Lehal Library

94 The Punjab and the Birth of Sikhism or to clothe their utterances in the garb of prophecy. What they wrote or said had a familiar ring in the people's ears. The Hindus caught the wisdom of the Vedas, of which they knew but little because of the monopoly over Sanskrit learning maintained by the Brahmins. The Muslims were reminded of the exhortations of the Sufis. To both the Hindus and the Muslims, the message of the gurus came in a language they understood. Although this fact prejudiced the spreading of Sikhism to those who could not understand Punjabi, within the Punjab its appeal was irresistible. It had aU the elements of a national faith, and witil it crystallized into a distinct sect with a political purpose, it continued to excite the admiration of aU Punjabis. The second period of a hundred years saw the development of traditions which supplemented this social order. The sixth guru was the first to appeal to arms; the tenth put the army on a regular footing. The movement also found its martyrs and heroes: Arjun, Tegh Bahadur, and the sons of Gobind wore the crown of martyrdom; Hargobind and Gobind, the halo of heroism. The movement had its hard inner core consisting of nearly a hundred thousand baptized Khalsa, and a much larger number of close associates among the Sahajdhari Sikhs. The movement had the active support of the vast majority of Punjabi Hindus who joined it in large numbers and for a time gave it the semblance of Hindu resistance against the onslaught oflslam. This was particularly so in the years following the death of Guru Gobind Singh, when the Muslim ruling class exploited the religious sentiments of the Muslim masses and for a time were able to stem the rising tide of Punjabi nationalism.