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Sri Guru Ram Das ji are known to be
the Chauthi Patshahi or the Fourth Guru
as well as Guru who established the
city of Amritsar. Sri Guru Ramdas ji
kept alive the tradition of first three
Gurus.
Guru Ramdas was born in Lahore into
a Sodhi Khatri family residing in Mohalla
Chuna Mandi. By all accounts, the date
of his birth was the second day of the
dark half of the month Karthik in the
Bikrami Samvat (1591 (24 September 1534).
His parents Har Das and Daya Vati were
known for their honest and pious living.
Ram Das was popularly addressed as Jetha,
being the first-born of his parents
(Sanskrit word Jayeshth means the first).
In the words of Macauliffe, "He
was of fair complexion, handsome figure,
pleasing and smiling face and not disposed
to weep or cry in the manner of ordinary
children". From the beginning his
outlook was other wordly, and he felt
the happiest when he happened to be
in the company of holy people.
The village Basarke (now in the district
of Amritsar) which was the native place
of the third Guru Guru Amardas was also
the place to which Jetha's mother Daya
Vati belonged. Like other children he
too had immense fascination for his
Nanake (the house of his maternal grandparents)
and was a frequent visitor to it. During
his stay at Basarke, it was his usual
practice to go round the countryside
hawking boiled grains. With his charming
looks and winsome manners he soon won
admiration from the men and women of
Basarke and the villages nearby. Guru
Amardas felt so much impressed with
him that he decided to marry his second
daughter bibi Bhani, to him.
A very interesting story is narrated
by almost all writers, old and new.
One day the Guru's wife seeing Bibi
Bhani playing about remarked to her
husband that as Bhani as grown up, they
ought to search for a husband for her.
The Guru agreed and ordered the search
for a husband for her. Bibi Bhani's
mother saw a boy outside her door hawking
some articles of food. On carefully
observing him, she said "Search
a youth like him". Hearing this
Guru exclaimed "He is his own parallel,
for God has made none other like unto
him". Saying this Guru called the
youth and enquired from his about his
whereabouts. After that he sent him
with marriage presents to his father
Har Das in Lahore and had the betrothal
ceremony performed (1545).
Bibi Bhani served Jetha not merely
as her dear husband but also as a rare
saint. The couple lived happily and
in due course three sons were born to
them. In order of seniority the were
Prithi Chand (1547 A.D), Mahadev (1551)
and Arjan Dev (1553). No precise information
is available as to the exact time when
Bhai Jetha assumed his permanent residence
along with his family at Goindwal, but
the probability cannot be dismissed
that it was done soon after Guru Amar
Das having been selected as the third
Guru had set up his headquarters at
that place. Goindwal had been founded
several years back in the time of Guru
Angad Dev, and soon after its foundation
Amar Das with the whole of his family
had shifted his residence here from
his native place Basarke. After that
whenever Jetha and Bhani felt like meeting
them, they naturally had to come to
Goindwal.
Punjab was attacked by Mirza Hakim,
the ruler of Kabul, in 1565 in a bid
to dislodge his half-brother Mughal
Emperor Akbar from power. To meet the
challenge Akbar Left Agra for Punjab
in November 1565 and reached Lahore
in February 1566. Mirza Hakim lost heart
and beat a hurried retreat to Kabul.
Akbar decided not to pursue him and
stayed on at Lahore for more than a
Year. He left for Agra in March 1567.
When the Emperor was encamped at Lahore,
a small representative of hostile Brahmins
and Khatris proceeded to Lahore and
lodged a serious complaint against Guru
Amar Das The substance of the complaint
as follows: "Thy majesty is the
protector of our customs and the redresser
of our wrongs. Every man's religion
is dear to him. Guru Amar Das of Goindwal
hath abandoned the religious and social
customs of the Hindus, and abolished
the distinction of the four castes.
Such heterodoxy hath never been heard
of in the four ages. There is now no
twilight prayer, no gayatri, no offering
of water to ancestors, no pilgrimages,
no obseques, and no worship of idols
or of the divine salagram. The Guru
hath abandoned all these, and established
the repetition of Wahguru instead of
Ram; and no one now acteth according
to the Vedas or the Smritis. The Guru
reverenceth not jogis, jatis, or Brahmans.
He worshippeth no gods or goddesses,
and he orderth his sikhs from refrain
from doing so for ever more. He seateth
all his followers in a line and causeth
them to eat together from his kitchen,
irrespective of caste - whether they
are jats, strolling minstrels, Muhammadans,
Brahmans, Khatris, shopkeepers, sweepers,
barbers, washermen, fishermen or carpenters.
We pray thee restrain him now, else
it will be difficult hereafter. May
thy religion and empire increase and
extend over the world!" On receiving
the complaint, the Emperor sent a special
messenger to Goindwal asking Guru Amardas
to see him. The Guru did nor agree to
go personally on account of his old
age but commissioned Bhai Jetha to wait
upon the Emperor and to answer the allegations
made against him at the court. Before
Jetha set out for Lahore, the Guru is
said to have spoken to him thus: "Thou
art in mine image; Guru Nanak will be
with thee, and none shall prevail against
thee. The Khatris and Brahmans who have
complained are ignorent and false. Answer
truly all the questions put to thee.
Be not abashed and fear nobody. If any
difficul questions be put and thou art
at a loss for an answer, then think
of the Guru, and thou shalt be able
to give a suitable reply. Vindicate
before the court the true teaching of
Guru Nanak. Falsehood cannot contend
with truth".
