Khalsa

The term Khālsā ( , ) refers to both a community that follows Sikhism as its religion, as well as a special group of initiated Sikhs. The Khalsa tradition was initiated in 1699 by the Tenth Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh. Its formation was a key event in the history of Sikhism. The founding of Khalsa is celebrated by Sikhs during the festival of Vaisakhi. Guru Gobind Singh started the Khalsa tradition after his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was beheaded during the rule of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after the Hindu Brahmins had sought his aid to save their religion. Guru Gobind Singh created and initiated the Khalsa as a warrior with a duty to protect the innocent from religious persecution. The founding of the Khalsa started a new phase in the Sikh tradition. It formulated an initiation ceremony (amrit sanskar, nectar ceremony) and rules of conduct for the Khalsa warriors. It created a new institution for the temporal leadership of the Sikhs, replacing the earlier Masand system. Additionally, the Khalsa provided a political and religious vision for the Sikh community. Upon initiation, a male Sikh was given the title of Singh meaning "lion". Kaur was made the sole, compulsory identifier for female Sikhs in the twentieth century. The rules of life include a behavioural code called Rahit.…

The term Khālsā ( , ) refers to both a community that follows Sikhism as its religion, as well as a special group of initiated Sikhs. The Khalsa tradition was initiated in 1699 by the Tenth Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh. Its formation was a key event in the history of Sikhism. The founding of Khalsa is celebrated by Sikhs during the festival of Vaisakhi. Guru Gobind Singh started the Khalsa tradition after his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was beheaded during the rule of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after the Hindu Brahmins had sought his aid to save their religion. Guru Gobind Singh created and initiated the Khalsa as a warrior with a duty to protect the innocent from religious persecution. The founding of the Khalsa started a new phase in the Sikh tradition. It formulated an initiation ceremony (amrit sanskar, nectar ceremony) and rules of conduct for the Khalsa warriors. It created a new institution for the temporal leadership of the Sikhs, replacing the earlier Masand system. Additionally, the Khalsa provided a political and religious vision for the Sikh community. Upon initiation, a male Sikh was given the title of Singh meaning "lion". Kaur was made the sole, compulsory identifier for female Sikhs in the twentieth century. The rules of life include a behavioural code called Rahit. Some rules are no tobacco, no intoxicants, no adultery, no Kutha meat, no modification of hair on the body, and a dress code (Five Ks). While originally a distinct subset of Sikhs, today the dilineation between Khalsa Sikhs and the wider, mainstream Sikh community has become blurred and muddled, despite most Sikhs not being formally ordained into the Khalsa order as Amritdharis. Most Sikhs hold the Khalsa institution in high-regard as the ultimate stage of a Sikh that serious Sikhs should aspire to become. ==Etymology== The term khālsā, is derived from the Arabic word k͟hālis which means "to be pure, to be clear, to be free from, to be sincere, to be true, to be straight, to be solid". Sikhism emerged in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent (now parts of Pakistan and India). During the Mughal empire rule, according to professor Eleanor Nesbitt, Khalsa originally meant the land that was possessed directly by the emperor, which was different from jagir land granted to lords in exchange for a promise of loyalty and annual tribute to the emperor. Prior to Guru Gobind Singh, the religious organization was organized through the masands or agents. The masands would collect revenue from rural regions for the Sikh cause, much like jagirs would for the Islamic emperor. The Khalsa, in Sikhism, came to mean pure loyalty to the Guru, and not to the intermediary masands who were increasingly becoming corrupt, states Nesbitt. ==Background== The word "Khalsa" as used by Sikhs first finds mentions in the hukamnamas issued during the guruship tenure of Guru Hargobind, where he references the congregation of the east as being the "Khalsa of the guru". A later hukamnama issued by Guru Tegh Bahadur refers to the local Sikh congregation of Pattan Farid as being 'Guru ji ka Khalsa' ("Khalsa of the guru"). In a hukamnama of Guru Gobind Singh dated to 25 April 1699, he refers to a congregation of local Sikhs of Bhai