ANANDPUR AN EDUCATION CENTRE.                                

Munshi Sahib Chand was a reciter of Guru Granth Sahib Ji at Guru's institution. He also taught the Punjabi language to the children in his spare time.After arrival at Anandpur from Patna,Prince Gobind Rai started learning Punjabi from Munshi Sahib Chand. Learning the Punjabi languagewas important as the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji were written in it.The Prince was very clever and intelligent.He learnt to recite the whole of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji by heart in less than six months.
Munshi Pir Mohammad was assigned the job of teaching Persian to the Prince as Persian was the official language in that era. Pandit Kirpa Ram Datt taught him Sanskrit,Hindi and Brij Bhasha. In time the Guru became a top scholar of Punjabi,Persian,Sanskrit and Hindi.In 1680AD,the institutions teaching Sanskrit were closed down by the order of Aurangzeb. The Guru sent invitations and travel expenses to the scholars of these institutions to come to Anandpur. On reaching Anandpur, they were employed on salariesin accordance with their abilities and qualifications.
In 1686AD Pandit Nath  refused to impart the knowledge of Sanskrit to Sikhs. In the view, only the Brahmins (high caste Hindus) could learn Sanskrit. It was a sin to teach Sanskrit to others. He argued that by learning Sanskrit,people would be able to read the books which contained all the religious knowledge of the times . He was convinced of the fact that if he passed the knowledge of these books to the general public then they would learn the reality. The Brahmins would then not be able to bluff them or scarethem in the name of the numerous Gods. The Guru had gone through all of these books so he wanted that the Sikhs should also know what their ancestors had written. By a thorough reading the Sikhs would gain religious knowledge,then they would discard the baseless rituals
The Guru asked five Sikhs to don saffron robes and sent them disguised as "Nirmala Saints"to Kanshi to learn Sanskrit. Upon completion of their studies,they returned back to Anandpur and started teaching Sanskrit to Sikhs. By learning Sanskrit, Sikhs got knowledge written in Vedas and Puranas. The Brahmins lost their respect with them. The truth that Brahmins had kept hidden for generations from the general public was passed to them by Sikhs.
Shi'ah (Muslim sect) and Sufi(Muslim Saints) men of learning also came to Anandpur for fear of Aurangzeb. Bhai Nand Lal Ji also came up to Anandpur. In this way,fifty two poets gathered around the Guru. Anandpur had become a place for learning. Those who came to visit the Guru, were not allowed to return without learning Punjabi and were encouraged to learn sacred hymns by heart. A small book containing Guru's hymns was given to them at the time of departure. The Sikhs upon returning back to their villages, taught their other relatives and friends the sacred hymns by heart and encouraged them to go to Anandpur and learn Punjabi. Guru Gobind Singh Ji used the money donated by the Sikhs, on propagating the teaching of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, constructing forts and looking after the buildings of the gurudwaras.
To instill courage in the Sikhs, the Guru got ballads written by the poets and had the ancient purans (Hindu religious books)translated by the scholars at Punjabi. Purans, which eulogize charity, worship and recitations more important than truth.The teachings of these books teach the people not to question the validity of truth but to follow them which make the people cowards and blind followers. The ballads of bravery written by the poets discouraged the stone worship. The Guru made the Sikhs worshippers of Shakti(The Power).
The Guru, himself, composed a number of ballads ad hymns. At the time of leaving Anandpur, these books were laden on mules. Due to heavy rains, the river Sirsa was in flood and the books were carried away by water. Only a small portion of the writing composed by the Guru was saved;namely Japp Sahib, Akal Ustat, Sawaiyas, Chandi Charitra, Chaubius Avtar, Var Bhagauti Ji Ki, Shastar Nam Mala, Gian Parbodh and some hymns of Charitar Pakhian.
Recitation of Guru's word set to music (Kirtan) is considered supreme in the instituion of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Aurangzeb was a Sunni Muslim. Music was against his tenets. Aurangzeb had banned music in his kingdom in 1670AD. Musicians took their abode at Anandpur where their art was given a place of honour. Guru Gobind Singh Ji himself played a number of musical instruments, such as Mardang,Jori and Sarinda, very well.
By the orders of the Guru, blind beggars who begged in the streets and were a burden on other, were taught the art of music which helped them to stand on their feet.

