On the morning of 30th March Guru sought God's blessings:
Thad bhayo main jor kar bachan kaha sar nyae
Panth chale tab jagat men jab tum ho sahae
--
I stood up with folded hands and head
bent down and said, Panth
can flourish in the world only with your help.
--
He entered a specially constructed canopy where a huge congregation was seated. Behind it there was a small tent which was closed on all sides and it could be entered from the canopy alone. The Guru asked them to utter the following call after him: (The salute of Sikhs was invented by him right then)
Jo bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal!
[whoever utters 'The immortal God is true' will be blessed]
The Guru then made the most stirring oration on saving religion which was in great peril, and about his divine mission. The Guru narrated the stories of Government's tyranny, humilatin, tortures, forcible conversions, destruction of temples and schools, brutal persecution of those who protested and of destruction of Satnamis and Jats. He depicted the miseries they had suffered from and presented pictures of fresh horrors and tribulations which lay in store for them at the hands of the emperor and his officials.
He aroused their enthusiasm to get ready to fight against those who trod upon their beliefs and on their very existence. He expressed great faith in the power of the common people. The discourse first excited the whole audience, then enthralled and terrified them and eventually thrilled them.
He criticized the Hindu view of life. They believed in non-violence [ahimsa paramo dharam]. They would do no wrong to others. They thought that the oppressor would get the punishment of his evil deeds in the next world. Instead of self-help and resistance they practiced patience, non-violence and renunciation. For want of organization the Hindus could not resist the onslaught of the invaders and government who called Hindus sparrows and themselves hawks, meaning thereby that they could cut up Hindus as a hawk mutilated sparrows.
The Guru explained that in order to safeguard their spiritual and temporal rights the people should not depend on fate. They ought to entrust this duty to themselves. They should individually feel any national wrong done, and collectively organize means to resist it.
Addressing the Sword he said:
"I bow with love and devotion to holy sword.
assist me that I may complete this work.
Thou art the subduer of countries.
Destroyer of the armies of the wicked in the battlefield.
Thou greatly adornest the brave.
Thine arm is infrangible,
Thy brightness is refulgent,
Thy radiance and splendor dazzle like the sun.
I bow to sword, spotless, fearless and unbreakable.
I bow to the Sword and Rapier which destroy the evil.
In this kaal age and at all times there is great confidence in the
powerful arm of the Sword
The demons who could not be drowned in the sea,
and who could not be burnt by fiery arrows,
on beholding thy flash, O Sword, cast aside shame and fled.
Thy greatness is endless and boundless;
No one hath found its limits.
Thou art God of gods, King of Kings,
Compassionate to the poor, and cherisher of the lowly."
--
Addressing the fighting weapons the Guru said:
jite shastar nam
Namaskar tam
jite astar bhen
Namaskar ten
Namaskrayan mor tiran tufang
Nomo khag, Adang Abhen Abhang,
Gadaen Grishtan namo saithiyan,
Jinhai tuliyan bir biyo na biyan.
--
[I salute arrows and gun.
O Sword! you are powerful and relentless,
I salute thee. I salute the heavy
Gada and scimitar. Like them
no other hero is born.]
--
After his exciting oration, the Guru flashed his sword and said that every great deed was preceded by equally great sacrifice. The holy Sword would create a heroic nation after supreme sacrifice. He said that Dharam thirsted for sacrificial blood.
The Guru demanded a devotee in whose heart he would plunge his sword. This sent a thrill of horror in the audience. He repeated it in a sterner and more sonorous voice. All were terror-stricken and there was no response at the first and second call.
At the third call, Daya ram, a Khatri of village Dalla in District Lahore, rose in his seat and expressed willingness to lay down his life. He was led into an adjoining tent and asked to sit there quietly. He dipped his sword blade into vessel full of goats blood. The general belief is that Guru had tied five goats, and he killed them one by one with a single stroke. This assertion does not appear to be plausible. At the first killing the goats would have bleated loudly which could have been easily heard in the open ground where Guru was conducting the meeting.
He came back with dripping sword, and asked for another head, one by one Guru stopped at Five. He then ordered the curtain separating the tent from the canopy to be removed. All were wonder struck to see the five men standing hale and hearty. The whole area rang with loud applause and thunderous clap of hands.
All the five men were robed in similar new dresses and garlanded and then brought into the assemble. They were as follows:
- Daya Ram, a Khatri of Village Dalla in Lahore.
- Dharam Das, a Jat of village Jatwara in distt. Saharanpur.
- Sahib Chand 'nai or barber' of village Nangal Shahidan, Hoshiarpur.
- Himmat Chand 'Kahar or water carrier' of village Sangatpura, Patiala.
- Mohkam Chand 'Chhimba' of Buriya village in Ambala.
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