Gurdas Bhagte Phaphre village as 'sangat sahlang', with the 'sahlang' term being a different designation from that of a Khalsa. According to the Dabestan-e Mazaheb, the 'sahlang' term referred to person(s) initiated into the Sikh religion by a masand, who acted as representatives on behalf of the Sikh gurus. Such Sikhs were termed as meli or masandia, and were differentiated from Sikhs who had received their initiation rites directly from a Sikh guru, whom were termed as Khalsa. Whilst extant hukamnamas of Guru Gobind Singh from the period of 1699 to 1707 refer to local Sikh congregations or individual Sikhs as being the guru's Khalsa (often with the phrase ' Sarbat sangat mera Khalsa hai ' meaning "the entire congregation is my Khalsa"), with the coming of the end of a personal guruship, Guru Gobind Singh would then issue a hukamnama to the Sikh congregation of Varanasi on 3 February 1708 that referred to them as being ' Waheguru ji ka Khalsa ("Khalsa of Waheguru"). The term Khalsa in Sikhism predates the events of Vaisakhi in 1699. Before the formalization of the Khalsa Panth in April 1699, the term Khalsa referred to a very special Sikh who was held in high esteem and considered as being close to the Guru. The Khalsa Panth's formalization in 1699 essentially opened this restricted class of Sikhs as a possibility to attain for the wider congregation. During the period of Banda Singh Bahadur, two extant hukamnamas of Banda that were issued to the Sikh congregations of Bhai Rupa and Jaunpur refer to them as being ' Akal Purakh jio da Khalsa ' (meaning "the Khalsa of the Immortal Being"). With the later hukamnamas of Guru Gobind Singh's widowed wives, Mata Sundari and Mata Sahib Devan, of which there are around a dozen issued variously between the years 1717–1732, the Khalsa is also described as belonging to the supreme god, termed as Akal Purakh. By the time the Akal Takht began to issue hukamnamas, referring to itself as Sat Sri Akal Purakh ji ka Khalsa ', the phrase 'Waheguru ji ka Khalsa' had already been established in common Sikh parlence to refer to specific people or a collective. The Sikhs faced religious persecution during the Mughal Empire rule. Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Guru, was arrested and executed by Mughal Emperor Jahangir in 1606. The following Guru, Guru Hargobind formally militarised the Sikhs and emphasised the complementary nature of the temporal power and spiritual power. In 1675, Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of the Sikhs and the father of Guru Gobind Singh was executed by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb for resisting religious persecution of non-Muslims, and for refusing to convert to Islam. Guru Gobind Singh's sons were killed since they refused to convert to Islam. The Dadupanthis had a tradition that was known as Khalsa, being inspired by the Sikh tradition. According to Louis E. Fenech, militant/armed ascetics and mahants were prevalent in 17th and 18th century India. Some prominent sects that were militant/armed were the Udasis, Dasnamis, Dadupanthis, Sanyasis, Fakirs, Ramanandis, and Naga-Gosains, whom according to 18th century Sikh accounts were amicable to the tenth Sikh guru. Guru Gobind Singh hired some of these militant ascetics for defensive purposes but doubted their loyalty. One account recalls that the Udasi ascetic Kirpal Das participated in the Battle of Bhangani in 1688 with the Sikhs against the Pahari rajas. Thus, the Khalsa tradition was inaugurated to produce an amalgamation of the nirgun bhakti of the Ramanandis and the militant asceticism of the Ramanandis and Naga-Gosains. Therefore the institution is a mixture of miri-piri, shakti, and bhakti, allowing Sikhs to be transformed into loyal sant-sipahis. Evidence found within Bhai Jaita's Sri Gur Katha suggest that the title Singh was used by the Sikhs in the period leading up to the Battle of Bhangani, with the guru officiating the title for the Sikhs with the formalization of the Khalsa, popularly accepted as occurring in the year 1699. However, 1699 as the year when the Khalsa was formed only became popularly accepted due to a late 19th century work by Giani Gian Singh. The early 18th century Sikh sources place the year that the Khalsa was founded between 1695¹ and 1698, with Koer Singh Kalal stating it occurring in 1689. Furthermore, an inscribed copper-plate (tamar patar) dated to 1679 issued by Guru Gobind Singh to Jawala Das Brahman of a Shaivist temple in Kapal Mochan discusses the Khalsa and suffixes the guru's name with Singh. Thus, Raj Kumar Hans divides the creation of the Khalsa into two phases based upon Bhai Jaita's work: Pre-Bhangani phase, where