised in sword’s sharp edge, and died kissing its cold steel. Indeed iron had gone into his soul at his nativity. But it would be a great mistake to associate the Khalsa with wanton wars and bloodshed. He took to the sword because of a crisis of conscience.”
– Prof. Puran Singh
Reference
1. Suniti Kumar Chatterji, Guru Gobind Singh, 1967, Publication Bureau, Punjab University, Chandigarh.
2. Harbans Singh, Guru Gobind Singh, 1979, Sterling Pub. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
3. Ravi Batra, Leadership in Its Finest Mould – Guru Gobind Singh, 1979, SGPC, Sri Amritsar.
4. Gopal Singh, Guru Gobind Singh, 1966, National Book Trust, India, New Delhi.
A Father of Humanity and A Nation! To call him the father of India would be an understatement since Sikhism and Khalsa exist beyond the boundaries of Punjab and India. Here is something I found on the internet and thought to share. Another book about his military leadership and skills is "Guru Gobind Singh - Leadership in its finest mould". Many of the quotes below can also be found in that book as well. Enjoy!
Thus they spoke about the Great Guru Homage to Guru Gobind Singh Ji
DR. D. P. SINGH*
* Senior faculty member at Govt. Shivalik College, Naya Nangal – 140126, Distt. Ropar, Punjab.
SOME GLEANINGS FROM THE important utterances and historical writings about Guru Gobind Singh Ji (1666-1708 A.D.) are given below to commemorate the 339th birth-anniversary of the Tenth Master at Patna Sahib. Panth founded by him at Anandpur Sahib. These have been specially selected in order to enable the readers to form a fair idea of the vision, mission, thought, action, achievements and contribution of the Great Guru towards the uplift of man and welfare of humanity in his own inimitable way.
“So long as the instinctive dread and hatred of tyranny is alive in man, so long as quiet but unmistakable voice of his conscience, that brooks no compromise under political threat and pressure, is not stilled in him, and so long as the disgust for social inequalities, religious fanaticism, hollow ceremonies and rites remain an active condition of his mind, the world will not easily forget the name of Guru Nanak and of his supreme successor, Guru Gobind Singh.”
– Dr. Zakir Hussain, The late President of India.
“The Guru was a rare combination of multiple qualities. He was a true Yogi, a practical leader of men, a mystic, a saint, a great military general and a poet. His life and teachings shed lustre on Indian History. His glorious example infuses a new spirit in us for he said; “I will make sparrows tear hawks, then alone may I be called Guru Gobind Singh”.
– Dr. Hari Ram Gupta, eminent historian
“In him were united the qualities of a religious leader and a warrior. He was the lawgiver in the pulpit, a champion in the field, a King on the masnad and a fakir in the society of the Khalsa. …… Awakening his countrymen to a new and noble life and arousing their latent energies to a sense of Common duty, he blended the undaunted courage of the soldier with the enthusiasm of the devotee and inspired the peaceful ploughmen with ideas of Military glory and national aggrandisement. “
– Sayed Mohd. Latif
“It is undeniable that Guru Gobind Singh must be counted among the greatest of Indians of all ages. The object he attempted was great and laudable. It was the emancipation of his tribe from oppression and persecution; and the means, which he adopted, were such as a comprehensive mind could alone have suggested.
He brought into being a moral force of an intensely dynamic character and kept before his led two options either to live with dignity and stand for the righteousness or die for the same, and thus, to an atmosphere of gloom and utter degradation, he brought a message of hope and deliverance. Guru Gobind Singh’s handiwork, viz.
The Khalsa carved its way to renown and glory and played a noble part in the arena of Indian history.”
The Guru’s conception of the Khalsa was a fully democratic, compact community, armed to the teeth, struggling to maintain, what is conceived to be the right path and fighting incessantly and without compunction, tyranny and injustice in all their forms.
– Indu Bhushan Banerjee, scholar historian
“Guru Gobind Singh anticipated Lenin by a couple of centuries. He was a true socialist in thought, word and deed.”
– Arnold Toynbee
“Guru Gobind Singh saw that the people were slaves of prejudice, pride and passion and they attached undue importance to the theological disputes, conventions and customs, with the result that either they were unbalanced or steeped in sloth. Political tyranny of the Mughals, shackles of caste system, vested interests of the obscurants and obstructionists and religious fraternities were the odds he has to contend with. Guru Gobind Singh put an end to all hazy in determination, impotent rage and idle dreams of the sluggards and cowards.”
