Keyterm: seva

Step into the vibrant celebration of Bandi Chhor Divas with our latest film. This film immerses you in the rich traditions and cultural significance of this special occasion. Bandi Chhor Divas, is a Sikh holiday that coincides with Diwali, the festival of lights. It commemorates the release of Guru Hargobind Ji, the sixth Sikh Guru, from imprisonment in the historic Gwalior Fort.

“Bandi Chhor Divas” is a captivating exploration of tradition and faith, making it a valuable resource for educators, students, and anyone interested in celebrating and understanding the beauty of cultural festivals.

Transcript

Bandi Chhor Divas

Davina: Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki fateh.

My name is Davina Kaur.

Arvinda: My name is Arvinda Singh.

Hello, my name is Harwinder Singh.

I'm here today at the Park Avenue Gurdwara in Southall.

And today is Bandi Chhor Divas.

Narrator: Every autumn, Sikhs all over the world celebrate the festival of Bandi Chhor Divas,

which means “The Day of Liberation”.

They get together at the Gurdwara

the Sikh Temple

to worship, to eat, and to set off fireworks!

Bandi Chhor Divas is celebrated on the same day as the Hindu festival of Diwali,

and the two are sometimes mixed up,

but for Sikhs, the day marks a very special moment in their history…

Harwinder: Today is the day of Diwali,

which is a festival celebrated by many people,

predominantly Hindus,

but also some Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists commemorate the day.

Sikhs celebrate on this day

the Bandi Chhor Diavs,

which is the date that we call the Day of Liberation.

Narrator: 400 years ago, India was ruled by the Emperor Jahangir.

He was an incredibly vain man

who liked everyone to think he was a good Muslim,

but he drank wine, smoked opium,

and never made a decision without consulting his astrologers

all things that Muslims are not supposed to do.

Paintings of Jahangir stared down from every wall of his palace,

and all the courtiers had to wear a portrait of him around their necks.

If anyone else became important or popular, he got very jealous.

This might be why he hated Guru Arjan so much.

The Sikh leader was attracting more and more followers to the city of Amritsar,

and the rumour spread that he was building an army to overthrow the Emperor.

Jahangir took the gossip seriously

and ordered a courtier called Chandu Shah

to arrest Guru Arjan and throw him in prison.

But Chandu Shah was a very cruel man,

and took delight in slowly, horribly, torturing Guru Arjan to death.

Just before he died,

Guru Arjan announced that his son would be the next Guru,

the sixth leader of the Sikh people.

His name was Hargobind,

and he was just 11 years old.

Guru Hargobind decided that -

in order to survive - the Sikh people should learn how to defend themselves.

He used two swords to explain the new direction his leadership would take. He named the sword on his right Bidi, which means heaven, and it represented that he would continue to be the spiritual leader of the Sikh religion,

but the Sudanese left was named Mirai, which means Earth, to represent that he would also be a political leader of the Sikh community and fight for their rights. Over the next few years, the Sikhs became a formidable fighting force and Emperor Jahangir realised that he'd made a big mistake. He had Guru Gobind Singh Ji brought to the royal court to make it clear who is in charge. But by now the guru was a grown man and not easy to intimidate. So the Emperor pretended he wanted to be friends with the young guru instead.

A huge hunting party was laid on, and they set out to track down a rogue lion that had killed several people. They'd got it cornered when suddenly the lion broke cover and leapt straight for Jahangir. Guru Gobind Singh slammed his shield into the lion's head, followed up with his sword, and the lion fell dead.

General Shah was worried. Jahangir and Guru Gobind Singh Ji were really becoming friends, and the emperor might be persuaded to punish the person responsible for Guru Arjun. Their death and that meant trouble.

When Jahangir became ill, General Tendulkar saw his chance. He forced the royal astrologers to tell the emperor that the illness was due to an inauspicious alignment of the stars or something, and that the only way to be cured was to send a holy man to the fort at Gwalior to say special prayers. The holiest man Jahangir knew was Guru Hagopian Singh.

