Many participants have raised questions about Sikh history. Read the following article it shed light on History of Sikhs and also on some of the teachings of Sikhism.
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Martyr’s pyre: Gurdwara Rakabganj
By Renuka Khandekar
NEW DELHI: In the heart of sarkari Delhi, behind Parliament Street, soars the canopy of Gurdwara Rakabganj, flanked by a road in its name and its own bus stop. This stately Delhi landmark is the central office of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), an organisation with 1,200 regular employees, its own office building and corps of staff. Casting its protective light on the DSGMC is the gurdwara proper that marks the horrifying day of November 11, 1675.
On that long ago Thursday, Sant Guru Teg Bahadur, the ninth Guru of the Sikhs, was beheaded by Aurangzeb, while the people of Delhi wailed and the skies raged stormy red. But as the crowd surged closer to look, Bhai Jaita, a disciple, rushed away with the Guru’s head, which he took to Anandpur Sahib for cremation. Another devotee named Lakhi Shah took away the body by dark to his house. Inside, he placed the Guru’s body on a pyre of sandalwood and set his whole house ablaze to conceal the cremation. Later, he buried the ashes in an urn at that very spot, where the gurdwara now stands.
Perhaps it is the powerful vibrations of such a place that energise the amazing spread of activities by the DSGMC. The manager, S. Ajit Singh, proudly details the fourfold aim of their seva: education, health care, food and financial help to needy persons. Their budget per annum for these activities is Rs 45 crore. In addition, each member of the 51-strong committee is allotted a discretionary fund each year of Rs 1.2 lakh for disbursement to needy people.
At Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, the richest of Delhi’s nine historic gurdwaras, 4,000 people are fed daily in the langar, while Sundays draw upto 50,000 people. Yet there are abundant leftovers, as much as 250 kilos of atta, which are distributed to poor widows.
Where does this abundance come from? Mainly from the golak (pilgrim's cash offerings),'' says S. Ajit Singh with rightful pride. Daily sales of karah prasad rank next and then there are private donations from the community. Bangla Sahib gets the most golak - Rs 1,61,78,000, for the last financial year. Sisganj is next (in Chandni Chowk, where Guru Teg Bahadur was beheaded) with Rs 5.69 crore, while Rakabganj did Rs 1,55,62,000, and Nanak Piao collected Rs 1,91,60,000!‘’
Overwhelming? ``It’s the biggest message of Sikhism,‘’ smiles S. Ajit Singh, while others around him nod accord.
Source: [This message has been edited by Rani (edited June 20, 2000).]