Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara Sikhi Class

Bhai Alam Singh was a very good poet. His poetry was so good that Guru Gobind Singh Ji selected Bhai Sahib as 1 of 52 poets that wrote poems in Guru Ji’s Darbar. Bhai Sahib was also one of Guru Ji’s best warriors. No one could move like Bhai Alam Singh Ji did. On many occasions, Guru Ji would ride their horse and Bhai Alam Singh would run alongside the horse. Guru Ji would ride the horse faster but Bhai Sahib would still keep up with the horse. Guru Ji was so impressed with Bhai Sahib’s quick movements during battle, Guru Ji gave the name ‘Nachna’ (dancer) to Bhai Sahib. Bhai Sahib had a really good relationship with Guru Ji. Bhai Sahib would tell jokes and make Guru Ji laugh. For this reason, both Guru Ji and Bhai Sahib were like best friends and loved being around each other.

In 1696, a Mughal Commander, called Dilawar Khan, sent his son, Rustam Khan, to attack Guru Ji at Anandpur Fort. Rustam Khan came up with a plan to attack Anandpur Fort really late at night, in the dark, so that the Sikhs don’t see them coming. At mid-night, Khan and his 1000 Mughal soldiers sneaked through the Satluj River towards Anandpur Fort, where Guru Ji was staying. At the top of Anandpur fort, Bhai Alam Singh was standing on guard. Bhai Sahib managed to spot the Mughals coming towards Anandpur Fort and alerted Guru Ji. Guru Gobind Singh Ji told Bhai Jaita Ji to alert the Singhs. Bhai Jaita Ji ran towards the ‘Ranjit Nagaara’ and started playing it to alert every Sikh in Anandpur Fort that the Fort was under attack. All the Sikhs stood at the top of Anandpur Fort. When they saw the Mughals coming, they started shooting at them. The Mughals were surprised by the gunfire and retreated. Many Mughals lost their lives but not a single Sikh was harmed. Guru Gobind Singh Ji praises Bhai Alam Singh in Dasam Granth for alerting everyone of Rustam Khan’s attack and saving all the Sikhs that night.

One day, Bhai Alam Singh was attacked by a tiger. Bhai Sahib was fearless and instead of running away, he decided to stand his ground and fight. In one single blow, Bhai Sahib’s Kirpan sliced through the tiger. After killing the tiger, Bhai Sahib brought the tiger to Guru Gobind Singh Ji as a gift. All the Sikhs in the Darbar Sahib were shocked as Bhai Sahib told them how he had killed the tiger. Guru Ji was impressed by Bhai Sahib’s bravery. Guru Ji then came up with an idea. He told his Sikhs to skin the tiger and put the skin on a donkey. When they did this, the donkey looked as though it was a tiger. Guru Ji then let the donkey loose into the village. All the villagers were terrified when they saw the donkey as they thought it was a tiger. The donkey walked around the village scaring everyone for a number of days. Eventually, the villagers went to Guru Sahib and asked Guru Ji to kill the tiger that was roaming the village. Guru Ji smiled and accepted their request. Guru Ji set off with a few Sikhs to find the donkey dressed as a tiger. When the Sikhs found the donkey, Guru Ji started walking towards it. Some of the villagers had also come out to see Guru Ji fight the tiger. As Guru Ji got closer, the donkey got scared and started braying. The villagers were confused and started thinking why the tiger was braying like a donkey. Then, Guru Ji took the tiger skin off the donkey and smiled at the villagers. The villagers looked at Guru Ji and they all started laughing. They all joked at how they had been fooled by a donkey all that time. As Guru Ji and the Sikhs were laughing at what had just happened, one Sikh asked Guru Ji “Maharaj, you have made everyone laugh by playing this game but why did you do this in the first place?”. Guru Ji told his Sikhs “I did this because I wanted you all to learn from this. I need you to realise that when you were not Sikhs and you were bounded by caste, you were like the donkey roaming around. No one respected you and no one was afraid to attack you”. All the Sikhs nodded and agreed. Then, Guru Ji told his Sikhs “Now look around at each other, I have made you into lions by giving you the uniform of the Khalsa (5 Kakkars). I have lifted your status and given you the respect that you deserve with this uniform“. The Sikhs looked around at each other and smiled. Guru Ji carried on saying “Remember what happened to this donkey. When it wore the uniform of a tiger, it was taken to be a tiger. When the skin was removed, it was taken to be a donkey. In the same way, you all must keep the 5 Kakkar at all times as this is the uniform of a lion and as long as you keep it, everyone will respect you and your enemies will fear you. When you take any of these 5 Kakkars off, you will no longer be seen as a lion”. Guru Ji’s last message was “The donkey looked like a tiger from the outside, but it acted like a donkey to show its true form. However, if you want to wear the uniform of the Khalsa then you must act like a Khalsa (pure person). You must take Amrit to become Khalsa from the inside and you must wear the 5 Kakkars to be Khalsa from the outside”.

