1 Guru Govind Singh. 33
2 was only fifteen years old when his father was
3 murdered. Fearing a like fate for himself, the boy
4 took refuge in the hill country of Hoshiapiir, and for
5 nearly twenty years lived in seclusion, brooding on
6 his own and his people's wrongs, and perfecting his
7 future plans. The end which he set before himself Oi/^
8 was nothing less than the overthrow of the MoghuL -
9 empire, and the establishment of the Sikhs as
10 an independent power. On emerging from his
11 retirement, he applied himself heart and soul to
12 his mission. He saw that progress would be
13 impossible unless he could fire his followers with
14 new zeal and add largely to their numbers. To
15 accomplish this, he relied on his spiritual authority as
16 guru. He called an assembly, announced his mission,
17 and proclaimed the doctrine which was to weld
18 the Sikhs into a military nation. Before his audience
19 dispersed, he instituted the pahul, or baptismal
20 ceremony ; 1 and after baptizing five of his disciples
21 he received the rite himself, taking the title of
22 "Singh,"2 which he ordained should be added to the
23 name of every new member of the Khalsa.
24 1 Sikhs are not ordinarily initiated till they reach years of dis-
25 cretion. The essentials of the ceremony are that at least five Sikhs
26 should be assembled, and it is generally arranged that one of the
27 number is of some religious repute. Some sugar and water are
28 stirred together in a vessel of any kind, usually with a two-edged
29 sword ; but any iron weapon will answer the purpose. The novice
30 stands with his hands folded in an attitude of humility or supplica-
31 tion, and he repeats after the elder or minister the main articles of
32 his faith. Some of the water is then sprinkled on his face and hands,
33 after which he drinks the remainder, and exclaims, " Wah Guru ! "
34 (Hail Guru !) or " Wah Guruji ka Khalsa ! " (Victory to the Khalsa of
35 the Guru ! ) ; and the ceremony concludes with an injunction that he
36 be true to God, and to his duty as a Sikh. (Adapted from Cunning-
37 ham's History of the Sikhs.)
38 2 See Appendix D.
39 (1,841) 3