SatGuru Bandhi Chhorr Hai

SatGuru Bandhi Chhorr Hai - Guru, Who Speaks and Acts in Truth, is the Emancipator and Liberator.

ਗੁ ਰ ਬਿਨੁ ਬਿਬਨ ਸਮਝਾਈਐ ਮਨੁ ਰਾਜਾ ਸੁਲਤਾਨ ॥ ੪ ॥

Who other than the Guru will explain that within the mind resides The Ruler, The Emperor.

ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਪ੍ਦਾਰਥੁ ਪ੍ਾਈਐ ਗੁ ਰਮੁਬਿ ਤਤੁ ਵੀਚਾਰੁ ॥

The great treasure of Love is obtained when the Gurmukh contemplates the essence of reality.

Bandhi Chhor Divas celebrates deeply held Sikh beliefs, our love for humanity (Pyaar), sovereignty (Raj), true
social justice (Niaou), challenging and seeking to destroy all oppressive power dynamics and being awake to the
realities that we live in (Dharam).

Dhan Sri Guru HarGobind Sahib Ji (the formal title given by Sikhs to their Guru, the Gurus were not only
revered as spiritual teachers, but as warriors, poets, emancipators, and as sovereign rulers) became the 6th Guru
after his father, Dhan Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji become the first Sikh Shaheed (martyr). Becoming the Guru at the
age of 11 Dhan Sri Guru HarGobind Sahib Ji built on the foundation laid by the previous Gurus. Guru Ji kept
700 horses (many of which were originally purchased by Dhan Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji), 300 trained horsemen and
60 musketeers (gun men). Thus Guru Ji furthered the training of the Sikhs to become masters of their minds and
bodies. Dhan Sri Guru HarGobind Sahib Ji himself was said to be so broad that he had to walk sideways
through passages in the villages of Punjab.

Dhan Sri Guru HarGobind Sahib Ji was imprisoned at the age of 14 in 1609 because he accepted the sovereignty
of none other than ਅਿਾਲ (Akāl: That Creator that is beyond death and time). Guru Ji established the ਅਿਾਲ ਤਿਤ
(Akāl Takht: the Throne/Fortress of Akāl) in 1606, and wore the Two Swords of ਮੀਰੀਪ੍ੀਰੀ (MiriPiri: Interwoven
temporal/metaphysical/spiritual realities bound to perceptions/experiences of reality itself through the ਬਿਰਪ੍ਾਨ:
Kirpān of the Khalsa), to make it known to the world forever, that the Sikhs are sovereign and will never be
subjugated by any worldly power. This spirit of Sikh sovereignty underpins Sikh being. It was first taught to us
by Dhan Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji who was born in 1469. Dhan Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji was released from
Gwalior Fort in 1611/12 depending on the accounts, with the Khalsa being formally established in 1699.

Sikh Itīhās (history, oral and written) is long, it is an inter-woven tapestry from which we continually learn and
are reminded of our values and philosophies, it contains our collective memories. For a Sikh therefore, one
moment of Itīhās is not isolated from another. Everything we do as Sikhs, as human beings, in our personal and
civic lives, is inspired by the Guru, this is expressed by Sikhs as a central self-defining concept in their native
Gurmukhi as ਜੀਵਨ (Jīvan: life, existence, being, way of life/mode of living). Dhan Sri Guru HarGobind Sahib Ji's
GurSikhi Jīvan, and the Jīvan of the Gurus, Shaheeds, and GurSikhs throughout Sikh Itīhās forms this
interwoven tapestry that becomes Sikh Itīhās. Our beloved Gurus made great sacrifices as did their families and
generations of Sikh Shaheeds so that our unique voice is heard, Sikh values continually strived for and we as a
Quam (Sovereign Sikhs of a Sovereign Guru) remain existent.

The primary source for Sikh thought, vision and guidance remains the current Guru, Sacheh Pathshah Dhan Sri
Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj and as Sovereign Sikhs in Sangat of the Sovereign Guru we are on our journey to
actually experience Sikhi, and strive to build our own GurSikhi Jīvan with the ਬਿਰਪ੍ਾ (Kirpā: kindness,
benefaction, grace, love) of the Guru.

