Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji

Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji. The death of Guru Arjun Dev Ji was a profound shock to the people. The Emperor thought that this would keep the Sikhs subdued for a long time, the result was just the opposite. The Sikhs gathered around the eleven year old Hargobind, ready to take on the enemy head on. The young Guru took his fathers seat wearing two swords : one to symbolise spiritual power and the other temporal. “ My rosary shall be the sword belt and my turban I shall wear as the emblem of royalty.” Guru Ji made it known to the Sikhs that from now on he would welcome offerings of arms and horses. Guru Ji trained his men and spend much time in martial exercise and hunting. Guru Ji built a fortress, Lohgarh in Amritsar. Across from the Harmindar Sahib he built the Akal Takhat, the throne of the Timeless One, where instead of chanting hymns of peace, the congregation heard ballads of feats of heroism and conquests in battle. Guru Ji sat on a throne and was known as Sucha Patshah , the true Emperor, he held court and went out with a royal umbrella over his head and was accompanied by armed guards. Muhsin Fani, a Muslin scribe writes about Guru Ji “ The Guru has eight hundred horses in his stables, three hundred troops on horse back and sixty men with firearms are always in his service.” Guru Ji travelled far and wide consolidating the community. Guru Ji travelled through the Punjab to Uttar Pardesh and northwest to Kashmir and even as far as Kabul and Kandhar in Afghanistan. On his way back Guru Ji accepted from Raja of Bilaspur a plot of land near the foothills of the Himalayas and named it Kiratpur. With the death of Jehangir and the accession of Shah Jahan the troubles began. In 1628 when the Emperor happened to be hunting in the neighbourhood his men clashed with the Sikhs. A a result a contingent of royal soldiers were sent to arrest Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji. They found the Gurus household busy preparing for the wedding of his daughter. They could not find the Guru but plundered his property and all the confectionery prepared for the wedding was either eaten or taken by the soldiers. Guru Sahib Ji’s men soon fell upon the royal guards before they had gone very far. A battle took place in which the royal soldiers were harassed all they way back to the royal courts, in the fighting the Chief Constable, Mukhlis Khan was killed.