Baisakhi, << buh SAH kee, >> also called Vaisakhi, is a religious festival celebrated by Sikhs and Hindus. It falls in mid-April, during the Sikh month of Vaisakh and the Hindu month of Vaisakha. Both religions observe Baisakhi as the beginning of a new year and as a celebration of agricultural bounty. The festival takes place at the same time as the sale of the harvest.
In the Sikh religion, Baisakhi also marks the day in 1699 when Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh guru (spiritual teacher), established the Sikh community, known as the Khalsa, in Anandpur, India. According to Sikh tradition, Guru Gobind Singh, while addressing a crowd, invited volunteers to sacrifice their lives for the Sikh faith. The guru took the first volunteer into a tent. The guru then came out of the tent carrying a bloody sword. Eventually, four other men came forward, and each of them was taken into the tent. The crowd assumed that they had all been killed. Finally, however, the guru emerged from the tent with the five men, dressed in turbans and colorful robes. These five men became the original members of the Khalsa, and they are known as the Panj Pyare (Five Beloved).
Like all Sikh festivals, Baisakhi includes a public reading of the Adi Granth, the Sikh holy book. The initiation of new members into the Khalsa also occurs on Baisakhi. During initiation, candidates drink amrit (sweetened water) and are sprinkled with it. Hindus perform special pujas (worship ceremonies) and attend colorful fairs. Baisakhi also marks the day when Hindus believe the goddess Ganga descended to earth thousands of years ago. For this reason, Hindus gather at the Ganges, Ganga’s river, in India to take ritual baths on Baisakhi.
See also Bhangra; Gobind Singh; Hinduism; Sikhism.
