The Bishop-Mayors Refinement into Christlikeness
In 1560 AD, the third Guru Amar Dass set up a system of spreading the teachings of Guru Nanak by appointing local community heads. He appointed 94 men and 52 women in these positions; the communities headed by men were called manji and those headed by women were called piri. Both manji and piri denote humble wooden cots, for the community leaders to sit on and provide guidance.
The role of these community leaders was akin to a bishop, to manage the local place of worship, and provide guidance that aids in living a pious life. The base principles were to earn an honest living, share your good fortune, and meditate on His name. With honest labor and hard work, the communities progressed economically. The role of mayor was added to that of the bishop overtime. It is a testimony to the gender sensitive and egalitarian nature of Guru Nanak’s teaching that both men and women were appointed Bishop-Mayors.
Bibi Bhag Bhari was the first Bishop-Mayor for the Kashmir region. The Guru tasked her with keeping the community strong and cohesive. She was responsible for social and economic affairs, and to ensure that the community in Kashmir brought honesty and piety into their daily life. Bibi Bhag Bhari performed her role very well.
She longed to see the Guru again, and present him with an embroidered coat that she had herself made over the years. In Amritsar, the passing of time saw the anointing of the sixth Guru Har Gobind, and he travelled to Kashmir to meet the first woman BishopMayor. It is said that the elderly Bibi had by then lost her eyesight. But as she presented the coat to the Guru, she could see him, and shortly thereafter, she breathed her last. Her last rites were performed by Guru Har Gobind, who stayed in Kashmir for three months.
At the crossing of the Hazratbal and Kathi Darwaza roads in Srinagar, Kashmir, the Chatti Patshahi gurudwara commemorates these sacred memories. Sadhana has learned, by God’s grace, that the tough times she faced had a refining effect. And refining takes time. She admits, sometimes in suffering it is hard to accept that God who loves unconditionally is truly working out everything for her good. She drew comfort from the fact that Jesus suffered immeasurably for her on the cross. And Mary, the mother of Jesus agonized for three days, before Jesus rose from the dead, the joyful result was, the world received salvation. And so did Sadhana, when she welcomed Jesus into her life as her Saviour and Lord ( John 1:12). Think about the good that came from the crucified God!
Sadhana admits that many of the things God has refined in her character took much longer than three days for long-lasting change. In order to grow deeper in her faith and in her relationship with God, there were often long spans of hard times, when she had to wrestle with her insecurities and pride.
It is hard to choose long-term Christlike character formation goals when the short-term pain is so severe. Suffering alone is just pain but suffering in the presence of a loving and faithful God drives our roots deeper into His knowledge and love, far more than we ever imagined possible. Suffering slows us down. Hurry has a way of making us skim over the surface of God’s loving presence. Many a times being slowed down by suffering is an opportunity to send our roots deep into our heavenly Father’s love.
The deeper we know God’s love for us, the more in alignment we are with Him, and the more other people will see Jesus when they see us. Yes, God desires us to experience joy and abundance, but often times to appreciate those, we also have to go through suffering. It is through our own suffering that we begin to understand the great love and compassion that Jesus has for us to endure what He endured.