I believe Sikh history is awesome; it needs to be painted with skill and passion. This is my attempt to increase the well-being of Sikhs all over the world. - Bhagat Singh Bedi
“With my eyes I look, and I see none other than Hari. My eyes are lovingly fixated, and I cannot speak of anything else.”
– Guru Angad Dev ji (Guru Granth Sahib, 655)
Pita Mehta Kalu ji looks at newly born Baby Nanak’s face, in a peaceful and serene trance state, holding him in his hands for the first time. In this painting, I wanted to paint a portrait of Mehta Kalu ji, keeping the main focus on Pita ji, while also showing the light of Guru Nanak Dev ji and his divine arrival on earth.
Father’s AmazementFather’s Amazement One the of issues I was facing when painting this portrait was the identity of Pita Kalu ji. How would I paint a portrait of him and immediately have everyone know it is Mehta Kalu ji and not someone else? How would people identify him?
So I kept this question in my heart and I meditated as usual.
After several days I received my answer. As I was lying in bed, about to sleep, I had this scene of the painting come into my mind. It came to my mind, as a whole, a complete scene. In the scene, I saw Pita Kalu ji holding baby Nanak in his hands. There was no light anywhere. The only thing illuminating Pita ji was Guru Sahib himself. Guru Sahib was hidden but his light emanated from his face and lit up the room along with his father. In this manner, Guru Sahib guided me to work on this painting. Granting me the Amogh Darshan of what he wanted, all at once, such is his kindness.
Non-Dual OnenessNon-Dual Oneness Guru sahib believed in the philosophy of what is known today as Vishisht Advait, meaning Non-Dual Oneness, so holds up one finger. As Ravidas ji explains – ਤੋਹੀ ਮੋਹੀ ਮੋਹੀ ਤੋਹੀ ਅੰਤਰੁ ਕੈਸਾ ॥ ਕਨਕ ਕਟਿਕ ਜਲ ਤਰੰਗ ਜੈਸਾ ॥੧॥ You, Me, Me, You, what is the difference? The difference is like Gold and Jewellery, like Water and Waves.
Ravidas ji says – Hey Ram! You and I, we are different but one.
Baby Nanak holds up one finger as a symbol of this state of consciousness, that is non-dual oneness, that he comes to experience and share with us later in his life.
Father’s EmbraceFather’s Embrace In addition to Non-Dual Oneness, Guru Sahib preached hard work, dasan nowan di krit, work that has been done by your hands, your ten fingers. There’s a lot to be said as to why he taught it. However, in this painting I wanted to show that Mehta Kalu ji, was a hard-worker. His hands are that of a working man, who wanted to instill these ideals in his son, through whatever methods he knew, stern or otherwise.
So Pita ji’s embrace was important to show. Kalu ji holds Guru Sahib with his hands. These are the hands that helped shape Guru Sahib into the trader, the traveller and the disciplined man, just like his father. You and me, me and you; we are one, not just two.
“The government officials are like deer and falcons, they are known to be trained and intelligent. But their training and intelligence is actually a trap with which they trap their own kind; hereafter they will find no place of rest.”
In this painting, Sant Jarnail Singh ji Bhindranwale defends against the attacks by the Indian army, who had brought in tanks in order to break through the fortifications put up by Sant Jarnail Singh ji. It was a tragic event that occured in June 1984, where many lost their lives, including the innocent pilgrims who had gathered at the temple to celebrate Guru Arjun Dev ji’s martyrdom.
Akal Takht
Sometimes called the Akal Boonga, the Akal Takht in Amritsar, Punjab, had been built opposite to the Harimandir Sahib to hold congregations. It had become the Sikh centre of authority during the times of the sixth Guru. In those times, Akal Takht was a single-storey building that housed an eleven feet tall platform on which Guru Hari Gobind ji sat and held his court. However centuries after, under Maharaja Ranjit Singh ji, this gathering place was made into a five story tall building in the style of Mughal architecture.
