Here’s a Day to Celebrate. Rarely is found a person in the history of mankindwho has left such a deep imprint on the life andcharacter of people within a brief span of 42years. More than three hundred years later he stillcontinues to move millions of men and women not onlyin India, the great subcontinent of Asia but the entireworld.

From the five beloveds he baptized in 1699 today he hasa following of  close to 30  million and growing with the religionhe gave enjoying fifth position among the world’s mostfavored religions.

Guru Gobind Singh, the man I am referring to, was aunique person. The image of God he portrayed is exactlythe same as painted by Guru Nanak Dev, the First Masterof the Sikhs. The Mool Mantra of Jaap Sahib (a poeticwork of Guru Gobind Singh) provides an interestingstudy from this point of view. The Almighty of GuruGobind Singh is the “True Lord of All, has neitherdistinguishing signs nor marks, no one can discern him,and beyond limitations and is manifested as the Light ofthe Spirit, the Lord God of a myriad Indras and isproclaimed the King of Kings, the Master of the three worlds- of gods, men and demons. Guru Gobind Singh gave the message of equalityand fraternity i.e., Fatherhood of God and brotherhood ofmankind. He said, some are Hindus, some Turks, someare of Shia persuasion and some of ImamShafai;mankind is all of one race. Eminent historian Cunningham states that though thelast apostle of the Sikhs did not see his own endsaccomplished, he effectively raised the dormant energyof a vanquished people and filled them with the lofty,although fitful, longing for social freedom and nationalascendancy, the true adjunct of that purity of worshipwhich had been preached by Guru Nanak.

Guru Gobind Singh not only patronized the Sikhinstitution of sacrifice, he actually sacrificed his wholefamily. Guru Gobind Singh is an ideal and should be anidol for the young generation of today. All  pessimismwill vanish and instead a robust optimism will fill ouryouth should they imbibe the ideals and values of theGuru. Let them give up their weakness for intoxicantsand have faith in their innate energy to countenance anychallenge and overcome any obstacle. Let them follow theGuru’s progressive humanism empowered withspirituality and sacrifice. Let them derive strength andcourage from the Tenth Guru who expressed alloptimism and positive attitude for the victory of theforces of righteousness over evil and repression. Sikh culture and religion is a rich heritage to beprotected and glorified. The mission of Guru   Nanak / Guru Gobind Singh is cosmic. May the Almighty bestowHis blessings on all human beings, particularly younggeneration of the Sikhs and fill them with tremendousstrength and will to establish the Kingdom of God onEarth. May the Lord Almighty rid the Sikh leaders ofarrogance and drunkenness of power! May they learn tobe meek, humble, caring, loving and giving, following thedictates of our Gurus!

Vaisakhi is a day to thank the Tenth Master for all Hisgifts to His Panth and also a day to dedicate ourselves to His mission. It is a day to celebrate the birth of Khalsa.