– Prof. Abdul Majid Khan (Forman Christian College, Lahore)
“Guru Gobind Singh was a Full Man – an Insan al-Kamil, as the Sufis say, a Purna Manava, if we consider his many – sided personality, his wide and varied experience, and the variety and extent of his actions in life. A religious teacher and a philosopher, he was also a soldier and a leader of his people who was to be their saviour against tyranny and destruction, and besides, he was a poet and a scholar, and a mystic as well as a practical reformer.” – Suniti Kumar Chatterji
Eminent Philosopher
“He awoke his countrymen to new and noble corporate life to inspire them with till then unknown sentiments of nationality and nationalism, with the will and zeal to dare, do and die for the common cause. He wanted to make himself and his people so strong in body, mind and spirit that the foreign tyrannical Government would no longer be able to withstand them or to keep under subjection. He transformed the brotherhood of God-fearing republicans formed by Guru Nanak into a military commonwealth of God-fearing republicans of saint-soldiers.”
– Khushwant Singh
“The struggles of Sri Guru Gobind (Singh), throughout his life are examples of matchless bravery, heroic deeds and chivalry, that infuse a spirit of courage and fortitude in the people and specially among the lovers of freedom in the world.”
– N. B. Joshi
“Never before has any son, mere child of nine, advised his own father, a pious reputed religious leader to go and offer himself to be beheaded for the sake of his country. Never has any father directed his young sons to go and fight against heavy odds, where death was certain. Never has any patriot sacrificed every thing dear and near to him without any remorse and without any murmur. Never before has any religious prophet given his own people a new status superior to himself, and knelt
before them to raise his equal to themselves. Never has any other general fought battles retaining his equilibrium and composure, and never before has the cult of sword been so reconciled with spiritual values as was done by the great Guru Gobind Singh.”
– Late Sr. Hukam Singh, Speaker, Lok Sabha
“Prophet, poet, soldier, philosopher, prince and recluse, Guru Gobind Singh is lovingly remembered for his deep humanity and compassion. He played within the brief span of forty-two years a wide diversity of roles with extraordinary resource and purposefulness.”
– Late Prof. Harbans Singh
“Guru Gobind Singh was a man with nerves of steel, a will of Iron, the look of Venus and heart of Gold.”
– Colonel Ravi Batra
“Na kahun abh kee, na kahun tab kee,”
agar na hote Guru Gobind Singh, to sunnat hoti sab kee.
– Bulay Shah, Sufi Saint
“Guru Gobind Singh was a great scholar, a renowned general, a fine soldier and a shrewd organizer. But his greatest achievement was his conversion of the chicken hearted, frail and downtrodden individuals into brave lions, courageous and self-respecting patriots who would sacrifice their all for the country and the community.”
– Bahadur Singh
“Whereas Guru Nanak gave meaning to life, Guru Gobind invested death with a new purpose.”
– Dr. Gopal Singh
“Guru Gobind Singh by a flash of his sword filled the dying soul of India with life-giving light and truth, and Lo! It shone in its glory again in the life of newborn Khalsa! The light of reality had kindled the spark of life again in the dying soul of India.”
– Swami Vivekananda
Through the creation of Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh roused the dormant energies of a vanquished people and filled them with a lofty thoughtful longing for social freedom and national ascendancy. Thus, the Khalsa, by virtue of their faith to fight tyranny at all costs, engendered by Guru Gobind Singh, rose as a political force to be reckoned with.”
– Cunningham
“The Khalsa was an astonishingly original and novel creation and its face was turned not to the past but to the future. A very striking instance of democratic institution towards making a compact nationalism was the founding of the Sikh Religion, its long line of gurus and the novel direction and form given to it by Guru Gobind Singh.”
– Aurobindo Ghose
The creation of Khalsa was the crowning achievement of Guru Gobind Singh. The Khalsa was a call to the Sikh community and the Indian people.”
– Sadhu T. L. Vaswani
“Under Guru Gobind Singh’s leadership, nationalism itself became religion and the result was the creation of a fraternity unique in character.”
– Gokal Chand Narang
“Khalsa lived poised in sword’s sharp edge, and died kissing its cold steel. Indeed iron had gone into his soul at his nativity. But it would be a great mistake to associate the Khalsa with wanton wars and bloodshed. He took to the sword because of a crisis of conscience.”
– Prof. Puran Singh
Reference
1. Suniti Kumar Chatterji, Guru Gobind Singh, 1967, Publication Bureau, Punjab University, Chandigarh.
2. Harbans Singh, Guru Gobind Singh, 1979, Sterling Pub. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
3. Ravi Batra, Leadership in Its Finest Mould – Guru Gobind Singh, 1979, SGPC, Sri Amritsar.
4. Gopal Singh, Guru Gobind Singh, 1966, National Book Trust, India, New Delhi.
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