Meditations On the Martyrdom of Guru Arjun Dev ji

Guru Arjan Dev ji, Guru Arjun Dev, Hot Sand Poured on Fifth Sikh Guru, Sikh Painting, Punjab Art

“Patiently meditate on the virtues of Guru Arjun Dev ji.”

– Kavi Kalya ji (Guru Arjun Dev ji, 1407)

When I was painting Guru Arjun Dev ji, I meditated a lot on his qualities.

Initially my meditation was quite shallow to be honest. I didn’t really feel much. The history of his martyrdom felt cold and distant. I had no warm and visceral feelings of the significance of Guru Sahib’s actions, knowing very well what he did.

But as my painting developed, my appreciation for Guru Arjun Dev ji grew.

Guru Arjun Dev ji – Meditating

Guru Arjun Dev ji’s heavenly poetry in Guru Granth Sahib, his efforts to write down and compile the poems of Vaishnav saints from all over India to preserve their legacy, his efforts in commissioning the building of Harimandir Sahib, his influence all over northern India, which led to his martyrdom, and then his martyrdom itself. All his efforts during his life till the very end, filled me up with inspiration and appreciation, as I contemplated them more and more.

This feeling of appreciation eventually grew so intense that one day while meditating on him, I found myself uncontrollably moved to tears by the greatness of his divine being.

Weeping Devotee

I remember it clearly, I was listening to the following hymns rendered by Bhai Harjinder Singh ji.

ਹਉ ਨਾ ਛੋਡਉ ਕੰਤ ਪਾਸਰਾ ॥ ਸਦਾ ਰੰਗੀਲਾ ਲਾਲੁ ਪਿਆਰਾ ਏਹੁ ਮਹਿੰਜਾ ਆਸਰਾ ॥1॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

I will never leave the intimacy of my Husband God. My Beloved Lover is always and forever colourful. He is my vital support. ||1||Pause||

– Guru Arjun Dev Ji, 761

ਨੈਣ ਅਲੋਇਆ ਘਟਿ ਘਟਿ ਸੋਇਆ ਅਤਿ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਪ੍ਰਿਅ ਗੂੜਾ ॥

With my eyes I have seen Him, sleeping upon the bed within each and every heart; my Beloved is the sweetest ambrosia.

– Guru Arjun Dev Ji, 924

I was going deep into it. I was contemplating Guru Arjun Dev ji’s martyrdom. I saw Guru Sahib burning on the hot plate, the full scene of his torture.

My eyes teared up and I began crying. I saw a glimpse of Guru Sahib and how he saw his Beloved right next to him, and everywhere, and how he remained by his side until his departure.

It was a very moving moment for me.

I was in complete awe.

Executioner in Reverence

I take great inspiration from Italian master painters from the Renaissance period, when art was flourishing in Europe. I study their masterpieces a lot, meditating on each one and learning from their technique, composition and style.

However my painting of Guru Arjun Dev ji’s martyrdom was specifically inspired by the work of Caravaggio and Rembrandt. Caravaggio and Rembrandt had the ability to capture meditative moments really well.

Guru Arjun Dev ji voluntarily accepted his suffering as a gift and this gave him immense strength and peace. I knew I wanted Guru Sahib’s painting to be meditative.

I wanted it to be tragic yet peaceful.

Guru Arjun Dev ji – Martyrdom

When you let suffering happen to you, you fall victim to its pressure, you become more and more fearful. However when you voluntarily accept this suffering, it will inspire courage in you.

To voluntarily accept suffering which you cannot do anything about, which is outside of your control, to voluntarily accept this unavoidable suffering, activates particular circuits in the brain. These circuits do not activate if you let the suffering happen to you. Only when you choose to accept the suffering, do they activate and start running.

With repetitive activation, these circuits can change your entire perception of reality!

This is written by Guru Nanak Dev ji in Jap ji Sahib as – Hukam Raza-e Chalna and that doing so rips apart the dense haze that our mind is trapped in.

Guru Sahib is the living embodiment of Jap ji Sahib, and this is the lesson he left behind for us to follow. His martyrdom is an example for Sikhs today to voluntarily accept the suffering they go through in their day-to-day life.

When I contemplate this, I feel inspired and I try to follow in Guru Sahib’s footsteps to the best of my ability. To voluntarily accept my suffering, as much of it as possible. That is what I take from this painting, that is the reminder I get when I contemplate Guru Arjun Dev ji.

