Fundamentalism and the Sikh Religious Tradition by T.N. Madan

growth of the Sikh society, but also considered the event to be important enough to be
recorded in his autobiography. No wonder, in his detailed assessment of the sociopolitical
growth of the Sikhs, historian H.R. Gupta records that the Fifth Guru had created
a 'State within a State'. Evidently, it was this development which the Emperor, like any
vigilant ruler wanted to stop. The second step the Fifth Guru took was to finalise the
Scripture of the Panth, thereby categorically announcing that the Sikhs had an entirely
new religion, or thesis, embodied in the Scripture, being unrelated to any other religious
system, its scripture or doctrines. The third step the Fifth Guru took, was intimately
connected with his first two measures of proclaiming the independent character of the
Sikh religion and organising its development as a socio-religious body. This step had
three aspects. The Guru was called and treated as a Sacha Patshah (True Emperor),
meaning thereby that he was the head both of the secular and the religious wings of life.
It is essential to know that Bhai Gurdas calls Guru Nanak also Sacha Patshah, indicating
thereby that the Guru was the instrument of God in both the spiritual and the secular
realms. The second aspect was that Guru Arjun, as also perceived by the Emperor, had
financially assisted and supported a rebel to the throne. This was bound to raise the ire of
the Emperor, involving confrontation with The Empire and leading to Guru's martyrdom.
It was a very important religious and political event to give a lead to the Sikh society and
to motivate and prepare it for the new tasks ahead. In the religious history of India it is
the first case of martyrdom involving confrontation between a prophet and the Emperor
of the day. The third step the Guru took, logically following from the other measures he
had adopted, was training his son in the art of arms and hunting, and giving the direction
to him that he should raise an army. Otherwise, it is impossible to conceive that at the age
of eleven the Sixth Master, on the very first day of his Guruship, and to the surprise of
chief Gursikhs like Bhai Budha and Bhai Gurdas, should insist on wearing two swords
and using a soldier's attire.
The necessity of this step was ideologically so clear to the Guru, that he
employed mercenaries to train his men in the art of soldiery. Further, he not only fought
battles with the Imperical forces, and constructed a fort at Amritsar, called Lohgarh, but
formaly symbolised the Miri Piri system of Guru Nanak by the constructions of Akal
Takhat and the raising of the flags of Miri and Piri close to Harmandir Sahib. They were
not two institutions. But, following the logic of the system, these represented their
essential combination in the Sikh religion.
Hereafter the maintenance of an army by the Gurus became a regular feature of
the Sikh Society. So much so, that despite knowing of the martyrdom of the Fifth Guru,
who had supported the rebel Khusro, the Seventh Guru approached rebel Dara and
offered him military assistance for his claim to the throne. Another extremely important
fact is the reply of the Ninth Master to Aurangzeb. It was reported to the Emperor that the
Guru was organising a new and independent nation which could be a political force
against him. The Emperor conveyed it to the Guru that if he desisted from his political
activities, he would be favoured with official grants for his religious preaching and
prayers. The Guru declined the offer, and continued with both kinds of activities, which
he naturally considered essential for his mission. To outsiders the hymns of the Ninth
Master would seem to be very quietist in their import. These they are not. For, the
martyrdom of the Guru was clearly connected with his support for the cause of the
Kashmiris suffering oppression and religious persecution, as represented by Pandit Kirpa