So, as Tendulkar had anticipated, the young guru was given the mission, but the Gwalior Fort turned out to be a jail where political prisoners, anyone who disagreed with Jahangir, were held captive.

There were 52 Hindu princes locked up within its walls, and on Chandu Shah's orders, Guru Gobind Singh was forced to join them. When Jahangir eventually recovered from his illness, he demanded that Guru Gobind Singh Ji should be released. But the guru refused to leave the fort unless the Hindu princes were also given their freedom. Jahangir didn't want a Sikh revolt on his hands, so he came up with a compromise. Guru Gobind Singh would be released, and as many princes who could hold onto his cloak as he passed through the narrow gateway would be allowed to leave the fort with him.

A large crowd waited outside for Guru Gobind Singh Ji to appear. Finally, the gate opened and there he was. But how many of the princes had managed to keep a hold of his cloak for five? Six, maybe. Following behind Guru Gobind Singh. All 52 of the princes emerged from the fort, each holding onto a tassel of an enormously long and flamboyant cloak that the guru had got specially made for the occasion.

Jahangir blamed Chandu Shah for the whole fiasco, including the death of Guru Arjun, but the Empress friendship with Guru Gobind Singh Ji never recovered. The guru was given a hero's welcome when he returned to Amritsar on the day of the Hindu festival Diwali in 1619, and every year since then, Sikhs have celebrated Bundi. Shortly was the day of liberation.

This and Diwali are two separate festivals in their own right. From the time of the sixth Guru Nanak freedom from prison onwards, six began to celebrate Bundi short lives alongside Diwali, and so the festivities differ quite starkly.

Everyone who comes to the goodwill shows their respect to God and the gurus by bowing down to the Guru Granth Sahib ji, the Sikh holy book. The very first copy of the Guru Granth Sahib ji, known as The Adherent, was put together by Guru Arjun, the father of Guru Har Gobind Singh. Then there is food, vegetarian food, which is given out for free to all visitors in a big dining hall called a Langer Hall. The people cooking and serving the food and clearing up afterwards are all giving their time for free as well. And this is called seva, which means selfless service.

Harwinder: What most of us try to do is remember that the guru was a political prisoner, and how even to this day, there are political prisoners around the world who are incarcerated and their freedoms are being kept from them. So on this.

Davina: Day, we come together to celebrate the occasion as well as this. For those who are interested in the history side of it, we also partake in political conversations. The whole point of the reason why we celebrate it was because Guru Gobind Singh celebrated the fact that selflessness, humility, being politically minded, thinking about living in a world, trying to make it just, and for us, it's a key element, is merely petty.

Davina: The fact that we should be spiritual and also remove ourselves from the material world and illusions, but also within the world, make it better for the good of others. One reason why this celebration is really important is because regardless of whether you're a Sikh, a Hindu and Muslim, a Catholic Jain, it's the same message coincides with an all face. The fact that we should be political, we should be helping each other. We should be sharing the message, having that commonality, that unity, having peace, prosperity and fairness.

Narrator: As night falls. Candles and little lamps called divas are led to celebrate Guru Singh's return home to Amritsar. And the victory of light over darkness. And later on, there are fireworks.

Interviewee 1: Bandi Chhor Divas is showing that light will be over darkness in all forms.

Interviewee 2: Both Diwali and Bandi Divas. They are both based on freedom. Well, it's usually the victory of good or evil. That's what it's all about.

Interviewee 3: I'm here to celebrate the Diwali and Bandi Chhor. So Diwalli is basically the festival of light. And when guru, the sixth guru, he came and came out and he took everyone with him. And it shows like you have to be free and everything. And that's why I came to the Gurdwara with my family, to celebrate and celebrate with your friends and family and prayer in the temple. It's important to us because it's our religion and like we do fireworks.

