Gurmat Chetna Yatra throughout the Punjab
S. S. Shanti Kaur Khalsa
Espanola NM, U.S.A.
The dust of a hundred vehicles snaked for miles down the narrow village road as the Gurmat Chetna Yatra wound its way through rural Punjab. Up and down the caravan of vehicles the call of Bole so Nihal! Sat Siri Akal! and Deg Teg Fateh! could be heard over and over again as the sangat called out in joy. Along the village streets people came for miles to greet the Yatris, offering prasad with folded hands in an outpouring of love that held no reservation. In the extreme heat and the pouring rain, the Yatris smiled, their hearts set free. Their faces were red from the sun, their feet were brown from the dust, but their hearts were luminous with the Guru’s radiance.
The Gurmat Chetna Yatra began in Anandpur Sahib on August 6th with a program that would travel through Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala, Sangrur, Mansa, Batinda, and the towns and villages of southeastern Punjab. The Yatra culminated in Dam Dama Sahib on August 18th, bringing hundreds of devotees that had joined along the route. Singh Sahib Manjit Singh, Jethadar of the Siri Akal Takhat Sahib and Giani Keval Singh, Jethadar of Dam Dama Sahib, led the group on an ambitious program. I felt very privileged to join the the Yatra along with S. S. Bhai Sahiba Bibiji Inderjit Kaur, wife of Yogi Bhajan, and two other American Sikh ladies of our Gurbani Kirtan Jetha. Most days held more than twenty programs, stopping every few kilometers to address the gathered sangat. The weather was hot and the days were long, challenging the endurance of all the Yatris.
The first four days of the Yatra proceeded at a dynamic pace. Our American Sikh Jetha received a warm welcome everywhere we went. For some we were a curiosity in our turbans and white bana, but for many we served as an inspiring role model of a Khalsa woman. We played Gurbani Kirtan each morning and evening, sharing the devotion and love of the sangat. Singh Sahib Manjit Singh addressed with inspiration the crowds who gathered and saropas were given at the many stops along the way. Word began to spread, and people came for miles to hear his uplifting speeches. So moved by his talk, one man came to the stage and pledged to do anything Singh Sahib asked. "There is something very important you can do," replied Manjit Singh, "but don’t do this for me, do it for yourself. Stop trimming your beard. Proudly grow a full beard with the dignity of a true man." Walking with the people along the route through the rain and mud, Singh Sahib Manjit Singh tirelessly led the Yatra. Regrettably his busy schedule called him away.
Once we entered the rural areas, we were face to face with the reality of how much the Sikh Panth has suffered over the past ten years. These hardships have taken a huge toll on the spirit of our people and the status of our communities. At one stop along the way we visited a dhera (a place like an ashram), welcomed by the beating of the Nigara Sahib (a drum) and a beautiful display of horsemanship. However, when we arrived we were stunned with the sight of the sangat bowing on hands and knees to the Sant of the dhera. Even though I had heard stories of such things occurring, it was shocking to see this with my own eyes. Beautiful Sikhs in the bana and grace of Guru Gobind Singh were on their knees with their heads touching the floor in front of a mortal man.
When faced with this situation, Giani Keval Singh struck out with an electric response. The Yatris rushed from that place, moving directly to the Gurdwara in the next village and the shelter of the True Guru, the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. As Keval Singh stood to speak, his eyes flashed fire. "What has become of my Punjab?" he implored the sangat. "Have you forgotten the strength of the young Sahibzadas of Guru Gobind Singh who would bow to no man? Have you forsaken the Light of the world, the only True Guru, the Shabd Guru?" he asked. The tears of anquish ran down his face as he demanded a response to these unanswerable questions. Not a voice could be heard, not a rustle of cloth, only the whirling of the fans as the sangat sat in emotion-filled silence. In that silence, Keval Singh sank to his knees before the Siri Guru Granth Sahib and laid his forehead on the ramalas as sobs of grief racked his body.
From that moment on, the Yatra irreversibly changed course. Chetna means "awakening," and what started as a small light grew until the hearts of all who touched the Yatra began the blissful process of inner awakening. Amrit Parchar became the mission at each town and at each stop. People responded by the hundreds, coming forward to receive kesri saropas and call before the sangat Bole So Nihal. Singly and in groups, men and women joined the Yatra on its way to Dam Dama Sahib and the Amrit Sanchar. Heads that hadn’t worn turbans since childhood filled the crowds with proud pugris (turbans), and the new stubble of an uncut beard. Grandfathers who had lived as Sikhs their entire lives anxiously came forward to finally give their heads to Guru Gobind Singh. Entire families vowed to live as Amrit Dharis and come to Dam Dama Sahib to receive Amrit. More than twenty-five of the accompanying police force were so moved that they came forward to receive saropas and pledged to live as Khalsa. No one was immune to the heart beat of Khalsa.
In the following days we were faced with another shocking reality. Throughout the vast crowds who gathered, dozens of young Sikh children sat with hair cut short. "If Guru Gobind Singh was riding on his horse down this road," asked Giani Keval Singh, "wouldn’t you go with him? "Oh, yes!" cried out one young boy of ten as he bravely came up to the platform to pledge his life as Amrit Dhari. With a wave of Giani Keval Singh’s hand and a loving look to all those innocent souls, dozens more came to the stage until there was no room left even to stand.
"It is not the fault of these young Sikhs that their hair is cut. They did not take themselves to the barber. It is you, the mothers of Punjab who have taken from them the most precious thing that they have, The Rehit," Giani Keval Singh spoke frankly to the women in the congregation, and they cast their eyes down in shame. "I always hear, ‘America, I want to go to America’, but look at these American ladies who sit here with you. They live in America, but they dress in bana with dastar and gatra, and they raise their children in the Rehit! The next time you want to cut your son’s hair, stop and think. Remember the young Sahibzadas of Guru Gobind Singh. Remember all that you are throwing away as the razor does its dirty work. Remember that it is your responsibility to guide these children to the strength of their true destiny."
In village after village the children responded to his call. He asked them to raise their hands if they would not let their parents cut their hair again, and dozens of young hands filled the air in response to Bole So Nihal.
With each step and each mile, the spirit of Guru Gobind Singh was awakened in people. What started out as a Yatra of 30 people grew into 100, then 400, then more than 1,000. In the last days of the Yatra, every foot of the road was continually lined with sangat offering prasad and Guru Fateh to the Yatris. Each being hummed with Nam, and all were enchanted with the miracle that had unfolded. By the time we arrived in Dam Dama Sahib, more than 3,500 people had pledged to take the sacred Amrit and enter into the brotherhood of the Khalsa.
The Gurmmat Chetna Yatra was not an ordinary event, but a unique time of Cherdi Kala. The spirit of the people had been awakened, and once awakened will not easily slumber again. As we finally walked through the gates of Dam Dama Sahib, the sangat was filled with the ecstasy of love for the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, and the pride of being Sikhs. And, if you looked carefully with the subtle eye of the soul, you could see dust in the distance from the hoofs of a thousand horses as the Shaheeds of Punjab rode along in silence with the sangat, making their way toward the feet of the True Guru.