Thanks for reading.

Bhagat Singh
Sikhi Art

New Painting of Guru Gobind Singh ji – Vaisakhi 1699 – Creation of Khalsa

Guru Gobind Singh ji, Vaisakhi, Khalsa, Sikh Gurus, Anandpur Sahib Punjab Painting by Artist Bhagat Singh Bedi Sikhi Art

On the day of Vaisakhi, 1699, Guru Gobind Singh ji did the initiation ceremony a little differently. He called for his devoted sikhs to give up their heads while holding his glistening sword ready to behead them.

Bhagat’s newest painting captures this critical moment in not just Sikh History but the History of Punjab, that changed the very face of the region and the people who lived there.

Guru Gobind Singh ji, Vaisakhi, 1699, Khalsa, Anandpur Sahib Punjab Painting by Artist Bhagat Singh Sikhi Art
Guru Gobind Singh ji – Vaisakhi

After the persecution and execution of Guru Arjun Dev ji and Guru Tegh Bahadur ji, Guru Sahib’s great grandfather and father, Guru Sahib wanted to inspire the warrior spirit in his sikhs so that they would be able to stand up to the oppressors and be able to defend themselves.

So during the Vaisakhi of 1699, Guru Gobind Singh ji addressed the sangat that had gathered to listen to him. He said that great actions require great sacrifice, and with that he pulled out his sword and asked for one head.

Guru Gobind Singh ji, Face Close-up, Dumalla, Vaisakhi, 1699, Khalsa, Anandpur Sahib Punjab Painting by Artist Bhagat Singh Sikhi Art
Guru Gobind Singh ji

The congregation of sikhs were shocked. Some wondered whether the Guru was kidding. Some wondered whether the Guru had gone mad. Guru Sahib’s request sent waves of fear and doubt throughout the sangat.

Shocked Sangat, Guru Gobind Singh ji, Vaisakhi, 1699, Khalsa, Anandpur Sahib Punjab Painting by Artist Bhagat Singh Sikhi Art
Sangat

However one brave man got up and offered his head to Guru Sahib. He bowed down and performed the namahskar to Guru Sahib with folded hands.

Bhai Daya Singh, Guru Gobind Singh ji, Vaisakhi, 1699, Khalsa, Sikh, Anandpur Sahib Punjab Painting by Artist Bhagat Singh Sikhi Art
Bhai Daya Ram ji

Guru Sahib took him inside the tent behind him. After a while, he came back out with his sword dripping with blood, and asked for another head.

Again, another man got up and offered himself as sacrifice.

This happened a total of five times.

These five men who offered themselves up for sacrifice were known as the Panj Pyarey. Bhai Daya Singh ji, Bhai Dharm Singh ji, Bhai Himmat Singh ji, Bhai Mohkam Singh ji and Bhai Sahib Singh ji.

Guru Sahib prepared them for the initiation ceremony. He asked for a cauldron full of water and a khanda sword and thereafter began to stir the water while reciting divine hymns over it. He added sugar to sweeten the water and offered this to the Panj Pyarey. Guru Sahib also requested that he be given the same.

Thus the Khalsa, the pure, were born, ready to defend the sikh nation, ready to fight for the oppressed!

They chanted –
Waheguru ji ka khalsa,
Waheguru ji ki fateh!

That both the Khalsa and the Victory belong to the Wonderful Guru!

To purchase prints of this iconic event, click here.
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Divine Radiance of the Adi Guru – Guru Nanak Dev ji

Guru Nanak Dev ji, Sikh Gurus, Bhagat Singh Bedi, Sikhi Art, Sikh Art, Punjab Art, Spiritual Art, Meditation Art, Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan

“My salutations to the Adi Guru, to the Guru of all ages, to the True Guru, to the Guru Lord and Master.”

– Guru Arjun Dev ji (Guru Granth Sahib, 262)

My newest painting depicting Adi Guru – Guru Nanak Dev ji – is a reminder that through the Guru’s teachings we can illuminate the darkness in the mind. In this painting, Guru Nanak Dev ji carries and radiates Akal Purakh’s light, the way the sun radiates light and warmth on us all, and when we bathe in Guru Sahib’s warmth, we become warm ourselves.

