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Good morning. This weekend sees the start of celebrations marking the most important Sikh festival of Vaisakhi. In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh, the last of the living Sikh Gurus, called his disciples to gather on the day of Vaisakhi. His father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, had been publicly executed on the streets of Delhi some years earlier for refusing to renounce his faith, and Sikhs had been afraid of retrieving his body in case they too suffered the same fate. Guru Gobind Singh wanted to change that. He compared his Sikhs to doves, and said that the time had come for the doves to fight the hawks and win. He wanted people to recognise a single Sikh within a crowd of thousands so that Sikhs would always be proud of their identity and never be afraid again. The Guru used the gathering on Vaisakhi to create a group called the Khalsa. Sikhs initiated into it became part of a unique body of people. They were defenders of the faith as well as defenders of all faiths. The Khalsa were given five articles of faith to carry at all times, including long uncut hair and a dagger. Men were expected to wear turbans to cover their hair, and Khalsa Sikhs became instantly recognisable. Over the next century, bloody battles between the Khalsa and the Mughals, amongst others, led to the founding of the Sikh Empire. Religion often sanitises itself in the modern age so that it can be acceptable to all people, but the prospect of a faith militarising itself at the orders of a supreme spiritual leader has, on the face of it, uncomfortable modern parallels. However, the Khalsa was created over 300 years ago in order to defend religious freedom and protect the rights of all people, not just Sikhs. In fact, the Guru's father was dubbed the Shield of Hindustan as he was executed whilst defending the Hindu faith, a faith that he himself didn't practice. This central Sikh ideal is encapsulated in one of Guru Gobind Singh's most famous quotes: “Recognise the whole of mankind as one.” Communities around the world continue to be subjected to religious persecution, as both the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury said in their Easter messages. If we are to truly believe and recognise that mankind is one, then surely we have a moral duty to defend those of all beliefs and none, even if we don't agree with them. That was what the Gurus did, and that is what Sikhs will be remembering over the next few days. Happy Vaisakhi.