Martyrdom of the Ninth Guru                          On July 8, Guru Teg Buhadur Ji made his son Gobind Rai the next Guru. Then on July 11 he left for Delhi along with five of his Sikhs to give himself in. While on his way, the Guru was arrested in Agra and brought to Delhi where he and his five Sikhs were held prisoners. The Guru was kept in a steel cage that was very tight, it had sharp spikes on all sides.               Guru Teg Buhadur Ji was given three choices:                                    1)      Show a miracle            2)      Convert to Islam            3)      Be killed               The Guru refused to leave his religion and said that it is not right to show miracles. Then they thought that if they tortured the Sikhs the Guru might get scared and change his mind.               So one by one the Sikhs were killed. Bhai Matti Dass Ji was brought out and given the choice of either converting to Islam or being killed. He answered, “I would rather die for my Guru than to live without a Guru.”               He was tied between to planks and then his body was cut in half with a saw. The same way you saw through a piece of wood. Bhai Dayala Ji was made to sit in a huge pot and was boiled alive like a potato. Bhai Satti Dass Ji was wrapped in cotton and was then set on fire while still alive. In these ways these three Sikhs became martyrs.               The Qazi then asked the Guru if he was ready to change his mind. The Guru answered, “After seeing my Sikhs give their life for religion, I too want to give my life.”               The Qazi understood that the Guru was not going to change his mind, so they decided to kill the Guru.               Guru Teg Buhadur Ji was brought out and asked if he had any last wish. The Guru said that he had two wishes: 1)      to take a bath 2)      not to be killed until he recited the entire Japji Saheb              The Guru took a bath, sat down and recited the Japji Saheb. Then he was beheaded in front of a huge crowd.               In this way, the Guru gave his life to save the Hindu religion. He showed us that we must fight for not only our own religion, but the religious freedom of all religions.   Back to Main Page   | Gurmat Studies Foundation | Guru Nanak Academy | Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Gatka Akhara | Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!