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Guru Gobind Singh

(my pre Gurpurab write up about
Bala Pritam, the Guru at 9 yrs)

Seva is a cherished virtue.

Though desirous of performing some tangible physical Seva, at
72, it is not easy to engage in this noble activity. However I do
not wish to miss it altogether.

With Guru Gobind Singh Sahib's 356th Parkash Purab

approaching on 29 December 2022, the following Panktis of
Bhai Gurdas , Var 20, Pauri 7 inspire me to do something that I
can , even with my very limited ability.

"BHAI BHAGAT GURUPURAB KARE KARAIYA" (bound by loving

devotion they celebrate the anniversaries of the Gurus)..... and
another line from the same Pauri --

"GURSIKH MA PIO VEER KUTAMB SABAIYAA GURSIKH KHEYTI

VANAJ LAAHA PAIYA" (the mother, father, brother and the
family is also the Sikh of the Guru and, Gurpurab celebration is
like farming, business or other gainful occupation. Going ahead
in this context I begin my piece.

Gobind Rai, son of Guru Teg Bahadur was born at Patna in

1666 when the Guru was traveling in Assam. He came back to
Patna to meet his new born son and again went back to
continue his missions
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The prince Gobind Rai was born in a Sodhi family. The age old
relationship between the Sodhi and the Bedi families, both of
Kshatriya community, finds a mention in Bachitar Natak.

Ages back there was an Indian ruler, called Sodhi Rai whose
descendents came to be known as Sodhis. Some Sodhi
descendents who were survivors during armed conflicts with
warriors of other rulers went to Kashi to master the 4 vedas.
They came to be known as BEDI. Later a Sodhi descendent King
of Madar Desh was so impressed by the recitation of Vedas by
that he renounced the throne in their favour. The Bedis then
vowed that in Kaliyug they would raise Sodhis to an exalted
position. It is worth mentioning here, that Guru Nanak was a
Bedi and Gobind Rai a Sodhi. Howevee; as 1st and 10th Guru ,
they both promoted a casteless and an inclusive society. An
Egalitarian concept so much talked about today but not seen in
real life .

In Bachitar Nanak which is an Antonishingly Beautiful Play in

the form of an auto biography , Guru Gobind Singh gives us a
glimpse of his past life.

Sitting for long period in intense meditation , in snow clad

mountains at Hemkunt in Uttarakhand , he was able to end
duality in his thoughts to eventually , merge with the Supreme
One !
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"DVAI TE EK ROOP HOEY GAYO "

The Lord then appointed him as HIS OWN SON
AKAL PURUKH BACH( the words of the timeless Almighty) --
"MAI APNA SUT TOHE NIVAAJA" ( I appoint you as My Son )
Further Guru Gobind Singh adds --
"CHIT NA BHAYO HAMRO AAVAN KEH
CHUBHI RAHI SURAT PRABH CHARANAN MAI

(Whenever we hear the sung version of the above passage on

YouTube or in live Keertan we get into a feeling of ecstasy! )

In the quote above , Guru Gobind Singh conveys that he had no

desire to come to the world but the Lord made him understand
HIS Will to be born again, to spread DHARMA. Further Patshahi
10 strictly cautions us to recognize that he is an obedient
servant of the Supreme Lord and not PARAMESHWAR

"MAI HO PARAM PURAKH KO DAASA,DEKHAN AAYO JAGAT

TAMASA "

Let us bow to the Extreme Humility in the character of our

spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher -- Guru Gobind
Singh Sahib.

Prince Gobind Rai's childhood was spent at Patna when his

Guru Father was at Chakk Nanaki , present name Anandpur
Sahib.
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The city of Patna has many Gurudwaras pertaining to the the

childhood Sakhis of Prince Gobind Rai

Gurdwara Bal Leela is very close to Takhat Sri Patna Sahib.

During Prince Gobind Rai's childhood King Fateh Chand Maini
lived here with his queen. The royal couple had no children. The
queen had special affection for Gobind Rai who would sit in her
lap. Gobind Rai and his friends were often served salted boiled
gram as refreshment. This preparation is todate served as
Prasad by the Bhai Sahib of Gurudwara which has a very old
entrance door with carvings dating back to 1668.The inners of
the Guru dwara have been renovated keeping the front door in
the original state.
Gurudwara Kangan Ghat is also nearby. Here Gobind Rai had
thrown a gold bangle. On the same bank of river Ganga, Gobind
Rai had blessed Pandit Shiv Dutt who was a devotee of Shri
Ram Chandra.
Gurdwara Gai Ghat is a Gurudwara in Patna about 4 km from
Janamasthan Patshahi 10 - Dasvee. It is dedicated to Guru
Nanak. Also called Pehla Bara ,it was Bhagat Jaitmal's house
who was a follower of Guru Nanak and converted his house into
a Dharamsal.It was first sanctified be Guru Nanak and later by
Guru Teg Bahadur in 1666.It is believed that Guru Tegh
Bahadur made river Ganges to come to Jaitmal in the form of a
cow as he could not go to the river bank due to his old age.

The Janamasthan of Guru Gobind Singh is called Takhat Sri

Patna Sahib. It was originally built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh,
the first Maharaja of Sikh Empire who also built many other
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Gurdwaras. This Gurdwara got renovated in 1950s and has in

2022 been further extended with the commissioning of a new
built pillar-less Keertan hall said to be a state of the art
construction.

Besides the city of Patna has other Gurdwaras such as 1) Sonar

Toli, where Guru Nanak gave a precious stone to Bhai Mardana.
No one could assess the true value of the stone except Salas
Johri. Guru Sahib then taught that we should value precious life
in a likewise manner as a Johri values precious stones. 2)
Gurdwara Guru ka Bagh where greenery was brought back due
to blessings of Guru Teg Bahadur. 3) Gurudwara Handi Sahib
where Langar from a small pot got fed to many-- ascribed to
the blessings of Guru Teg Bahadur.

The paragraphs above give a glimpse of the BAL LEELA or

childhood of Guru Gobind Singh along with a short narrative of
some other Gurdwaras in Patna, the birth place of Guru Gobind
Singh. As a child Gobind Rai also engaged in games of
marksmanship with bow and arrows as well as mock
swordsman with other kids in his neighbourhood.

The Martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadur and applause of Gobind

Rai's wisdom in his words, WHO COULD BE MORE WORTHY OF
THIS SACRIFICE is covered in my write up " Guru Teg Bahadur,
Hind di Chadar" shared prior to Shaheedi Divas in November
2022 along with the follow up thereafter.

Guru Gobind Singh was formally crowned as the Guru in 1676

at Anandpur Sahib. The spiritual sovereignty and authority as
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the 10th Master fell upon him at a young age of 9 yrs Along
with other Sikh Emblems, Guru Gobind Singh,the Saint -
Warrior installed Ranjit Nagara as a drum of victory to instill a
spirit of heroism in his Sikh followers at Anandpur Sahib.

The heroic deeds of Guru Sahib commenced from his childhood

and early life. Therefore he is also remembered as Bala Pritam.

The Guru's whole life is a long saga of Courage and

unmatched Sacrifices, along with his scholarly and spititual
persona, which culminated with the passing of Guruship to
the Holy Granth in 1708.
Commodore Jasbir Singh, VSM, Retd
Gurgaon,
08 December 2022
WhatsApp +91 9818055245
email: jasbirjss2000@rediff.com