Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti, The Last Guru of Sikhism
There are ten gurus who are worshipped by the Sikhs. The tenth guru was Guru Gobind Singh. His birthday is celebrated as the Guru Gobind Singh Jayanthi. He was the last guru. There will be more celebrations by the Sikhs in India, especially Punjab. The Sikhs go in large processions. There will be special prayers and gatherings in the gurudwaras. His birth day is on December 22nd 1966. As the birthday is calculated according to the Hindu calendar the birthday may come twice according to the Christian calendar year. His father Guru Tegh Bahadur gave up his life for the good of the Hindus.
The Muslim rulers were threatening for the conversion of the Sikhs. This is the time that Guru Gobind Singh was very strong and gave all his life for the welfare of Hindus.
Kshatra dharms was intensely followed by Guru Gobind Singh. Her was a spiritual leader and had firm principles. He was fearless and great devotion to god. He had many poets in his court and they would compose many compositions which would invoke martial spirit in Sikhs. The Sikhs will celebrate his birth day with great devotion and respect. The crackers are burst and diyas are lighted. The Gurudwars are also decorated with lights which will give a festive look to it. The processions and prayers are the common scenes near the Gurudwars.
This festival is also named as the prakash utsav as there will be many lights all over. The Guru Granth Sahib or the holy book of the Sikhs is read with great respect in the Gurudwaras. After the Granth Sahib is recited the communal food is being served which is common for al the people without seeing caste or creed. The birthday of Guru Gobind Singh is also called Guru Gaddi Diwas. The Gurudwara in Amritsar is full of pilgrims during this period. The Gurudwara in Amritsar is called the Golden Temple by the Sikhs.
In the procession a lot of sweets and sherbet or juice will be distributed by the Sikhs. Many other local delicacies will be distributed to mark the birthday of Guru Gobind Singh. The teaching of Guru Gobind Singh is called the Dasam Granth. This book is also a holy book for the Sikhs. Under his instructions the Granth Sahib is the main holy book for the Sikhs. They follow this book for the religion. Sahib means sacred. So the book Granth sahib is sacred.
Guru Gobind Singh believed in god and was a pious Sikh. He was initiating the people to follow Sikhism and not to get converted into Islam. He would not stand the Muslim rulers and would protect the people from getting converted. The Muslim rulers were terrorized by him. The songs composed by his court men would give a spirit to the Sikh people. He also composed the Jaap Sahib. He always worked for the good of the Sikhs. He instructed to follow the Granth Sahib and follow it like a guru. This gave a turn for the Sikhs and they follow the granth sahib as their guru now also.