Guru Tegh Bahadar was arrested on fabricated charges and executed in Delhi on November 24, 1675.

His body was stolen by one of his Dalit disciples, who burnt down his own thatched hut to cremate it. Gurdwara Sis Gunj in Chandni Chowk marks the site of his execution. Gurdwara Rakab Ganj, next to Parliament, is the site of his cremation.

It was this wholly gratuitous act of criminality that made his son come to the conclusion that when all other methods have failed, it is righteous to draw the sword.

To mark the martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadar, I reproduce my translation of one of his hymns — entitled Jo nar dukh mein dukh nahi manai — devoted to describing an ideal human being:

He who in adversity grieves not;
He who is without fear;
He who falls not in the snare of sensuality;
Who has no greed for gold, knowing it is like dust;
He who does not slander people when their backs are turned;
Nor flatters them to their faces;
He who has neither gluttony in his heart;
Nor vanity, nor attachment to
worldly things;
He whom nothing moves;
Neither good fortune nor ill;
Who cares not for worldly applause;
Nor its censure;
Who ignores every wishful fantasy;
And accepts what comes his way at it comes;
He whom lust cannot lure;
Nor anger command;
In such a one lives God himself;
On such a one God’s Grace descends;
For he knows the righteous path;
O Nanak, his soul mingles with the Lord;
As water mingles with water.