Sikh philosophy teaches us that power should be transparent, decentralised, visible and step down from notions
of authority to humbly, humanely, and directly engage with the people it claims to serve so that collectively we
can serve the greatest value of humanity: Love. This is shown in the life of Dhan Sri Guru HarGobind Sahib
Ji, and the Jīvan of the Gurus, Shaheeds and Sikhs that came before and after, and continues to be a driving
aspiration for every Sikh organisation and charity today.

Dhan Sri Guru HarGobind Sahib Ji was imprisoned for refusing to accept the authority of the Mughal Empire
and its then Emperor Jahangir. By the Gurus own sovereign judgement the Mughal Empire was deemed unfit to
exercise authority over the minds and bodies of the people, and Dhan Sri Guru HarGobind Sahib Ji made sure to
constantly remind the Mughal emperor that his authority was unfounded, and insignificant and irrelevant when
compared to Akāl.

Sikhs of the 6th Guru liberated cities from the Mughal emperor, renamed them after their Guru, captured the
emperors prized falcon, raised battle standards of the sovereign Guru, and gathered armed and defiant at Akāl
Takht. The Sikhs of the Guru fed and armed the poor and oppressed, started wars and instigated open rebellion,
they completely rejected the authority of the oppressive regime of the day, this frame of mind has inspired
generations of Sikhs to place absolute faith and trust in the values of their Guru alone, above all other values of
priests, holy men, kings, emperors, colonisers or any other worldly rulers. Only the Guru showed respect and
love to all, giving us Langar, teaching Sikhs that the supreme value of all is Love and we are only subordinate to
the power that created Love, Death and Life: Akāl.

Today hundreds of Sikh political prisoners still languish in jails in 'India' awaiting trials, mistreated because
they too reject the authority of an oppressive regime, they place more faith in the teachings of their Guru and the
values of the Guru and submit to only one authority Akāl. Like their Guru the GurSikhs that are in jail today
strive for a world where the values of humanity and love can flourish. This is what Khalistan means to Sikhs, a
dream for a future where Sikhs can begin to determine their own destiny with the guidance and authority of
none other than Akāl and their beloved Guru.

Today when you light the diva and set the fireworks off, light your spirit on fire too, break all worldly bonds
and grab hold of the Gurus cloak. The True Sovereign. Dare yourself to believe so much in your Guru that you
want a whole world where the values taught to Sikhs by their beloved Gurus can uplift, inspire, and empower
the most disenfranchised, the “lowest of the low”, the sick, the poor, the hungry, this is what “Raj Karehga
Khalsa” is about, and we strive for it through Khalistan.

ਿਰੇ ਿਰੋੲੇੇ ਿੈਠਤ ੳੇਠਤ ਮਾਬਰਗ ਪ੍ੰਬੇਥ ਬੇਧਅੇਾਵੈਗੋ ॥

ਬਸਤਗੁ ਰ ਿਚਨ ਿਚਨ ਹੈ ਬਸਤਗੁ ਰ ਪ੍ਾਧਰੁ ਮੁਬਿਤ ਜਨਾਵੈਗੋ ॥੫॥
Standing idle, sitting down, getting up, focus/meditate on the way of the Panth.
The word that is given is that of Satguru and the word of Satguru is as Satguru, the way to emancipation is revealed.

ਸਾਬਸਨ ਸਾਬੇਸ ਸਾਬੇਸ ਿਲੁ ਪ੍ਾੲੇੀ ਹੈ ਬੇਨਹਸਾਬਸਨ ਨਾਮੁ ਬੇਧਅੇਾਵੈਗੋ ॥

ਗੁ ਰਪ੍ਰਸਾਦੀ ਹੳੇੁਮੈ ਿਝੈ ਤੌ ਗੁ ਰਬਮਤ ਨਾਬੇਮ ਸਮਾਵੈਗੋ ॥੬॥
Each breath gives strength, with the Gurus training, the aim is taken for the target of Naam.
With the Gurus grace, ego is understood, it is silenced, and one is merged into Gurmat Naam.

As emphasised above within a Sikh context Bandhi Chor Divas is not just a celebration of one moment, but rather a
reminder of the values with which we must constantly live as Sikhs. An exploration of the Vār that will be recited at every
Gurdwaras on the evening of Bandhi Chhorr Divas that I liked.