Wake up, O mind, wake up! Why do you sleep negligently? The body that was born with you will not accompany you when you shall depart... At the death the whole thing will pass off like a dream, so sing the praise of him,” says Guru Tegh Bahadur. The ninth Guru, also known as “Hind ki Chaddar” (protector of Hindu religion), was born at Amritsar in AD 1621. He was a man of learning, a renouncer (of vices) as well as a warrior.
Guru Tegh Bahadur was named “Tyag Mal” (man of renunciation) by his parents. At the age of 13, he bravely participated in the battle of Kartar-pur and left his mark as a distinguished warrior, hence renamed as “Tegh Bahadur” (warrior of swor-dsmanship). This change of name also symbolises his life which was a right mix of the two. From 1644 to 1664, Guru Tegh Bahadur devoted his life to meditation and introspection. When Guru Harkrishan, the eighth guru, breathed his last and indicated that the next guru was to be found at Bakala (“Guru Bakale”), Guru Tegh Bah-adur was found completely absorbed in meditation.
Guru Tegh Bahadur’s calm, meditative nature reflects in his Bani, preserved in the Guru Granth Sahib. The world is shown as an illusion and the ultimate aim of life is to become a Gursikh (oriented towards the guru and trying to imbibe the good qualities) and to achieve a union with the supreme being. His entire Bani is about a journey from a worthless life towards an enlightened higher state of life.
The very path of emancipation and sacrifice was truly lived by the Guru when he decided to sacrifice his life to protect the faith and religious freedom of the Kashmiri Pandits who had approached him to seek his advice on forceful conversion. Guru Tegh Bahadur was of the view that only a sacrifice of a pure holy man could restrain it. His son, Guru Gobind Singh, then only nine year old, had replied: “Who is holier and more worthy than you, Father!” Guru Tegh Bahadur went to Delhi in 1675 and on his refusal to convert, he was executed along with Bhai Dayala and Bhai Mati Das at a place where now stands Gurdwara Sisganj Sahib in Delhi.
