STORIES OF THE TENTH MAHAL
Episode No. 13
ZAFARNAMAH
The departure of Guru Tegh Bahadur gave a rude shock to the Sikhs who started bewailing. The Guru consoled them, saying, "O Sikhs, the Guru treated life and death alike. He was God's own image while living. After leaving his body, he merged with the Lord. He who mourns his death, is mistaken." This consoled the Sikhs. The Guru explained, "It was necessary to expose the falsehood of the Turks, which has been done. Now it is our turn to destroy the Turks. They inflicted torture on Guru Tegh Bahadur. The Guru had not usurped any of their territories. He had not killed any of their men. They perpetrated this cruelty in the name of their religion. They have committed a sin. Their falsehood has been demonstrated by the tortures to such an enlightened soul. In fact, they have committed suicide. Guru Tegh Bahadur has exposed the hypocrisy of the Turks. It will be my job to finish them."
A long time passed. Then the Khalsa was ordered, "Let us now go to war with the Turks and destroy them." "The Turks are very wicked. They are accompanied by a million horsemen. But we shall obey," replied the Khalsa. "All right, let us kill the Turk with a letter. When he reads my letter, he will die," said the Guru. "O True King, you are the doer of all actions. Do whatever pleases, you." Then the Guru addressed a letter to Aurangzeb. The letter was titled, ‘Zafarnamah'. This was written in great detail. But here we reproduce a brief sample of it. The letter covered several pages, and contained a large number of quartets, dealing with the role of the emperor, besides the Guru's point of view. The Guru recorded his version thus: "God seated you on the throne to dispense justice, and not injustice. But ever since you took over, you have indulged in injustice. You have not done a single act of justice. Firstly, you did injustice to me. I lived on barren rocky land, making no claims. I made no encroachments on your land. I did not subsist on any village granted by you. I was living like a faqir. You killed my father, without any offence, and marched your armies on me in conjunction with the rajahs. These rajahs are as unjust as you are yourself. You collaborated to kill my sons, women and Sikhs. You plundered my treasure and took away my horses. I have received this treatment because of your policies of injustice, pursued only in your house. Against this, the House of the Lord dispenses
justice, so that not even the slightest good done by anybody is overlooked, nor is the slightest evil ignored. Both bear fruit. When He sits on judgement, He will ask you, 'What harm was done to you by Ram Das (sic. Guru Tegh Bahadur), for which you tortured him so much? Beware, that time is very near. Do not consider it distant. I shall be a witness to it. Think of some explanation, for otherwise you will be condenmed to hell. All hells have been created for the unjust. There, a king's request for justice is attended to after others. You take pride in earning your living through labour, and think that you will be forgiven on that account. This plea does not hold water. Horses toil for their feed. That does not make them saints. And if you believe that since you recite the Quran, you will be forgiven, this argument is equally untenable. You have recited it merely with your tongue. Nobody can claim forgiveness without good deeds.
The dagra bird has the whole Quran written on its wings, but that does not make it a saint, any more than your hope of being forgiven on the plea that you meditate. So, you can forget about that also. Worship or meditation does not consist in reciting a few verses. Real worship is supressing evil desires, i.e., to control the mind, not to be led by it. But you have been doing everything to satisfy the evil desires of your mind. You killed your father to satisfy your mind. You killed your brothers, Dara Shikoh and Murad Bakhsh, because of the same desires. Is this meditation? So this claim of yours is also not acceptable.
That is why the Prophet has said that he who does not follow his command, shall not be entitled to his blessing. One has to give up the evil acts forbidden by the Prophet, and obey his commands. Only such persons shall be entitled to patronage of the Prophet. But those who ignore his commandments, in pursuit of mundane objects, are referred to in the Quran as 'dogs'. This means that this world is like a corpse, and that is what a dog seeks. Why would the Prophet help such dogs? So this claim of yours is also invalid. And if you feel that you are destroying idolatry of the Hindus, and that this will save you, this is equally without substance. You have destroyed a statue where tens of thousands of Hindus paid their obeisance and would not eat before doing that. This was their routine. So, when you demolished that statue, idols appeared in every house. Some made the idols out of flour; others used wax or clay. They had to carry out
their routine before they could take their meals. So, if you had not broken one statue, tens
of thousands of new idols would not have come up. By breaking one statue you created a
hundred thousand idols.