When Guru Ji and the Sikhs left Anandpur Sahib Fort, Bhai Alam Singh stayed with Guru Gobind Singh Ji. At the Sirsa River, after Asa Di Vaar, the Sikhs began crossing the river whilst Bhai Uday Singh, Bhai Jeevan Singh and a few other Sikhs fought the Mughal and Hill Raja soldiers. When the Sikhs were separated at the Sirsa River, Bhai Alam Singh was one of 40 Singhs that went with Guru Ji and the Vadde Sahibzaade to Chamkaur. The Fort of Chamkaur was surrounded by 1 million Mughal soldiers. The Singhs went out in groups of 5 to fight the Mughals. Eventually, Baba Ajit Singh Ji asked Guru Sahib if he could go into the battlefield. Guru Ji accepted and selected the other Singhs that would go into the battlefield with Baba Ji. Guru Ji asked Bhai Alam Singh to go into the battlefield alongside Baba Ajit Singh Ji. Bhai Alam Singh got really excited and thanked Guru Ji for giving him this opportunity. Bhai Alam Singh went into the battlefield alongside Baba Ajit Singh Ji and the other Singhs. In the battlefield, Bhai Sahib lived true to his name ‘Nachna’ as he easily danced around the Mughals and chopped off their heads. The Mughals could not get a hold of Bhai Sahib as he moved around so quickly. Every time Bhai Sahib would behead a Mughal, he would shout “Jakara Gajave Nihaal Ho Jave Sat Sri Akaal!”. During the battle, Baba Ajit Singh Ji had killed tens of thousands of Mughals so the Mughals knew that they needed to kill Baba Ji before he kills any more of their men. The Mughals surrounded Baba Ajit Singh Ji and, at this point, Baba Ji was using his spear as he had run out of arrows. The spear would pierce through the Mughals and their bodies would drop all around Baba Ajit Singh Ji. Bhai Alam Singh saw the Mughals surround Baba Ji and charged at those Mughals. Bhai Sahib roared at the Mughals “Before you shoot Baba Ji, you must shoot your bullets through me!”. The Mughals were terrified as they saw how fearless the Singhs were. The Mughals then sent in a Mughal soldier who was heavily armoured. One of the Singhs would hit his Kirpan on the armoured soldier but the armour was too thick so the Kirpan did not pierce through. Baba Ajit Singh Ji saw the Singh trying to fight the heavily armoured Mughal. Baba Ji charged towards the Mughal and pierced straight through the armour with his spear. Baba Ji shouted “Bole So Nihaal! Sat Sri Akaal!”. The Mughal fell to the ground. When Baba Ji tried to pull the spear out, the spear broke in half. At this point, the Mughals realised Baba Ji wasn’t holding a weapon so they shot arrows at Baba Ji. The arrows pierced through Baba Ji’s arms and Baba Ji’s Chola became red with blood. The other Singhs, including Bhai Alam Singh, had attained Shaheedi by this point. Baba Ajit Singh Ji was the last Singh standing. The Mughals had a look of relief as they thought they had killed Baba Ji but then Baba Ji gave the Mughals a terrifying look and took out his Kirpan. Baba Ji charged and started chopping the heads off those Mughals that had shot him and continued to fight. As Baba Ji is chopping the Mughals’ heads off, Baba Ji’s Kirpan hits the helmet of a Mughal and the Kirpan breaks. The Mughals thought that the battle was over as Baba Ji had no weapons but then Baba Ji pulls out his dagger and starts piercing through the Mughals again. The Mughals started to panic as hundreds of thousands of Mughals couldn’t kill one Singh. Baba Ji had killed over 125,000 Mughals. The Mughals then decided to stop attacking Baba Ji and stand back. Baba Ji cut off the last head with his dagger and then stared at the Mughals who were holding bow and arrows. Baba Ji held out his chest and was shot with many arrows. Baba Ji looked back towards Guru Ji and attained Shaheedi. Guru Gobind Singh Ji let out a loud Jakara “Bole So Nihaal, Sat Sri Akaal!”.

We should aim to develop a relationship with Guru Granth Sahib Ji and see Guru Ji as our friend. If we have problems in our life, then we should tell them to Guru Ji and take a Hukamnama. Always be alert and ready for battle. That is why Guru Ji has ordered us to wear a Kirpan at all times. Be fearless - if someone attacks you, always stand your ground and fight back. We should aim to be Khalsa (pure) from both the inside and the outside. To do this, we must receive Amrit and wear the 5 Kakkars at all times. If we are going to wear Guru Ji’s uniform, then we must stick to Guru Ji’s Rehat Maryada (Code of Conduct). If we make mistakes, wearing the uniform of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, then people will point fingers at the Khalsa. A Gursikh should get excited when they know they are going to be Shaheed. Guru Ji themselves come and take you to Sach Khand when you give your life for Sikhi. A Sikh of Guru Gobind Singh Ji is capable of fighting 125,000 people at once. Guru Ji has put us at the same level as Baba Ajit Singh Ji by calling us his sons and daughters. We should prove to Guru Ji that we really are his sons and daughters by receiving Amrit and following the path of Sikhi.