Sikh History: Know Who are the 10 Sikh Gurus?

History and Origin of Sikhism:

Sikhism has its own sacred place in Indian religions. The word 'Sikh' is derived from 'shishya', which means disciple of Guru Nanak i.e. one who follows his teachings. Guru Nanak Dev Ji is the first Guru and promoter of Sikhism. There were nine more Gurus in Sikhism after Nanak.

Establishment of Sikhism:

Sikhism was founded in the 15th century by Guru Nanak Dev Ji in the northwestern Punjab province of India. It is a religion based on one God and Gurudwaras. In Sikhism, the glory of Guru has been considered worshipable and visible. Guru Gobind Ji was the son of Tegh Bahadur Ji, the 9th Guru of the Sikhs, who was born in Patna Sahib, Bihar. He is considered the last Guru of Sikhism. He got the throne at the age of 9, he had sacrificed everything in his life for the country and religion.
Later, Guru Gobind Singh abolished the Guru system and accepted the Guru Granth Sahib as the only Guru. Do you know who founded this religion and who are the 10 gurus of this religion? If not, then let's know: -

Guru Nanak Dev:

• Nanak is the first Guru of the Sikhs. His followers address him by the names Nanak, Nanak Dev Ji, Baba Nanak and Nanakshah. In his personality, Nanak had the qualities of philosopher, yogi, householder, religious reformer, social reformer, poet, patriot and Vishwabandhu.
• He was born in a Khatrikul on Kartiki Purnima in a village named Talwandi situated on the banks of river Ravi. Talwandi is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan.
• Some scholars consider his date of birth as April 15, 1469. But the prevailing date is Kartik Purnima, which falls 15 days after Diwali in October-November.
• His father's name was Mehta Kaluchand Khatri and mother's name was Tripta Devi. Later on, the name of Talwandi was changed to Nanakana after the name of Nanak. His sister's name was Nanaki.
• He had composed the Adi Granth, and his memorial tomb is in Kartarpur.
• His Gurukal time was from 20 August 1507 to 22 September 1539.
• Before his death, he declared his disciple Bhai Lahna as his successor who later became known as Guru Angad Dev.

Guru Angad Dev:

• Angad Dev or Guru Angad Dev was the second Guru of the Sikhs. Guru Angad Dev Maharaj Ji was a creative personality. He had such a spiritual dynamic that first he became a true Sikh and then a great Guru. 31 March 1504
• Guru Angad Sahib Ji (Bhai Lahna Ji) was born on Vaisakh Vadi 1, (Pancham Vaisakh) Samvat 1561 (31 March 1504) in a village named Harike, which comes under Firozpur, Punjab
• Guruji was the son of Mr. Feruji, a businessman. His mother's name was Mata Ramo Devi. Baba Narayan Das Trehan was his grandfather, whose ancestral residence was at Matte-di-Sarai, which is near Mukhtsar. Feru ji later came to this place and started living.
• His gurukal was from 7 September 1539 to 29 March 1552.
• Guru Angad Dev Ji is called the father of Gurmukhi script.
• Guru Sahib gave him a new name Angad (Guru Angad Sahib). He spent 6 to 7 years in Kartarpur in the service of Guru Sahib.

Guru Amar Das:

• Guru Amar Das was the third of the ten Gurus of Sikhism. He was a great preacher of Sikhism. Who took forward the life philosophy of Guru Nanak Ji Maharaj and the religious ideology established by him.
• Guru Amar Das was born to mother Bakht Kaur (also known as Lakshmi or Roop Kaur) and father Tejbhan Bhalla on 15 May 1479 in the village of Basarke in what is now the Amritsar district of Punjab (India).
• Guru Amar Das composed the resplendent hymn named Anand and made it part of the Sikh wedding ritual called "Anand Karaj", which literally means "blissful event".
• Guru Amar Das selected the site for a special temple in the village of Amritsar, which was begun by Guru Ram Das, completed and inaugurated by Guru Arjan, and welcomed by the Sikh Emperor Ranjit Singh. This temple evolved into the contemporary "Harimandir Sahib" or the Temple of Hari (Lord), also known as the Golden Temple. It is the holiest pilgrimage site of Sikhism.
• His gurukal lasted from 26 March 1552 to 1 September 1574, in which he also established 22 seats for the spread of religion.