                                               

DEFENDER OF FAITH

Of all the things, Guru Gobind Singh Ji placed most reliance on religious faith. He taught his Sikhs and other people who met him, to face death and extermination in the cause of true faith. He told them to stand up and oppose the tyrants with all the might instead of bearing the tyranny. The defence  of faith lies in standing up the tyranny. Real bliss can be enjoyed only by protection of faith. Nothing can be achieved without sacrifice.
In 1674 AD the governor of Kashmir, acting on the orders of the King Aurangzeb, starting converting Hindus to Islam, forcibly. Those who refused were punished, chastised and tortured. The poor and weak, obeying the orders of the governor started to adopt Islam. When the Brahmins of Kashmir saw no other way of saving their faith, they came to Anandpur led by Pandit Kirpa Ram and narrated their woes to Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji. Pandit Kirpa Ram used to teach Sanskrit at one time to his son Gobind Rai and knew all about Guru Tegh Bahdur Sahib Ji.
Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji after giving deep thought told their complainants,''Faith can be saved if some great saint is ready to lay down his life to save it''. Prince Gobind Rai was also present in the court. Seeing  a dead silence on all sides he pleaded,'' Father! I do not see anyone greater than you who has the sufferings of the common man at his heart and is ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of faith and righteousness''.
Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji was very pleased to hear this counsel of his son. He was satisfied that Gobind Rai was capable to take up the seat of guidance founded by Guru Nanak. He said to the Brahmins from Kashmir,''Go back to Kashmir and tell your governor that Guru Tegh Bahadur is our religious leader. If you convert him to Islam we all shall follow him and become muslims''.
Om receiving this message from Guru, Aurangzeb sent his soldiers to Anandpur to arrest the Guru. The Guru had already left for Delhi before the arrival of soldiers. On his way to Delhi, the Guru,  wanted to familiarize his disciples with the  barbarities committed by the ruler. The Guru was arrested at Agra and brought to Delhi. The Sikhs and Guru accompanying him could not be convinced by the arguments to become Muslims. To intimidate the Guru, they started martyring the Sikhs after torturing them in different ways. Still the guru did not agree to become a Muslim. The guru and the Sikhs remained firm in their faith. At last, the Guru was martyred on the 11th November 1675. After the martyrdom of the Guru, Aurangzeb was convinced that it was not possible to convert every Hindu to Islam by force. 

                  DEVOTION OF MOTHER JAMMUNA                                 

One day a masand Sikh authorized by the Guru for the collection of offerings was collecting the offerings and the tithe from the Sikh devotees at the village Danapur. A poor old woman, Mother Jamuna, lived in that village. She offered to put the small quantity of pulse and rice for the community kitchen in the bag of masand. Seeing, the handful of pulse and rice, the masand thought that the offerings of the elderly woman would not increase the quantity of the material of the bag, so he stopped mother jamuna and sent her away with a reprimand. This greedy masand was one of those who kept a large part of the offerings of the Sikh devotees for themselves.
Mother Jamuna took the pulse and rice to her home. She believed that the Guru could read the desires of the mind. She resolved that one day the Guru would come o her for the hotch and potch to eat. ''Then I shall prepare hotch potch myself and serve it to the Guru'', she said to herself. After that day she stored whatever little she could instead of giving it to the masand.
In 1671 AD Prince Gobind Rai stayed in Danapur on his way to Anandpur from Patna. Mother Jamuna was overjoyed to hear the news of his stay as she could see him with her own eyes. She prepared hotch potch with great love and devotion and called to mind for the Prince to pay visit to her. The mind reader of the devotees presented himself before Mother Jamuna and said, ''Grandma, bring that hotch potch which you have prepared for me''. Mother Jamuna was very pleased to  see the Prince. She bought the hotch potch she had prepared and offered it to the Prince. The hotch potch was also served to the Sikhs accompanying the Prince.
When the young Prince rose to go, the old woman requested him to stay with her forever. The Prince replied,''Grandma, I shall always be with you. If you want to see me, prepare hotch potch in this pot and serve it to the needy and poor people.You can behold me before you''.
Whenever Mother Jamuna wanted to behold the Prince, she prepared hotch potch and served it to the poor and she could feel the presence of the Prince. In this way she always had glimpse of the Guru till her last breath.
That earthern pot in which Mother Jamuna had prepared hotch potch for the Guru is still kept in Gurudwara''Handi Sahib''.

