Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa, Vahiguru ji ki Fatih!

Today is the Prakash Purab (Illumination Day) of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib, the rider of the blue steed, the epitome of love and excellence.

While imagining how the Guru would look like, Prof. Puran Singh (1881-1931) aspires to become a painter. He writes, “May I become a painter and make sketches of the Beloved Guru and continue to offer each sketch to the Sutlej. On the back of each sketch, I would write, this is also not your picture; this is also not your image, O Beloved! May I spend my entire life doing this, and in turn, ask Sutlej, what is the form of my true, eternal Guru? May I ask the Ganges flowing through Patna, what is the form of my Divine? May I ask the weaponry of Abichal Nagar (city of steadiness) what kind of grace my Beloved exuded?

“A maestro enlightened me, ‘Has anyone ever been able to capture the image of the Divine through these colors and methods?’ I have realized no thought can parallel this… My beloved is indeed the Divine of the Khalsa; above all Guru Gobind Singh is Guru Nanak, he is Guru Angad, he is Guru Amardas, he is Guru Ramdas, he is Guru Arjan, he is Guru Harigobind, he is Guru Harirai, he is Guru Harikrishan, he is the father Guru Teghbahadar, he is also the son Guru Gobind Singh, he is the eternal form of Guru Nanak and Nam. In him, nine forms are complete, and he, the new one, is also complete!”

Yes, my Beloved Guru is complete, and his form is also complete. And that form is love! He is the epitome of love, his sword is the epitome of love, from the Divine ecstasy of which emerged the Khalsa. Yes, Khalsa is the image of the Guru, and its language is love!

From the beginning, the Guru nurtured the Sikhs to bring out the best within them. He encouraged fine taste in music, arts, and literature. The Guru turned the Sikhs into the greatest artists humankind has ever seen. For they mirrored the love of the Guru, reflected the love of the Divine, radiated life in its finest form, and bathed in the pool of Gur-Sabad to turn into love-struck swans.

May we also bloom in Divine love through Gur-Sabad and become the image of the Beloved, Sahib Guru Gobind Singh! May we become Beloved-like! In love, forever!

ਸਾਚੁ ਕਹੋਂ ਸੁਨ ਲੇਹੁ ਸਭੈ ਜਿਨ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਕੀਓ ਤਿਨ ਹੀ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਪਾਇਓ ॥
I state the truth, listen everyone! Whoever has loved, they alone have found the Divine Master!

     Tva Prasad Savaye, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib