In 1675 AD, when the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of Sikhs, had taken place, the civil society in India had reached the lowest ebb. The tyrannical rule of the Mughal empire had been corrputed and thousands of innocent non-Muslims were put to death for the only fault that they did not embrace Islam as ordained by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. In the midst of the wreckage of a collapsing order, the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur triggered a zeal in his son Guru Gobind Singh to establish the Khalsa Panth in order to check the onslaught of the Mughal rule.

Guru Tegh Bahadur had already upheld the principle that no mighty power or political authority anywhere, had the right to annihilate the prevalent cultures. Indeed, Guru Tegh Bahadur, in world’s history, has the unique distinction of sacrificing his life for freedom of faith. Sikh Gurus never believed in idol worship or ritual, which the Hindus observed. Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru and the Founder of Sikhism, at the age of nine, had protested the formality of wearing a sacred cotton thread called ‘janeu’ around his neck, which the Brahmin priests wanted him to do, and the precocious Nanak challenged the priests with the words: "Make mercy they cotton, contentment thy thread, continence its knot, truth its twist, that would make it a ‘janeu’ for its soul, if thou have it, O Brahmin, then put it on me. It will not break or be burnt or lost. Bless the man, O Nanak, who goes with such a thread over his chest".

Guru Tegh Bahadur, anticipating the modern concepts of protection of human rights and democracy, irrespective of the creed, belief, ideology, thought in that medieval age that the right to wear ‘janeu’ or ‘frontal marks’ by Hindus should not be banned which Aurangzeb enforced. So Guru Tegh Bahadur went to the extent to sacrifice his life to protect the rights of a community other than his own.

Naturally, this great act of sacrifice by Guru Tegh Bahadur left an imprint on the mind of his young son Gobind Rai, then only nine years old. Gobind deliberated on this for long years and then only he completed the mission of his life to establish the Khalsa Panth, with its distinctive identification, in 1699 AD. The establishment of the Khalsa Panth in many ways shattered Aurangzeb’s dream of establishing "Daru-al-Islam" (Islamic State) in the so-called land of "Daru-aal-Harb" (land of infidels).

The Khalsa which Guru Gobind Singh created is a collective Brotherhood of mankind based on moral discipline dedicated to the service of all earth’s beings, the Guru declared unequivocally: "Manas ki jat sab eke hi pachanbo", meaning: treat the whole mankind as one. In his book ‘Akal Utsat’ Guru Gobind Singh has written "all human beings though appearing different, with different influences and cultureare essentially the same". And every Sikh in his prayer daily seeks ‘sarbat ka bhala’- the welfare of all.

Religion, according to Sikhs, is not merely ideology and doctrines but it is a Way of life to be lived and practiced. It is not a mere intellectual process of listening and learning the teachings of the Gurus but of translating them into life intended to be lived in the service of the humanity. Guru Gobind Singh had created the Panth which means the ‘Way’ and all those who treaded on this Way were organized into a Panth bound together so as to become a force to work for Dharma, the Righteousness, in the world. Guru Gobind Singh said, "A Sikh is dear to me not because of his name or form but because of his or her character" The symbology of five distinctive K’s which he gave to Sikhs is intended as means and an aid to promoting and marshaling moral and spiritual development. These symbols were never conceived as ends in themselves as when they did not fulfill the purpose for which they were symbols they become dead and lifeless. The main object of the Khalsa is to propagate ‘Dharma’ the Righteousness.

Guru Nanak proclaimed, "Vich dunya sev kamaiye, tan dargeh baisan paiyai" (Nanak 1-Sri Rag) which means that when we serve others in this world then only we can get a place of honour in the next". Guru Gobind Singh says in his autobiography ‘Bachittar Natak’ as "those who put on false garbs, have no worth in the estimation of God’s men. Know ye all, once for all, that no one can find the Supreme Being through a false exterior". It should also be noted that, the distinctiveness of form which Guru Gobind Singh gave to Sikhs is not ‘exclusiveness’, on the contrary, he emphasized that the Sikh’s distinctiveness is intended to end every form of exclusiveness and to foster kinship with all. He preached that a person should renounce his or her ego because egoism was the basic detached from worldly ties.

SHABAD GURU: Although belief in the spiritual tutelage of the Guru is said to be an integral part of Guru Nanak’s teachings, Guru Gobind Singh felt that a living mentor could now be dispensed with, provided he could be replaced by some institution which discharged the same functions. And the examples of Prithi Chand, Dhirmal, Meharban and Ram Rai, in previous history of Gurus, as each of whom had disputed the succession in their time and set up as rival gurus, were no doubt a deciding factor in Guru Gobind Singh’s mind. Even before the creation of the Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh had four sons of his own, but he felt that it would be better to end the line of personal Gurus and invest the Guruship in something permanent and inviolable. So there was the Granth Sahib, by then well established as the holy book par excellence for people seeking spiritual guidance. And in matters other than spiritual there was the institution of the ‘Panch Pardhan’ with which all were familiar. So all that was needed was to adapt the ‘Panch Parvan’ and, between the two, i.e. the "Granth" and the blessed representatives of the community - "Panth" - both the spiritual and secular functions of the Guru are taken care of. Guru Granth is consecrated the spiritual Guru, the Panth accepted as secular guide and the combination of the two ‘Guru Granth and Panth’ constitute the whole life ideal.

Khalsa is a casteless society, the blossoming of Sikhism of Guru Nanak and the succeeding Gurus. By vesting the Guruship in the Granth, it becomes immortal and permanent, and so is the continuity of the Khalsa Panth. The Guru Granth Sahib is a unique anthology of 5894 sacred hymns of the first five Gurus, the ninth Guru as well as 30 Hindu saints, Muslim sufis and other holy personalities which were formed in harmony with the divine thoughts and teachings of the Sikh Gurus. So the Sikhs do not look upon the Guru Granth Sahib as another Holy Book but worship it as the eternal Shabad Guru - and embodiment of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit as well as the living presence of Gurus. Sikh religion is monotheistic and free from meaningless form and ritual.

Guru Granth Sahib is a moral democracy at its best and teaches respects of all religions. The Hymn "na ko bairi nahi begana sagal sang hamko ban-ayi", meaning none is our enemy none in a stranger to us, we are in accord with one and all. So Guru Granth Sahib is a Universal Scripture and its religion is Universal and practical symbolising peace and love which is the foremost need of the world today.