Guru Ram Das:

• Guru Ram Das was the fourth of the ten Gurus of Sikhism. He was born on 24 September 1534 in a family based in Lahore. His birth name was Jetha, and he was orphaned at the age of just 7; After this he started living with his maternal grandfather in a village.
• He married Bibi Bhani, the younger daughter of Amar Das. They had three sons, Prithvi Chand, Mahadev and Guru Arjan.
• In 1577, when foreign invaders were ravaging one city after another, Guru Ram Das Ji Maharaj, the 'Fourth Nanak', built the holy city of Ramsar. Which is now known as Amritsar.
• Guru Ram Das became the Guru of Sikhism in 1574 and served as the Sikh leader until his death in 1581.
• Of his three sons, Ram Das chose Arjan, the youngest, to become the fifth Sikh Guru. The choice of successor gave rise to controversy and internal division among the Sikhs.
• Ram Das composed 638 hymns, or about ten percent of the hymns in the Guru Granth Sahib. He was a noted poet, and also composed his works in the 30 ancient ragas of Indian classical music.

Guru Arjun Dev:

• Arjun Dev or Guru Arjun Dev was the 5th Guru of the Sikhs. Guru Arjun Dev Ji is the crown prince and peacemaker of the martyrs. Guru ji has got the highest position in the spiritual world. he is also called enlightened. Guru ji's speech is compiled in thirty ragas in Guru Granth Sahib. From the point of view of calculation, the maximum speech in Sri Guru Granth Sahib is of the fifth Guru.
• Arjun Dev Ji was the eldest son of Guru Ram Das. His mother's name was Bibi Bhani ji. He was born in Goindwal Sahib on 25 April 1563 and married in 1579 AD.
• He had completed the work of 'Shri Harmandir Sahib' or 'Golden Temple'.
• According to the Nanakshahi calendar released in 2003 by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, May or June is commemorated as the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan.
• Regarding the editing of the Granth Sahib, some anti-social elements complained to Emperor Akbar that the book was written against Islam, but later when Akbar came to know about the greatness of the speech, he issued 51 stamps through Bhai
• Gurdas and Baba Budha. Apologized by visiting. Jahangir got him murdered on June 9, 1606 by extreme torture in Lahore which is now in Pakistan.
• Guru Arjan was a prolific poet and composed 2,218 hymns, or more than a third of the Guru Granth Sahib and the largest collection of hymns. According to Christopher Shakley and Arvind-Pal Singh Mandir, Guru Arjan's works combined a spiritual message of "encyclopedic linguistic sophistication" with "Brajbhasha forms and learned Sanskrit vocabulary".

Guru Hargobind Singh:

• Guru Hargobind was born in 1595 at Wadali Guru, a village 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) west of Amritsar.
• Guru Hargobind, revered as Sixth Nanak, was the sixth of the ten Gurus of Sikhism. After the execution of his father, Guru Arjan, by the Mughal emperor Jahangir, he became a guru at the age of just eleven.
• Guru Hargobind Sahib's education initiation took place under the supervision of the great scholar Bhai Gurdas. Guru ji was equally blessed by Baba Buddaji.
• He symbolized this by wearing two swords, representing the dual concept of Miri and Piri (temporal power and spiritual authority).
• Opposite the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, Guru Hargobind built the Akal Takht (throne of timelessness). The Akal Takht today represents the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa (the collective body of the Sikhs).
• He followed the advice of his martyr father and always surrounded himself with armed Sikhs for protection. The number fifty was special in his life, and his retinue consisted of fifty-two armed men. He established the military tradition in Sikhism.
• Guru Hargovind had three wives, Damodarari, Nanaki and Mahadevi. He had children from all three wives. His two eldest sons by his first wife died during his lifetime. His son from Guru Nanak, Guru Tegh Bahadur became the ninth Sikh Guru.
• He had established 'Akal Takht'. And made the Sikh army stronger.
  Appointed leader of the provincial troops by Shah Jahan, Guru Hargobind was attacked, but won this battle as well. Guru Hargobind also fought the Kartarpur war.
• His gurukal was from 25 May 1606 to 28 February 1644.

Guru Har Rai:

• Guru Har Rai was the seventh Guru of the Sikhs. Guru Harrai ji was a great spiritual and nationalist great man and also a warrior. He was born on 16 January 1630 in Kiratpur Ropar. He guided the Sikhs for about seventeen years.
• Guru Har Rai provided medical care to Dara Shikoh, possibly when he was poisoned by Mughal operatives.
• Seeing his last time near, he established his youngest son Guru Harkishan ji as 'Ashtam Nanak'.
• Authentic literature about the life and times of Guru Har Rai is scarce, he left no texts of his own, and some later Sikh texts spell his name as "Hari Rai".
• He appointed his 5-year-old youngest son Har Krishna as the eighth Guru of the Sikhs before his death.
• He also added the Akhand Kirtan or continuous scripture singing tradition of Sikhism, as well as the tradition of Jotian da Kirtan or collective folk singing of the scriptures.

