Guru Gobind Singh's Death at Nanded Examination of - Vidhia.com
Guru Gobind Singh's Death at Nanded Examination of - Vidhia.com
Guru Gobind Singh's Death at Nanded Examination of - Vidhia.com
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66 AN EXAMINATION OF SUCCESSION THEORIES<br />
to quietly remove it from the stable when the Sikhs were all<br />
coll ected in a mournful mood <strong>at</strong> the crem<strong>at</strong>ion place.<br />
But Bhai Kahan Singh, the writer <strong>of</strong> the article, was<br />
not himself convinced <strong>of</strong> the truthfulness <strong>of</strong> the belief <strong>of</strong> the<br />
nik<strong>at</strong>-varti people <strong>of</strong> Baba Ajapal Singh. After referring to<br />
a couple <strong>of</strong> conjectures <strong>of</strong> the nik<strong>at</strong>-vartis, he says : "I haye<br />
not formed any conclusive opinion on this subject." This<br />
clearly means th<strong>at</strong> he was in doubt about the correctness <strong>of</strong><br />
the story. Th<strong>at</strong> is why he mentions the remaining part <strong>of</strong><br />
the story with a big 'If, saying : I give a summary <strong>of</strong> the<br />
account as noted down from my f<strong>at</strong>her's narr<strong>at</strong>ion, without<br />
entering into its refut<strong>at</strong>ion or support—khandan mandan."<br />
[Phulwari, April 1927, p. 461.] Not only this. According to<br />
Bhai Kahan Singh, the story <strong>of</strong> Baba Ajapal <strong>Singh's</strong> alleged<br />
stay <strong>at</strong> Jind and P<strong>at</strong>iala is also unsubstanti<strong>at</strong>ed and unacceptable<br />
as there is no evidence or convincing pro<strong>of</strong> available to<br />
support it—V3 §s1 fga wrer gsl ysra yprg fsH v) VBSI HBT sn¥<br />
friHBi— [Phulwari, April 1927, p. 462.]<br />
Bhai Kahan <strong>Singh's</strong> own belief in this respect is also<br />
available to us in his Gurm<strong>at</strong> Sudhakar published in 1912<br />
wherein he says th<strong>at</strong> Baba Ajapal Singh had received Amrit,<br />
the baptism <strong>of</strong> a Singh, from <strong>Guru</strong> <strong>Gobind</strong> Singh and had<br />
spent gre<strong>at</strong>er part <strong>of</strong> his life living with him — ^gi vnfrvw<br />
fftUl fasi 5 SfBafiqB H?'Kl 3* wfH3" SfettH W3 §H3 W HST foH' MBH f\Bi<br />
SIR ?fe § r?3TWT i [Kala vii-29, p. 217,Appendix XIV (b).]<br />
From the st<strong>at</strong>ements <strong>of</strong> Bhai Kahan Singh, it is clear<br />
th<strong>at</strong> Baba Ajapal Singh could not have been <strong>Guru</strong> <strong>Gobind</strong><br />
Singh himself.<br />
14. NEO-GURUSHIP DOCTRINE UNTENABLE<br />
Not only this. Bhai Kahan <strong>Singh's</strong> f<strong>at</strong>her, Bhai Narain<br />
Singh, who was the only source <strong>of</strong> inform<strong>at</strong>ion about Baba<br />
Ajapal Singh, had told him th<strong>at</strong> Baba Ajapal Singh always<br />
referred to his <strong>Guru</strong> in the third person as '<strong>Guru</strong> Singh Ji' and<br />
thereby meant the Tenth <strong>Guru</strong> <strong>Gobind</strong> Singh (Dasmesh),<br />
occasionally saying, "This is the order <strong>of</strong> <strong>Guru</strong> Singh ji",<br />
"<strong>Guru</strong> Singh ji has ordered this", "<strong>Guru</strong> Singh ji will chastise<br />
the evil self-willed. He who will adopt the discipline <strong>of</strong> <strong>Guru</strong><br />
! GURU GOBIND SINGH S DEATH AT NANDED 67<br />
Singh ji will be happy in this world and in the world beyond",<br />
etc. [Vide Appendix XIV (a), No. 1, under boll, nit di rit<br />
and updesh.]<br />
In his st<strong>at</strong>ement in the Sikh Sewak, Amritsar, <strong>of</strong><br />
October 27, 1933, page 3, Bhai Kahan Singh has recorded<br />
th<strong>at</strong> it was clear from his (BKS's) writings th<strong>at</strong> Baba Ajapal<br />
Singh acknowledged <strong>Guru</strong> <strong>Gobind</strong> Singh as his <strong>Guru</strong> and<br />
"It is my firm belief," he continues, "th<strong>at</strong> before his de<strong>at</strong>h<br />
Kalghidhar (<strong>Guru</strong> <strong>Gobind</strong> Singh) had installed <strong>Guru</strong> Granth<br />
Sahib as <strong>Guru</strong> and th<strong>at</strong> he had not continued the <strong>Guru</strong>ship<br />
by installing any other man on the <strong>Guru</strong> gaddi, as I have<br />
been writing in my books." This was affirmed by him in<br />
a l<strong>at</strong>er issue <strong>of</strong> the same journal <strong>of</strong> October 31, 1933, page 3.<br />
In the light <strong>of</strong> these observ<strong>at</strong>ions and st<strong>at</strong>ements, the story<br />
<strong>of</strong> Baba Ajapal Singh being <strong>Guru</strong> <strong>Gobind</strong> Singh preached up<br />
by the Namdharis, primarily on the authority <strong>of</strong> Bhai Kahan<br />
Singh, falls to the ground.<br />
It is strange th<strong>at</strong> on this baseless and insecure story the<br />
Namdhari publicists like Alam and Chakarvarti, followed by<br />
Sri Wahmi, have tried to build up the <strong>Guru</strong>ship <strong>of</strong> Babas Balak<br />
Singh and Ram Singh in succession to <strong>Guru</strong> <strong>Gobind</strong> Singh.<br />
To them the figur<strong>at</strong>ive lauguage and the imaginary fables <strong>of</strong><br />
poet-biographers came handy for the production <strong>of</strong> their<br />
propaganda liter<strong>at</strong>ure to cajole their followers. In their<br />
devotion, the earlier poets had, in their own way,<br />
tried to see and raise <strong>Guru</strong> <strong>Gobind</strong> Singh to be a<br />
supern<strong>at</strong>ural being, unaffected by the laws <strong>of</strong> n<strong>at</strong>ure. They<br />
would not, therefore, let him die like an ordinary human<br />
being but would send him straight to heaven bodily, riding<br />
a horse, wel<strong>com</strong>ed by the Puranic gods and the previous<br />
Sikh <strong>Guru</strong>s. In this they only followed in the footsteps <strong>of</strong><br />
ancient mythologists.<br />
The Namdhari scholars, referred to above, have<br />
used exclusively the Braj and Panjabi poetry and<br />
hagiographical liter<strong>at</strong>ure. They had a deep-rooted prejudice<br />
against Urdu, Persian and English in which most <strong>of</strong><br />
the historical liter<strong>at</strong>ure <strong>of</strong> the Panjab was to be found. To