SIKH HISTORICAL FIGURES

BHAI KANHAYYA JI

Guru Tegh Bahadur had a personal follower, one Kanhaya Lal a Dhamman (Dhiman) Khatri was born in 1648 in a town called Sohadara now in Pakistan. In time Originally an officer in the service of the Mughals, he became a drawer of water to.the Guru's horses and to all with him and a menial at his table day and night. The Guru taught him and invested him with the seli and topi. Bhai Kanhaiya established a Dharmsala (Rest house and temple) in the Northwest frontier in the Attock district of Punjab on a hilly track near the village of Kawa. The Dharmsala was situated on the Grand Trunk Road between Lahore and Peshawar. There, Khanaiya served all indiscriminately. He preached all Muslims and Hindus to be brothers in the eyes of the one Nirankar God the father of all. In time Guru Tegh Bahadur attained glorious martyrdom and his son Guru Gobind Singh came to occupy Guru Nanak’s spiritual seat.

On Guru Tegh Bahadur's death Kanhaya Lal was greatly saddened upon hearing of the martyrdom of his Guru. He in time resolved to see his great successor. The early years of Guru Gobind Singh were to be the preparation for the oncoming wars with the caste-bound Hindu Rajas and the bigoted imperial MughalAurangzeb. remained in Govind Singh's service and was with him at the siege of Anandpur. Guru Gobind Singh ordered all his able-bodied Sikhs to wear weapons and learn the arts of war. Bhai Khanaiya also obeyed the Guru's instructions and put on a sword but claimed his sword being a symbol of his Guru was for the use of his enemy. Thus, the Guru exempted Khanaiya and his followers from military duty and told him to carry on performing the duty allotted him by his reverend Guru Tegh Bahadur of serving all living beings.

In a latter battle in Anandpur Bhai Khanaiya served water indiscriminately to friend and foe alike. For this act, some angry Sikh warriors, the Nihangs accusing him of treason brought him before Guru Gobind Singh Ji. When Guru Ji asked him why he was helping the wounded enemy. Bhai Ji replied that he caould not distinguish between friend or foe he only see guru the one true Guru Va-eh Guru in all”. The Guru was very pleased, and not only did he order Khanaiya to continue, but also gave him a medicine chest as a gift. He then blessed him saying after him shall be a Sikh order who will serve all mankind indiscriminately. Noor Shah was amongst those Afghan soldiers to whom Bhai Khanaiya had served water and attended. He went onto become a great disciple of Bhai Khanaiya setting up a Dharmsala of his own.

From his personal service (sewa) or more probably from Sewa Ram, his first disciple, his followers are called Sewa-panthis: but in Amritsar they are known as AdanShahis, from Adan Shah, another disciple of Kanhaya Lal, and a rich banker who devoted his wealth and leisure to the propagation of their doctrines'. Their charity to travellers and persons in distress is proverbial.

Kanhaya Lal is said to have been commissioned by Guru Gobind Singh to preach Sikhism in the south-west and he founded his first dharamsala in the Thal or steppe of the Sind Sagar Doab. His followers are mainly Khatris and Aroras of that tract and the disciples are styled Nanak-Shahis, make ropes for a livelihood, refus-ing all alms and oblations. Some Sewapanthis are said to shave, others not