                                     RANI MAINI                     

Fateh Chand was a noted landlord of Patna. People knew him as a Raja, the king. His Maini was known as Rani. They had no children. They resorted to many amulets, incantations, worship and recitation but  nothing bore fruit. Whenever Rani Maini saw Gobind Rai and his ''child army'' pass by her palace her yearning for a child increased.
One day, the Rani was immersed in deep thought on seeing the ''child army''. A notion came to her mind that how nice it would be if Gobind Rai, the son of Mata Gujri may sit in her lap, call her mother and say, ''I am feeling very hungry. Mother, please give gram-curry and fried cake that you have prepared and kept inside, to me and companions''. Getting these thoughts, she got up and began preparing curry and cake.
The Rani had heard from Sikhs that the Prince can read the mind. Having prepared curry and cake, the Rani sat outside to wait for the ''child army''. In a short while the leader of the ''child army'' came to the courtyard where the rani was waiting. Entering the courtyard the leader of the ''child army'' said, ''Mother, bring the curry and cake that you have prepared. I and my companion are feeling very hungry''.
The Rani took the thought reading master in her lap and fondled him with love.She gave curry and cake to the ''child master'' with her own hands and also the rest of the ''child army''. The Rani felt motherly bliss by feeding the Prince in her lap like her own son. To get affection of a son the Rani began to prepare curry and cake daily for the ''child army''. Under pretext of serving meals the Rani began to get love of a son daily.
One day, the maid in service of the Rani appealed to the child master that the Rani did not have a  child of her own. She may be blessed with a son son like you. The child master replied, ''Only I RESEMBLE MYSELF. None other can be like me. So if the Rani considers me her son I shall become her son''. From that day, the affection and love of the Rani for prince Gobind Rai increased.
After the departure of Prince Gobind  Rai from Patna, the Rani constructed a gurudwara in her house where she served curry and cake to the children. In this way she felt the presence of the Prince Gobind Rai and she got affection of a son.That gurudwara came to be known as Maini Sangat, where the blessed food of curry and cake is still distributed to the congregation to this day.

                                                  

   UNCOMMON GAMES

Prince Gobind Rai was hardly five when he started to get weapon training. He began to break pitchers of women carrying water with the aim of his catapult. The women whose pitchers were broken would complain to his revered mother. The mother used to buy them brass utensils which would not break with the pellets.
The Prince asked his uncle Kirpal Chand and had bows and arrows made. The arrows had had iron tips fitted. With the arrows he began piercing those brass utensils. The women again complained to his mother. The mother spontaneously said,''I am tired of these complaints. It would be better if the water of this well turns into brackish''. The words of the revered mother came true. The water of this well turned brackish. The water thus became unfit for cooking food. The women stopped taking water from that well. The water is brackish to this day.
In Patna city, the Prince would gather children of his own age and take them to the banks of the river Ganges. He would divide them into two groups. He used to teach them the art of warfare and at the same time to defend themselves. In this way, children went with him to the river bank and played the drama of the child army.
On reaching Anandpur, the Prince was taught horse-manship and use of weapons by Bhai Bajjar Singh. The Prince was entrusted with the leadership of the Sikhs at the age of nine on the martydom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji.
On reaching the age of sixteen, the Guru ordered to make a very big drum.He named it Ranjit- Nagara, which means the drum of Victory. That drum was beaten in the morning and evening before the start of prayers. Hearing the drum-beat Sikh devotees used to gather at the Guru's institution. Every afternoon when the Guru went for hunting, the Sikhs would precede him beating the drum. This drum beat was a call of equality as only the kings of the region could go hunting in this manner.
The Sikhs, who came to Anandpur for audience with the Guru were taught horse-manship and given weapon training before they returned back. After getting weapon training the Sikhs urged their relatives and others to go to Anandpur and get training. In this way the knowledge of the use of weapons spread among the Sikhs.
Keeping in mind the training of warfare, the Guru got the first fort constructed at Paonta Sahib. The Guru returned to Anandpur after the battle of Bhangani in Himachal Pradesh. He got five forts constucted around Anandpur. To fulfill the demand of the weapons, factories for the manufacture of arrows and swords were opened at Anandpur.

                  FAR-SIGHTED BHIKHAN SHAH

In 1666 AD Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji was on a tour of India. He was preaching to the oppressed and frightened population to break the bonds of tyranny. All the young and old of the country knew him. Prince Gobind Rai was born on the 22nd December 1666. The news of his birth spread throughout the country.
Pir Bhikan Shah who viewed both Hindus and Muslims alike, also came to know the birth of the Guru's son. The Pir was a renowned Muslim saint. He was a resident of the village Gharam in the district Ambala. A desire to see the Guru's son arose in the holy man's heart. Taking some of his followers with him, he proceeded towards Patna. Undergoing hardships on the way,. the Pir reached Patna in two months. He requested Kirpal Chand the uncle of the Guru's son for the glimpse of the child.
Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji was still on his tour of assam. Uncle Kirpal Chand said to the Pir,'' Nobody can have the glimpse of the child as long as the child's father does not see his son first''. On hearing this, the Pir went on hunger strike and squated before the door. After a few days, Kirpal Chand took pity on the condition of the Pir and granted him permission to see the Prince.

