guru

BEGA, BHAI, or Bhai Vega. a Pasi Khatri of the village of Dalla, now in Kapurthala district of the Punjab. His name appears among pious and devoted Sikhs of the time of Guru Amar Das in Bhai Gurdas, Varan, XI. 16. He was among the Sikhs who waited upon the Guru when he visited Dalla and received initiation at his hands. See KHANU, BHAI

BHAGO, MAI, the sole survivor of the battle of Khidrana, i.e. Muktsar (29 December 1705), was a descendant of Pero Shah, the younger brother of Bhai Langah, a Dhillon Jatt who had converted a Sikh during the time of Guru Arjan. Born at her ancestral village of Jhabal in present day Amritsar district of the Punjab, she was married to Nidhan Singh Varaich of Patti. A staunch Sikh by birth and upbringing, she was distressed to hear in 1705 that some of the Sikhs of her neighbourhood who had gone to Anandpur to fight for Guru Gobind Singh had deserted him under adverse conditions. She set off along with them and some other Sikhs to seek out the Guru, then travelling across the Malva region.

BHANA, lit. liking, pleasure, will, wish or approval, is one of the key concepts in Sikh thought. In Sikhism, it refers specifically to God`s will and pleasure. Raza , an Arabic term popular in the context of various schools of Sufi thought, also appears frequently in the Sikh texts to express the concept of UMArSA bhana. According to this concept, the Divine Will is at the base of the entire cosmic existence. It was His bhana, His sweet will which was instrumental in the world`s coming into being: "Whenever He pleases He creates the expanse (of the world of time and space) and whenever He desires He (again) becomes the Formless One (all by Himself)" (GG, 294).

BHARU, BHAI, a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Ram Das mentioned by Bhai Gurdas in his Varan, XI. 17. See PADARATH, BHAI

BHIRAI, MATA, the maternal grandmother of Guru Nanak, was married to Rama of the village of Chahal, near Lahore. See RAMA. BABA

BILGA, village 14 km west of Phillaur(31°1`N, 75°47`E) in the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Arjan, who passed through it in June 1589 on his way to Mau where he got married. According to local tradition, Bilga was then a small settlement of only a few huts. The Guru changed his apparel here and gave away the discarded articles to the poor hutdwellers who, it is said, preserved them as sacred relics. These are now exhibited in Gurdwara Panjviri Patshahi located inside the village.

BUDDHA. BABA (1506-1631), a most venerated primal figure of early Sikhism, was born on 6 October 1506 at the village of Katthu Narigal, 18 km northeast of Amritsar (31° 36\'N, 74° 50\'E). Bura, as he was originally named, was the only son of Bhai Suggha, a Jatt of Randhava clan, and Man Gauran, born into a Sandhu family. As a small boy, he was one day grazing cattle outside the village when Guru Nanak happened to pass by. According to Bhai Mani Singh, Sikhan di Bhagat Mala, Bura went up to him and, making obeisance with a bowl of milk as his offering, prayed to him in this manner: "0 sustainer of the poor! I am fortunate to have had a sight of you today.

BUTALA, a village 7 km northeast of Baba Bakala (31°34`N, 75°16`E) in Amritsar district of the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Hargobind who, according to local tradition, visited here on 15 Phagun 1665 Bk/10 February 1609. The inhabitants of Butala, with the exception of an old lady and her son who followed the Sikh faith, were the worshippers of Sakhi Sarwar. One day, it is said, the son asked the mother, what offering they would have for the Guru, should he, in answer to their prayers, come to them.

BABHIKHAN (VIBHISHANA) (The Gurmukh) Rama killed the egoist Ravana, the knowledge given by the Guru was like the secrets told by Vibhishana. (Ramkali M. l, Siddh Goshta, p. 942) The Lord bestowed kingship on Babhikhan (Vibhishana) for a long time. (Maru Namdev, p.105) Vibhishana was the younger brother of the demon-king Ravana of Lanka. He was a righteous person and was against any act of unrighteousness. It was he who opposed the unrighteous act of Ravana in carrying off Sita by force.

CHALI MUKTE, lit. forty (chalf) liberated ones (mukte), is how a band of 40 brave Sikhs who laid down their lives fighting near the dhab or lake of Khidrana, also called Isharsar, on 29 December 1705 against a Mughal force in chase of Guru Gobind Singh are remembered in Sikh history and daily in the Sikh ardas or supplicatory prayer offered individually or at gatherings at the end of all religious services. Guru Gobind Singh, who had watched the battle from a nearby mound praised the martyrs` valour and blessed them as Chali Mukte, the Forty Immortals. After them Khidrana became Muktsar the Pool of Liberation.