ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>BHAGAUT&#298</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background:#EAF1F7 url('../images/gtbh.jpg') no-repeat fixed center; color: #0066CC} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="BHAGAUT*"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279BHAGAUT&#298 or Bhav&#257n&#299 (Skt. Bhagavat&#299, consort of Vi&#7779&#7751u, or the goddess Durg&#257) has had in Sikh usage a chequered semantic history. In early Sikhism, especially in the compositions comprising the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, the word means a <i>bhakta</i> or devotee of God. "<i>So bhagaut&#299 jo bhagvantai j&#257&#7751ai</i>; he alone is a true devotee who knoweth the Lord" (GG, 88). In Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s, <i>bhagaut&#299</i> has been used as an equivalent of sword. "<i>N&#257u bhagaut&#299 lohu gha&#7771&#257i&#257</i> - iron (a lowly metal) when properly wrought becomes a (powerful) sword" (<i>V&#257r&#257&#7749</i>, XXV. 6). It is in the compositions of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh contained in the <i>Dasam Granth</i> that the term began to assume connotations of wider significance. Reference may here be made especially to three poems by Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh - <i>Cha&#7751&#7693&#299 Chritra Ukti Bil&#257s</i> and <i>Cha&#7751&#7693&#299 Chritra</i> both in Braj and <i>V&#257r Sr&#299 Bhagaut&#299 J&#299 K&#299</i>, popularly called <i>Cha&#7751&#7693&#299 d&#299 V&#257r</i> in Punjabi- describing the exploits of the Hindu goddess (<i>Bhagavat&#299</i>) Cha&#7751&#7693&#299 or Durg&#257. Each of these compositions is a free translation of "Sapt Sati" (lit. seven hundred), meaning the epic comprising 700 <i>&#347lokas</i>, chapter xiv, sub-sections 81-94, of the classical M&#257rka&#7751&#7693eya Pur&#257&#7751a which describes the battle between the goddess and demons whom she vanquished to reinstall Indra, the king of gods, on his throne. The heroic odes in fact are among many pieces of Paur&#257&#7751ic (mythological) literature that Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh translated or got translated for the avowed purpose of instilling martial spirit among his Sikhs.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The title of <i>V&#257r Sr&#299 Bhagaut&#299 J&#299 K&#299</i>, which has also been appropriated into Sikh <i>ard&#257s</i> or supplicatory prayer, along with the first stanza runs as follows:</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>Ik o&#7749k&#257r sr&#299 v&#257higur&#363 j&#299 k&#299 fateh</i></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;God is one -To Him belongs the victory</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>Sr&#299 bhagaut&#299 j&#299 sah&#257e</i></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;May Sr&#299 Bhagaut&#299 J&#299 be always on our side</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>V&#257r Sr&#299 Bh&#257gaut&#299 J&#299 K&#299 P&#257tsh&#257h&#299 10</i></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The ode of Sr&#299 Bhagaut&#299 as sung by the Tenth Master.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The opening line of the Ode reads :</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>Pritham bhagaut&#299 simari kai gur n&#257nak la&#299&#7749 dhi&#257i: </i></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;First call up Bhagaut&#299 in your mind, then</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;meditate on Gur&#363 N&#257nak.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Here, the primacy accorded Sr&#299 Bhagaut&#299 J&#299 is obvious. This leads to the question why.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bhagaut&#299 is, it appears, a multifaceted archetypal symbol employed by Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh to fulfil a multiplicity of functions simultaneously. He perhaps wanted to complement the exclusive masculinity of the Divine image. Until then, God had in Sikhism as in other major traditions by and large a masculine connotation. He had been called <i>Purakh</i> implying masculinity. Although, at times, He had been addressed as <i>m&#257t&#257</i> (mother) as well as <i>pit&#257</i> (father), almost all the names employed for him in Sikh Scripture, the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib-R&#257m, Govind, Hari, Shiv, Allah, etc. --were only masculine names. To widen the conception Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh may have chosen Bhagaut&#299, a name with a clear feminine implication. It is significant that in the entire Hindu pantheon the warrior Bhagavat&#299, or Durg&#257, is the only goddess without a male spouse, thus symbolizing female independence, strength and valour. This derives further support from Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh's autobiographical <i>Bachitra N&#257&#7789ak</i> wherein he designated God by a composite name <i>Mah&#257k&#257l-K&#257lik&#257</i> (M&#257h&#257k&#257l which is masculine is juxtaposed to K&#257lik&#257 which is feminine). More specifically, what is really meant by Bhagaut&#299 (or its synonym <i>Bhav&#257n&#299</i>) is made clear in the following verse of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh :</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Soi bhav&#257n&#299 n&#257m kah&#257&#299</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Jin sagr&#299 eh srish&#7789i up&#257&#299</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The One who created this universe entire,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Came to be known as Bhav&#257n&#299</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; -Chaub&#299s Aut&#257r</i></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Notwithstanding the fact that names of the deities from many diverse sources occur in the Sikh text, here they mix naturally shedding, after acculturation in the new religious and theological environs, their original nuances and proclaiming one and one identity alone, i. e. God the Singular Being. All other meanings and shades are subsumed into One Indivisible entity. The names Hari (originally Vi&#7779&#7751u), Keshav (also an epithet of Vi&#7779&#7751u-one with long hair), D&#257modar (K&#7771&#7779&#7751a who had a rope tied around his belly), Murl&#299 Manohar (also K&#7771&#7779&#7751a, master of the melodious flute), Raghupati (R&#257ma, the Lord of Raghu dynasty), etc. , all came to signify in the Sikh vortex the unitary Godhead. The same applied to <i>Bhagaut&#299</i>.