ARCHIVED FORUM: Gurdwara Tapoban Sahib
Baba Har Krishan Sahib
Posted by : Dass Sevadar
Date: 7/27/2004 11:48 am
BABA HARI KRISHAN: THE PRECOCIOUS CHILD
The Mother and Child who are one before the creative agony of birth, become two distinct beings, yet the division only serves to fuse and intensify the two glowing flames of love. Mother Sulakhani loved both her sons, Hari Krishan and Ram Rai, and more so her only daughter Sarup Kaur, but destiny had so interlinked the mother and son relations between this Holy Mother and Baba Hari Krishan, that she remained close to him from
the day of his birth to the day of his premature death. Both Hari Krishan and Ram Rai were gifted boys but what surprised her most was that Hari Krishan, though nine years younger than Ram Rai, was proving to be his elder brother's equal in intellectual, moral, and apostalic achievements at the age of five.
Whoever visited the holy city of Kiratpur was greatly impressed by various elements of culture visibly emerging in the historical development of Sikhism. It consisted of magnificence of architecture of the mansions and palaces, patronage of music. literature, poetry, decoration of elegance in dress and adornments, and the aesthetic expression of beauty in the royal grandeur of the Guru's Court, which was enriched by a beautiful garden and zoo, and collection of finest horses and elephants. AIl sports, recreations and pastimes were enjoyed with health and vigour. But the whole atmosphere was filled with the fundamentals of culture-teaching of scriptures, divine poetry; music, moral and spiritual discipline of the highest order. Divine life made its presence felt on every inch of the earthly existence of Kiratpur. The whole city was charged with the atmosphere of peace, hope, love in human brotherhood, and above all fearlessness and freedom from bigotry and terrors of the rulers.
Anyone can be taught to strive for needs, acquire riches, food, clothing, and satisfy all appetites, as our secular institutions have been doing for centuries. But the Gurus had built institutions of learning at Kiratpur which inspired young people to learn religious literature, history music and secular arts. The education that was imparted to them had one aim, that was, to illumine their hearts and souls, remove all darkness and deluslion. They were trained to use this New Enlightenment and divine power to serve the cause of suffering humanity, and to inspire every one to recognize his inherent divinity and dignity, and consider it much more precious than all material possessions.
Throughout their education and training the boys were made to realize that until man engages in constructive and creative labour, and until human beings strive for divine wisdom and power and face the challenges of life and fight the forces of oppression and exploitation, they cannot dream of their own liberation and salvation, nor can they be of any use to the society in which they live. Those who neglect this duty and miss this education and training will lose their inner freedom and spiritual moorings. The whole education of the Guru's children had but one aim: to strengthen their mind and soul, to make them immune to threats and oppression of the secular rulers, and to confirm their vision and grasp of the highest ideals of Sikhism.
Recitation of scriptures in musical intonation, and understanding authentic interpretation of the Sacred Hymns and Sikh doctrines, were the most important part of their studies. They were taught the whole ancestral history of the Sikh faith, and given training in the apostalic duties which they had to shoulder in the near future. The faith of the Child is free from doubts but they were grounded in the faith of the adepts and the Elect whose duty it is to dispel doubts and mental darkness of all the people.
Their mind was not just loaded with metaphysical and theological ideas, but it was inspired with the experience of Truth and Wisdom of the highest mystical experiences. They were both conscious of their responsibilities as heirs to the great intellectual and spiritual heritage of their great forefathers. They devoted all their time and energies to the task of perfecting themselves intellectually and spiritually under the guidance of prominent sage-teachers. They were taught to live profoundly illuimined religious life, because, they had to show and radiate from their own daily living the content and profound depths of Sikh Faith to seekers coming from all over the country.
No doubt Ram Rai was a boy of exceptional intelligence, and had an unusual passion for life of contemplation and prayer, but the speed with which Hari Krishan learnt everything, and his amazing grasp over the deeper meaning of the Scriptures, showed that he was only mentally precocious, but a lad with vigorous consciousness and a brilliant future. But his father and mother watched with joy and pride, his eagerness to learn, study everything with contemplative depths and act on the teachings in letter and spirit.
Guru Hari Rai baptized Hari Krishan according to the prevalent Sikh rites of baptism called Charan-pahul and imparted to him the revelation of the divine Word, called Nam-Diks1ia. Guru Hari Rai became from that day, the Spiritual Preceptor and the divine Enlightener (Guru) of Hari Krishan. Sikh baptism is called spiritual rebirth. The heart of the Child novice was anointed with the Light of the Word. The baptized soul was ready for higher moral and spiritual perceptions. It was illumined by grace and power of institutional awakening of higher consciousness. Baba Hari Krishan could now recite many compositions from the Sikh scriptures like Japji, Anand. Sukhman,. from memory. He would sit at the feet of eminent scholars and divines of the Guru's durbar and listen to eye-witness accounts of his forefathers and spiritual ancestors.
Although still very young, Baba Hari Krishan saw to it that the devotees who come to Kiratpur were properly looked after. He would visit the sick and ailing and saw to it that they were given necessary medical care and proper nursing. His calm and peace shedding looks sank into the soul of the suffering and the sick. His healing glance reassured and drew them to health and joy. His sublime words of consolation and comfort satisfied and calmed the feverish agony of ailing hearts. Yet with all these qualities in him he was extremely humle and gentle.
