Sikh Queens & Swords

Shine!

In the wake of the millennium it’s easy to forget who we are and where we come from. The hustle and bustle of modern day living, often too easily allows us to forget things that are important to us.

Have we forgotten the importance of our culture, our history and our role models? Have we slipped into a nation of modern day individual’s just about finding time to work and look after the family?
Today we should encourage growth and success amongst the women in our society. We often hear how men are superior to women, but in fact there are so many powerful women that have made their mark in history. In our Sikh religion we have such great role models. Many are women that have fought for our religion or have given so much to our faith that they will always be remembered.

What do you think about when I say motivated, inspirational, selfless, admirable and independent? You may be reading this and still thinking about what they represent, but to me it’s easy, they represent many women from hundreds of years ago that questioned the typical ideals of that period of time. There are three women I can say that stand out in my mind. The first being Bibi Nanaki Ji, the second being Mai Bhago and last, but no means least Mata Khivi. To some people these names may mean very little, but to those who do know of these courageous women, you will share my appreciation that they even existed and challenged a world dominated by men.

Bibi Nanaki Ji was the elder sister of Guru Nanak. She was born in 1464 in Chalal. Guru Nanak was born 5 years later, but to his elder sister he wasn’t just a younger brother. She was the first person to recognise he had a special quality, that he wasn’t just an ordinary man. She was Guru Nanak’s first Sikh, his first follower. To Bibi Nanak Ji she always knew her brother was nothing less than a Guru.
Guru Nanak’s parent’s found it hard to accept his purpose in life and was forced to send him to live with his elder sister and her husband in Sultanpur. It was here that Bibi Nanak Ji started to bow to Guru Nanak out of respect. He tried to stop her and told her she should not bow down to him as she was older, and she replied “That is true if you were an ordinary man, but you are more to me, I see God in you”.

Bibi Nanak Ji never lost faith in Guru Nanak and believed he would never leave this world until his mission was completed. Bibi Nanak Ji is such an inspiration to all women on this Earth and a reminder that if you have faith and you believe, good things will happen. Don’t be a quitter, be a fighter and don’t let others tell you otherwise! If you believe in something or someone so much that it will make a positive impact in our lives then believe in it, you never know what may happen..... A God may be born!

Mai Bhago was another believer and another saint in the eyes of a Sikh. In 1704 she led soldiers and fought against Mughals on the battlefield. Mai Bhago represented Sikhism like no other woman. She was brave enough to challenge the Mughals when they surrounded Anandpur and demanded every Sikh man and woman declare themselves no longer a Sikh of Guru Gobind. If they refused to do this they were forced to look death in the face. 40 Sikhs succumbed to the Mughals and told Guru Gobind Singh Ji they were no longer Sikhs. When Mai Bhago heard of this she persuaded them that this would not be the action of a true Sikh, and told them they must apologise to Guru Gobind Singh Ji.
Later all 40 Sikhs, Mai Bhago and the guru went to battle and it was here that the 40 Sikhs attained martyrdom. As the only survivors of the battle Mai Bhago and Guru Gobind Singh Ji blessed the 40 Sikhs as the 40 liberated ones. It was then that Guru Gobind Singh Ji recognised something special in Mai Bhago and took her on as one of his bodyguards. Mai Bhago managed to stand out in a man’s world and protected someone so special that all Sikhs hold close to their hearts. The fact that she was a woman protecting a man and fighting for our faith shows in itself how special she is.

Another woman that brought enlightenment to our culture was Mata Khivi. She was married to Lahina for 20 years before he became our 2nd Guru. She enjoyed a life of luxury and was given a great deal of respect. Mata Khivi chose to represent equality for women in a period that again treated women like second class citizen. Her husband Lahina first became a disciple of Guru Nanak before becoming a Guru himself. Mata Khivi learnt a lot from her husband and embraced the new faith that Guru Nanak and Lahina were creating. She had a lot to put up with and also took a bit of taunting from not only men of that time, but the women also. This is when Lahina now became Guru Angad and from this point onwards the Guru had so many visitors coming and going Mata Khivi now found a new purpose in life.

In our Sikh teachings it states ‘One must earn one’s living through one’s own labour’. Mata Khivi took this seriously and took it upon herself to reflect this teaching in providing the Langar for visitors. Her hospitality had become the first cultural identity of the Sikhs and to this day still lives on. Mata Khivi is described as good natured, efficient and all round perfect. Her persona lives on today and she is the only one of the Guru’s wives that is mentioned in the Guru Granth Sahib. In this holy book she is described as a ‘good person’, ‘affectionate mother’ and as ‘one who provides shelter and protection to others’.

She never turned her back on anyone and touched everyone that came in contact with her. Mata Khivi represents an essential trait of Sikh culture and this should be celebrated amongst us all.

These women are examples of how strong and giving women are and that we are not inferior to anyone. The modern woman is just as powerful, strong and courageous so let us celebrate this! If women can single handily change times when only a man’s world existed this is a testament to the modern day Sikh woman that times have changed and it is no longer a man’s world, and in fact many men do look up to women like this in our culture. As a modern day woman we should be challenging typical ideologies of the man’s world. It is surprising how much of an influence women can have in today’s society. Don’t sit back and follow suit be a leader because every woman has special qualities that this community needs and our culture is waiting for us to challenge this.

All three women are greatly respected in our culture and are an example to women of today that we are more powerful than we think; we are inspirational to so many people and are courageous in our efforts. Through Bibi Nanaki’s, Mai Bhago and Mata Khivi’s motivation and success stories we will be able to find it in ourselves to recognise that we are in fact greatly respected and our skills are essential in the development of our lives, our country and our culture.

If there is anything I have learnt from these women it is to believe, to act on my beliefs and achieve them. If you want to look for guidance on how to be a good modern day role model all you need to do is look back into our history and you will see how the strength of women represented so well in the early days of our culture. Imagine how hard it was hundreds of years ago for a woman to even stand for anything, so if they can do it, any of us women can.

Why not do something inspirational today? Follow your heart and make a difference where it counts....ladies, stand up and shine!

Jennifer Jhamat