Introduction of the Lights Immortal

Down the ages in history with the month of Poh of Indian calendar, the winter season sets in. In this month, obeying the orders of the Tenth Master, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, risking their lives with a willingness to die for the Guru, the Sikh warriors have sacrificed themselves and rendered a great service to the society and the country. Thus this month can be styled the month of sacrifices, of martyrdoms. The evacuation of the Anandgarh Fort by Guru, the king of kings, the crossing of the Sirsa river after a fierce battle and the washing away of all the storehouse of manuscripts in the river are highly moving incidents. Only forty disciples of the Respected Guru got across the river among whom were included two Princes, Guru's sons, Prince Ajit Singh and Prince Jujhar Singh. The younger Princes Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh accompanied by their Grandmother while travelling, stopped in darkness in a thicket by the banks of the Sutluj river. It was bitterly cold, the rain making the wind colder still. An ungrateful cook of theirs took them with him, stole their money saved for a rainy day and had them arrested by the incharge of the police station at Morinda. He took the three of them to the Nawab, the governor, of Sirhind. When the authorities came to know that these are the beloved sons of Guru Gobind Singh, then, in order to trouble them all the more, they imprisoned them in the Cold Tower without giving any more clothes and without serving any food to them. It was blowing very cold. They had no sheet to cover themselves with. Fearless in a high spiritual state both the children - one aged five and the other aged seven were spending the night in the lap of their old grandmother. The next day they were summoned in the court of Wazirkhan, the Nawab (governor) of Sirhind. The authorities in the court were inflamed against Guru, the king of kings, because there was not even a single family of Sirhind, a member of which was not killed in the battle. These officers were blinded by fanaticism. They were unable to tell truth from falsehood. They had made up their mind to torture to death the Princes and Mother Gujri, hearing of which Guru Gobind Singh would lose his balance of mind. Daily the Princes were bombarded with numerous questions because they were no ordinary children. They were born in the house of the Son of God. They were righteous and pure souls and were sent with Guru Gobind Singh in his home. Being in the company of the Guru, they had attained Knowledge Supreme. They had obtained spiritual knowledge in their lullabies, just as queen Churalan had lullabied seven of her sons to Knowledge Supreme, who left the kingdom in order to redeem the world. The king said to the queen, "Keep at least one son to rule the country".

As a result of this the queen kept one son called Nirmohi, whom she made a Raja Yogi, one who practices union with God while discharging the duties of a king. Similarly mother Sundari and Mother Jito had enlightened all the four Princes in the Knowledge Supreme upto high spiritual levels. Their style of life is in complete conformity with the knowledge in each sacred line of the Gurbani, the Song Celestial. They had reached the stage of steadfast wisdom about which Lord Krishna says to Arjuna (in the Gita), "O Arjun, you have asked to be told the distinguishing marks of a man with steadfast wisdom. I say his state of mind is uniform, same. It is in equipoise, just as the king of kings, the Guru also says

One who is not pained by adversity.Who feels not affection or fear in prosperity.To whom gold and dust the same be. Who utters neither praise nor blame.Who suffers not from avarice, pride and loveworldly. Who unaffected by joy or sorrow be.Who unaffected by honour and dishonour be. Who has renounced all hopes and desiresAnd expects nothing from the world. Whom lust and anger touch not. In such a person's heart lives God.He to whom the Guru has shown favour Knows the way to this.And shall be blended with God O Nanak, as water with water. P. 634

They enjoy the fruit of liberation while living; for them loss-profit, defeat-victory, happiness-sadness, honour-dishonour are the same. Their spiritual self is permanently fixed in uniform soul essence and they live in the highest spiritual elevation, turiya. Speaking about a man who is liberated while living, Guru, the king of kings says -
He whose heart loves God's order with pleasure Is said to have obtained Salvation during his life's measure.