Baba Hari Krishan spent many hours in quiet and meditations. To him real knowledge and power came from higher mystical experiences and intuitional vision of the divine. There were princely mansions and palaces around him, yet he moved in Kiratpur like a Sage-Child, recalling the great Dhruva and Prahlad of ancient Indian lore.
Have not the great Rishis said: "One should cultivate the characteristics of a Child. The characteristic of a Child are non-attachment and innocence (freedom from private notions of right or wrong). By abstinence from speech, by learning, by nonobservance of conventions relating to the classes and stages of life, one acquires the state of Aloneness and independence of a Child. To be a Sage-Child one should be like a rock and even if cut asunder should not get angry, should not quake. He should stand by truth, for verily, this truth is the Self." Such a Sage-Child was Baba Hari Krishan by temperament and training.
Baba Hari Krishen was always calm and cheerful. His mind was free from fear, anger, envy or any such human frailty. Both Hari Krishan and Ram Rai were being trained for the leadership of the Sikh community. Both had outstanding qualities of their own, and each of them developed these qualities according to his own outlook and innate moral and spiritual aspirations. Yet their motivation of serving and enhancing the glory and grandeur of Sikhism was identical.
Although all geniuses are born with special talent, their gifts from God flower only if they discipline their minds and souls. and concentrate an intensely fruitful activity. This was not the only instance that the training and education given by the Guru to their children, made young boys adept in knowledge and leadership at such a young age.
"According to a Hindustani proverb, the nature and ultimate size of a tree can be judged by its sprouting leaves, so this Child gave early indications of being worthy to succeed to the high dignity of his line. It is said that even at that early age Hari Krishan used to give his Sikhs instructions, resolve their doubts and lead them on their way to Salvation.
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Baba Hari Krishan devoted all his energies to the study of scriptures and to discipline himself inwardly in order to experience the highest stages of the mystical path of Sikhism. He spent most of his time with the poor and downtrodden people, a duty which he performed to the last days. He consoled them and calmed their inner conflicts; he helped them to overcome and remove the bitterness of their grinding poverty; he inspired them with courage and dignity, and made them conscious of their human and divine powers; he removed the emptiness of their loveless life, and made it purposeful. In Hari Krishan they found the healer of their sorrows, and the fulfiller of their innocent wishes. They came to him with pain and agony in their hearts. They went away with their hearts full of joy and hope and their minds inspired by courage and faith. .
It was difficult for ordinary persons to know the difference between their moral and spiritual stature, and their inherent gifts from God were visibly known to Guru Hari Rai who employed subtle means to put them to test, and point out visibly, the differences of higher spiritual order between them. One incident is specially recorded by historical documents:
'Once some prominent Sikhs asked Guru Hari Rai as to who was greater of the two brothers in spiritual achievements and virtues of saintliness. Guru Hari Rai asked Hari Krishan to deliver a sermon based on the interpretation of a Hymn in the Granth Sahib. So stirring and illuminating was the sermon delivered by Baba Hari Krishan, that the Chroniclers says, "all listeners were deeply moved by the ennobling and light-shedding interpretation of the Hymn. While Hari Krishan was delivering his sermon, Guru Had Rai asked one of his attendants to take a needle and drive it into the wooden leg of the altar on which the Holy Book was placed. The attendant was amazed to note, says the legendary story that the wooden leg had become so soft that the needle passed into it as if it was wax. This was symbolic of the fact that Hari Krishan's sermons not only influenced and softened human hearts and made them deeply perceptive, but they softened even the wood of the altar. The needle remained fixed in the wood.
Guru. Hari Rai then asked Ram Rai to interpret the same Hymn from the Granth Sahib. When Ram Rai was delivering the sermon. Guru Hari Rai asked an attendant to take the needle out of the wooden leg of the altar. However hard he tried, he was unable to take it out. Guru Hari Rai again asked Hari Krishan to interpret another Hymn from the Granth Sahib. When he was explaining this Hymn in a melodious voice, Guru Hari Rai asked the attendant to take the needle out. The wood once more became soft and the needle was easily taken out. "Listen" said Guru Hari Rai, to all the assembled Sikhs: "The Hymns and the divine Word of the Granth Sahib were the same, but when uttered by Hari Krishan, they not only deeply, touched the hearts of the listeners but also put life into the dry wood of the altar. Two persons may have the same bow and arrow in their hands but one who is adept in archery will succeed in aiming at the target with perfect marksmanship."
Re: Baba Har Krishan Sahib
Posted by : daas
Date: 7/27/2004 11:56 am
Dhan dhan guru har krishan sahib jee maharaaj
Re: Baba Har Krishan Sahib
Posted by : Jarnail Singh Arshi Gyani
Date: 7/27/2004 7:30 pm
waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh.
beautiful......and inspiring.
We Sikhs must really get our act together and spread the message of our Divine Masters which is unparralled by anyone. We must also emulate the high jeewan examples of our Gurus which are a lighthouse to us in this raging storm in the ocean of maya.
Many thanks to veer Ji Daas sewadar ji for this effort. May Waheguru Ji Bless you.
dass Jarnail Singh.
