Sikhism: The Ten Gurus of Sikhism
The Guru occupies a strategic relevance in the Sikh society, as the guidance of the Guru towards the attainment of Moksha -release - is absolutely essential. He is only a shade lighter rather than the supremacy of the Almighty. Here is a brief description of the ten gurus of Sikhism. Guru Nanak
Nanak Dev, founder of the Sikh religion was born in 1469, in Rai Bhoi di Talvandi (now Nankana Sahib), 65 kilometres from Lahore (now in Pakistan). He began intermingling with holy men of both Hindu and Islamic beliefs at a very early age. Thus, he was influenced by both religions in his formulation of Sikhism. For some time, Nanak worked as an accountant of Nawab Daulat Khan Lodhi, the Afghan chief at Sultanpur. There he started associating with Mardana, a Muslim family servant. Mardana was a rebec player. Nanak started composing hymns and Mardana gave them the soul of music and the two started community hymn singing. They organised a kitchen wherein both Hindus and Muslims ate together as if belonging to the same community. At Sultanpur he had his first vision of "The One God Whose Name Is True", in which he was ordered to preach to mankind. He went around preaching in different towns of Punjab and finally settled down with his family at Kartarpur (Abode of His Creator), a township on the banks of the river Ravi. Guru Angad
Guru Nanak Dev at the time of his death nominated Angad as the second Guru of the Sikhs. He remained the religious head for thirteen years from 1539 to 1552. On the advice of Nanak, Angad left Kartarpur and lit the Guru's lamp in Khadur. Angad spread the message of Guru Nanak. He started a regular system of collecting offerings to meet their expenses including that of ' Langar ' (distribution of food). He made copies of the Guru Nanak's hymns and distributed one to each centre. These scripts had no precise alphabets of their own. Angad took the 35 letters of the poems and hymns composed by Nanak, selected the appropriate letters from other scripts of northern India and invented the Gurumukhi (from the mouth of the Guru) script. Angad's compilations became the centrepoint of the sacred writings of the Sikhs. He was a keen admirer of physical fitness. He ordered his disciples to take part in drill and competitive games after the morning service. At the time of his demise, he nominated a seventy-three year old disciple, Amar Dass, to succeed him as the third Guru. Guru Amar Dass
Amar Dass was born in 1479 and belonged to the Bhalla sub-caste. A Khatri, he showed great enthusiasm in spreading the work of Nanak and Angad. He made ' Langar ' an integral institution of the Sikh church by insisting that anyone who wanted to meet him should first accept his hospitality by eating with all the disciples. He made more copies of the works of Nanak and Angad and added his own hymns and that of other Hindu Bhaktas whose teachings were in conformity with the Guru's words. He lived to the age of 95 and chose his son-in-law, Ram Dass to succeed him as the fourth Guru. Guru Ram Dass
Soon after his nomination as the fourth Guru, Ram Dass established a religious capital of the Sikhs known as Guru-ka-Chak or Chak-Ram-Dass . He encouraged tradesmen and merchants to set up business in the town and with revenues thus collected, spread his activities to different parts of the country. One of the most distinguished disciples of Ram Dass was Bhai (brother) Gurdas, who preached for some years in Agra. Like his predecessors, Ram Dass composed hymns, which were later incorporated into the Adi Granth , sacred book of the Sikhs. Guru Arjun Dev
Born in 1563, the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev, was made a Guru, by Guru Ramdas Ji in 1581. Guru Arjan was a saint and scholar of the highest order. He compiled the hymns and compositions of Guru Nanak, and his predecessors selected the sacred scriptures of some Hindu and Muslim saints, composed his own hymns and thus compiled the Adi Granth4. The achievements and the works of Guru Arjan upset the reigning Emperor, Jahangir who implicated him and tortured him. The Guru suffered quietly and bravely and set to the whole world an example of self-sacrifice and peaceful suffering. Despite being made to sit in boiling water, and on a red hot iron plate while burning sand was poured over his body, he chanted cheerfully and softly "Sweet is Thy Will, My Lord; Thy grace alone I Beseech". He breathed his last in 1606. Guru Hargobind Sahib
The sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind Sahib, was born in 1595. He became Guru in 1606. He built many religious shrines and was responsible for imparting the spirit of warriorship to the Sikhs. He urged them to be well versed in the art of using sword and other arms for self-defence and self-preservation. He himself wore two swords, Miri , representing political sovereignty and Piri, signifying spiritual sovereignty; a balance of material and spiritual life in the world. Guru Har Rai
The seventh Guru, Siri Har Rai, born in 1630, spent most of his life in devotional meditation and preaching the teachings of Guru Nanak. He also continued the imposing task of nation-building initiated by Guru Hargobind. Har Krishan The eighth Guru, Siri Har Krishan, was born in 1656. He got enlightenment in 1661. He personified service, purity and truth. The Guru gave his life while serving and healing the epidemic-stricken people in Delhi. Anyone who invokes Him with a pure heart has no difficulties whatsoever in life. Guru Tegh Bahadur The ninth Guru, Siri Guru Tegh Bahadur, was born in 1621 in Amritsar. He became Guru in 1664. He established the town of Anandpur. The Guru laid down his life for the protection of Tilak (devotional mark painted on the forehead) and their sacred thread of Hindus. He advocated the right to the freedom of worship. He gave up his life for the cause of down-trodden Hindus. Guru Gobind Singh The tenth Guru, Siri Guru Gobind Singh, was born in 1666 and became Guru after the martyrdom of his father Guru Tegh Bahadur. He created the Khalsa (The Pure Ones) in 1699, changing the Sikhs into a saint-soldier order with special symbols and sacraments for protecting themselves. He fought many wars against oppression. His four sons also gave their lives in defence of their faith. He died in 1708. Guru Gobind Singh, at the time of his death invested the 'Guru Granth Sahib' as the supreme head of the Sikhs, thus bringing the practice of nominating a religious head to a grinding halt. He proclaimed this in his 'Dasam Granth'. His military career could not attain any glorious heights. In fact, he lost all four of his sons in a clash with the Mughals. After his death Mughal governors constantly persecuted the Sikhs. The invasion of Persian and Afghan rulers brought them some relief as the Mughals thus had to defend their empires, and the Sikhs organised themselves under twelve different Misls or militias. Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) consolidated all the misl s (groups) and established a homeland of the Sikhs after numerous bloody battles. The Sikhs were often under attack by various invaders which they successfully repulsed and relinquished control of the Punjab only to the British after Ranjit Singh's death. | 
