Guru Tegh Bahadur

“At the end of the rainy season, Mata Bassi, grand- mother of Guru Har Krishan, led a sangat from Delhi to Bakala. She brought with her the tokens of succession - five piece and a coconut consecrated by Guru Har Krishnan... On the evidence of the Bhatt Vahi Talaudā Parganā Jind, Guru Tegh Bahadur was formally anointed Guru on Bhadon Amavas 1721 BK / 11 August 1664. Bhai Gurditta applied the saffron mark to his forehead. The assembled Sikhs paid their homage and made offerings.”

“It is the special Kripa of the Guru Sahibs that we will mark the special occasion of the 400th Parkash Parv of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji during our Government’s tenure. Let us mark this blessed occasion in a historic way and celebrate the ideals of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji.”

“This morning, I prayed at the historic Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, where the pious body of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji was cremated. I felt extremely blessed. I, like millions around the world, am deeply inspired by the kindnesses of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji.”

“In northern India, Gurdwara Sisgunj in Chandni Chowk, Delhi, stands witness to Aurangzeb's idea of punishment to non-Muslims. Here the Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur was called upon to embrace Islam, and on his refusal was tortured for five days and then "beheaded on a warrant from the emperor" (December 1675).”

“This new community, the Khalsa Panth, remained an integral part of the Hindu social and religious system. It is significant that when Tegh Bahadur was summoned to Delhi, he went as a representative of the Hindus. He was executed in the year 1675. His son who succeeded him as guru later described his father’s martyrdom as in the cause of the Hindu faith, ‘to preserve their caste marks and their sacred thread did he perform the supreme sacrifice’. The guru himself looked upon his community as an integral part of the Hindu social system.”