Corpse River
In 1984, Sant ji had fortified the Akal Takht and had made it his base of operations. Feeling compelled to capture him, the Indian army attacked him at the Akal Takht. First with soldiers but when that failed they brought in a tank to blow the strong defence put up by Sant ji. The heavy fire power brutally damaged the Akal Takht, which caught in the crossfire between the two sides. It had to be rebuilt due to the heavy damage. The Indian government rebuilt the Akal Takht however tension ensued and some Sikhs demolished the structure and rebuilt it again in 1986.
The body is Hari Mandir, the temple of Hari. He created it and dwells within it. Through the Guru’s teachings, those who connect to Hari within, are merged into him.
Bhagat’s spiritual painting depicts the radiant Golden Temple under the bright full moon and cool night sky. Amongst the hustle and bustle of the impatient crowd, there is one sikh who sits apart, in eternal patience. The people are giving importance to getting into the temple, whereas this man gives importance to what the temple stands for.
In front of the Harmandir Sahib, the man sits in deep meditation absorbing the scene and becoming one with it. He watches Hari’s hukam in action, and intuitively enters a peaceful state. He remains near the edge of the hukam as he sits at the edge of the pool and the steps.
Golden Temple – Meditations Under the Moon
We know the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab as Hari Mandir, more commonly as Harmandir Sahib, however in Guru Granth Sahib, it is the body that is referred to as Hari Mandir. So you could say this painting actually shows two Hari Mandirs.
In Guru Granth Sahib, 1059, Guru Amar Das ji says –
ਕਾਇਆ ਹਰਿ ਮੰਦਰੁ ਹਰਿ ਆਪਿ ਸਵਾਰੇ ॥ ਤਿਸੁ ਵਿਚਿ ਹਰਿ ਜੀਉ ਵਸੈ ਮੁਰਾਰੇ ॥ ਗੁਰ ਕੈ ਸਬਦਿ ਵਣਜਨਿ ਵਾਪਾਰੀ ਨਦਰੀ ਆਪਿ ਮਿਲਾਇਦਾ ॥੪॥ The body is Hari Mandir, the temple of Hari. He created it and dwells within it. Through the Guru’s teachings, those who connect to Hari within, are merged into him.
The body itself becomes Hari Mandir when Hari comes to reside. And Hari fully comes to reside in the body only when the mind recognizes the Hukam taking place. In this manner, the spiritually exalted man meditates on the edge between past and future, on that which is happening right now, the Hukam of Hari.
Bhai Kanhaiya ji is famous for doing seva of injured soldiers by feeding them water and bandaging their wounds. He did not differentiate between Sikhs and Mughals. When asked why he served the Mughals, he responded that he saw the Guru in all beings.
People would read the title – Bhai Kanhaiya ji feeding water to a Mughal in the middle of a Battle?
Then they would ask – Where’s the Mughal? Where’s the Battle? That looks like Guru Gobind Singh ji. What’s going on here?
I would just smile while they tried to figure it out.
Today I will reveal the secret to you.
Bhai Kanhaiya ji
Who is Bhai Kanhaiya ji? Bhai Kanhaiya ji is famous for doing seva of injured soldiers by feeding them water and bandaging their wounds. He did not differentiate between Sikhs and Mughals. When asked why he served the Mughals, he responded that he saw the Guru in all beings.
This becomes the basis for my painting of Bhai Kanhaiya ji.
There is a gruesome battle going on around Bhai Kanhaiya ji and amidst the chaos, he is feeding water to an injured Mughal soldier. The ground is covered in his blood.
However my painting of Bhai Kanhaiya ji departs from the realism of a battlefield and instead depicts the spiritual experience of Bhai Kanhaiya ji, his internal state, where he is witnessing Waheguru alone, even inside the Mughal soldier. The soldier appears to him as Guru Gobind Singh ji, who is a physical representation of Waheguru.
Spiritual Mission Bhai Kanhaiya ji’s father was a wealthy trader, however Bhai Sahib was looking for something other than material wealth. He left home and sought after the company of Sadhus and Saints, of those who possessed spiritual wealth. Eventually he met Guru Tegh Bahadur ji and stuck with him. Selfless service became Bhai Kanhaiya ji’s main mission. He opened a centre in current-day Pakistan for helping people regardless of their background.
