WH Y T HE MA R T Y R S

OF A MR I T S A R
SAC R X F I C E D THEMSELVES

SARDARN1 RAM DAS KAUR KHALSA

Secretary o f Refig!cn
SECRETARIAT OF SIKH DHARMA
1620 Preuss Road,
LOS ANGELES,
California— -90035
(U. S. A.)

Published by t
Sardar Mahinder Singh 'Gyanr Secretary,
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.
AMRITSAR.
 We have heard the story of the Martyrs of Amritsar. We have felt the
surge of pain and pride upon hearing of their sacrifice. And we are left standing
in ourselves wondering at the workings of the Greater, and wondering of the
greatness of these Saint-Soldiers Why did these men among men walk unto
death with joy in their hearts and the Name on their lips ? Why did these
beloved of God run to defend the honour and integrity of their father. Guru
Gobind Singh and their Guru, Sri Guru Granth Sahib ? Surely, the fame
of Guru Gobind Singh needs no defense. All know of his greatness- Surely,
the Word of God and Truth of Truth stands unto itself infinite and indescribable
What can slander do to the Word of God, which is above purity and impurity—
Truth, it was. Truth it is and Truth it ever shall be. What power drew them on
their final mission ?...LQVE.

m 3T3 g ifs e if
are H3 » inggoH gra ggi# 3 it (g rs H: m)

" i worship only my Guru. My Guru is himself the Lord."

"M y Guru is the Transcendent Lord and My Guru, the Auspicious Master."

— The Martyrs of Amritsar had already died. They had long ago given
their heads to the Guru. They belong to the Guru. When the call for a head
came, they had already given it. They were merged into Khafsa. The Guru
was in them and they in the Guru, they lived in »f'gi (an9 sang Waheguru),
Their father, their seed, their lifeblood was Guru Gobind Singh.

ftfu i * r u g ig g s * n

"H ail, Hail unto Gobind Singh, the Guru and disciple are one."

There was no separation. Guru Gobind Rai created the Khalsa and the
Khalsa created Guru Gobind Singh The creator loves His creation and the creation
lives in the Creator. When the Name of Guru Gobind Singh was slandered, those
Khalsa's life-blood was drained from their hearts, their lifeline, their breath.
Their link to God was the Shabd, the Word of God, as it came through their Guru.
When Siri Guru Granth Sahib was belittled, those Khalsa's life breath was cut off.
How could they continue to live hearing slander and belittfement ? Life without
honor and dignity is lower than a worm's existence. Those noble Martyrs of
Amritsar went to nobly request that the Guru's honor and the Khalsa's honor
be upheld.

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The Martyrs of Amritsar had merged themselves in the Guru's instruction.

Waheguru was on their lips and every hair on their bodies vibrated Waheguru.
They could not live without the Guru.

ara fa s * re a ?>d h n

They, the shining lights went into the darkness to speak the Truth, that
falsehood might listen. Their light was extinguished. Does not the
match burn to light the candle ? And their Light revealed so much that
day. It revealed treachery to the cause of one God and one
Brotherhood of Mankind. But it also kindled inspiration the world over to
rise up in commitment, to solidify our bonds of brotherhood of Khalsa, and to
proclaim that traitors of the Guru's house shall be ostracized from the sight
of Khalsa forever. The meeree-peeree Panth Khalsa shall not tolerate any
distortion, pollution or dilution of the direct and indirect orders of Guru Gobind
Singh any longer. And we w ill not listen to reasons, arguments and rationali­
zations of those weak Sikhs who want to be sheep rather than lions. Those who
• place their faith in the undying Akal Purkh are the true "A kalis"—not these poli-
1 ticians who compromise the values of Khalsa for name and fame in this tempo-
A rary life on earth. The earthly values hold no strength in the Guru's house.
Ego shall never be tolerated in the House of Guru Ram Das. And time shall prove
■ it. We have left the pinch and the pain watching the inner and outer betrayal
of Khalsa Panth and Khalsa spirit.

It is no wonder why these great souls who in the radiance of Guru's love
walked unto their Creator's gates. We have experienced |the ecstasy of chanting
God's Name; we have felt the burdens of suffering lifted in the Sadh Sangat; we
have sat at the feet of a great saint, as wide-eyed children, drinking in stories
of noble Sikh souls and the saints and sages of the past; we have felt the longing
to give ourselves breath and bone to the mission of Guru Nanak-Gobind Singh.
We are linked through the Khalsa Spirit to those great souls.

It is painful that mankind needs disaster to bring about its unity. It is

1 painful to have to see the death of righteous beings before we begin to live righte­
ously. But, it is the negativity which creates positivity. God has planted the
roots of the pure, beautiful lotus in the mud. And, out of the trampled, exploited
masses rose the Khalsa. From the Martyrdom of Guru Arjun Dev through the
Martyrs of Amritsar are many known and unknown, who have given themselves to
the cause of Truth, They are our examples of devotion and divinity, courage and
conviction, dignity and nobility. Because of love and obedience to their Guru,

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 they live among us today in the hearts of millions, to inspire us by their virtues.

The story of the Martyrs of Amritsar is the story of the devotee and the
Beloved: >;••••

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ara fg<sT h ^ Tu l U 3 ii

" 0 my soul, think of the Guru, the Great Guru

Without the Guru, I have not another."

Out of love for their Guru these being obeyed every command, by Guru’s Grace,
and reached th e , highest level of consciousness : SACRIFICE; "Those who per­
fectly obeyed became perfect before God."1 And in perfection of obedience they
lived in ecstasy, because "obedience is the first law of ecstasy."2 God arranges
the affeirs of all his servants. Drawn to their radiance and purity, God came to
live in them, and blessed them with immortality. Righteousness knows no death.

H W Hfe f% 3 i f e II
W o l # hS g g fg s u fe u ( hhqT
"Dying, dying everyone dies in one's turn.
But no one knows how to die.
Whosoever dies let him die such a death that he may not have to die
again." (Slok Kabir)

God blessed the Martyrs of Amritsar with the opportunity to stand for Truth with
all their hair " t ill their last breath." They gave themselves so that the nectaral
: teachings of the Light of Nanak might continue to quench the thirst of longing
souls The Martyrs of Amriisar gave themselves because there was nothing else to
dp Th?y were filled with the glory of God's Name. The heavens rejoiced at
their return and all we.can say is ; "Wahe Guru Ji ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru J i ki
Fateh !" "The pure ones belong to God, Victory to that wounderful Lord I"

1. 1 & 2—Bhai Sahib S. S. S. Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogi, May, 1978, Los
Angeles lecture.
2. All Gurmukhi quotes taken from Siri Guru Granth Sahib; Gond, Fifth
Channel of Light.

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