Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth and last human Sikh Guru.
33 Facts About Guru Gobind Singh
2.
Guru Gobind Singh is credited with the Dasam Granth whose hymns are a sacred part of Sikh prayers and Khalsa rituals.
3.
Guru Gobind Singh is credited as the one who finalized and enshrined the Guru Granth Sahib as Sikhism's primary scripture and the eternal Guru.
4.
Guru Gobind Singh's birth name was Gobind Das, and a shrine named Takht Sri Patna Harimandar Sahib marks the site of the house where he was born and spent the first four years of his life.
5.
The education of Guru Gobind Singh continued after he became the 10th Guru, both in reading and writing as well as martial arts such as horse riding and archery.
6.
The Guru Gobind Singh learned Farsi in a year and at the age of 6 started training in martial arts.
7.
Guru Gobind Singh stayed in Paonta, near the banks of river Yamuna, until 1685.
8.
The life example and leadership of Guru Gobind Singh have been of historical importance to the Sikhs.
9.
In 1699, the Guru Gobind Singh requested the Sikhs to congregate at Anandpur on Vaisakhi.
10.
The Guru Gobind Singh returned to the crowd alone, with a bloody sword.
11.
Guru Gobind Singh asked for another volunteer, and repeated the same process of returning from the tent without anyone and with a bloodied sword four more times.
12.
Guru Gobind Singh called them the Panj Pyare and the first Khalsa in the Sikh tradition.
13.
Guru Gobind Singh initiated the Five K's tradition of the Khalsa,.
14.
Guru Gobind Singh announced a code of discipline for Khalsa warriors.
15.
Guru Gobind Singh introduced ideas that indirectly challenged the discriminatory taxes imposed by the Mughal authorities.
16.
Guru Gobind Singh declared that Khalsa does not need to continue this practice, because Bhaddar is not dharam, but a bharam.
17.
Guru Gobind Singh had a deep respect for the Khalsa and stated that there is no difference between the True Guru and the sangat.
18.
Guru Gobind Singh concluded that the Masands system had become corrupt, he abolished them and introduced a more centralized system with the help of Khalsa that was under his direct supervision.
19.
The Khalsa warrior community tradition started by Guru Gobind Singh has contributed to modern scholarly debate on pluralism within Sikhism.
20.
Guru Gobind Singh's tradition has survived into the modern times, with initiated Sikh referred to as Khalsa Sikh, while those who do not get baptized referred to as Sahajdhari Sikhs.
21.
Guru Gobind Singh declared this text to be the eternal Guru for Sikhs.
22.
Guru Gobind Singh believed in a Dharam Yudh, something that is fought as a last resort, neither out of a wish for revenge nor for greed nor for any destructive goals.
23.
Guru Gobind Singh led fourteen wars with these objectives, but never took captives nor damaged anyone's place of worship.
24.
Guru Gobind Singh fought 21 battles against the Mughal Empire and the kings of Siwalik Hills.
25.
Dhavan writes that some Persian writers who wrote decades or a century after the death of Guru Gobind Singh evolved from relying entirely on court histories of the Mughals which disparage the Guru, to including stories from the Sikh gurbilas text that praise the Guru.
26.
Some various spots in north, west, and central India where the Guru Gobind Singh lived after 1705, include Hehar with Kirpal Das, Manuke, Mehdiana, Chakkar, Takhtupura, and Madhe and Dina.
27.
Guru Gobind Singh stayed with relatives or trusted Sikhs such as the three grandsons of Rai Jodh, a devotee of Guru Har Gobind.
28.
Guru Gobind Singh saw the war conduct of Aurangzeb and his army against his family and his people as a betrayal of a promise, unethical, unjust, and impious.
29.
Guru Gobind Singh indicted the Mughal Emperor and his commanders in spiritual terms, and accused them of a lack of morality both in governance and in the conduct of war.
30.
Guru Gobind Singh's adopted son Zorawar Singh Palit whose real name is unknown died in 1708 near Chittorgarh Fort in a skirmish with local soldiers.
31.
Guru Gobind Singh hoped to get Anandpur, his former stronghold back, and remained close to the imperial camp for nearly a year.
32.
The Guru Gobind Singh fought back and killed the assassin, while the assassin's companion was killed by the Sikh guards as he tried to escape.
33.
Guru Gobind Singh's death fuelled a long and bitter war of the Sikhs with the Mughals.