The real statue is 'ego' or selfishness, which is the mother of all idols. Those who have conquered their ego, have in reality destroyed idolatry: Destroy thy ego; this is real idol-breaking.
Free thyself from ego; this is real release. And if you think you are a strict follower of Shariat (Islamic Code), and for this reason you will be forgiven, this belief of yours is also wrong. Like you, followers of other religions also observe their own religious codes with equal strictness. All religious codes are similar. Because of ignorance, people think one is superior to others. If only such codes could save people, who would worship the Lord? He who expects salvation without meditation, and grace of His saints is mistaken. Also, if you feel that people flatter you, and on this account you will be forgiven, you are mistaken there also. Sycophants used to flatter
Pharoh also for their selfish motives. That Pharoh was condemned by the Lord to burn in
hell. Real praise is deserved by one whose heart follows the dictates of the Lord's saints.
He is praiseworthy, whether others praise him or condemn him. Again you might believe
that the Lord is benevolent and that His benevolence will save you.
There are two answers to this. One, He blesses only the poor and the humble who are ft.ee from ego in their hearts. The second answer is that the Lord possesses both the attributes; He
dispenses benevolence as well as punishment. In case you have been benevolent to others, He will dole out benevolence to you, and if you have been cruel, you will also get the same treatment at His hands. It never happens that you sow kikar (Acacia) and harvest mangoes. You will reap only what you sow."
The letter contained the warning, "Beware! The Khalsa is born, the real idol-breaker Khalsa. Khalsa will punish you. You will not be spared." The name of the messenger who took this letter was Bhai Daya Singh. When Aurangzeb read this line of the letter, he looked at Bhai Daya Singh and asked,
"Has the Khalsa taken birth?"
"Yes Sir, the Khalsa has appeared," replied Bhai Daya Singh.
"It should not have appeared at this time. I see doom ahead," saying this, Aurangzeb's
face turned pale, and he died. (13)
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Episode No. 13
ZAFARNAMAH
The departure of Guru Tegh Bahadur gave a rude shock to the Sikhs who started bewailing. The Guru consoled them, saying, "O Sikhs, the Guru treated life and death alike. He was God's own image while living. After leaving his body, he merged with the Lord. He who mourns his death, is mistaken." This consoled the Sikhs. The Guru explained, "It was necessary to expose the falsehood of the Turks, which has been done. Now it is our turn to destroy the Turks. They inflicted torture on Guru Tegh Bahadur. The Guru had not usurped any of their territories. He had not killed any of their men. They perpetrated this cruelty in the name of their religion. They have committed a sin. Their falsehood has been demonstrated by the tortures to such an enlightened soul. In fact, they have committed suicide. Guru Tegh Bahadur has exposed the hypocrisy of the Turks. It will be my job to finish them."
A long time passed. Then the Khalsa was ordered, "Let us now go to war with the Turks and destroy them." "The Turks are very wicked. They are accompanied by a million horsemen. But we shall obey," replied the Khalsa. "All right, let us kill the Turk with a letter. When he reads my letter, he will die," said the Guru. "O True King, you are the doer of all actions. Do whatever pleases, you." Then the Guru addressed a letter to Aurangzeb. The letter was titled, ‘Zafarnamah'. This was written in great detail. But here we reproduce a brief sample of it. The letter covered several pages, and contained a large number of quartets, dealing with the role of the emperor, besides the Guru's point of view. The Guru recorded his version thus: "God seated you on the throne to dispense justice, and not injustice. But ever since you took over, you have indulged in injustice. You have not done a single act of justice. Firstly, you did injustice to me. I lived on barren rocky land, making no claims. I made no encroachments on your land. I did not subsist on any village granted by you. I was living like a faqir. You killed my father, without any offence, and marched your armies on me in conjunction with the rajahs. These rajahs are as unjust as you are yourself. You collaborated to kill my sons, women and Sikhs. You plundered my treasure and took away my horses. I have received this treatment because of your policies of injustice, pursued only in your house. Against this, the House of the Lord dispenses
justice, so that not even the slightest good done by anybody is overlooked, nor is the slightest evil ignored. Both bear fruit. When He sits on judgement, He will ask you, 'What harm was done to you by Ram Das (sic. Guru Tegh Bahadur), for which you tortured him so much? Beware, that time is very near. Do not consider it distant. I shall be a witness to it. Think of some explanation, for otherwise you will be condenmed to hell. All hells have been created for the unjust. There, a king's request for justice is attended to after others. You take pride in earning your living through labour, and think that you will be forgiven on that account. This plea does not hold water. Horses toil for their feed. That does not make them saints. And if you believe that since you recite the Quran, you will be forgiven, this argument is equally untenable. You have recited it merely with your tongue. Nobody can claim forgiveness without good deeds.
