Ten Masters- Ten Gurus of Sikh Dharama

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About the Book Prophets appearing at different times and periods have spoken of the truth which was their mission to bring to humanity, to cure the sickness of the soul. They give it in words and forms suited to the needs of times, to show the true way, out of the darkness of superstitions and formalism. They came to show the path of integration. They said that the law of life is to love one another and in that loving to awaken the spirit of devotion and find God.

About the Author Dr. Ranjit Singh Gill belongs to the family of Hindustani classical singers, was born in 1938 in Punjab. He received his education at the College of Art Delhi; higher education at the Garit Reit Velld Academy Amsterdam (Holland). He was awarded a Doctorate of Philosophy by Meerut University for his dissertation on History of Art: "Cosmos of Van Gogh."

Gill's studies have been published in various books. Major publications include 'Adi-Granth Paintings Raga, Raga Mala & Bara Maha,' 'Raga Mala Paintings A journey from Music to Art' and 'The Bliss and Peace' poems blessed by Mother Teresa.

Foreword It is the Master's gift-this life of inspiration. All the gods exist in the Master-Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma; and the Vedas are in Him, and the Divine Song.

The Book of The Ten Masters is the record of the teachers of the Sikhs, who have handed over the mystic doctrine first taught by Guru Nanak in the sixteenth century. Nanak is "the unknown man who roams disguised on earth", who enters into the vacant house, the heart of his disciples, through whom the mystery of the divine in men is revealed. A poem of Puran Singh says, "Nanak is still with us, a Song. a Book his voice still sings in our ears, his figure flits before us, his eyes meet ours, his feet we touch." He is part of the changing permanence of things eternal, which is one of the secret doctrines of the sacred book of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth.

Nanak, the first Master, not only lives in his disciples; his spiritual self, his very presence, passed into the mind and body of the nine Masters who were his successors. "Him have I seen not once, but for ten generations." After him, Angad received the sacred message and became the apostle of his inspired faith in God. To Angad, succeeded Amar Das. "I saw Amar concealing the All-Father in a majestic form of man, the silver knot of hair, the white beard flowing down like a river of light, a tall ancient stern man of love and labour; for behold, Nanak has now become Amar Das." So the succession goes on and in the following pages the reader will be able to find the opening into that region of ecstasy which was scaled by Nanak and entered by his true disciples.

While the legacy of the ten Gurus, Masters of the Sikh religion, was maintained, there was a break in the tradition after the fourth, Ram Das. He founded the Golden Temple at Amritsar, and planned the bathing tank from whose waters that city takes its name, which means the divine essence of the true ambrosia. Under the next Master, fifth in the line, Arjun, the tank and the temple were completed. That meant a new stage in the growth of the Sikhs: they were becoming a propertied people, acquiring a collective religious and social sense. The Golden Temple of Amritsar was a symbol of their new consciousness. They worked to complete it with desperate devotion and unsparing energy. It was on Arjun's initiative, that the bible of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth took form, and the orally preserved sayings, songs and other remains of the four previous Gurus were written down. Arjun's fame, and the growing wealth of his people, excited the envy of the Emperor Jahangir. Arjun was put to torture-fire and water and boiling cauldron-he bore all firmly. The last message he sent through the Sikhs to his son and successor, Har Gobind, was one that sounded ominously the change from peace to war. "Let him sit armed on his throne, and raise as best he can an army at his right hand!" That was in the year 1606 A.D., and the religion of the Sikhs went through a gradual metamorphosis in succeeding years, their quietist faith became more and more militant.

So, Har Gobind, in the Song of the Masters, appears in warrior guise. As his father had presaged, he and his fellow-Sikhs were to learn the truth of the proverb-"Wealth must wear a sword!" Under Har Gobind and his successors, the Sikhs strengthened. With Tegh Bahadur, ninth of the Gurus, we come to the advent of an overwhelming enemy, Aurangzeb who vowed he would convert all within his reach to Islam. When Tegh Bahadur heard the cry of the oppressed people imploring his aid against Aurangzeb, he sat so still, that his small son (who became the last of the Ten Gurus), grew uneasy and questioned him : "Father, why art thou so silent?" "My son," he said, "thou art still a child, and cannot know how the very earth is grieved at the great oppression (by the Turks). Yet none is brave enough to give up his life, in order to free the earth from this burden."

"Oh Father, thou art brave and thou art generous. Who is worthier than thou for this mission."

Tegh Bahadur gave himself up to Aurangzeb, and suffered martyrdom, a cruel death for his people's sake. His son, Gobind Singh-became the most warlike of all the Sikh leaders and Gurus. In the Song of the Masters, he as the tenth reincarnation of Nanak, appears in the form of the ancient huntsman, before whose arrows flies the Stag of Death.

**Contents and Sample Pages**