To him joy and sorrow the same be
Never apart from God he's forever happy.
Gold and mud are to him the same.
Nectar and poison have equal claim.
As is honour so dishonour be
As is the poor man so the king be.
He who thinks what comes from God as best,
During life time, O Nanak, itself,
He is said to have obtained salvation, rest.P. 275

Thus in this way when Princes Ajit Singh and Jujhar Singh came in the field of action, they did such wonders the examples of which are not found anywhere in the history of the world. Prince Ajit Singh and Prince Jujhar Singh were mere boys aged 18 and 14. But maintaining the great traditions of warriors, not caring for their bodies, they fought bravely the most fierce battle of the world to uphold their principles. Bands of five Singhs each fought alongside Princes Ajit Singh and Jujhar Singh, wielding swords for full three hours. They also shot arrows, and used the spears; at last all the weapons were finished. Inspite of this they fought to the end, holding swords in hands. No groans escaped the lips of those who had received bullet wounds. No cry of surrender was uttered. As against this they wielded swords even when they had fallen on the ground. Being bled profusely, their hands were immobilized; they did a great exploit for the whole world to imitate. To protect their honour, to maintain human rights, they fought a determined battle.

On the other side the younger Princes said those words in the court of the Governor of Sirhind which will be remembered by the world for all time to come. They tore to pieces the hollow religion, which was the religion of the non-believers and said, "you do not owe allegiance to the Gita and the Sacred Quran. You are infidels. To the people who have committed no mistakes, to them, without trial under any clause of Muslim law, you are doing such acts of injustice which will shake the heaven and the earth. This martyrdom of ours will inspire such a zeal in our brothern, which will drive away your empire like the leaves of a tree in a storm. Dethroned within a matter of days, you will go begging because sin itself is most powerful to kill a sinner. You are filled with envy and aversion. What mistake has our father committed? He just protected himself. You launched attack after attack upon Guru who was innocent. And it is not a sin to take up arms for self-protection. Rather it is a fundamental right. To die like brave people is better than to live like cowards."

What were these martyrdoms? They brought a revolution in Punjab and India, which broke the chains in the minds of men put by Mahammad Gauri after Prithvi Raj Chauhan. Within a matter of days, remembering these princes, making great sacrifices, the brave Sikhs of the Guru embraced martyrdom happily by getting burnt up in cotton tied round the body, getting broken on the toothed wheels, the mothers got themselves garlanded with the body pieces of their cut up children and received the pieces of their children in their aprons. The Sikhs did not lose heart and brought that rule which had full equality for all, whose Foreign Minister was an able person like Fakir Azizudin a mohammadan. With the arrival of this Sikh rule, no mosque was pulled down; no temple was demolished. Rather the demolished mosques were rebuilt, demolished temples were rebuilt. Inns and rest houses were constructed. The public felt that truly the warrior who has reached the status of the Khalsa (The Pure) is more powerful even than the angels.

This small essay in your hands has been specially written for the December issue of the Atam Marg. To understand our background and culture, this essay has been brought out in three languages - Punjabi, Hindi, English for the children of our brothern settled abroad. These martyrdoms will give a new life and inspire zeal in those children who have completely forgotten their culture and who have forgotten the feeling of self-respect in themselves. I request the foreign friends of mine that, while reading this essay with their children, they should teach every word to them. This should not be thrown in the waste paper basket, this is a sacred document. On it are written the names of the martyrs whom we always salute. I also request the children to know that the children described here are of your age. By changing sides, they could save their lives and live long lives. But then they wouldn't have received so much respect, their winning of all the hearts would not have come about which they got by spilling each drop of their blood on the earth for us.

We have got printed numerous copies of this pamphlet in three languages - English, Hindi, Punjabi, so that you might know something about Lights Immortal by reading it. Keep this martyrdom always in front of you. A picture of honour and self-respect of you, Indians, it is a picture that speaks for itself.

Written by Sant Baba Waryam Singh Ji Founder, Head & Chairman of Vishav Gurmat Roohani Mission Charitable Trust.