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Gurdwara Bangla Sahib
Gurdwara Bangla Sahib is
the most prominent Sikh gurdwara, or Sikh house of worship, in Delhi.
It is instantly recognisable by its stunning golden dome and tall
flagpole. Gurdwara Bangla Sahib was originally a bungalow belonging to
Raja Jai Singh, an Indian ruler in the seventeenth century. The eighth
Sikh Guru, Guru Har Krishan resided here during his stay in Delhi.
During that time, there was a smallpox and cholera epidemic, and Guru
Har Krishan helped the suffering by giving aid and fresh water from
the well at this house. The water is now revered as having healing
properties, and is taken by Sikhs throughout the world back to their
homes. The Gurdwara is now a place of pilgrimage for both Sikhs and
Hindus. The grounds include the temple, a kitchen, a large pond, a
school and an art gallery. As with all Sikh Gurdwaras, the concept of
langar is practiced, and all people, regardless of race or religion
may eat in the Gurdwara kitchen. At the Gurdwara, visitors are
reminded to cover their hair and not to wear shoes. Head scarves and a
shoe minding service can be found inside the compound and are
available free of charge.
Sheesh Gunj Gurudwara
The ninth Sikh Guru Sri
Tegh Bahadur, was beheaded in the heart of the city in 1675 A.D. by
the order of Mughal King Aurangzeb, for espousing the cause of freedom
of worship of the Hindus, against whom the Emperor had unleashed a war
of extermination. Guru Tegh Bahadur opposed it and paid heavy price by
sacrificing his life. At the place of his martyrdom, stands Gurdwara
SisGanj,as a symbol of unique sacrifice made by the sage Prophet.
Adjoining the Gurdwara Sis Ganj is the Kotwali (police station), where
the faithful disciples of the Great Guru Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Dyala and
Bhai Sati Das were tortured to death.
It is important to mention that when the Sikhs came into power in
Punjab,after pushing out Afghans, they fought pitched battles with the
Mughal forces on the sandy beds of Yamuna river, where now stands
Indraprastha Indoor Stadium. A small Gurdwara indicates the spot near
the Indraprastha power station, where two forces clashed for
supremacy.
Gurudwara Rakab Ganj -New Delhi
On the fateful day a sword
of executioner Jalaudin of Samana, struck with a thud. The head of
Guru Tegh Bahadur was cut off and people cried in utter helplessness.
This tragedy took place on November 11, 1675, in Chandni Chowk, Delhi
under orders of Emperor Aurangzeb. The.sky was overcast with dark
clouds and a terrible duststorm followed. In the midst of invisibilty
caused by duststorm,a disciple of the Guru took away the head of the
great martyr, and ran away to a place of safety. Covering a 500 km
journey with courage and fortitude, he managed to reach Anandpur Sahib
in Punjab along with the holy head of his spiritual preceptor and
placed it before Guru Gobind Singh This devoted Sikh was none else but
Bhai Jaita a Rengreta Sikh. The tenth Guru embraced him and remarked 'Rengreta
Guru Ka beta'. So the head of the Guru was cremated at Anandpur Sahib
with proper ceremony.
Another act of valour and
dedication, was performed by Bhai Lakhi Shah Banjara and his son, Bhai
Naghaiya. They reached Chandni Chowk after the execution of the Guru
with a convoy of ox-driven carts carrying bales of cotton and
foodstuffs. They lifted the headless body of the Guru with flash speed
and alacrity and placed it in the cart under the cotton bales. They
pushed away briskly towards Raisina village, the place of their
habitat. No alarm was raised by the guards as the dust storm was
raging and nothing was visible. They were hiding in a safer place to
save themselves from the fury of natural elements and defiant men. To
avoid any suspicion by the authorities Bhai Lakhi Banjara placed the
body on a bed and set fire to the whole house This place came to be
known as Rakab Ganj, because most of the residents of Raisina village
used to manufacture straps for the cavalry of Mughal Army.
How they managed to bring
the headless body of the Guru safely to their house was a miracle.
Bhai Lakhi Banjara and his sons were successful in their mission of
bringing the headless body of the Guru to their village,
notwithstanding the search which was instituted immediately after by
the imperial police when they found the body of the Guru missing. But
the devotees of the Guru had already cremated the holy body by burning
their own house. After the cremation of the body the ashes were put in
a gagar(urn) and buried on the spot. For general public it was a
miracle as Guru's.dead body could not be found, out by the police
despite serious efforts. Bhai Lakhi Shah Banjara and his sons by
putting themselves in such evident danger performed an exemplary act
of religious devotion and thereby earned gratitude of the Sikhs for
all times to come.