Battle of Anandpur In 1705, he was visiting Anandpur in Punjab, when Anandpur was under attack by the Mughals and Hill Chiefs. During the Battles of Anandpur, Bhai Kanhaiya ji would go around and serve water to all fallen soldiers, to the wounded and dying men in the battlefield, regardless of who they were. Guru Gobind Singh ji’s sikhs complained to the Guru that Bhai Kanhaiya was reviving the enemy soldiers. Guru Sahib called Bhai Sahib and asked him to explain himself. Bhai Kanhaiya ji responded that he saw no friends or foes, he only saw the Divine shining through. Guru ji approved of his actions and gave him bandages to further his mission.
Dumalla In this painting, Bhai Sahib and Guru Sahib are wearing a puratan dumalla. You’ve probably noticed how different their turbans look from the turbans we see today. This due to the fact that in 1700s Punjab, Sikhs tied their turbans very differently from how we tie our turban nowadays. Their dumalla looked very different from how our dumalla looks today.
Dumalla or Dumballa means ‘two turbans’. One turban was wrapped around the head, where the larhs/folds were wrapped in a way that it covered the whole head. The second turban was used to tighten the first turban and secure it on the head. A small bit of the second turban was pulled up and fanned to form the farla, and a protruding bit on the kalgi could be tucked easily into the second turban to hold the kalgi upright. In this manner, the dumalla was decorated.
The Sikh Heritage Month is going on right now, in Brampton. For the full month of April, the organizers arranged for a magnificent exhibition in the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives, showing the work of local Sikh artists and of those living abroad.
Last weekend on April 16, they gave me the opportunity to display my artwork, and have a solo show – Sikhi Art by Bhagat Singh – displaying all my paintings in one place, in one room.
The Essence of Warriors and Saints
The central theme of my show was about the qualities embedded in our multi-faceted Sikh History, which is a history of warriors and saints. I dive deep into this blood-filled history and I meditate on Ram Nam so that my artwork embodies and emphasizes both of these qualities of Vir Ras and Sant Ras, Warrior Essence and Saint Essence.
The Power of Art
Viewers Listen as Bhagat Talks about Sikh History
In the exhibit, I had a series of paintings showing the events that happened in the 1700s starting from the Battle of Anandpur to Battle of Chamkaur to Machhiwara to Battle of Muktsar to Battle of Sirhind.
I felt that these would help the viewer develop a clear picture of our history in their minds. Previously they may seen these images separately and may not have understood the connection between them. But when you place them all in order, now the connection is understood.
The first painting is of Bhai Kanhaiya ji feeding water to fallen Mughals soldiers in the Battle of Anandpur. This connects to the painting of the sacrifice of Sahibzada Ajit Singh ji in the Battle of Chamkaur, that took place after Singhs left the under-siege Anandpur. This connects to the painting of Guru Gobind Singh ji in Machhiwara, where he meditates after Battle of Chamkaur, after losing all his devotees and sons, the Vadde and Chotte Sahibzadey. This connects to painting of Mother Bhago ji in the Battle of Muktsar, where she compels the 40 Singhs, who had previously deserted Guru Sahib in the Battle of Anandpur, to return back to Guru Sahib. There the battle of Muktsar took place and the 40 Singhs became martyrs. And lastly, these events connect to the Battle of Sirhind, where Banda Singh Bahadur ji’s army captured Wazir Khan for executing the Chotte Sahibzadey, who were innocent.
These connections that take a long while to describe with words can be made very easily with art.
A Couple Listens to the History of the Dumalla
Furthermore, these connections can be made not just by placing paintings together and getting the larger picture develop in your mind, but also by depicting separate events together in one painting like my painting of Banda Singh ji Bahadur Avenging the Chotte Sahibzadey. This painting depicts the martyrdom of Chotte Sahibzadey and the capturing of Wazir Khan in one painting. These are events which are separated by several years however in the painting the viewer can see how they tie together.