a large congregation of the Sikhs (invited from local and distant areas) was held at the Damdama at Anandpur, with a select few Sikhs starting to use Singh as a title and the Panj Piare consisted of a group of five Sikhs who answered the guru's call (with both aspects to martialize the Sikhs to prepare them for the upcoming battles), the guru also adopted the title of Singh. He dates this phase to between 1676–78. Post-Bhangani phase, after a series of successful battles where the Singhs and Panj Piare prove itself worthy, these aspects were popularized and standardized with the introduction of the Amrit Sanchar initiation ceremony, finalizing the Khalsa, which he places in around 1689. Hans states that Guru Gobind Singh was motivated to found the Khalsa due to no Sikh taking action and remaining idle during the execution of his father in Delhi, with the Sikhs not standing out from the rest of the general population and not identifiable as separate. Thus, the guru contemplated a way to transform the Sikhs into intellectual-warriors, donning the 5Ks to give them a distinct appearance. File:An inscription naming the five members of the Khalsa Panth, Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib.jpg|An inscription naming the five members of the Khalsa Panth, at Takht Keshgarh Sahib, the birthplace of Khalsa on Baisakh 1, 1756 Vikram Samvat. File:Guru Gobind Singh creates the Khalsa.jpg|The creation of the Khalsa; initiated by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru. ==Dress and code of conduct== , Kara and Kirpan – three of the five Ks Guru Gobind Singh initiated the Five Ks tradition of the Khalsa, Kesh: uncut hair. Kangha: a wooden comb. Kara: an iron or steel bracelet worn on the wrist. Kirpan: a sword or dagger. Kachera: short breeches. He also announced a code of discipline for Khalsa warriors. Tobacco, eating meat slaughtered according to Muslim ritual and sexual intercourse with any person other than a spouse were forbidden. The Khalsas also agreed to never interact with those who followed rivals or their successors. The co-initiation of men and women from different castes into the ranks of Khalsa also institutionalized the principle of equality in Sikhism regardless of one's caste or gender. According to Owen and Sambhi, Guru Gobind Singh's significance to the Sikh tradition has been very important, as he institutionalized the Khalsa, resisted the ongoing persecution by the Mughal Empire, and continued "defense of Sikhism and Hinduism against the Muslim assault of Aurangzeb". According to the Sikh Code of Conduct (Sikh Rehat Maryada), Amritdhari Khalsa Sikh men must wear a turban and the 5 Ks. Baptized women are not required to tie a turban, and it remains a personal choice. It also clearly states that it is not appropriate for Sikh women to cover their faces with any type of veil as practiced in the Indian, Islamic, or Judeo-Christian traditions. Piercing of the nose or ears for wearing ornaments is forbidden for Sikh men and women. Sikhs cannot wear any token of any other faith. Sikhs must not have their head bare or wear caps. They also cannot wear any ornaments piercing through any part of the body. ===Prohibitions=== The four prohibitions or mandatory restrictions of the Khalsa or life of Khalsa at the time of Guru Gobind Singh are: Not to disturb the natural growth of the hairs. Not to eat the Kutha meat. Not to cohabit with a person other than one's spouse. Not to use tobacco, alcohol or any type of drugs. A Khalsa who breaks any code of conduct is no longer a Khalsa and is excommunicated from the Khalsa Panth and must go and 'pesh' (get baptized again). Guru Gobind Singh also gave the Khalsa 52 hukams or 52 specific additional guidelines while living in Nanded in 1708. ==Initiation== Initiation into the Khalsa is referred to as Amrit Sanchar (water of immortality life-cycle rite) or Khande di Pahul (Initiation with the double edged sword). Anyone from any previous religion, age, caste, or knowledge group can take Amrit (ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਛਕਣਾ ammrită chhakăṇā) when they are convinced that they are ready. This baptism is done by the Panj Pyare in front of the Guru Granth Sahib. The devotee must arrive at the place of baptism, usually a Gurdwara, in the morning after bathing completely including having washed their hair and must be wearing the 5 articles of the Khalsa uniform. After baptism, the new Singh or Kaur must abide by the four restrictions or must get re-baptised if they break any of them. Initiates into the Khalsa are required to take-on Guru Gobind Singh and Mata Sahib Kaur as their spiritual father and mother, respectively. ==Initial