Guru Arjan Dev sacrificed his life to fight tyranny

Tarn Taran, June 15 (UNI) Unflinching faith and indomitable spirit won over the dastardly tyranny of Mughal emperor Jehangir 400 years ago, when fifth Sikh Guru Arjan Dev became the first Sikh Guru to sacrifice his life for the sake of the faith.

Devotees, who throng this historical town tomorrow to observe the martyrdom day of the Guru, remember how he stoically faced the combined fury of fire and water unleashed by Jehangir to defend the independence of ideas and to have belief in a religion, other than that of the ruling class.

The sacrifice of the Guru was the first known incident of martyrdom in Sikh history. Arrested in Lahore on the orders of Emperor Jehangir, the Guru was subjected to extreme physical torture by making him sit on red hot iron plates while burning sand was poured upon him and waters poured on his blisters to prolong his suffering.

When Mian Mir, the Muslim saint of Lahore who laid the foundation stone of the Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar, tried to intervene on his behalf, the Guru forbade him by saying that God's will must be fulfilled. The Guru attained martyrdom on the banks of the Ravi at Lahore.

But his sacrifice bore fruit as it brought about a significant change in the Sikh religious history. While it proved the superiority of spiritual strength over the oppressive forces, it also inspired his son and successor, Guru Hargobind, to usher in a revolutionary change in the Sikh faith as he exhorted his followers to arm themselves for the protection of their faith.

Guru Arjan Dev believed in the principles of secularism as depicted by the 'Adi Granth' compiled by him. Besides the teachings of the Sikh Gurus from Nanak, the 'Adi Granth' included compositions of various Hindu and Muslim saints. It was indeed a bold step in the days when relations between Hindus and Muslims were estranged and no religious book till then had included the teachings of other religions.

The multi-faceted Guru's knowledge of music was reflected from the fact that he composed 30 ragas, which are included in the Guru Granth Sahib. He employed professional 'rababis' and 'ragis' (musicians) to perform soulful kirtan.

Harmandir Sahib, the most sacred of all Sikh shrines known as Golden Temple, was built and completed under the guidance of the Guru and it was during his period that the Guru Granth Sahib (Adi Granth) was installed at the Harmandir Sahib. The four doors at the Harmandir Sahib symbolise that the shrine is open to all faiths.

This holy town of Tarn Taran which has been receiving pilgrims for the past one week, was founded by the Guru in 1596 and since then has been a very important place of pilgrimage for the Sikhs. Tarn Taran originally refers to the 'sarowar' (holy pond), a name given by the Guru and it means the 'pool of salvation'.

It is said that the area, where the 'sarowar' and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib stand, was inhabited by lepers. The Guru purchased the land here and got the 'sarowar' and gurdwara constructed. It is believed that a person suffering from skin ailments gets cured after taking a dip in the 'sarowar' on the occasion of 'amavas' (no moon night).

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