Davina: We're here to pray, meditate, enlighten, but also help others and not just be. As an individual in this world, but as a community within this whole world. Why Guruji made it all and all is his and that is where we want to return to. That is where we've come from. So it's the fact that seeing that commonality between us all are reminding ourselves that we have a voice. We should use that voice. We should help others. But for justice, equality and tool that has reached, we have not yet reached our purpose.

Bandi Chhor Divas

Video length - 09.28

Published date - Nov 2023

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Holy Cribs: The Gurdwara

Arvinda Singh, a young Sikh, gives TrueTube a tour of his Gurdwara, the Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Southall. He shows us the prayer hall, the dining hall and even the Guru Granth Sahib’s bedroom!

Curriculum Mapping

Component 1: The study of religions: beliefs, teaching and practices - Sikhism - The nature of God linked with the worship of God in Sikhism. The Mool Mantra and how Sikhs pray and meditate mainly at home. Worship in the gurdwara The features of the gurdwara and its role in the Sikh community. To study the building’s design and function and identify the main features, external and internal. Worship in the Gurdwara - This covers how Sikhs show their respect when they are in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib. The Langar -This covers the practice of eating together. It links the topics about equality, sewa and the gurdwara together.

Area of study 2 - Section 3: Living the Sikh Life - Sikhism - Features of the gurdwara: the nature, history and purpose of the design of the Gurdwara as the ‘Door/Gate of the Guru’, including Rahit Maryada Chapters 4–6; how and why objects of devotion are used within the gurdwara: Guru Granth Sahib, Takht, Chanani, Chaur, the langar hall, four doors, and the Nishan Sahib; divergent understandings of the importance of these features in Sikh life today. The gurdwara: the role and importance of the gurdwara within the Sikh community including reference to Guru Granth Sahib 1391; activities that take place within the gurdwara and why; the nature and importance of visiting Sikh historical gurdwaras: the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar (the Golden Temple); divergent understandings of the importance of making such visits including reference to Guru Granth Sahib 4. Langar: the history of langar including Guru Granth Sahib 967; the nature and purposes of langar; the significance of langar for Sikhs today, especially as an expression of sewa.

2.1 Unit 1 PART A - Sikhism - Core beliefs, teachings and practices - Practices Worship  Features of the gurdwara  Role of Guru Granth Sahib in worship  Features of service; role of granthi and epilogue  Distribution of karah prashad  Role of langar in the gurdwara – concept of equality and selfless service (Guru Granth Sahib 349).

Component 3 (Route A) -Option 5: Sikhism - Practices: The gurdwara: practices in Britain and elsewhere ➢ The importance and the role of Bhatra and Ramgarhia gurdwaras in Britain as places of worship, social and community functions ➢ Religious features: artefacts, Guru Granth Sahib, langar (as an expression of sewa - selfless service to others) and associated practices Worship ➢ The role and importance of prayer in the home ➢ Significance of the practice of meditating on the name of God

Transcript

Holy Cribs: Gurdwara

Arvinda: Sat sri akal ji! Welcome to Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall! My name is Arvinda Singh and I'm a Sikh. Our religion is often called Sikhism, but we like to call it Sikhi. This is the Gurdwara. This is our holy building where we come to worship Waheguru, which is the name of God. I'm going to give you a tour now. Just before we go inside, I want to show you the Nishan Sahib. This is a special flag in front of every Gurdwara. This is usually yellow or orange in colour and has a blue symbol on it called the Khanda.

Right then. Come on in.

