1 GURU GOVIND SINGH. 2638
2 the Khdlsdé. They are the mutual protectors of each other.” All the
3 rest of the Guru’s disciples were similarly inaugurated, and declared
4 Singhs, or champions of war. The Guru was further pleased to make
5 the announcement that thenceforward, wherever five Sikhs should be
6 assembled together, it should be considered as if the Guru Govind Singh
7 was himself present. In a work written by himself, called “ Rakmat Némd”
8 or “Rule of "Life of Govind,” he assured his followers that those who wished
9 to see the Guru.would behold him in the “ Khdlsé.” It was also declared at
10 the same time that whoever wished to be the true follower of the Guru,
11 must not be without five things, all commencing with the letter K., namely,
12 kangt (comb), hachh (breeches reaching to the knee), kard (knife), kes
13 (long hair of the head), and kivpdn (sword); whoever was without these,
14 would not be considered a true disciple.
15 The Guru now embarked on his great enterprize, that of entirely remodel-
16 ling the Hindu religion and abolishing the distinctions of caste, by trying to
17 bring all men, without distinction of race or descent, to the adoration of that
18 Supreme Being before whom all men, he argued, were equal. He summoned
19 into his presence all Sikhs, and passed stringent orders that every house
20 inhabited by four adult males should contribute two men for service under
21 him. In less than a fortnight 80,000 Sikhs flocked to Makhowéal in obe-
22 dience to the commands of the Guru, and, when all had assembled, the
23 martial Guru, seating himself on a golden chair, delivered an eloquent
24 address, which made a deep impression on the minds of his hearers. He
25 commenced by praising God, whom he described as the Omnipotent,
26 Almighty, invisible and merciful. God must be worshipped, said he, in
27 truthfulness and sincerity, and no material resemblance must degrade him.
28 The Lord could only. be beheld by the eye of faith in the general body
29 of the Khdlsé. He then announced to them the great object of his mission,
30 and declared that he-had been sent as a messenger of the Lord, the inheri-
31 tor of the spirit of Nanak, transmitted to him as one lamp imparts its
32 flame to another, to save and liberate the Khdlsdé and to unite all Sikhs in
33 one common chain of brotherhood. “There must be no caste among you,”
34 said he, “and you must all be equal, no man greater than the other.” The
35 four tribes of the Hindus, the Brahman, the Chhatris, the Vaisya and the
36 Sudra, must all become one, and like pdén (betel leat), chuna (lime), supdré
37 (betel nut),: and kath (terra japonica, or catechu), the constituents of a
38 masticatory given customarily to visitors, become all of one colour. All
39 must eat at the same table and drink from the same cup; caste must be
40 forgotten ; the idols destroyed; the Brahman’s thread broken; the graves
41 of the so-called saints abandoned; and the Qurdns torn to pieces. The
42 only way to salvation was initiation by him into the Pdhal of the Sut
43 Guru, a true belief in the holiness and purity of the Khdlsd, and the
44 ascription of praise and glory to the Creator. Their words must be in
45 accordance with the deeds,* which are Karatnass, Kulnass, Dharmnass,
46 Karmnass, Ritnass and Hatnass, the total abandonment and forsaking of
47 hereditary occupation, family ties and affection, religious belief, or a belief
48 in the transmigration of soul, ceremonies and social ties, and the adoption,
49 in their stead, of the true religion of the Sat Guru.
50 From this time Govind tied up his hair in a knot (or kes), thus himself
51 setting an example of his commandments in regard to the keeping of the five
52 articles commencing with the letter kulka, or the Persian kaf, and changed
53 his name to Singh. He similarly changed the name of his followers from
54 Sikh to Singh, or lion, an honourable title exclusively assumed by the Rdj-
55 And are hencefor-
56 ward to be call
57 Singhs, or losns of God.
58 Five essential requi-
59 sites of a true Singh of
60 the Guru.
61 The great gathering
62 at Makhowal.
63 The Guru's address,
64 A new dispensation
65 vouchsafed.
66 Distinction of caste
67 abolished.
68 The mode of salya~
69 tion.
70 The general Sikhs
71 feel themselves elevat-
72 ed im ranh.
73 Sri Satguru J agjit Singhreelnirainybet belie& ~~ NamdhariElibrary@ gmail.com