Adi Guru, Guru Nanak Dev ji, Portrait Painting, Meditation, Dhyan, Sikh Painting, Punjab Art, Nankana Sahib, Bhagat Singh Bedi
Adi Guru – Guru Nanak Dev ji

Bhagat’s sikh art always captures sikh history and spirituality as authentically and as accurately as possible. His painting is a reminder to those beings, who are immersed in daily grind, to remember God at all times. Buy prints for inspiration to let God inside your heart.

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The Sun is Consciousness
Adi Guru – Guru Nanak Dev ji is a mirror to my painting of Dashmesh Pita – Guru Gobind Singh ji. Guru Nanak Dev ji is portrayed with a Sun behind him whereas Guru Gobind Singh ji is portrayed with a Moon. Guru Nanak Dev ji tells us that both the Sun and Moon are made from the same Consciousness as we are, and that through the Guru’s teachings, this can be realized intimately.

ਰਵਿ ਸਸਿ ਦੇਖਉ ਦੀਪਕ ਉਜਿਆਲਾ ॥ ਸਰਬ ਨਿਰੰਤਰਿ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਮੁ ਬਾਲਾ ॥੪॥
In the Ravi, Sun, and in the Sassi, Moon, I see my Beloved’s light, totally all-pervading, totally one with everything.

ਕਰਿ ਕਿਰਪਾ ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਲਾਇਆ ॥ ਸਤਿਗੁਰਿ ਮੋ ਕਉ ਏਕੁ ਬੁਝਾਇਆ ॥੫॥
By his grace, my mind has become immersed in him. My true guru has given me this understanding of my Beloved. (Guru Granth Sahib, 223)

Spiritual Mission
The first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak Dev ji was born in Punjab, in what is now known as Nankana Sahib, situated in modern day Pakistan. From a young age, he meditated a lot and in adulthood he set out to fulfill his purpose on Earth. Already trained as a trader, he travelled and traded, all the while spreading the message of Karta Purukh. He preached that to obtain the Creator one must learn to see the Creator inside oneself through devotional meditation.

Meditation Practice
Being a poet, a meditator and a teacher, Guru Nanak Dev ji described the process of meditation using rich metaphors and vibrant imagery.

In Pauri 38 of Jap ji Sahib, he writes –

ਜਤੁ ਪਾਹਾਰਾ ਧੀਰਜੁ ਸੁਨਿਆਰੁ ॥
Your ability to withdraw your Five Senses from the world is your Workshop. Your Patience makes you a Goldsmith.

ਅਹਰਣਿ ਮਤਿ ਵੇਦੁ ਹਥੀਆਰੁ ॥
Your Intelligence is your Anvil. Following the Vedas, Sacred Spiritual Texts, is your Hammer.

ਭਉ ਖਲਾ ਅਗਨਿ ਤਪ ਤਾਉ ॥
Blow through the Pipe the Fear of God, and increase the heat of the Body.

ਭਾਂਡਾ ਭਾਉ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਤਿਤੁ ਢਾਲਿ ॥ ਘੜੀਐ ਸਬਦੁ ਸਚੀ ਟਕਸਾਲ ॥
In your container of Love, pour in the molten gold that is Amrit, Timeless Quality of Consciousness, and mint the Gold coins of your Guru’s teachings.

ਜਿਨ ਕਉ ਨਦਰਿ ਕਰਮੁ ਤਿਨ ਕਾਰ ॥ ਨਾਨਕ ਨਦਰੀ ਨਦਰਿ ਨਿਹਾਲ ॥੩੮॥
Those who are looked upon kindly by their Guru, they find out how to do this method. And when they apply the method, they are liberated. (38)

Meditation is a process of withdrawing the senses from worldly distractions, and going inwardly with utmost patience and equanimity. In this timeless state of consciousness, you impress upon the intelligence of the mind, the teachings of the Guru and the Vedas, Spiritual Texts, to create something valuable, that is the minting of Gold Coins. The ‘Fear of God’ means to pay attention intensely and be awake and aware. This naturally increases bodily heat as many people who meditate sometimes notice.

Guru Sahib is describing a more advanced meditation practice however the whole process becomes easier when it is performed with love and devotion.

The Guru’s Teaching is Nourishment for the Soul
In this way, Guru Nanak Dev ji looks inwardly and sees the light of God inside, and he radiates this light into our lives through his teachings. He nourishes our soul the way the sun nourishes the trees, plants and all the greenery in the painting. He brings peace to our hearts and gives us wholesome rest in this tiresome world.

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