The first thing we do is cover our heads. A lot of Sikhs, especially men, wear a dastar or a turban, but everyone else wears a headscarf such as these. We also take our shoes off and put them in the shoe rack. The last thing we do is wash our hands. This is a sign of respect, but we will need clean hands later because there will be food. The word Gurdwara means door to the Guru in Punjabi, it is where we come to pay our respects to Waheguru and our holy book the Guru Granth Sahib ji. We cover our hair, take our shoes off and wash our hands as a sign of respect. The main part of the Gurdwara where we listen to the Guru Granth Sahib ji is called the diwan hall or the prayer hall. But we'll need to be very quiet. The Guru Granth Sahib ji is treated like royalty, it sits at the front on a raised platform called the takht, which means throne. The canopy above it is called a palki. And the cushion it rests on is called a manji sahib. When we come here, we always pay our respects to the Guru Granth Sahib ji. We walk down to the front, bow and maybe give an offering. It's usually money, but it can be food or a new cloth to wrap the Guru Granth Sahib ji in when it isn't being read. Some people like to walk clockwise around the takht as a symbol that the Guru Granth Sahib ji, is a centre part of their lives. Then being careful not to turn our backs to the Guru until we are a little distance away, we go and sit down. Everyone sits on the floor as a sign of equality. Men sit on one side, usually the right, women on the other side. This is so that we are concentrating on Waheguru and the words of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji and not on each other. Services can go on for hours, so people often come and go as they like. There's no particular day for worship. The Gurdwara is open every day, but it gets crowded on a Sunday when most people are off work. Mostly we sit and listen to the words of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. The person reading it is called a granthi. The granthi isn't a priest and can be any man or woman who can read Gurmukhi. That's the Punjabi alphabet and it was used to write the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, because Sikhi began in Punjab in the north of India.

As the granthi reads, he or she waves a fan made of hair or feathers called a chauri. In India, important people will be fanned to keep them cool and to keep flies off them. It became a symbol of respect even when it isn't hot. So now it's done for the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Every day the granthi gives a special reading called a hukam. He or she opens the Guru to whichever page it falls open and reads the words. The idea is that this isn't random. Waheguru chooses which words are most suitable for people to hear. Sometimes we have musicians called ragis who sing hymns called bhajans. And often these words come from the Guru Granth Sahib ji. Singing hymns like this is called kirtan. The drums are called tabla, and the keyboard is called a vaja or harmonium in English and works by pumping air through it by hand.

Arvinda At the end of the service, everyone stands to say a special prayer together called the Ardas. There's always a big bowl of karah parshad. This is a sweet porridge made with lots of sugar and butter. It is a symbol of Waheguru ji's blessings as everybody shares from the same bowl. And it's very delicious.

Gurdwaras are often very beautifully decorated. This symbol the Khanda, was the one on the Nishan Sahib outside. And this is Gurmukhi writing. It says Ik Onkar, which means there is only one God. And those are the very first words of the Guru Granth Sahib ji. Those words were written by Guru Nanak dev ji. He was the very first leader of the Sikhs beginning in the year 1500, and he was given the title Guru, which means teacher, Sikh means pupil. There were ten Gurus in all who led the Sikhs, one after the other for about 200 years. Then the last Guru, Guru Gobind Singh ji, said that after his death, the writings of the first five Gurus and the ninth Guru would become the 11th and final Guru, the Guru Granth Sahib ji, which is why we give it so much respect. The Guru Granth Sahib even has its own room with a bed where it's kept overnight when it isn't being read. Gurdwaras have other rooms that could be used for community activities like this library. And every Gurdwara has one of these: a Langar or a dining hall. Anyone and everyone can share a free meal here. This is another symbol of equality. Back in the day in India, upper class people wouldn't mix with working class people and definitely wouldn't eat with them. So Guru Nanak dev ji started the Langar to encourage equality. The food here is always vegetarian so that everyone, no matter what their religion or if they just don't eat meat, can share the same meal. The people cooking food, serving it and washing up the plates are all volunteers. We call it seva, doing work to help other people. So next time you're passing by a Gurdwara, make sure to put a headscarf on and come and enjoy a free meal. Thank you for coming to the Gurdwara. Goodbye.

Holy Cribs: The Gurdwara

Video length - 07.18

Published date - Apr 2023

Keystage(s) - 2, 3 and 4

Downloadable resources

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