Guru Gobind Singh: Encyclopedia - Guru Gobind Singh

Guru Gobind Singh

Guru Gobind Singh (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਸਿੰਘ) (Patna, Bihar, India, December 22, 1666 – October 7, 1708, Nanded, Maharashtra,India) was the tenth and last of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Guru on November 11, 1675 following in the footsteps of his father Guru Teg Bahadur. Before he died, he nominated the Guru Granth Sahib as the next perpetual Guru of the Sikhs. This Granth is more than a holy book for the Sikhs.

Guru Gobind Singh (also sometimes less accurately transliterated as 'Govind') was the last of 10 Sikh Gurus, the founders of the Sikh religion. Guru Gobind Singh played a monumental part in the development of the Sikh faith. The First Sikh Guru was Guru Nanak.

Guru Gobind Singh exemplified the teachings of Sikh principles during his lifetime. He not only taught the teachings, but he felt the pain of sacrifice in upholding those beliefs and teachings. Guru Gobind Singh lost his father, mother, and all four of his sons to a religious war, being waged by the Mughal emperor of the time, Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb demanded that all Sikhs either convert to Islam or be killed. It was in this fight for spiritual survival the Guru Gobind Singh felt the pain of loss.

Guru Gobind Singh also finalised many elements of Sikhism. He proclaimed himself the last living Guru and established the Guru Granth Sahib -- a compilation of the ten Gurus' writings -- as the eternal guru for the Sikhs. However, it was only spiritual authority that was bestowed upon the Guru Granth. Temporal authority was given to the Sikhs as a whole. Guru Gobind also established the Sikh baptism ceremony, the partaking of amrit.

The following is a summary of the main highlights of Guru Gobind Singh's life:

• Compilation of the 1428 page Dasam Granth Sahib.
• Author of various important Banis which Sikhs recite daily: Jaap Sahib, Chaupai, etc.
• Wrote autobiography Bichitra Natak
• Built various Gurdwaras - Kesh Garh Sahib etc.
• Developed Anandpur Sahib as a Sikh Centre of Excellence.
• Enhanced the structure of Sikh society by introducing various administration systems.
• Extreme personal sacrifice for society: Father martyred for protection of Kashmiri Hindus, all four sons sacrificed to the Mughal and Tribal Forces. He was assassinated.
• Sent Zafarnama to Aurangzeb.

Guru Nanak Dev | Guru Angad Dev | Guru Amar Das | Guru Ram Das | Guru Arjan Dev | Guru Har Gobind | Guru Har Rai | Guru Har Krishan | Guru Teg Bahadur | Guru Gobind Singh | (Followed by Guru Granth Sahib, Perpetual Guru of the Sikhs)

Guru Gobind Singh - Audio

• Sukhmani Sahib Mp3,Real Audio, Real Audio download

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Guru Gobind Singh", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki