Happy Khalsa Da Sajna Divas/Happy Vaisakhi 2020!

Happy Vaisakhi! On Vaisakhi 1699 Guru Gobind Singh Ji called hundreds of thousands of Sikhs to gather at Anandpur Sahib. The crowd was completely silent, fully taking in the words of Guru Ji. After spiritual discourse, Guru Ji addressed the crowd, and then took out his sword and asked for a sacrifice, a head. Suddenly the sangat was scared! Can you imagine what it must have felt like standing amongst the crowd at that time? Bhai Daya Ram Ji bravely approached. Guru Ji went in a tent and came back with his sword, dripping with blood. He asked for another head. Next was Bhai Dharam Das, then Sahib Chand, Himmat Chand, and finally Mokham Chand. Some of the sangat started to disperse in fear, when suddenly Guru Ji came out with all five and performed the Amrit ceremony. These Singhs became our Panj Pyare, the embodiment of the Guru. Then Guru Ji got the 5 to baptize him. The mother of the Khalsa is Mata Sahib Kaur Ji and she added patasay to the Amrit. In baptizing the Sikhs, Guru Ji gave the Khalsa the distinct identity of today- kesh, kanga, kirpan, kachera, kara. This united the Khalsa and because the panj were from different castes and now equal, it also showed that there would be equality and no caste distinction. The identity was important in that no Sikh would be allowed to hide- their identity would stand out as Sikh and therefore they would be responsible for their actions. This would allow others to get help from Sikhs. The Khalsa was important in uniting the Sikhs as saint-soldiers, as warriors in standing up against the oppression and injustices that were being faced. Sikh women were given the middle name Kaur (princess) and males were given the middle name Singh (lion). May we all embody the names Kaur and Singh! 

 

Pictures from Anandpur (2019):

Unfortunately, this is the first Vaisakhi that I can remember where we are unable to gather together as a community. We will not gather as we always do for our colorful, love-filled celebrations with aunties baking in the kitchen, children putting up flowers, and uncles preparing floats. Thinking back perhaps there were other times in history where this was not possible as well, like during times of genocide and war. We will have to be creative in finding other ways to celebrate the birth of the Khalsa.

Sikhi teaches us Naam Japna. We can do simran anywhere at any time, at all times. Sikhi teaches us to work hard, kirat karni. Right now many people are working from home, and some are working on the front lines as police, healthcare workers, grocery-store workers, and truck drivers for example. Some are working hard as parents and trying to teach their children as the schools are shut down. The next pillar of Sikhi is Vand Shakna. To share what we have with others. Right now this really means not hoarding more than you need from the grocery store. It means sharing our time to a cause- the government is regularly looking for covid volunteers. People are volunteering to deliver groceries. It means bringing peace, love and courage to those around you in these tough times. Live by the spirit Chardi Kala! For sarbat da balla, for the benefit of all, we are needing to practice good hand-washing, staying home unless absolutely needing to go out, and social-distancing when we do go out (staying 2 meters from people). As we are fulfilling our responsibility it is also important for us to find ways of connection- whether that is virtual sangat, calling and checking in with your loved ones and friends, and especially taking care of elders. The celebration of the creation of Khalsa is the remembrance of who we are as Sikhs and our resilience. It is a celebration of our personal spiritual path as well, and a time to read those books at home, to research Sikh history, to listen to online kathas. 

I recently read some articles from EcoSikh on facebook. They showed some amazing pictures of animals coming out for the first time in polluted areas of India, clear water, clear skies and views of mountains. Check it out! It reminds us that even in a crisis like this, there are things to be gained, and learned. I hope that this brings about a change on how people see our harmony with nature and the necessity of stopping the ways we were damaging the environment before. I volunteered for years on environmental sustainability initiatives. They taught me a lot about the importance of even minor things we do on the environment. There was quote by Arundhati Roy that talks about the changes that are coming: “Whatever it is, coronavirus has made the mighty kneel and brought the world to a halt like nothing else could. Our minds are still racing back and forth, longing for a return to ‘normality’, trying to stitch our future to our past and refusing to acknowledge the rupture. But the rupture exists. And in the midst of this terrible despair, it offers us a chance to rethink the doomsday machine we have built for ourselves. Nothing could be worse than a return to normality. Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it.” Similarly Sonya Renee Taylor says, “We will not go back to normal. Normal never was. Our pre-corona existence was not normal other than we normalized greed, inequity, exhaustion, depletion, extraction, disconnection, confusion, rage, hoarding, hate and lack. We should not long to return, my friends. We are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment. One that fits all of humanity and nature.” These quotes remind us that we have an opportunity to change the world, and a new opportunity to leave behind what wasn’t working in the world. Maybe after this we will have less mindless wasting- of food, resources, and time. We have a chance to do things differently for ourselves as well. As we celebrate Vaisakhi through this pandemic, try to think about methods in which we can find a new way of living. 

picture reference: https://www.sikhpa.com/campaigns/sikhvaisakhi/