The dagra bird has the whole Quran written on its wings, but that does not make it a saint, any more than your hope of being forgiven on the plea that you meditate. So, you can forget about that also. Worship or meditation does not consist in reciting a few verses. Real worship is supressing evil desires, i.e., to control the mind, not to be led by it. But you have been doing everything to satisfy the evil desires of your mind. You killed your father to satisfy your mind. You killed your brothers, Dara Shikoh and Murad Bakhsh, because of the same desires. Is this meditation? So this claim of yours is also not acceptable.
That is why the Prophet has said that he who does not follow his command, shall not be entitled to his blessing. One has to give up the evil acts forbidden by the Prophet, and obey his commands. Only such persons shall be entitled to patronage of the Prophet. But those who ignore his commandments, in pursuit of mundane objects, are referred to in the Quran as 'dogs'. This means that this world is like a corpse, and that is what a dog seeks. Why would the Prophet help such dogs? So this claim of yours is also invalid. And if you feel that you are destroying idolatry of the Hindus, and that this will save you, this is equally without substance. You have destroyed a statue where tens of thousands of Hindus paid their obeisance and would not eat before doing that. This was their routine. So, when you demolished that statue, idols appeared in every house. Some made the idols out of flour; others used wax or clay. They had to carry out
their routine before they could take their meals. So, if you had not broken one statue, tens
of thousands of new idols would not have come up. By breaking one statue you created a
hundred thousand idols.
The real statue is 'ego' or selfishness, which is the mother of all idols. Those who have conquered their ego, have in reality destroyed idolatry: Destroy thy ego; this is real idol-breaking.
Free thyself from ego; this is real release. And if you think you are a strict follower of Shariat (Islamic Code), and for this reason you will be forgiven, this belief of yours is also wrong. Like you, followers of other religions also observe their own religious codes with equal strictness. All religious codes are similar. Because of ignorance, people think one is superior to others. If only such codes could save people, who would worship the Lord? He who expects salvation without meditation, and grace of His saints is mistaken. Also, if you feel that people flatter you, and on this account you will be forgiven, you are mistaken there also. Sycophants used to flatter
Pharoh also for their selfish motives. That Pharoh was condemned by the Lord to burn in
hell. Real praise is deserved by one whose heart follows the dictates of the Lord's saints.
He is praiseworthy, whether others praise him or condemn him. Again you might believe
that the Lord is benevolent and that His benevolence will save you.
There are two answers to this. One, He blesses only the poor and the humble who are ft.ee from ego in their hearts. The second answer is that the Lord possesses both the attributes; He
dispenses benevolence as well as punishment. In case you have been benevolent to others, He will dole out benevolence to you, and if you have been cruel, you will also get the same treatment at His hands. It never happens that you sow kikar (Acacia) and harvest mangoes. You will reap only what you sow."
The letter contained the warning, "Beware! The Khalsa is born, the real idol-breaker Khalsa. Khalsa will punish you. You will not be spared." The name of the messenger who took this letter was Bhai Daya Singh. When Aurangzeb read this line of the letter, he looked at Bhai Daya Singh and asked,
"Has the Khalsa taken birth?"
"Yes Sir, the Khalsa has appeared," replied Bhai Daya Singh.
"It should not have appeared at this time. I see doom ahead," saying this, Aurangzeb's
face turned pale, and he died. (13)
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