Vaisakhi
~ Reetu Bajaj ’12
The Guru Granth Sahib is carried into the Gurdwara
Vaisakhi, also spelled Baisakhi, is one of the most important dates in the Sikh calendar. It is the Sikh New Year festival and is celebrated on April 13 or 14 (this year it is celebrated on April 13). It also commemorates 1699, the year Sikhism was born as a collective faith.
This festival has quite an interesting history to it. In 1699, the 10th guru, Guru
Gobind Singh, chose Vaisakhi as the day in which the Sikhs would transform into a family of soldier saints, known as Khalsa Panth in which he founded in front of many people at Anandpur Sahib. During this festival, Guru Singh came out of a tent carrying a sword and challenged any Sikh who was prepared to sacrifice his life to come in the tent. Five men went inside the tent and the Guru returned alone with his sword covered in blood. The people became worried until they saw all the five men return wearing turbans with the Guru. Thus, these five men became known as the Panji Piare, or ‘Beloved Fire’. Guru Singh himself baptized these men with Amrit (Sikh term for holy water) andsaid prayers. This also became the basis of the Sikh baptism ceremony.
During Vaisakhi, Gurdwaras (Sikh place of worship) are decorated and many go to visit. Of course there is no real celebration without parades, music, dancing, and singing. Also, many Sikhs choose to be baptized into the Khalsa brotherhood on this day.
This day is also marked by the nagar kirtan procession in which there are processions through the streets. Kirtan means the singing of hymns from the Guru Grath Sahib, the Sikh holy book. Led by traditionally dressed Panj Piaras, the Guru Granth Sahib will be carried in the procession in a place of honor.