According to historical records Sardar Bhagel Singh, constructed a
Gurdwara in village Raisina in 1783 to perpetuate the memory of the
ninth Guru Sri Tegh Bahadur. He had conquered Delhi by leading an army
of 30,000 Sikh warriors alongwith four other commanders. Earlier,
Muslims of Delhi had built a mosque on the spot where the Guru's
headless body was cremated. The Sikhs claimed this spot as their own
sacred place. Muslims contested this claim, and strongly objected to
the dismantling of the Mosque. Rival parties stood with swords drawn
and anything could have happened. But the Sikhs offered the Muslims to
reconstruct the mosque on their expense in case
the urn containing the ashes of the respected Guru was not found
buried beneath. Thus tempers cooled down and excavation work commenced
in the presence of the Mughal officials.
The assertion of the Sikhs
proved to be correct and they were allowed to construct Gurdwara Rakab
Ganj by Emperor Shah Alam II. He also granted two Sanads to Sikhs. One
sanad granted permission to S. Bhagel Singh to take possession of the
land for construction of a Gurdwara and a garden. By second Sanad the
Emperor also gifted 101 bighas and '5 biswas pukhta equal to about 63
acres with 3 wells land, revenue free. Sikh forces agreed to withdraw
from Delhi territory peacefully after the construction of their
religious shrines in the Mughal capital in lieu of these concessions.
Thus Sikhs were able to
build a magnificent Gurdwara to keep up the memory of the great Guru
who made supreme sacrifice for the freedom of worship, belief and
expression. He lived and died for the morally and spiritually
civilized future of mankind.
Gurdwara Rakab Ganj stands
today on the Pant Road in New Delhi, facing Parliament House and North
Block of Central Secretariat. It has the most modern building of white
marble surrounded by a beautiful garden.
Like most other Sikh shrines this Gurdwara has entrances from four
sides symbolising that they are open to all without any distinction of
caste and creed. This historical Gurdwara was built at a cost of 25
lakh rupees and took 12 years to complete.
History is full of tales
of martyrs who were first arrested and then executed by the powers,
they dared to oppose or resist for a righteous cause, Guru Tegh
Bahadur was unique martyr in the sense that the he himself went to
Delhi, sacrificed his life in defence of the oppressed, who were
helpless before the might of the Mughal empire.
Gurudwara Nanak Piao, Delhi
Gurudwara Nanak Piao is
associated with the first Guru Sri Nanak Dev. The great Guru visited
Delhi in June 1505 or thereabout. He camped on the outskirts of Delhi
in a garden now situated on the Grand Trunk Road outside old Subumandi.
Exact location of this garden is on Rana Pratap Road beyond Gurmandi,
adjoining State Bank colony. Here, now stands, a grand building of the
gurdwara to commemorate the visit of the holy Guru who graced this
place about 500 years ago in the reign of Sultan Sikander Shah Lodhi.
People of Delhi used to flock in large numbers to pay homage to the
great prophet who delivered sermons in music and poetry. They not only
began to worship Guru Nanak and brought precious offerings for him but
also bestowed countless gifts to his bard Mardana. The Guru
distributed all the offerings, he received, among the poor and needy.
Here the Guru served water to the thirsty and food to hungry. The well
from which he served water is still well maintained and fully
protected. According to Sikh traditions any and every place visited by
the Guru becomes a hallow.
Consequently Gurdwara
Nanak Piao attained a status of holy shrine. Guru, was an apostle of
peace, brotherhood, non-violence and amity. His sermons created very
healthy impact on the people who bowed before him for his spiritual
attainments. In fact, the garden became a place of pilgrimage for the
people from where they got the message of deliverance. A story goes
that during his stay in Delhi Guru Nanak by his grace revived a dead
elephant, Emperor Sikander Shah Lodhi came to know that a holy man had
won the admiration of all the Rindu and Muslim divines of De]hi and
had brought a dead elephant to life. It is said that when one of the
royal elephants died he sent for the Guru and requested him to revive
his elephant too. But the Guru refused to oblige him. Consequently the
Guru was immediately imprisoned. In the prison his deep compassion for
the suffering of prisoners had a great moral and spiritual influence
on the prison officials. They informed the Emperor that Guru Nanak was
not an idolator and that as a saint he was greatly respected both by
Hindus and Muslims.
THE HARIMANDIR
The Harimandir, now called the Golden Temple, is a living symbol of
spiritual and historical traditions of the Sikhs. The tank and the
temple have been a source of inspiration to the Sikh community ever
since their foundation. It is evident from the Sikh chronicles that
the Sikh Gurus had evolved traditions of founding new Sikh centres
which were popularised among their followers as places of pilgrimage
The foundation of Sri Harimandir Sahib is the most significant
achievement of the Sikh Gurus as a centre of inspiration and action
for the Sikhs. Soon after its foundation the temple became an
unparalleled establishment as a place of pilgrimage. The origin of the
place where Sri Harimandir stands is shrouded in mystery. Some
traditions trace its origin from the pre-historic period as a place of
considerable religious importance in the form of an Amrit Kund (Spring
of Nectar). This version is derived from ancient Hindu legends
recorded in the Puranas. The tradition (further carried back to the
great Hindu epic Ramayana is supplemented by the belief that the place
lost its eminence under the sway of the Buddhist movement, which had
swept away some of the important Hindu places of pilgrimage.