The Pir was very pleased to behold Prince Gobind Rai. To see whether Prince Gobind Rai, on growing up, will love more Hindus or muslims, he placed  before him two small earthen pots, one filled with water and the other with milk. In his mind, he assigned the pot containing milk to Hindus and that with water to Muslims. The Prince who loved all and was loved by everybody, placed his hands on both the pots. The Pir understood that he would give equal love and respect to both the religions.
The Pir called for a third pot and presented it to the Prince. The child Guru placed his tender right hand on it. The Pir concluded from it that having equal respect for the two, he will create a third faith. The wish of the Pir was fulfilled. He returned to his hermitage at Gharam with his followers.
Prince Gobind Rai stopped for a night at Gharam with him on his way to Anandpur from Patna, several years later.

  I COME HERE AGAIN WITH THE LIFE HISTORY AND SOME AMAZING ANECDOTES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE OF DHAN GURU GOBIND SINGH JI.

HE WAS BORN ON 22nd DECEMBER 1666 AT PATNA.
AT THE AGE OF FIVE, HE SAW THAT THE RULERS WERE NOT PERFORMING THEIR DUTY OF LOOKING AFTER THEIR SUBJECTS. TO THE HONOUR AND THE PROPERTY OF OTHER SECTS WAS BEING LOOTED IN BROAD  DAY LIGHT. THERE WAS NO OTHER ONE TO WHOM THEY COULD COMPLAIN. IN THOSE DARK DAYS, HE PERCEIVED THAT THE POOR SHOULD BE ABLE TO DEFEND THEMSELVES AGAINST OPPRESSION AND TYRANNY. TO MAKE THEM FIT, HE BEGAN TO TRAIN THE  INTO  CHILDREN OF HIS OWN AGE THE ART OF BATTLE AT THE RIVER GANGES.
HE LEARNT TO RECITE THE' GURU GRANTH SAHIB JI' BY HIS HEART IN LESS THAN SIX MONTHS ON ARRIVING AT ANANDPUR. IN 1705 AD, AT DAMDAMA SAHIB HE DICTATED THE SCRIPTURES, FROM MEMORY TO BHAI MANI SINGH JI TO WRITE IT DOWN IN PRESENT FORM. THE GURU MADE HIS SIKHS TO READ AND UNDERSTAND THE TEACHINGS OF GURU NANAK DEV JI. HE ARRANGED FOR THE HINDU SCRIPTURES TO BE TRANSLATED INTO PUNJABI SO THAT THE SIKHS COULD LEARN, WHAT WAS WRITTEN IN THOSE BOOKS. HE BROKE THE SHACKLES OF BRAHMINISM THAT THE KNOWLEDGE OF SANSKRIT AND RELIGIOUS STUDY SHOULD REMAIN WITH BRAHMINS ALONE. THE BRAHMINS FOR THEIR OWN SELF INTEREST AND BENEFIT, WANTED THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO REMAIN IGNORANT IN ORDER TO MISLEAD AND CHEAT THE SIMPLE VILLAGE FOLKS. THE GURU BROUGHT THE LITERACY TO HIS FOLLOWERS.
IN 1699 AD, OUT OF THE LOWLY AND THE WEAK, GURU GOBIND SINGH JI CREATED THE 'KHALSA', THE ARMY OF GOD, TO END THE TYRANNY. THE NECTAR BESTOWED BY HIM MADE SIKHS REAL SINGHS(LIONS). A SINGH WAS EMBUED WITH SUCH COURAGE THAT HE WAS PREPARED TO FACE AN ARMY OF THOUSANDS ON HIS OWN. EVEN A RECLUSE LIKE BANDA SINGH BAHADUR AFTER BAPTISM WAS SI ENCOURAGED THAT HE BECAME THE FIRST SIKH RULER IN PUNJAB. THE GURU BROUGHT THE WOMEN ON EQUAL FOOTING OF MEN. AFTER BAPTISM' KAUR' IS ADDED TO THEIR NAME WHICH MEANS PRINCESS. IN THE HINDU CASTE SYSTEM THE WOMEN RIGHTS WERE THE SAME AS 'SHUDRAS', THE LOWEST IN THE CASTE SYSTEM.
GURU STARTED THE FIRST''RED CROSS SERVICE''. HE HAD LOVE FOR EVERY ONE EVEN THOSE WHO WERE FIGHTING AGAINST HIM, AS HE HAD NO ENEMY EXCEPT THE REIGN OF TERROR.

SO FOR MY CONTINUATION ON THE ANECDOTES OF DHAN GURU GOBIND SINGH JI, I WILL  BE WRITING EACH AND EVERY ANECDOTE AND HOPEFULLY I WILL BE COVERING EACH AND EVERY PART OF IT.

THANK YOU