{"id":1535,"date":"2011-09-03T10:14:31","date_gmt":"2011-09-03T10:14:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/projectconversion\/?p=1535"},"modified":"2012-05-04T10:40:56","modified_gmt":"2012-05-04T10:40:56","slug":"the-five-ks-uniform-of-the-saint-warrior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/projectconversion\/2011\/09\/the-five-ks-uniform-of-the-saint-warrior.html","title":{"rendered":"The Five K’s: Uniform of the Saint-Warrior"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m just going to come out and say it: Sikhs are bad-ass. Who else carries a\u00a0blade or sword as an article of faith? Who else has a religion known for its peaceful disposition, yet has its own martial art (called Gatka)? Who else has an Army of God who’s sole mission is the defense of the weak, the poor, and the oppressed of ALL humanity?<\/p>\n

The Sikhs…and not just any Sikh, but the Khalsa.<\/p>\n

It’s never been easy, being a Sikh, especially during the time of the 10 gurus who shaped and developed the faith into the<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Guru Gobind Singh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

religion we see today. This was never so bitterly true as during the time of the tenth and\u00a0last human guru, Guru Gobind Singh. Guru Gobind Singh, like the Sikhs before him, faced great oppression and the threat of extinction at the hands of the Mughal emperors of India, who often persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and other religious groups and forced them to convert to Islam. In the battles for religious\/social freedom, Guru Gobind Singh lost all four of his sons: two in battle, the other two by execution after refusing to convert to Islam.<\/p>\n

Guru Gobind Singh understood that only a society ready to defend itself and the oppressed stood any chance of survival, so he called Sikhs from all over the land to a meeting at Anandpur\u00a0on March 30th, 1699. There, he asked the crowd who amoung\u00a0them was willing to die (give their heads) for their faith. After asking three times, one man stepped forward and entered the tent with the Guru. The Guru later came out with a bloody sword and asked\u00a0for another volunteer. Four more went into the tent. In the end, the five came out in new clothing.<\/p>\n

They\u00a0were called the Panj Piare<\/em><\/span>, the “five beloved ones,” those willing to die for God and Guru. Guru Gobind Singh then took an iron bowl, mixed a bowl of sweetened water with a blade, and had each of the men drink from the bowl. He recited scripture from the Adi Granth (the collection of scripture before he completed the Guru Granth Sahib) and declared,<\/p>\n

“Waheguru ja\u00a0ka\u00a0Khalsa! Waheguru ji ki Fetah!”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Khalsa belongs to God. Victory belongs to God.”<\/p>\n

Those five in turn performed the same initiation for Guru Gobind Singh, symbolizing equality and unity, and the Khalsa (meaning “pure”) was born.<\/p>\n

Guru Gobind Singh then introduced what the Khalsa is and what they stand for:<\/p>\n

“From now on, you have become casteless. No ritual, either Hindu or Muslim, will you perform nor will you believe in superstition of any kind, but only in one God who is the master and protector of all, the only creator and destroyer. In your new order, the lowest will rank with the highest and each will be to the other a bhai (brother). No pilgrimages for you any more, nor austerities but the pure life of the household, which you should be ready to sacrifice at the call of Dharma. Women shall be equal of men in every way. No purdah (veil) for them anymore, nor the burning alive of a widow on the pyre of her spouse (sati). He who kills his daughter, the Khalsa shall not deal with him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Five K’s you will observe as a pledge of your dedication to my ideal.<\/strong><\/p>\n