The word Khalsa comes from Persian word 'Khalas' which means ’of the Sovereign’.
Khalsa are Sikhs who answer to the monotheistic One Supreme God (Akal Purakh) who is their Sovereign.
They are guided by the teachings of Sikh Gurus as enshrined in the Guru Granth Sahib, and orders from tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh.
The original Khalsa were initiated by the tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh at a historic ceremony in 1699 at Anandpur Sahib, present day Punjab.
Khalsa are trained in benevolence, political thought, religion, history, governance, and warfare.
An analogy can be made with Plato’s epistocrats and Chinese Mandarin bureaucrats.
Khalsa have traditionally taken on the role of governance. They are armed for their protection as well as protection of those they govern. They are Saint-Soldiers (sant-sipahi).
Khalsa embody the martial spirit of the Sikhs.
Rules of the Sikhs has always been the rule of the Khalsa (Khalsa Raj) as it is the Khalsa that provided defense, law and order, and governance.
Every Khalsa is a Sikh, but only some Sikhs are Khalsa.
Sikhs are initiated into the order of the Khalsa by existing Khalsa.
The word Khalsa is frequently misinterpreted to mean 'pure'.