New Year (Baisakhi) (13 or 14 April)

Baisakhi was originally a New Year celebration for some Hindus. Amar Das, the third guru (1479-1574 CE) instituted this as one of the two annual Sikh gatherings (the other being Diwali in November), Baisakhi is now celebrated as the anniversary of the founding of the Khalsa, the religious society of Sikhs by the tenth guru, Gobind Singh (1666-1708 CE). Sikh baptismal ceremonies are carried out on this day.

They still follow the pattern of the original one in 1699. In the Punjab, fairs and celebrations take place and the traditional dancing of one man on top of an upturned pot on another's head. (See also Guru Gobind Singh's Birthday.)

The Founding of the Army of Soldier-Saints

For many years the emperors of India tried to put an end to the Sikh religion. Some of the Sikh gurus were executed. Now the tenth guru, Gobind Rai, decided that he must join all Sikhs together so that they would be strong in the face of the enemy. The great Sikh festival of Baisakhi was soon to be held. Gobind Rai sent messages to all the villages throughout the Punjab telling as many Sikhs as possible to travel to the town of Anandpur for the festival.

On the day of Baisakhi many thousands of Sikh men and women gathered in front of a closed tent. It was said that Guru Gobind Rai was inside. As the crowd grew bigger, the waiting people wondered why they had been called together. After some time the door of the tent opened and Guru Gobind Rai stepped forward. In his hand he held a long curved sword sharpened on both sides. It was the khanda, the destroyer, the Sikh weapon of war. The crowd fell silent. Everyone listened expectantly. When every eye was on him, Gobind Rai spoke.
'You are all faithful Sikhs, otherwise you would not be here now. I want one of you to prove your faith to me.' He held up his sword, 'Which one of you has faith enough to give me his head ?'

There was not a sound. No-one moved. No-one spoke. Everyone was shocked and amazed. Had they really heard him right? Would he really kill a Sikh to show how faithful he was? Everyone wanted to prove himself, but no one wanted to die. Still no-one moved and not a sound was heard. At last one man moved forward towards the Guru's tent. Sword in hand the Guru led the man inside and the door closed. Seconds later there was a thud and the Guru came out -his sword was smeared With blood.

The crowd could hardly believe it. Nor could they believe it when they heard the Guru ask for the head of a second loyal Sikh. Some of the crowd muttered angrily and turned and left. But another brave Sikh stepped forward and was taken into the tent. Again there was a thud and again the Guru came out holding his blood-stained sword for all to see.

The same thing happened once more. Altogether the Guru asked for the heads of five Sikhs. Five times the sword fell and five times the sword was stained with blood. The last time the Guru came back out of the tent, he pulled open the door -the crowd saw that inside were the five Sikhs, alive and smiling- and the beheaded bodies of five dead goats. Gobind Rai brought out the five brave men -two from the upper classes, a rich landowner and a noble knight, and three from the lower class. He called them the first five members of his new brotherhood. He had asked for their heads to see who were brave enough to give their lives for him. He wanted an army of men and women to be soldier-saints strong enough to overcome any enemy.

Finally, the Guru mixed up a special sweet water called amrit, which he stirred with his sword, then he sprinkled it over the five men. He asked them to do the same to him to show that although he was the Guru, all men were equal before the One God. Then the people were given amrit to drink as a sign of their renewed faith. The Guru made rules for Sikhs to live by and to remind them that they are Sikhs. Sikhs must not shave or cut their hair. They should wear a steel bracelet. They should not smoke or drink alcohol. Gobind Rai asked all Sikh men to add Singh (which means 'lion ') to their own name, and all Sikh women to add Kaur (which means 'prince'). This was to remind them of their religion and to show everyone else that they were Sikhs. Many Sikhs keep these rules today.

The festival of Baisakhi is the Sikh New Year festival. Sikhs remember Guru Gobind Rai ( or Gobind Singh as he is now called) and this is the time when adult Sikhs are baptised to become full members of the Sikh church, like the first brave five at Baisakhi nearly 300 years ago.

Guru Gobind Singh wrote a book of hymns and poems. Here is a verse which shows how all people and all things belong to God :

Sparks rise up from afire
And spread out in all directions,
But in the end they fall on the earth from which they came.
Dust floats up from the earth
And spreads out in all directions
But in the end it falls back on that same earth from which it came.
Waves rise up from the sea but fall back into the same sea; So do all things, living or not,
Come from God
And in the end .
Return to God.