Guru Har Kishan:

• Guru Har Kishan was the eighth of the ten Sikh Gurus. At the age of 5, he became the youngest Guru in Sikhism on 7 October 1661.
• Guru Har Kishan Sahib Ji was born on 7 July 1656 at Kiratpur Sahib. He was the second son of Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji and Mata Kishan Kaur. Ram Rai Ji was the elder brother of Guru Harkishan Sahib Ji.
• His elder brother Ram Rai ji was expelled from the Sikh Panth because of his anti-Guru Ghar activities and standing in favor of the Mughal Sultanate.
• The residence where he stayed in Delhi has a historic Gurdwara Sri Bangla Sahib.
  Outbreak of diseases like Cholera and Chhoti Mata brought epidemics in Delhi.
• Mughal Raj was insensitive towards the public. Ignoring caste and high and low, Guru Sahib launched a campaign to serve all Indians. In which, while serving the people suffering from the epidemic day and night, Guru Sahib himself also suffered from high fever. Chhoti Mata's sudden outburst tied him to the bed for several days.
• When his condition became more serious, he called his mother to him and said that his end was near. When he was asked to name his successor, he only took the name of 'Baba Bakala'. The term was applied only to the future Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, who was living in the village of Bakala on the banks of the Beas River in Punjab.

Guru Tegh Bahadur:

• Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth of the ten Gurus of Sikhism. Those who followed the path shown by the first Guru Nanak.
• 116 verses composed by him are included in the Guru Granth Sahib.
• Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib and Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi mark the places of execution and cremation of the Guru's body. According to the Nanakshahi calendar issued by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak, the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur is commemorated every year on 24 November as Martyrdom Day.
• Guru Hargobind, the sixth Guru, had a daughter, Bibi Viro, and five sons, including Tyga Mal. Born on 1 April 1621 in Amritsar, he was known as Tegh Bahadur (Strength of the Sword), a name given to him by his father after he showed his valor in fighting against the Mughals.
• He opposed the forceful conversion of Kashmiri Pandits and other Hindus to Islam. Due to not accepting Islam, Mughal ruler Aurangzeb asked him to accept Islam in 1675, but Guru Sahib said that he can cut the sis, not the hair. Then he got Guruji's head cut off in front of everyone.
• He also did public charitable works like digging wells, building dharamshalas etc. for animal service and charity. In 1666, a son was born at Guruji's place in Patna Sahib, who became the tenth Guru - Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

Guru Gobind Singh:

• Guru Gobind Singh was born on 12 January 1666 in Patna to Guru Tegh Bahadur and Mata Gujri, the ninth Sikh Guru. When he was born, his father had gone to preach religion in Assam. His childhood name was Govind Rai. The house where he was born in Patna and where he spent his first four years, now houses the Takhat Sri Patna Sahib.
• In 1670, his family again came to Punjab. In March 1672, his family moved to a place called Chakk Nanaki, situated in the Shivalik hills of the Himalayas. This is where his education started. He learned Persian, Sanskrit and learned military skills to become a warrior. Chakk Nanaki is now called Anandpur Sahib.
• In 1684, he composed Chandi di Vaar. Till 1685 he stayed at a place called Paonta on the banks of river Yamuna.
• At the age of 10, he was married to Mata Jeeto in Basantgarh, 10 km from Anandpur. Both of them had 3 sons whose names were – Jujhar Singh, Zorawar Singh, Fateh Singh. On April 14, 1684, at the age of 17, his second marriage took place with Mata Sundari in Anandpur. They had a son named Ajit Singh.
• At the age of 33, he married Mata Sahib Devan on 15 April 1700 at Anandapur. He had no children, but had an influential role in Sikhism. Guru Gobind Singh declared her as the Mother of the Khalsa.
• Guru Gobind Singh started the Khalsa tradition of five Kesh: uncut hair, kangha: a wooden comb, kara: iron or steel bracelet worn on the wrist, kirpan: sword or dagger, kachera: small vines.
• Guru Gobind Singh is credited in the Sikh tradition with finalizing the Kartarpur Pothi (manuscript) - the Guru Granth Sahib - the primary scripture of Sikhism.
  He led fourteen battles with these objectives, but never became a prisoner or damaged anyone's place of worship.

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