Art makes you see things you have never seen before. Art makes you develop connections in your mind that were previously dormant or were never present. Art makes you see the larger picture of reality, for example the larger painting of Sikh History, at a quick glance.
This is the power of art.
Art moves people.
Painting Praise of Guru Arjun Dev ji
After seeing my painting of Guru Arjun Dev ji’s martyrdom, a man in his senior years told me that he felt the presence of Guru Sahib right there and then. He wiped away his tears and sat down with me to have a chat. He told me exactly what he felt and was curious to know who I was and what I did. This is the power of art.
This is the power of art that the Wahe Guru himself has given to the language of art.
Art can vibrate at the frequency of Waheguru, and so art can fill people with his essence in an instant if they are receptive to it.
The Importance of Paintings for Children
Importance of Paintings for Children
This is why kids benefit from exhibitions the most because they are just growing up and need to be exposed to Sikh history at an early age to imprint upon them the ideals of the Gurus and other Sikh legends.
Our kids and youth are the future generation of our people and they will carry these imprints with them and shape the world in which they live.
In Guru Granth Sahib, Guru Sahibs paint images of God, his stories, his activities, his saints, their stories and their activities. Guru Sahibs paint these through their words to stimulate us visually. They ask us to listen to this bani, so that we maybe be inspired through listening. They ask us to recite and meditate on bani, so that we get into the rhythm of bani through the activity. All of these add up to create a stronger experience of Bani.
So I believe that the more ways we can teach our children, the better. Through visuals and paintings, through sounds, through touch and activity, etc. All of these add up to create a stronger learning experience for them.
Paintings in your home are great tools for teaching children because children tend to be very visually-oriented and very curious. So a Sikh history painting sparks their curiosity and immediately gets them interested in Sikh history. They may not understand every word you speak. But they can grasp the main point of the painting and develop an image of it in their mind.
This is how I got into studying Sikh History myself. When I was young, I was exposed to the depictions of our history by the influential Artist Kirpal Singh ji. It was only after I saw his work that I was inspired to learn more, and find out what the paintings were about. Later on in life, I would sit down and paint some of those very stories I learned about when I was 11 years old.
The Well-being of All
Sada Shiv ji Lastly, everyone had the chance to learn about other faiths, other religious traditions. In Shaiv Philosophy, the image of Shiv ji is used as a metaphor to describe God. Right beside my painting of Shiv ji, I included a brief description that explained what Shiv ji is all about and the deeper spiritual message that his image represents.
This is not to say we are the same religion as them, rather this to inspire an attitude of learning about other religions.
Members of the Shaiv Religions, those who worship Shiv ji or Ganesh ji, also came to view the exhibit and were inspired by the Sikh History paintings on display. They spoke with me about this painting of Shiv ji as well as the paintings of Sikh Warriors and Saints. They took time to carefully read about each painting.
To see a Sikh paint Shiv ji also inspired them to learn about us, about who we are and what we represent. They reciprocated my gesture.
In the modern age, everyone including Sikhs have to learn about other faiths, so that they can understand where others are coming from and interact with them on a deeper level.
Multi-Cultural Viewers
Some Sikhs ask me – Why do you paint things from other religions?
The true answer lies in our Ardas.
The theme of this Sikh Heritage Month was the “Celebrating the Sarbat”. Sarbat is short of Sarbatra meaning “everywhere”. When in Ardas, we say “Sarbat the bhalla”, we are not just talking about Sikhs, but everyone, including members of all faiths and even the faithless.
Therefore an ideal Sikh is not selfish, he does not seek to benefit only his own Sikh community. An ideal Sikh is selfless, and he serves all communities, just like what Bhai Kanhaiya ji did in the Battle of Anandpur, in 1700s. The goal of the ideal Sikh is the well-being of all. He stands up for goodness wherever it exists. I think that is the message behind Sarbat the bhalla, and that’s what I stand for.
Nanak naam chardi kala, tere bhaane sarbat da bhalla! Guru Nanak’s name inspires a rising state of being, and by God’s grace, may everyone everywhere be well!
