Who is our guru? That is what we are going to talk about right now. It is one of the most important stories that there is: The story of GurGaddi.
Do you know what GurGaddi day is? We all know it is when we celebrate when Siri Guru Granth Sahib became the next Guru. Yet we don't have just one Guru! Our Guru has two forms: Guru Panth and the Guru Granth.
But to understand our Guru we have to talk about the beginning of everything. Before all of Creation there was One Vibration, that’s quite a revelation! The big bang was when the One Vibration separated into different sounds... and from there all physical things also separated, and everything was created. Inside of everything... is vibration. The earth has its own vibration, so do the sun and the moon... and so do you!
You, me and everything that exists, at our very root, we are all vibration.
Everything is God’s song!
And we call this Original Vibration the ‘Shabd Guru’. The Shabd Guru contains all the wisdom of the universe! It has always existed, it will always exist and it was the teacher of Guru Nanak.
One time a powerful yogi asked Guru Nanak, “Well young man, you seem to know everything. Who is YOUR master than??” And Guru Nanak said,
“Shabd Guru Surat Dhun Chela, The Shabd is my guru, I am a disciple to the strum of It’s sound…”
This is true for us too. Through all of our lifetimes Shabd Guru also teaches us all to be masters, to sing our song perfectly. The Shabd Guru is the greatest master above masters.
Vibration being a master? This is a difficult truth for anyone to understand. The Gurus themselves spent hundreds of years to demonstrate how to live in this Vibration!
The Original Sound, the Shabd Guru always teaches us through the two forms of the guru. One form of the guru is the physical body; and one is the written form.
Did the Gurus talk about there being two forms of the Guru? Absolutely! During the time of the 5th human Sat Guru, Guru Arjun Dev ji, all the writings of different saints, bhagats and gurus were brought together in one binding. This is called the Aad Granth, the written guru. It captures the essence of the Shabd Guru, the Truth of the Universe.
There is 1430 pages of writings, and by reciting it our souls are satisfied. Guru Arjun Dev ji was so beautiful and so perfect, he seemed to be the very form of God on earth.
When Guru Arjun Dev finally finished putting the Aad Granth together he taught us,
“This is not just writings, this is a living guru, it is supreme. I am just a humble servant. The Aad Granth will take my place and I will sleep on the floor.”
From then on Guru ji would lay a sheet on the ground and sleep there while the Adi Granth stayed on his bed. That's how important the Granth is!
So who was the guru? The Aad Granth or Guru Arjun Dev ji? Both!
Back then, in the Guru’s time, there was both a guru with a physical body and also the written guru. And it’s still the same today.
Wasn't Guru Gobind Singh the last human guru? No, the guru continues to live in the physical body. This is called the ‘Guru Khalsa’ or the ‘Panth’.
Do you remember the story of Vaisakhi when the Panj Piare answered the call? Those Panj Pyare who passed the ultimate test, Guru ji said to them,
“Just as Guru Angad passed the test of Guruship from Guru Nanak, you 5 have done the same. I pass the GurGaddi to you my sons. We are now the same. You are My form and I am Your form.”
And Guru Ji meant what he said. He asked the Guru Khalsa for their blessing. “Exactly as you have received the Amrit, may you now offer it to me.”
And they did bless him with Amrit. Humanity had reached its highest evolution as Khalsa. Guru Ji said,
“The Khalsa is the Guru, the Guru is the Khalsa”
Sometimes the Khalsa would give orders to Guru ji and he would obey, and sometimes, well most of the time, Guru ji would give orders and they would obey.
When did Guru ji obey the Khalsa? I will tell you about when Guru ji not only confirmed the Panth as Guru but also he obeyed them. One time there was a tremendous battle. At one point everyone had died, Guru’s sons, the princes, Baba Ajeet Singh and Baba Jujhar Singh had died as great heroes. Guru ji was left with just 5 Khalsa warriors. The 5 and Guru ji were surrounded, there was no way out. They had to fight against thousands and thousands of enemies, Guru Ji said, “Let us charge forward and never turn our back! Always be fearless!!”
It was at this crucial time that Guru Gobind Singh decided to officially confirm the Khalsa as guru. Whenever the GurGaddi, the guru’s throne, is passed on, there is a ceremony where the next guru will receive some items and will be circled around 3 times. Guru Gobind Singh gave them some items. He gave them his own personal weapons and… he removed his kalgi, his crown of feathers... and put it on the Khalsa. Then Guru ji circled around them 3 times,
“In the five I shall always be present, when the five meet they are the master of masters."
And then he called out, "Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa! Vahiguru ji ki Fateh!!!
The GurGaddi had been passed to the next Guru. From then on the physical body of the guru would be the Guru Khalsa, the Panth,
“My four sons were my children from flesh. You, my beloved Khalsa, are my children from sound.”
Now that he passed on the Guruship he was ready for the end,
“May I die fighting in the battlefield, always hungry to sing God’s praise! Now it’s time for the final battle!”
Guru ji was about to jump into the fight… BUT the Guru Khalsa had a different idea. They said to each other,
“We are warriors and we don’t know retreat… but we need Guru ji to live.”
“I don’t mind dying, but I agree, everything will be lost if Guru Pita also dies now.”
“But Guru ji especially does not know retreat, he will never run, what can we do?!”
“There’s always something we can do! We are Khalsa! We are also the Guru, now we have to act like it!”
“By Thy Divine Grace... let us speak with the great Guru now.”
