Guru Tej Bahadur was the ninth
Sikh Guru, often venerated as the ‘Protector of Humanity’ (Srisht-di-Chadar) by
the Sikhs. Known as a great teacher, Guru Tej Bahadur was also an excellent
warrior, thinker, and poet, who wrote detailed description of the nature of
God, mind, body, and physical attachments among other things spiritual. His
writings are housed in the sacred text, ‘Guru Granth Sahib,’ in the form of 116
poetic hymns. He was also an avid traveler and played a key role in setting up
preaching centers throughout the Indian subcontinent. During one such mission,
he founded the town of Chak-Nanki in Punjab, which later became a part of
Punjab’s Anandpur Sahib. In 1675, Guru Tej Bahadur was forced by the then
Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb to give up his faith and convert to Islam. When he
refused, the Sikh Guru was beheaded on November 24, 1675, in Delhi.
Early Life
Guru Tej Bahadur was born on April
1, 1621, in Amritsar, Panjab. He was born to the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru
Hargobind, and his wife, Mata Nanaki. As a child, Tyag Mal (childhood name) learnt
Sanskrit, Hindi, and Gurmukhi from the revered Sikh scholar, Bhai Gurdas. While
horsemanship and archery was taught to him by Baba Buddha ji, Guru Hargobind
taught him swordsmanship.
When Tyag Mal was just 13 years
old, he accompanied his father to a battle against the Mughals, who had laid
siege to Kartarpur. For exhibiting great valor and military skills, Guru
Hargobind bestowed upon his son the title ‘Tej Bahadur.
In 1632, he got married. The next
two decades saw Tej Bahadur spend most of his time meditating in an underground
room in Bakala, where he would later be recognized as the ninth Sikh Guru.
During his stay in Bakala, Tej Bahadur traveled extensively and even visited
Delhi to meet Guru Har Krishan, the eighth Sikh guru. Guru Har Krishan was
asked who would be his successor to which he simply uttered the words ‘Baba’
and ‘Bakala. On August 10, 1664, Tej Bahadur was declared as the ninth Sikh
Guru in a miraculous way.
Works
Guru Tej Bahadur started traveling
in order to preach the teachings of the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak. He also
started spreading the message of Sikhism, while helping those in need. On one
of his visits to Bilaspur, Guru Tej Bahadur met with Rani Champa of
Bilaspurwhere he founded a city called Anandpur Sahib. Some of Guru Tej
Bahadur’s works are added in the ‘Guru Granth Sahib’ and cover a range of
topics, including nature of God, mind, body, physical attachments, etc.
Execution
On November 24, 1675, Guru Tej
Bahadur was beheaded in Delhi for standing up against the Mughal ruler. Post
Guru Tej Bahadur’s execution, the Sikhs became more resilience than ever. The
Guru’s sacrifice continues to remind the followers of the Sikh religion to stay
true to their faith.
Legacy
Upon Guru Tej Bahadur’s execution,
his son Gobind Singh became the tenth Sikh Guru and came to be known as Guru
Gobind Singh. He organized the Sikh group in such a way that it eventually
became a distinct and symbol-patterned community to focus more on aspects like
bravery and self-defense, which gave rise to the ‘Khalsa.’
A number of places, including educational institutions and hospitals have been named after Guru Tej Bahadur.