*||The Golden Harvest Celebrations (Ayi Re Baisakhi)||*

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@pancakes

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Posted: 8 years ago

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Festival of Vaisakhi also known as Baisakhi is celebrated with joy and fervor on April 13 across the world. It's believed to be one of three festivals chosen by Guru Amar Das to be celebrated by Sikhs, the other two being Diwali and Maghi. The festival marks the start of the Sikh New Year as well as the harvesting time of Rabi crops. It's the biggest festival for Sikhs in the sense that it marks the establishment of Khalsa Panth in 1699 by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh.

In the village of Punjab and Haryana, the day of Baisakhi is full of excitement as men and women cheerfully move towards the fields to celebrate the occasion. Their celebration consists of performing traditional dances, Bhangra and Gidda in groups on beat of dhol. It is also celebrated by framers as a thanksgiving day. After taking early bath they visit temples or gurudwaras and thank the Almighty for the bountiful harvest and pray for their better future.

Sikhs celebrate this festival with great devotion and joy. They take an early bath and go to the nearby Gurudwara in new clothes to participate in special prayer meet marked for the day. A special ardas or kirtan is held after which Kada Prasad is distributed among everyone. Later in the day, people sit in a row and eat Langar or community lunch prepared by the volunteers.

Major celebrations are held in Golden Temple, Amritsar to commemorate the establishment of Khalsa Panth. It's believed to have been witnessed by many Sikhs who specially traveled from afar for this occasion to see Guru Gobind Singh ji initiate the first five members of the Khalsa. Nagar Kirtans are held across the city honoring the Panj Pyaras. The day ends with with people exchanging greetings and gifts with friends and relatives.

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Edited by pancakes - 8 years ago

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Revelio

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Posted: 8 years ago

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The origin of Baisakhi dates back to the 30th of March,1699. It marks a historic event of the genesis of the Khalsa. Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh Guru and son of Guru Tegh Bahadur, was the one to lay the base for the formation of the festival Baisakhi. During the period of the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb's reign, a group of Kashmiri Brahmins sought the aid of Guru Tegh Bahadur to rise over the oppression they were subjected to under Aurangzeb's rule. Aurangzeb intended to spread Islam throughout India, by forcing the dissolution of the other existing religions in the country.

Guru Tegh Bahadur, in an attempt to help them, left for Delhi to confront Aurangzeb. But upon their very arrival, they were imprisoned by Aurangzeb's army. Guru Tegh Bahadur, knowing there was no way out, wanted to be assured that his son Gobind Rai had the capability to uplift his responsibilities and guide the Sikh clan, before breathing his last. After a brief exchange of letters with his son, he'd gained the credence that his son would be a worthy successor of his. Later, Guru Tegh Bahadur was publicly executed under the orders of Aurangzeb.

Guru Tegh Bahadur's passing instilled strong notions of courage and sacrifice in young Gobind Singh's mind. He desired to sow the seeds of courage and sacrifice among his followers. On the 30th March he called upon a mass gathering of his followers at Anandpur Sahib, under the pretext of a Baisakhi celebration. He stood at the top of a hill and addressed the crowd. At the end of his impelling oration, he drew his sword and asked for a volunteer to step forward and sacrifice their life as an offering to God. On his third call, a man came forward. The Guru led him inside a tent and reappeared moments later, alone with a blood dripping sword, as the crowd watched in horror. Soon after, four more volunteers followed and none of them returned. At this point, the crowd started to dissolve, thinking their Guru had lost his mind. Just then, the Guru came out of the tent with all the five men alive and with turbans adorning their heads.

Guru Gobind Singh baptised these five men as the Panj Pyare - the Five Beloved Ones namely they Bhai Daya Singh, Bhai Dharam Singh, Bhai Himmat Singh, Bhai Mohkam Singh and Bhai Sahib Singh. These five men formed the Khalsa. The Guru considered them a paradigm of his own self and his ideologies. He urged all Sikhs to evolve the qualities of courage and sacrifice in themselves. The 13th of April marks the bestowing of the Panth Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh to the Sikhs.

Edited by ..Ramya.. - 8 years ago

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