Foreword To The Book 'Guru Gobind Singh's Death At Nanded' By Ganda Singh

The year 1708 has been an important landmark in the history of the Sikh faith and community: it was in this year that Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth Master, breathed his last at Nanded. He also put an end to the institution of the person-Guru and bestowed for all times to come the office of Guru on (Guru) Granth Sahib or more precisely on the Sabda (Word) as contained therein just before his passing away. Thus, Sikhism has faith only in the ten person Gurus, Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh, and no one else, however pious or enlightened, claim or be acknowledged as such. After the Tenth Master, the Guru Granth Sahib is not just a holy book for the Sikhs : it is the living Guru and an article of faith with them. It is taken as the spirit-incarnate of the ten Gurus.

The tercentenary of the passing away of the Tenth Master and the bestowal of guruship on the Guru Granth Sahib is being celebrated the world over during 2008. These celebrations include organizing seminars and conferences and publishing authentic and reliable literature. The aim is to share with mankind in general the Sikh understanding of Guru and highlight the scriptural teachings which are relevant to and address several of the crucial issues facing mankind today. The need of the day is to stress the fact that as of now Sabda as contained in the Guru Granth Sahib is the Guru for the Sikh community. They need to read it, reflect on it and then live social life in accordance with the message therein. Having faith in anyone other than the ten Gurus and the Guru Granth Sahib is against the gurmat.

This book by Dr Ganda Singh, originally published in 1972, is a beautiful research treatise which addresses the issue academically. It proves convincingly that Guru Gobind Singh, before his demise at Nanded in 1708, put an end to the institution of person Gurus and bestowed the office of Guru for all times to come on the scripture, now known as the Guru Granth Sahib. For this purpose, he analyzed all the contemporary and near-contemporary Sikh as well as non-Sikh sources, sifting the historical from the mythological and fictional. The book convincingly refutes all claims of pretenders who laid claim to the office of the Guru after the demise of Guru Gobind Singh in 1708.

Obviously, the findings of the book are as relevant today as they were when it was first published. The book, however, remained out

                                                                   JASPAL SINGH

Punjabi University

Patiala     Vice-Chancellor

Preface Of The Book 'Guru Gobind Singh's Death At Nanded'

All over the world and throughout the ages, history of religions has seen the rise of pretenders and false prophets. The multiplicity of gods and goddesses, of the so-called messiahs and their successors, and of spurious 'sants' and 'gurus', with pretensions and claims of their followers who preach them up, is a living example of it. This phenomenon is the product of ancient polytheisms with widespread net of exploiting priestly classes whose influence, supported by the vested interestes of the burgeoisie, on the unsuspecting masses has been deep and strong. The result has been that the schismatic leaders have, for their own glamour and glory, not only misled their simple folk from the right paths but have also tried to undermine the fundamentals of their faiths.

India, in common with other parts of the world, has had its own number of religious pretenders. Even the latest of religions, Sikhism - only five hundred years old - with the Unity and Uniqueness of One formless God as its creed, has not been exempt from them. The lure of the offerings of the devotees freely flowing and the importance of the position of the Guru among the Sikhs have led several people to stake pontifical claims. With politics gaining undue weightage from the twenties of this century and the Sikh religious institutions falling into the hands of the politicians, several schismatics going about in the garb of 'Sants', 'Babas', etc., have stepped into the vacuum created by the absence of true religious preachers, particularly in the rural areas, and are trying to establish their own 'Guruships' or deras, claiming to be either the successors of Guru Gobind Singh or his avatars or incarnations. One or two of them are seeking shelter under the fictitious theory of the supposed resurrection, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, of Guru Gobind Singh under the name of Baba Ajapal Singh of Nabha. The theory, with no historical basis at all to support it, is in itself meaningless and incredible. However, an attempt has been made in the following pages to examine this and some others in the light of reliable historical evidence.

                                              GANDA SINGH

Lower Mall, Patiala

February 26, 1972

Table Of Contents Of 'Guru Gobind Singh's Death At Nanded' By Ganda Singh