They came to Guru ji with bold hearts and folded hands, “Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa Vahiguru ji ki Fateh”
“Pita ji, we have something very important to say.”
“There are countless warriors who would instantly give their lives for you.”
“But there is only one guru like you who can create more Khalsa like us.”
“We know it is against your instinct to retreat...”
“...But you must survive today so you can create more Khalsa tomorrow.”
Guru Gobind Singh had meant to never retreat, “Oh beloveds. Just as you, my children, have sacrificed your lives, it’s now on me to do the same.”
But the Guru Khalsa expressed their authority, “Your sacrifice shall be that you live.”
“We are the Guru Khalsa, five of us have gathered in the name of the True Guru, and we command you to survive.”
Guru Gobind Singh was very pleased with his beloveds “Hahahah! Oh my Khalsa, I am very proud of you! The Panth has spoken! You have given your order and so shall it be.”
Guru Gobind Singh obeyed their hukam and survived. Even though he would be alone, chased by thousands and thousands of enemies, Guru ji did escape, and he did live to the next day, to create more Khalsa for the future, “Boooleee so nihaaaal! Sat Sri Akaaaalu!"
So you see, the Guru Khalsa is the same as the great Guru himself. They live in the same vibration of mastery, all of them together are merged with the Original Vibration, the Shabd Guru. They are singing the same tune!
Can anyone be the Guru? We are the sons and daughters of Guru Gobind Singh and Mata Sahib. They love us and they are always there to help us live our destiny. The Guru Khalsa is always more than 1 or 2 people to be the full body of the Guru. The beloved Panth are fearless and have pure hearts. They live by the guru’s discipline, they are full of nectar and love.
Back to the story. That is how the Panth received the guruship, and now I will describe the GurGaddi of the Granth. While there are other Granths, the writings of Guru Gobind Singh, which are given the same respect, for this story we will talk about the Aad Granth.
Guru Gobind Singh ji was pleased with his beloved Khalsa Panth. He had been with the Khalsa long enough to see that they were bold and confident in their status as masters. He was satisfied that they were mature enough to perfectly stay in the vibration. His Khalsa were just like him, and his mission had finished. So he allowed circumstances to end his human life. He announced, “It is time for me to return to the Realm of Truth.”
Now that human kind had understood their own greatness as the Khalsa, it was time for the final teaching, “I have merged myself into the Panth, and now it is time for me to merge into the Granth. Dya Singh, bring the Siri Guru.”
Bhai Daya Singh brought the Aad Granth.
As he had done before with the Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh placed some items in front the next guru, he circled around the Sri Granth and bowed down. The final Gurgaddi had been passed, “I infuse my living spirit into Siri Guru Granth ji! Ang Sang Waheguru!”
Bhai Daya writes what Guru had said at that time:
‘Shree akal purkh ke bachan sio pragatio panth mahaan. Granth panth guru maneai taare sakal kulaan’
“By the will of the Deathless One the great Panth was created. Whoever accepts the Granth and the Panth as the Guru, all of their generations are saved”
Now that Guru Gobind Singh had passed on the Guruship to the Panth and the Granth he let his human life end.
Whenever the Guru Granth sits and the Guru Khalsa is present, Guru Gobind Singh himself, is always there. And many other warrior spirits come with him.
If we ever have a question, we ask the Guru Granth Sahib by taking a hukam. The written guru enlightens our mind
If we ever want to see the darshan of Guru ji, we’ll look to the 5 Khalsa. Let us try and become like them.
From the Shabd Guru came the 10 gurus. Then came the Guru Panth and the Guru Granth. All to lead us back to the Shabd Guru, the Original Vibration.
Let us dedicate ourselves to understanding and singing the guru’s shabads. Putting them deeper in our hearts.
“Ikongkar, Satnam, Karta Purkh, Nirbhao, Nirvair, Akal Murat Ajuni Saibhang Gurprash, Jap, Ad Sach, Jugad Sach, Hai Bhi Sach, Nanak Hosi Bhi Sach”
Let us live with discipline and devotion, always perfecting ourselves as Khalsa, always moving closer and closer towards mastery, closer towards humility, towards love, closer towards our beloved guru.
Hail to the Guru Granth! Hail to the Guru Panth!
Guru Gobind Singh says,
ਆਪਨਪੌ ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਖਾਲਸਹਿ ਸੌਪਾਂ, ਦ੍ਵਤਯਿ ਰੂਪ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥਾ ॥
ਬੋਲਨ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁ ਸਬਦ-ਸੋਭਾਖਨ, ਨਾਮ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਕੀਰਤਨਿ ਸੰਥਾ ॥
Apanpou shri khalsih soupaa, dwatyi roop satiguru granthaa
Bolan satiguru sabad sobhakhan, naam gobind kirtan santhaa
I have merged my form into the Khalsa. My second form is the Guru Granth.
Speak with the True Guru through the Shabd, pronounce, sing and chant the naam.
If you have the darshan of the Khalsa, you will have my darshan.
When you sing the Shabd from the Guru Granth, you are speaking to me.
Just as there are 12 months, I have 12 forms. 10 forms of Nanak, the 11th is the Khalsa and the 12th is the Guru Granth.
The power of God is alive in the Guru Granth and Khalsa Panth.
Servant Gobind declares the victory of the True Guru. The Granth is the form of the Guru.
VAHIGURU JI KA KHALSA, VAHIGURU JI KI FATEH
For more information on the research and discussion on this important event in human history read: 'Recognizing the 12 forms of our Guru'