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The Sikh Gurus established Sikhism over the centuries, beginning in the year 1469. Sikhism was founded by the first guru, Guru Nanak, and subsequently, each guru, in succession, was referred to as "Nanak", and as "Light", making their teachings, in the holy scriptures, equivalent. There are a total of 11 gurus: ten human gurus and the eleventh, or current and everlasting Sikh Guru, is the integrated Sikh scriptures known as the Adi Granth or Guru Granth Sahib.
The Gurus
[edit]Sikhism was established by Guru Nanak and ten other Sikh Gurus starting in 1469. Guru Nanak was the first Guru, and Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Guru, bestowed the Guruship forevermore to the Sikh holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib as the 11th Guru, the living word. The Khalsa is known as the Guru Panth, the final temporal Guru/leader of the Sikhs and embodiment of the Guru.[1] Sikhs follow the teachings of the Gurus, which is believed upon remembering, leads to salvation.
The name "Nanak" was used by all the subsequent Gurus who wrote any sacred text in the Sikh holy scripture called the Guru Granth Sahib. The second Sikh Guru, Guru Angad, is also called the "Second Nanak" or "Nanak II". Sikhs hold that all subsequent Gurus carried the same message as that of Guru Nanak, and so they have used the name "Nanak" in their holy text, instead of their own names. Hence all are referred to as the "Light of Nanak".
| # | Name | Date of birth | Guruship on | Date of death | Age at death | Major Life highlights | Father | Mother |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guru Nanak | 15 April 1469 | -- | 22 September 1539 | 69 | * Founded Sikhism * Spiritual revelations registered as 974 hymns in Guru Granth Sahib * Rejected the authority of the Vedas * Preached the new idea of God as (Supreme, Universal, All-powerful and truthful, Formless, Fearless, Without Hate, Self-existent, Ever-lasting creator of all things, The eternal and absolute truth) * Attacked the citadel of the Hindu caste system, promoting equality of all * Emphasized the equality of women *Rejected the path of renunciation; emphasized leading a householder's life * Condemned the theocracy of Mughal emperor Babar * Started the institution of Guru ka Langar * Undertook 4 major journeys, travelling far and wide (including visits to Haridwar, Varanasi, Tibet, Srinagar, Lahore, Mecca, Medina, Baghdad, Syria, Turkey, Kabul, Kandhar, etc.) * Died of natural causes | Mehta Kalu | Mata Tripta |
| 2 | Guru Angad | 31 March 1504 | 7 September 1539 | 29 March 1552 | 48 | * Spiritual revelations registered as 63 Saloks (stanzas) in Guru Granth Sahib * Established new religious institutions to strengthen the base of Sikhism * Standardized and popularized the Gurumukhi Script* Opened many new schools * Started the tradition of Mall Akhara for physical as well as spiritual development * Popularized and expanded the institution of Guru ka Langar * Died of natural causes | Baba Pheru | Mata Ramo |
| 3 | Guru Amar Das | 5 May 1479 | 26 March 1552 | 1 September 1574 | 95 | * 869 verses including Anand Sahib in the Guru Granth Sahib * Established Manji & Piri system of religious missions for men and women respectively * Strengthened the Langar community kitchen system * Preached against the Hindu society's Sati system (burning alive of a wife at the pyre of her deceased husband), advocated widow-remarriage; Asked the women to discard "Purdah" (veil worn by Muslim women). * Asked Akbar to remove the toll-tax (pilgrim's tax) for non-Muslims while crossing Yamuna and Ganges Rivers * Died of natural causes | Tej Bhan Bhalla | Bakht Kaur |
| 4 | Guru Ram Das | 24 September 1534 | 1 September 1574 | 1 September 1581 | 46 | * 638 hymns in 30 ragas in the Guru Granth Sahib, which include 246 Padei, 138 Saloks, 31 Ashtpadis and 8 Vars * Composed the four Lawans (stanzas) of the Anand Karaj, a distinct marriage code for Sikhs separate from the orthodox and traditional Hindu Vedi system* Laid the foundation stone of Chak Ramdas or Ramdas Pur, now called Amritsar * Strongly decried superstitions, caste system and pilgrimages *Died of natural causes | Baba Hari Das | Mata Daya Vati |
| 5 | Guru Arjan | 15 April 1563 | 1 September 1581 | 30 May 1606 | 43 | * Compiled the Guru Granth Sahib, and installed it at Sri Harmandir Sahib on Bhadon Sudi 1st Samvat 1661 (August/September 1604), A landmark event in Sikh history* Contributed about 2000 verses to the Guru Granth Sahib * Founded the town of Tarn Taran Sahib near Goindwal Sahib * Built a house for Lepers. * Was tortured and executed on the orders of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir * Hailed as the first martyr of Sikh religion, and as Shaheedan-de-Sartaj (The crown of martyrs) | Rām Dās | Mata Bhani |
| 6 | Guru Har Gobind | 19 June 1595 | 25 May 1606 | 28 February 1644 | 48 | * Instituted the practice of maintaining armed legion of Sikh warrior-saints * Waged wars against rulers Jahangir and Shah Jahan * Died of natural causes | Arjun Dēv | Mata Ganga |
| 7 | Guru Har Rai | 16 January 1630 | 3 March 1644 | 6 October 1661 | 31 | * Sheltered Dara Shikoh; persecuted by Aurangzeb who framed charges of anti-Islamic blasphemy against Guru Ji and Sikh verses of Guru Granth Sahib * Died of natural causes | Baba Gurditta | Mata Nihal Kaur |
| 8 | Guru Har Krishan | 7 July 1656 | 6 October 1661 | 30 March 1664 | 7 | * Forcibly summoned to Delhi (the imperial capital of Aurangzeb) under framed charges * Died of the age of 8 due to smallpox, which he contracted while healing the sick people during an epidemic. | Hari Rā'i | Mata Krishan Kaur |
| 9 | Guru Tegh Bahadur | 1 April 1621 | 20 March 1665 | 11 November 1675 | 54 | * Opposed the forced conversions of the Hindu Kashmiri Pandits by Muslims * Was consequently persecuted, imprisoned, tortured and executed under the orders of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Contributed many hymns (Shlokas) to Guru Granth Sahib * Spread Sikhism far and wide to Bihar and Assam * | Hari Gōbind | Mata Nanki |
| 10 | Guru Gobind Singh | 22 December 1666 | 11 November 1675 | 7 October 1708 | 41 | * Founded Khalsa in 1699 * Last Sikh Guru in human form * Passed the Guruship of the Sikhs to the Guru Granth Sahib * Died of complications from stab wounds inflicted by Pashtun assassins sent by Mughal governor Wazir Khan | Tēġ Bahādur | Mata Gujri |
| 11 | Guru Granth Sahib | n/a | 7 October 1708 | n/a | n/a | Final and last, eternal living guru | - | - |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Singh, Teja (2006). A Short History of the Sikhs: Volume One. Patiala: Punjabi University. p. 107. ISBN 8173800073.
- ^ Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee. "Ten Gurus"
External Links
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