Waheguru ji ka khalsa
Waheguru ji ki fateh
I'd like to perhaps clarify something that I feel may have been mis-spoken. Guru Sahib's methods and actions did not in any sense "not work." The idea behind Guru Arjan Dev Ji's Shaheedi was that he was willing to accept the Guru's Hukam. Guru Sahib did not try a to persuade the emperor into not killing him by using Humility. Same goes for Guru Tegh Bahadhur. Guru Tegh Bahadhur himself was an extremely talented swordsman. And as mentioned before, Guru Nanak even had shastars. The idea is that the Guru Sahibs accepted what was the Hukam. They're actions were not results of failure to stay alive. They were actions to give Sikhs Josh, Beer Ras, Pyaar, and ultimately to remind themselves to help those who are oppressed, in whichever way possible.
The question as to why Sikhs took arms, I think, has already been answered by this Sangath. Sikhi could not prevail if Sikhs all Sikhs were killed. If we didn't take on arms, how would we do Simran and recite Gurbani? If Guru Sahib didn't ble
ss us with our soldier quality, how would have our Sikhi been existent today? I don't think Hinduism would have remained if it wasn't for Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib. I think the point is that, there are oppressors who will only be stopped by death. The reason for Sikhs to take arms was to defend the peace of Sikhs, and the rest of the world, "Sarbath dha Bhala." You can't be a Sikh without being both a Saint, and a Soldier. Neither comes before the other. A soldier that is a saint wouldn't kill for the wrong reason, only to defend another. A saint without being a soldier couldn't defend another person, so how could they be called a Sikh? I hope I didn't offend anyone. Bhul Chuk maaf karna.
Waheguru ji ka khalsa
Waheguru ji ki fateh