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 each year. It also commemorates 1699, the year Sikhism was born as a collective faith. In other words, Vaisakhi celebrates Sikh New Year and the founding of the Sikh community, known as the Khalsa, in 1699. It was originally a harvest festival in Punjab before it became the Sikh’s most important festival.
Vaisakhi is a long established harvest festival in Punjab. In 1699 the tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, chose Vaisakhi as the occasion to transform the Sikhs into a family of soldier saints, known as the Khalsa Panth.
Guru Gobind Singh Ji founded the Khalsa in front of thousands at Anandpur Sahib. In 1699, Sikhs from all over Punjab gathered together to celebrate Vaisakhi.
Guru Gobind Singh Ji came out of a tent carrying a sword and requested that anyone prepared to give his life for his religion come forward.
A young Sikh came forward and disappeared into the tent with the Guru. Then the Guru reappeared alone with his sword covered in blood and asked for another volunteer. This was repeated another four times until a total of five Sikhs had gone into the tent with him.
This led to some anxious moments until eventually all five emerged from the tent alive, with Guru Gobind Singh Ji, and wearing turbans. The five came to be known as the Panj Pyare, or ‘Beloved Five’. The men were then baptised into the Khalsa by the Guru. He said some prayers over the five and they were sprinkled with amrit (‘immortalising nectar’). This is how the Amrit ceremony came into being and these five Sikhs became the first members of the Khalsa.
The festival is marked with ‘nagar kirtan’ processions, which are led by traditionally dressed Panj Pyare. The Guru Granth Sahib – the Sikh scripture, which is also the 11th and last Sikh Guru – will be carried in the procession in a place of honour.
Apart from Anandpur Sahib and Amritsar Golden Temple, in India the main celebration takes place at Talwandi Sabo, where Guru Gobind Singh Ji stayed for nine months and completed the recompilation of the Guru Granth Sahib.
To sum it up, Vaisakhi is an occasion for celebrating the community’s growth and for recalling a set of shared values and collective memories. In the Sikh spirit, Vaisakhi celebrates the integration of the spiritual and temporal worlds, and it provides practical avenues for bringing these to bear through shared values and practices. Vaisakhi is fundamentally about community, celebration, and progress, and these values are at the forefront of the collective consciousness as Sikhs gather together to mark the occasion.
In Himachal Pradesh, Vaisakhi is celebrated as a way of honouring Goddess Jwalamukhi (also known as Durga, Mata, Amba), and in Bihar it is celebrated by honouring Surya (the Sun God).
In Bengal, Vaisakhi is observed as the beginning of the New Year. To mark this people make ‘rangolis’, or floral patterns, displayed on the entrance of their homes. Vaisakhi is also celebrated as the New Year in the South of India, and is marked by holding Pooram festivals, where processions take place to honour Lord Vishnu. In Assam, Vaisakhi is celebrated as Rangali Bihu (colours).
Meanwhile, in London, Vaisakhi will be celebrated with an afternoon of indoor and outdoor activities at City Hall on Saturday (April 9).
The event is organised by the Mayor of London, with support from Singh Sabha London East and EY Sikh Network.
Also, Priti Patel, the Prime Minister’s Indian Diaspora Champion and Employment Minister, has conveyed her best wishes for Vaisakhi. She said: “I am delighted to extend my warmest wishes to everyone in India, Britain and around the world celebrating Vaisakhi. This is a much celebrated and significant time for the Sikh community as they commemorate the birth of Khalsa and give thanks.
“Vaisakhi is also an important occasion to celebrate the huge contribution of British Sikhs, who have been a keystone of British life for over 160 years. Through my role as the Prime Minister’s Indian Diaspora Champion, I have had the honour to engage with the British Sikh community – in Gravesham and beyond – and see the rich contribution they continue to make to British culture, business, sport, charity and much more. I wish you all a joyous and peaceful Vaisakhi.”
(Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk https://www.london.gov.uk http://www.ibtimes.co.uk http://www.thedailybeast.com)