All the hagiographical
literature associated with the Golden Temple shows that the site was
chosen because of its religious antiquity. But before its association
with the Sikh Gurus, the site of the Harimandir was a low-lying area
with a small pond (at the present site of the Dukh Bhanjani Beri)
surrounded by a large number of shady trees in a jungle, encircled by
the villages of Sultanwind, Tung, Gumtala and Gilwali. But the place
was on the route of caravans passing to the North-West frontier and
other old trade routes. Its surroundings had a geo-graphical
importance and formed a commercial link between India and Afghanistan.
However, the site of the temple was lying in oblivion before it was
visited by the Sikh Gurus.
Gurudwara Paonta Sahib - Distt Nahan
About 120 km away from
Ambala city and secure in the shadow of the Himalayas stands holy
shrine of Paonta Sahib,dedicated to Guru Gobind Singh. The magic of
the lower Himalayas works on the mind of the pilgrims who come here to
pay respects to the great Guru. It can be reached from two sides, from
Ambala via Nahan and straight from Yamunanagar. It is a picturesque
site on the bank of the river Yamuna. One can reach Paonta Sahib from
Dehradun too. Its outskirts are dotted with gardens, green meadows and
tall evergreen trees, that echo the gushing waters of Yamuna;
The time spent at Paonta
by Guru Gobind Singh, was happiest period of his life. He enjoyed
hunting in the thick forests around. The opportunites were enormous.
The Guru wrote, "I enjoyed myself on the banks of Yamuna and saw
amusements of different kinds."
Gurudwara Hazur Sahib - Nanded
Nanded (pronounced Nander),
formerly in Hyderabad State is now a district town in Maharashtra. It
is a railway station on the Manmad-Secunderabad section of South
Central Railway. One of the five Sikh Takhts is located here and the
Sikhs reverently refer to it as Hazur Sahib. Nanded is associated with
the first and the last of the Sikh Gurus. While Guru Nanak Dev passed
through it during his extensive travels which took him as far south as
Sri Lanka, Guru Gobind Singh spent the last few days of his earthly
life here. He arrived here with emperor Bahadur Shah towards the end
of August 1708, and, while the latter went on to Golconda after a few
days rest, the Guru decided to stay on here. It appears that he had
followed the emperor through Rajasthan to Deccan in the hope that
justice would be meted out to his persecutors and murderers of his
young sons and numerous Sikhs, as perhaps promised by the emperor at
Agra. But finding that for over one year the emperor had been avoiding
the issue and had shown no inclination to punish the culprits, the
Guru was disappointed and decided to part company with him. Here he
found a man of destiny and promise in a Bairagi Sadhu whom he baptized
with Khande di Pahul (renaming him Banda Singh) and commissioned to go
north, marshal the Sikhs in Punjab and dispense justice as deserved by
the perpetrators of crime in the past, the faujdar of Sirhind, Wazir
Khan being the most deserving among them.
Meanwhile, Wazir Khan had
not been sitting idle or complacent. Aware of the rapport established
between the Guru and the new emperor, he realized the possibility of
harm to himself through royal action or retribution. He, therefore,
hired two assassins to pursue the Guru and eliminate him at the first
opportunity that offered itself to them. They got their chance there
at Nanded when one of them stabbed the Guru, and although both of them
were themselves killed on the spot, the Guru, too, did not survive the
wound. He breathed his last there but not until he had formally passed
on the spiritual light of Guruship to Guru Granth Sahib, the Shabad-Guru
of the Sikhs for ever thereafter. All historical Gurdwaras at and near
Nanded, except one dedicated to Guru Nanak Dev, are associated with
the activities of Guru Gobind Singh during the forty odd days of his
stay here. All the Gurdwaras are connected by road to the central
shrine, the Takht Sahib and the management arranges hired-transport to
take pilgrims around to them.
Anandpur Sahib
Anandpur Sahib-the holy
City of Bliss-is one of the most important sacred places of the Sikhs
and is closely linked with their religious traditions and history. It
is located on the lower spurs of the Himalayas surrounded by
picturesque natural scenery, with the river Satluj forming a
shimmering and shiny blue border on the south west barely four miles
away. So far as the historical significance of Anandpur Sahib is
concerned, it is second only to Amritsar, the city of Golden Temple.
Anandpur Sahib was founded in the year 1664 by the ninth Guru, Sri
Guru Teg Bahadur ji, near the ruins of an ancient place, Makhowal. The
Guru purchased the site from the ruler of Bilaspur.
The Takht Sahib proper is a square hall with a balcony in front
overlooking a spacious courtyard on a lower level. In the middle of
the inner domed room are placed some weapons preserved as sacred
relics. The space being limited on the top of the hill, the sarovar is
on the plain ground west of the Takht Sahib. A large spacious pavilion
is also around for larger congregation. Although the town is small but
on the occassion of Hola Mohalla every year in the month of March it
booms into boisterous activities and recaptures its old glory
andsplendor.
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