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Says Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh in the second stanza of this poem, <i>V&#257r Sr&#299 Bhagaut&#299 J&#299 K&#299</i>, the following about Bhagaut&#299 :</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>Taih&#299 durg&#257 s&#257ji kai dait&#257 d&#257 n&#257su kar&#257i&#257: </i></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It was you who created Durg&#257 to destroy the demons.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The line establishes beyond ambiguity the contextual meaning of <i>bhagaut&#299</i>. Durg&#257 could not be presumed to have created Durg&#257. She like all other gods and goddesses was indeed created by God Almighty.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The nomenclature seems to have been employed to smoothen the gender distinctions when referring to God.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The second archetypal significance of Bhagaut&#299 is linked to its other lexical meaning 'sword' as exemplified by Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s. <i>Bhagaut&#299</i> where prefixed with the honorific <i>sr&#299</i> (lit. fortunate, graceful) signifies the Divine 'Sword'-the Power that brings about the evolution and devolution of the Universe.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In this kaleidoscopic universe, its Creator is immanent not in any static way. He is in all times and at all places dynamically protecting the good and destroying the evil (<i>sant ub&#257ran, dush&#7789 up&#257ran</i>). "Everywhere through the great perplexed universe, we can see the flashing of 'His Sword' !. . . and that must mean His nature uttering itself in His Own form of forces (Phillip Brooks). That Sr&#299 Bhagaut&#299, the Divine Sword, symbolizes Divine Power is further borne out in the Ode itself when about Bhagaut&#299 it is said :</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>Kha&#7751&#7693&#257 prithmai s&#257ji k&#257i jin sabh sais&#257ru up&#257i&#257</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Brahm&#257 bisan mahes s&#257ji kudrati d&#257 khelu rach&#257i ba&#7751&#257i&#257</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sindh parbat medan&#299 binu thamm&#257 gagani rah&#257i&#257</i></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Creating first the Power of Destruction, who brought forth the whole universe,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Who raised the trinity of the gods, and spread the game of nature,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Ocean, the mountains, the earth and the firmament without support who shaped. . .</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The invocation to the Almighty through His image as the 'Divine Sword' as employed by Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh purported again to instill the heroic spirit among his Sikhs, for :</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>Jeh&#257 sevai teho hovai</i></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; You become like the one you adore.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (GG, 549)</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Here a question arises : What is the special significance of remembering God with the name of a weapon? God is Pure Existence (<i>sat</i>), Absolute-Essence (<i>nam</i>). Existence - Essence (sat-n&#257m) is His primordial, archetypal, designation (GG, 1083). Whatsoever else is said to designate Him can only be symbolic. Though God is infinite, these symbols can only be finite. While the infinite includes the finite, it also transcends it. That is why every such symbol is not only affirmed by the symbolized but also negated at the same time. In the Sikh mystic lore, the prime symbol employed for God is the Word (<i>n&#257m</i>). However, the other, even more structured symbol that Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh introduced is 'the Sword' (Bhagaut&#299). One might here ask : can a fragment of the finite symbolize infinite? The answer can be given in the affirmative for God being Pure Existence is immanent in everything that exists. Hence symbolization of God through a finite symbol 'Sword' is not only possible, but also, in a sense, true because it serves to symbolize Divine Power. Every mystic symbol is bipolar. On the one end it is in contact with the Infinite, at the other in contact with the finite. That is how it succeeds in fulfilling the symbolic function. <i>Bhagaut&#299</i> is one such symbol as it is in its symbolic meaning of Divine Power, in contact with the Infinite, and in its concrete form, as a weapon, in contact with the finite. Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh has consecrated not only the sword, but in fact a whole spectrum of weaponry :</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>As krip&#257n kha&#7751&#7693o <u>kh</u>a&#7771ag tupak tabar aru t&#299r</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Saif saroh&#299 saihth&#299, yahai ham&#257rai p&#299r : </i></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The sword, the sabre, the scimitar, the axe, the musket, the shaft.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The rapier, the dagger, the spear: these indeed are our saints.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Remembering God through such heroic symbols was the exclusive style of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh. Already in <i>gurb&#257&#7751&#299</i>, the theistic symbol of the Nigam (Vedic) tradition had been monotheized. Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh chose to monotheize even the theistic symbols of the &#256gam (Br&#257hma&#7751ic) tradition. Thus his was a process of the integration of the two great mystical traditions of India.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Finally, the word <i>bhagaut&#299</i> stands for God or His devotee on the one hand (signifying <i>p&#299r&#299</i>), for the sword on the other (signifying <i>m&#299r&#299</i>). This integration of <i>p&#299r&#299</i> and <i>m&#299r&#299</i> in <i>Bhagaut&#299</i> encapsulates another major dimension of Sikh thought.</p> </ol><p class="CONT">Jaswant Si&#7749gh Nek&#299</p> </font><p class="CONT">Gi&#257n&#299 Balwant Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>