Historic martyrdom

Exactly 400 years ago, the fifth Sikh guru, Arjan Dev 1563-1606, sacrificed his life. What Sikhs the world over are celebrating today is his unique contribution. He compiled the Guru Granth Sahib, holy book of the Sikhs, which contains hymns of great saints, irrespective of the religions they belonged to. The task took many years and, when completed, it shared spiritual shelf space with the Vedas, the Koran and the Bible. Guru Arjan was a lyricist with divine grace and his short hymns in simple language touch one8217;s heart even today. Sukhmani psalm of peace remains a masterpiece, captivating the reciter and listener, together and simultaneously.

In addition to his hymns, this connoisseur of music also composed them using various ragas. The Vani of Granth Sahib is a poetry of devotion, moral rather than cerebral, lyrical without prescribing any social code. The universality of his message can be gauged from one such hymn 8212; Tati wao na lagie, par brahm sharnai, chowgird hamere Ram ka dukh lage na bhai. Satgur pura bhetia jin banat banai. Ram nam aukhadia, eka liv lie I have taken shelter under the transcendent Lord, blasts of hot air touch me not. I am begirt around with Rama8217;s Arc, suffering penetrates me not.

Also known as the first Sikh martyr, Guru Arjan will be remembered his Great Sacrifice. The Moghul emperor, Jehangir, was uncomfortable with the Guru8217;s religious popularity and the message of secularism being propagated by him. When told that he had given refuge to prince Khusro, who had revolted, Jehangir summoned the Guru and charged him with conspiracy and treason. Post-trial, he was sentenced to death by 8220;siyasat and yasa8221; death by torture without bloodshed and made to sit on a hot iron plate kept on a burning furnace. That he died because of his faith in and propagation of plurality of religious thought makes his sacrifice relevant even today as we celebrate the 400th anniversary of his martyrdom.

He was also the reason for the transformation of the Sikh psyche, which took to the postulates of Miri and Piri, meaning religion and politics is the admixture of future polity. This change was addressed to the reconstruction and re-engineering of Indian society in general and consolidation of Sikh people in particular, and showed the way to the creation of Khalsa in 1699 by Guru Gobind Singh.