Spiritual Strength of Women . Introduction

A warm welcome given to our esteemed readers to the first series of the ‘Spiritual Strength Of Women’, which was exhausted within 6 weeks of its release and is a great joy and encouragement to me. This is clear proof of the fact that the lovers of Sikhi yearn to know its history and follow its tradition. In this series, an attempt has been made to compile a few short stories together of Sikh women from our history who left shining examples of the great Spiritual Strength derived from Satguru jee. Sikh history conveyed to us by our Gurus and ancestors must be told to the entire world. Hundreds of thousands of noble Sikhs and martyrs need to be acknowledged. I have ventured to humbly submit just a few of these that have been used in this series. Summaries of the stories are as follows:

The first part is about the courage shown by one lady to enter Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), knowing that she will never come out of the complex alive. Her conversation between the two guards trying to dissuade her form entering and her astounding responses are something to really think about for ourselves.

The second is about how one woman and her tender-aged young son who take on five armed Turk soldiers who were lead to their hideout by a Hindu Pundit who betrayed the mother and son. A detailed account is given of the struggle and how these two pious souls overcame the might of the armed soldiers.

The third part shows how the presence and service from just one woman can benefit the Khalsa Panth so much. It is about a young woman who wishes to join the Khalsa fold, which has a dramatic effect on the rest of the Khalsa Army consisting of men, who finally welcome her with the utmost respect for her and treats her as if she was their very own Sister.

The forth part is a heroines tale of a Khalsa spy who fought bravely against Turkish soldiers in order to save herself, her honor and to complete the important mission she was given which in the end saved the lives of the Khalsa. Her service and sacrifice was greatly honored. The fifth part is an autobiographical account of one highly spirited Gursikh and his encounter with a woman Saint. The given impression of her and her saintliness show that there are no bounds for a woman achieving the highest spiritual level and attaining that Oneness with God. The sixth and final part shows how to attain this unique ‘Spiritual Strength’ through a woman’s own experiences and lessons learnt. It gives very intellectual methods as to how and why women should achieve this ‘Spiritual Strength’, especially in today’s modern world.

I have also added another part at the end which are of stories of Sikh women in recent times, whereby events have occurred to them and only their Spiritual Strength has been their savior. This is to show that those examples of Sikh women in history didn’t just exist back then, they still exist today! The first half of this series is mostly consists of the work and writings of Bhai Vir Singh. Those of you who have read the work of Bhai Vir Singh may be able to appreciate why I have chosen to put his writings first. Any reader of Bhai Vir Singh is so much carried away by his sweetness and the total heart that he/she is completely swept off their feet. I too was caught in the net of such enchantment. In the words of Bhai Vir Singh, his writings, “...highlights the glorious manner in which the Khalsa remained steadfast to its high principles even when faced with greatest of odds... Let me hope that it would help to re-imbibe among us the Spirit of bravery, humility, compassion and all the divine qualities with which our forefathers were blessed.”

Crores and crores (millions) of thanks to the Wondrous Lord (Vaheguru) and Satguru jee who have enabled me to compile this series, in my humble way. The encouraging response given to these stories, written on Sikh women, has given me further inducement to go on writing more and more on the basis of the countless noble Sikh women embedded in our history. It is impossible for a man of my humble intelligence and limited knowledge to have written these stories and accounts myself, yet with Satguru’s Grace, I have made a little attempt. I am confident that the learned readers will excuse me for my mistakes and will give their valuable suggestions.