I just noticed something.
In the Zafarnama, Guru Gobind Singh’s anger is focused on one thing: Aurangzeb has broken a promise that he made on the Qur’an. He broke a promise to Allah. This is the man who killed all four of his sons, who hunted his followers down to a few hundred in number, who destroyed his Gurdwaras, who took everything that Guru Gobind Singh had except for his love of Waheguru. But in the Zafarnama, the thing that Guru Gobind Singh is angry about is not the things that he has suffered, or the injustices and pains that Aurangzeb has inflicted upon him. What he is angry about is that Aurangzeb committed a crime against Allah: he swore in Allah’s name and broke that promise. Despite all his pain, the Guru is hurt most of all by the affront to the Divine.
And despite it all, Guru Gobind Singh offers forgiveness. He says that he has it in him to forgive all of the pain that he has caused, if Aurangzeb will only come to meet with him and pray alongside him. Every Sikh head on his account will be forgiven if only Aurangzeb will extend the hand of peace and come to pray with the Guru, side by side, as equals in the eyes of Allah. Aurangzeb never did.
I can’t even fathom that. I can’t put myself in that position, where a man has taken everything from me, where the blood of my family and loved ones has been spilt on his account, where the life I knew has been utterly destroyed by one man’s violence, and to say to that man, “Sit with me and pray alongside me.” To still see Waheguru’s light in that man, to offer compassion and forgiveness to that man. I just…I don’t think that’s in me. I don’t think I have that capacity in my spirit to do something like that. I cannot fathom the depth of the Guru’s love and compassion even for his bitterest enemy, even for a man like the Shah, a man who took countless innocent lives.
He even has six stanzas where he praises Aurangzeb for his qualities as a leader. He praises his skill with the blade and his sharp intellect, and his exemplary leadership of his kingdom. One thing stands out in particular to me: The Guru calls him ਸ਼ਹਨਸ਼ਹੇ… Šahanšahe. The king of kings. That’s the same epithet that the Guru uses for Waheguru in Jaap Sahib:
ਇੰਦ੍ਰ ਇੰਦ੍ਰਾਣਿ ਸਾਹੁ ਸਾਹਾਣਿ
You are the Indra of all Indras, the King of all Kings.
This man, who took everything from the Guru…the Guru calls him by the same title he has once called Waheguru. Because even despite everything Aurangzeb has done, the Guru sees the Divine presence inside him, as he sees it in all things.
I can’t even begin to fathom that. That ability to see Waheguru in everyone, even the worst person imaginable, who has inflicted irreparable and immeasurable pain against you. I don’t think that ability is inside me. I don’t think I have words to explain how stunned and in awe I am of my Guru. My Guru’s compassion is limitless. My Guru’s compassion is without qualification and without condition. My Guru’s love is transcendent. Dhan Waheguru ji, dhan Guru Gobind Singh ji.
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