Lamps are lit on the night of Divali.
For centuries on the night of Divali,
friends and families come together to light diva lamps.
So let's learn about the story of light conquering darkness
and why Sikhs celebrate Divali.
Following the final commands of their father,
Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji ensured their army grew
from strength to strength,
word of such a vast and powerful army spread across the land
and struck fear into the heart of Chandu.
Chandu played a key role in Guru Arjan Dev Ji’s martyrdom.
and he was now worried that the Guru’s son,
Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji would use their army to seek revenge.
So Chandu made a plan.
He hoped that if Emperor Jahangir met with the Guru,
that the emperor would despise the Guru and see them as an enemy.
However, when the emperor met Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji,
they became very fond of the Guru.
One day, the emperor invited Guruji to travel with them.
Whilst on their journey, a fierce lion ambushed the emperor’s soldiers.
The soldiers hid in fear
as the vicious lion turned towards the emperor!
Seeing that his soldiers were hiding in fear,
the emperor called out for Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji to protect him.
Without hesitation, Guru Ji blocked the lion's attack with their shield
and quickly struck the lion with their sword.
The lion was dead and the emperor's life had been saved by the Guru.
His first plan had failed, but Chandu did not give up there.
Chandu knew he had to be even more cunning if he wanted to destroy the Guru.
So he visited an astrologer
and offered money if the astrologer would lie to the emperor.
Lying to the emperor was a serious crime,
So Chandu paid the astrologer 500 coins first
and promised another 5,000 coins upon completing his dangerous task.
The sneaky astrologer agreed and asked what lie Chandu wanted him to tell.
Chandu ordered the astrologer to say that Emperor Jahangir had been cursed
and he would die if the emperor didn't act fast.
In order to lift the curse,
the emperor would have to find someone to perform three tasks.
The first task was simply to bathe three times a day.
The second task was to meditate continuously.
Lastly, they would have to do all of this in Gwalior prison for 40 days.
Jungle's final instruction was that only someone called “Hargobind”
could complete these tasks for the emperor.
When the superstitious emperor heard the astrologers message,
he began to panic in fear for his life.
The terrified emperor asked what he should do
about finding a suitable person to imprison.
Chandu suggested that
only Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji fit the description
and that they should be sent to prison.
The emperor fell for Chandu’s trick and immediately sent for Guru Ji.
When Guru Ji arrived, they were shocked to see the emperor in such a state!
The emperor had barely eaten any food and hardly slept.
When Guru Ji asked what was wrong,
the petrified emperor claimed that
his life was in danger because of a curse.
The emperor begged Guru Ji to complete the tasks in prison
and save the emperor's life!
Even though they knew the emperor had been lied to
Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji agreed.
Guru Ji knew they had to enter Gwalier prison for a different reason.
When they arrived at the prison,
Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji saw that many of the prisoners were kings
who had been wrongly imprisoned by the emperor.
These kings who were used to wearing beautiful clothes
were now covered in lice, their clothes were dirty and ripped.
Many of them could hardly walk and they were desperate for a savior.
Chandu’s plan had been successful,
but he knew Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji would leave the prison after 40 days.
So he devised another cunning plan,
this time to get rid of the Guru, once and for all.
Chandu had a beautiful robe made for the Guru.
He carefully covered the robe in a strong poison
and hoped the poison would kill the Guru once the robe was worn.
When the robe was sent to the prison.
Bhai Hardas Ji, the prison warden, had already heard of Chandu’s evil plan.
He stopped the poisoned robe from being delivered to Guru Ji.
Meanwhile in the prison,
Guru Ji had started a routine of meditation and selfless service,
also known as ‘Simran’ and ‘Seva’ with the imprisoned kings.
Before Guru Ji,
the kings had no hope in prison and felt that their lives were over
But once they started meditating and listening to Guru Ji’s teachings,
the kings soon fell in love with Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji.
Guru Ji dispelled the darkness from the minds of the kings
and turned the prison into a sanctuary,
where everyone would meditate and learn in peace.
Many Sikhs came to the Guru at this time.
Guru Ji showed that being in prison and being a prisoner
were two very different things.
Finally, the 40th day had passed
and it was time for Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji to be released.
The Sikhs would have their Guru back at last!
But the emperor had forgotten about Guru Ji
and so they remained in prison.
After hearing that the emperor had forgotten to release Guru Ji,
the Sikhs realised they had to remind the emperor themselves.
Bhai Jetha Ji and Bhai Pirana Ji
decided to sneak into the emperor’s fort at night.
They carefully snuck past all the guards and found the emperor asleep on his bed.
Then, they took upon the form of two vicious lions.
Their eyes were glowing red, their claws long and sharp.
They sat on the emperor's stomach
and when they roared the emperor screamed in shock.
The emperor cried out for Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji
to save him again and then the lions disappeared.
In the morning,
Emperor Jahangir told the story of the two lions to his advisors.
Chandu took his chance
and said that this was proof that the curse on the emperor was real!
Chandu advised
that the emperor should keep Guru Ji locked in prison
if he wanted to stay alive.
After hearing this, Bhai Jetha Ji and by Bhai Pirana Ji
knew they had to pay the emperor another visit.
They waited until nightfall
before transforming into the lions once more.
The following morning,
the terrified emperor called for a doctor to help him.
Bhai Jetha Ji disguised himself as a doctor.
When the emperor began to describe his dreams,
Bhai Jetha Ji stopped him
and began telling the story himself in every detail.
The emperor was amazed
that the doctor knew exactly what had happened
and trusted the doctor to give him some advice.
Bhai Jetha Ji advised that the only way for the emperor to save his life
was to release the Guru from prison immediately.
otherwise the lions would surely come back
and so a messenger was sent to release Guru Ji,
but the prisoners had finally found peace
and they did not want to be without the Guru.
Guru Ji told the messenger to return to Emperor Jahangir
and tell him that if the Guru was to be released,
then all of the falsely imprisoned kings would have to be released too.
Back at the fort,
the stubborn emperor did not want to release all of the prisoners
but knew he had to break the curse.
So, he declared that when the Guru would leave the prison,
only those who could hold onto the Guru’s robe
would also be free to go.
Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji agreed
and asked his Sikhs to make a unique robe
with 50 tassels for the prisoners to hold onto.
The special robe was made for Guru Ji.
and the announcement was made that they would be released.
Just as the Guru was about to leave, two of the kings explained
that there were no tassels left for them to hold.
They both cried out in shock
and begged the Guru
not to leave them behind,
for prison was only bearable
whilst the Guru was with them.
Seeing such love,
a smile spread across Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji’s face.
They raised their arms
and let the two prisoners hold onto their sleeves.
Outside the prison,
a crowd of thousands
had come to see Guru Ji
finally walk free with all 52 kings by their side.
From this day onwards,
the Guru was known as Bandi Chorr meaning ‘The Liberator’.
After some time, Guru Ji travelled back to Amritsar Sahib
where the Sikhs lit many diva lamps in celebration of their return.
To this day,
Sikhs across the world celebrate Divali
to remember how Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji
liberated the Kings from Gwalior prison and finally returned to Amritsar Sahib.
Diva lamps are lit to recognize Guru Ji
as the light that saves us from the prison of darkness
and remember that we too can be saved,
if we but reach out and take Guru Ji’s support.
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Vaheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Vaheguru Ji Ki Fateh