tensions with the non-Khalsa disciples== s at the Holy Tank With the creation of Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh abolished all existing social divisions in line with the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev. In their new order, the former lowest of the low would stand with the former highest; all would become one and drink from the same vessel. All previous beliefs relating to family, occupation, customs and ceremonies were declared useless by the Guru. This caused discomfort to the conservative followers of the Guru and they protested. Many departed from the ceremony, but the Guru declared that the low castes should be raised and would dwell next to him. The newswriter of the Mughal government, Ghulam Mohyiuddin, reporting to the emperor wrote: Sri Gur Sobha (18th century) by Senapati contains two sections (adhyays) on the controversies that arose, when Guru Gobind Singh's disciples in Delhi heard the news of his new order. Much of the controversy stated in Sri Gur Sobha revolves around bhaddar, the ritual shaving of the head after the death of a close relative, which was discouraged by Guru Gobind Singh. According to Sainapti, while creating the Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh said that bhaddar is bharam (illusion), and not dharam. Tensions developed between the Punjabi Khatri disciples of the Guru in Delhi, and members of the newly formed Khalsa. A prominent Khatri disciple was expelled from the place of worship (dharmasala) for refusing to join the Khalsa. Another disciple was expelled for eating with him, starting a chain of further expulsions. The expelled disciples convened a community gathering, at which two wealthy Khatris demanded that the Khalsa produce a written order from the Guru that a new mandatory code of conduct had been promulgated. A Khatri family that refused to follow the bhaddar ritual was boycotted by the Khatri community. The Khatri council (panch) closed the bazaar to pressure the Khalsa. The Khalsa petitioned the state officials to intervene, who forced the reopening of the shops. Later, peace was established between the two groups in a sangat (congregation). However, hostility between some Khatris and the Khalsa persisted in the later years. In contrast to the Khalsa Sikh, a Sahajdhari Sikh is one who reveres the teachings of the Sikh Gurus, but has not undergone the initiation. Sahajdhari Sikhs do not accept some or all elements of the dress and behavioral codes of the Khalsa Sikhs. ==Contemporary status== to cook food (langar) in huge amount Today, the Khalsa is respected by the entire gamut of Sikhs; however, not all Sikhs are Amritdharis. The issue of Khalsa code of conduct has led to several controversies. In the early 1950s, a serious split occurred in the Canadian Sikh community, when the Khalsa Diwan Society in Vancouver, British Columbia elected a clean-shaven Sikh to serve on its management committee. Although most of the early Sikh immigrants to Canada were non-Khalsa, and a majority of the members of the society were clean-shaven non-Khalsa Sikhs, a faction objected to the election of a non-Khalsa to the management committee. The factions in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia broke away from the Khalsa Diwan Society and established their gurdwara society called Akali Singh. The Khalsa has been predominantly a male institution in Sikh history, with Khalsa authority with the male leaders. In the contemporary era, it has become open to women but its authority remains with Sikh men. 3HO is a Western sect that emerged in 1971, founded by Harbhajan Singh Khalsa also known as Yogi Bhajan. It requires both men and women to wear turbans, and adopt the surname Khalsa. Each year the Khalsa display their military skills around the world at a festival called Hola Mohalla. During Hola Mohalla, military exercises are performed alongside mock battles followed by kirtan and valor poetry competitions. The Khalsa also lead the Sikhs in the annual Vaisakhi parade. Nishan Sahib ==See also== Chakram Gatka Khalsa Heritage Memorial Complex Langar Nihang Sects of Sikhism Shastar Vidya Sikh history Rehat Prohibitions in Sikhism Diet in Sikhism Meat consumption among Sikhs Khalsa bole Sarbat Khalsa ==Notes== ==References== ==Cited sources== Dhavan, P. (2011) When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699–1799, Oxford University Press: Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-975655-1. ==External links== Who and What is a Khalsa? Creation of the Khalsa Rise of the Khalsa Order of The Khalsa

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1377039150 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.