The story of Vaisakhi began with the martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru who was publicly beheaded by Aurungzeb, the Mughal ruler.
After the martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadur, his valiant son, Guru Gobind Singh wished to instill courage and strength to sacrifice among his fellow men. To fulfill his dream, Guru Gobind Singh called on the historic Vaisakhi Day congregation of Sikhs at Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib near Anandpur Sahib on March 30, 1699. When thousands of people assembled for Guru’s blessing, Guru Gobind Singh came out of the tent carrying an unsheathed sword. He gave a powerful speech to infuse courage amongst fellowmen. At the end of the speech he said that every great deed was preceded by equally great sacrifice and demanded that anyone prepared to give his life for the cause of humanity may come forward. On the Guru’s call, a young man offered himself. The Guru took the man inside a tent and reappeared alone with a bloodied sword. The Guru then asked for another volunteer. This was repeated another four times until a total of five men had gone into the tent with the Guru. Everyone present was worried and thought that Guru has killed them. At this point Guru presented all the five men before the people alive and wearing turbans and saffron-colored garments. These five men were called Panj Piara or ‘Beloved Five’ by the Guru and consumed the specially prepared sacred water called Amrit. In a move to end social divisions the Panj Piara’s surnames were removed by the Guru, mainly because surnames were associated with caste - the Guru then gave all Sikh men the name Singh, meaning “lion”, a reminder of the need for courage and all Sikh women the name Kaur, meaning “princess”, to emphasize dignity and complete equality.
These five beloved ones went on to baptize thousands of people including the Guru who knelt before the five. Hence, the Khalsa (the pure one) became a community in which master and disciple were equal and thus the khalsa and the Sikh religion was born and Sikhs were given a clear identity and a code of conduct to live by which included wearing a turban and have unshorn hair.
Legend has it that it was this valour that protected the region and communitites from invasions and forcible religious conversions. In fact at one point these valiant Sikhs even ruled India from the Red Fort in Delhi. Sikhs form only 2% of the population in India and constitute over 20% of the Indian Army. Sikhs even fought alongside the ANZAC forces and laid down their lives trying to protect them.
To mark the Vaisakhi, devotees throng gurdwaras. The traditional dances of Bhangra and Gidda are performed and Sikhs gather in large numbers to be part of a procession (Nagar Kirtan) in all cities in India. There are similar processions in globally and a very impressive one in our very own Auckland.
An unparalled procession of grand proportions involving 2500 devotees, an army style English band and horse riding Sikhs marked the birth of Khalsa in Auckland. The management committee of the Sikh Temples at Otahuhu and Takinini have been successfully doing this for the past 18 years and has become an important event in the local Sikh calendar.
This kilometer long procession, held on the 6th of April was a spectacle worth not missing. Sikhs wore their traditional dresses and it was sea of blue and orange depicting the rich history and culture of Sikhs who are well known worldwide for their heroic courage.