It was Bibi Bhani, who upon preventing her father - Guru Amar Das's meditation from being disturbed, was given one wish that the Guru would grant. She asked that the Guru-ship hence forth stay with in the "Sodhi" bloodline. I'm sure there's plenty of sites that can detail this, but this is one that I found, that tells the story:
Bibi Bhani and the platform | SikhNet
I would not take anything on this site too seriously, Sikhnet is owned by the 3HO corporation, which has a slightly distorted version of Sikhism, this is their website,
3HO Foundation
see how many times you can see the word Sikh
Firstly to me the "platform" story seems like a nice bedtime story, it could be real - I don't know. But I do find it hard to believe a person (Guru) can be so deep in meditation (trying to be one with God), that you don't feel your own daughter's hand being pressed/cut open.
I agree, use your own intellect and logic to discern what is true, and what is not, we have a common saying on this website, does it pass the litmus test? The litmus test means does it back up with Sikh philosophy, on that basis, as far as I can see, no Guru had multiple marriages, no Guru had earings, (as is commonly depicted), no Guru performed miracles, and so forth, these are my own opinions, as a non Sikh, but looking at it from a clear head, it would appear a lot of the Sakhis have been spun a line, but then, how could they not be, they are very old stories, and if each person only changed one minute detail when passing it on, you are left with very little of the original.
To me stories like these are told to provide how great the Gurus were, how much devoted they were to their "faith"
Yes, I suppose they encourage people to have faith in their faith, or maybe they did, a long time ago, unfortunately the world is now full of people like me and you, who question and question, we look at the emperor, and exclaim loudly, 'he is not wearing any clothes' while everyone else argues about the finery and style of the outfit.
But what about another story like "Baba Deep Singh", really?!?! As kids we were all told the story of Baba Deep Singh. Oh his love for the Guru was so great that he would only die at the feet of the Guru. In the meant time he picks up his severed head and battles on through. I don't think this is one of those stories that - "oh its told like this but really it happened this way or just has a hidden meaning". I think, as part of Sikh History, that most Sikhs believe this really happened, they even have paintings of his bravery. If the meaning or truth behind it is different, then why paint such a portrait.
Well, if we were to use common sense and logic, close your eyes, and go back to that time, I would imagine he suffered quite a serious neck wound, but carried on fighting, which over time, changed into the story that is currently about. Now before we congratulate ourselves on our wisdom and discretion, we should not forget that we cannot possibly know the truth, but on balance, the probability is that he had a deep neck wound. And here we get to the interesting point, it is human nature to exclaim loudly and shout from the rooftops that people are believing nonsense, and that my friend is why I am now a non Sikh, not because I do not love Sikhism, but because I love Sikhism so much that it is not for me to cast doubt, or change opinion, who the hell am I, a man that has danced with the devil all his life, to question paintings and history, in my heart, I have an idea of Sikhism, but it is so far fetched from the what passes that I do not have the energy or the time to argue and debate, however, I am happy to chat to a likeminded soul. Also you are not taking into account a lot of factors of the time, the Sikhs were having the shit kicked out of them, we needed heroes, we needed stories, we needed inspiration, maybe we even needed paintings, its easy for us to sit here in our warm houses behind a keyboard postulating this and that, but the reality is we cannot even comprehend what life was like then for Sikhs.
But back to the Guru's bloodline. Even Guru Amar Das warned his daughter of such a wish, that it could lead to conflicts and suffering. Now he probably really thought the Sodhi's had the strength to carry this responsibility, but as we all know, the Guru's that were the successors each had families of their own, each had multiple kids. Of which did create jealousy and hate amongst the siblings and other relatives alike. I'm aware that the next chosen Guru had to prove themselves with obedience, dedication, all the requirements to being a Guru/Leader. But please think what I'm about to say next. Most of the Guruship was passed down to their son's (Guru Teg Bahadur might be the exception). So now if you're the Guru, and here you have your son's in front of you. And you know at some point you must choose your successor. But what if the "choice" was the not the best choice, but rather the best of what was given to them. So say all the son's for one guru were not really qualified, but he still has to choose within the family (so kinda like lesser of two evils?). And now most of you will argue that the choices were good, because those Guru's that were selected did good, were good, etc. But what if there was someone better, someone outside the bloodline. You had plenty of followers who were just as devoted. But with all the Guru's grand vision, they couldn't look outside their own family. Isn't that the meaning of a Monarchy. To rule, and to pass that Rule down the bloodline?
Well, this only holds if the story is true, I did not believe the story to be true, so the question leading from that to me is irrelevant, no, I do not believe that the Gurus chose from within their families to respect a diktat by Guru Amar Das, I think it just panned out that way. If they did, then it starts to upset the litmus test, and as my sister rightly pointed out above, you have to have some faith in foundations, otherwise the whole thing comes crashing down, but that is my personal belief, personal to me.
Harry you said the Guru's were perfect. If they were perfect, and thus so should their bloodlines, but yet some of the family members were consumed by jealousy, greed, power hungry. So then how can someone who's pure and perfect create imperfections. Was it their wives faults? The Guru's never even considered their daughters to be leaders. Why not? Prolly b/c those times were pretty sexist, and not truly equal among the sexes.
hahah, why? my mother and father are pretty perfect, they are good, good people, just really nice people, with no interest in dancing with the devil, in fact, they are so good, that anyone else would have disowned me by now, I did not just dance with the devil, I ran away with him to Gretna Green, and we got married, still, they accept, love, nuture and cherish me, yet I came from their bloodline.....
The Gurus were not God chosen, or it was destiny. They were selected by simple human men, who sought to keep it within the family. And who knows by doing so maybe provided security for the generations to come. Being a Guru or a member of the Guru's family must have had it's share of perks. You probably had a comfortable life. Even has kids, they probably had servants, personal military/combat trainers, and not to forget the public who would serve the bloodline. Is it wrong for me to say the Guru's lived a luxury and king-like lifestyle.
Well, I think we can all safely say that Guru Nanak did not, and as Sikhs believe that the light of Guru Nanak shone through all the Gurus, that they were all in fact the same, then the litmus test says no, I think by the time of the tenth Guru, he felt it important to show the world that Sikhs were not fakirs, or tramps, that they had culture, style, presence, I do not believe they lived like kings, I believe they were humble and did what they had to do to bring about change, in whatever way they felt appropriate, I put any king like stories down to the Sakhi culture, a true king, a proper king serves his people more than he serves himself, a real king would have to be dragged to the throne, because it is a job of responsibility, of nurture, not of gain. Real Kings do not give a toss about finery or luxury, all they care about is the welfare of their subjects. In my opinion all the Gurus were real kings.
Why is it now, in today's time it's some what acceptable to question Sikhi (teachings, rules - 5ks, definition of a sikh, etc.) but its like blasphemy to question those who created it? If you disagree, great. But bring different thoughts (go outside the box). Try not giving textbook answers. That's what reading is for lol. After all, if "God" gave us this perfect body, then the mind would be such a waste if we never question, would it not.
Well, with respect, although you are questioning, you are not questioning those who created it, you are questioning the truth about those who created it, there is a difference, I live by the litmus test, the Gurus were perfect and they had a message to impart to the world, they lived as they preached, so any story that does not run on that road is probably {censored}. However, a great many people believe stories, but that is their right.