Jetha appearing at the Mughal court
answered all the charges contained in
the complaint to the entire satisfaction
of the Emperor. Greatly pleased with
the skill and confidence with which
he had trounced the adversaries, the
Emperor dismissed the complaint outright
and requested the Jetha to convey his
deep respects to the Guru.
Jetha was a paragon of love, devotion,
service and resignation. He looked upon
Guru Amar Das not merely as his father-in-law
but also as his most revered beau ideal
i.e. The Guru. He served him in a spirit
of complete self-surrender. He along
with his wife Bibi Bhani used to shampoo
him, draw water, cook, serve meals from
the kitchen and then wash the dishes.
The more he served the Guru the more
his love for him and for all mankind
increased. Gruadually his disposition
became divine just as they say iron
is turned into gold by the contact of
the philosopher's stone. Later on, when
the construction of the Baoli (a well
with stairs) was undertaken, Ram Dass
became conspicuous for his tireless
and unremitting labour. He carried baskets
of earth on his head like everybody
else and paid no heed to the banter
or reproaches of his companions of his
kith and kin. Once when his relatives
were returning from a pilgrimage to
the river Ganga, they halted briefly
at Goindwal on their way to Lahore.
When they saw Jetha working like a common
labourer, they were furious and said
to him. "Thou hast shamed the family
by performing menial service like Shudra
in thy father-in-law's house. Couldn't
thou not obtain suitable maintenance
to draw water, scrub daity vessels,
and shampoo the Guru". Jetha was
much displeased at this language and
replied, "In your estimation the
Guru is my father-in-law but in mine
he is God in person." On hearing
this they went to the Guru and complained
to him about what he had made of his
son-in-law. To this Guru's reply was
: "I had not made him carry filth
on his head, but I have put filth on
the heads of his slanderers, and I have
caused the umbrella of true sovereignty
to wave over him. If he had not been
born in your family, you would all have
been damned. It is he who hath saved
the whole of your tribe."
The final and supreme test of Jetha's
spirit of service and sacrifice when
Guru Amar Das wanted to select his successor
just like the first two Gurus (and all
the Sikh Gurus starting from the Guru
Nanak Dev). The Guru asked both of his
sons-in-law, Rama and Jetha to make
him two platforms beside the Baoli at
Goindwal. He held out the promise without
telling them about the Guruship that
he who did the better work in his eyes
should receive the greater honour. When
they completed their platforms, the
Guru went to inspect them. Both the
platforms were declared to be defective
and they were asked to throw them down
and rebuild them. In obedience to his
command, new platforms were erected.
These were also disapproved and ordered
to be dismantled. On this Rama the elder
son-in-law refused to build it a third
time. He demurred, "The Guru hath
grown old and his reason faileth him".
Jetha's work was subjected to the same
rigorous standard. He continued to build
platforms which were then dismantled
each time pronouncing it faulty by the
Guru. This process was repeated seven
times. Ultimately, Jetha clasped the
Guru's feet and humbly addressed him
:" I am a fool; pray have regard
for thy duty (bird) to me as thy son.
I am erring and of mean understanding,
while thou possessest all knowledge."
On hearing this Guru smiled and embraced
him affectionately saying, "Jetha
is a perfect being who hath become incarnate
and the world following him shall be
saved" The Sikhs were astonished
on witnessing Jetha's marvellous devotion
and obedience, and henceforth began
to recognize him as the image of the
Guru.
In 1574 A.D. Bhai Jetha succeeded Guru
Amar Das as the fourth Sikh Guru under
the name Ram Das. His pontification
lasted up to 1581. Like his father-in-law
he too had to deal with the hostile
and perverse attitudes of Brahmans,
Tapas and Jogis. Both Mehma Prakash
and Suraj Prakash are replete with descriptions
of such categories of people coming
and holding long discussions with him
on such subjects as observance of caste
discipline, performance of rites and
ceremonies, pilgrimage, reading of old
religious texts, etc. One illustration
will suffice to make it clear. Once
a company of Jogis called upon him and
questioned him as to why the atached
no importance to the practice of Yog
(celibacy) among his Sikhs. The Guru's
reply to this was that a man may wear
a Yogi's garb and keep chanting god's
name and test himself to various tests,but
without devotion in his heart God will
not enter it". (Asa measure in
Guru Granth, O Yogi).
Guru Amar Das had devoted much of his
time to the problems of definition and
organization confronting the young emerging
Sikh panth (called nirmal panth by sarup
das bhalla). Lest the Brahmanical influence
should reassert themselves over his
followers, he had all along endeavoured
to make the Sikh position in the matter
of religious beliefs and practices as
well as in social behaviour as definetive
as possible. Simaltaneous he had made
efforts to improve the organizational
setup of the Sikh Society. The introduction
of the annual Baisakhi day, the construction
of the Baoli, and the distinction drawn
between sachi (authentic) and kachi
(unauthentic) Bani (sacred compositions)
were a few of the measures taken by
the Guru in this connection. Guru Ram
Das went ahead with the work thus begun
by his master. Through his words as
well as deeds he underscored the essential
features of the Sikh teachings and repeatedly
warned his followers against the pitfalls
involved in the Brahman's emphasis on
pilgrimage, ritualism or formal reading
of Vedas and Shastars. He also left
no opportunity to caution them against
the futile practices of the Udasis,
Yogis, Naths, Tapas and Sidhs (all ascetis
of one kind or another. A good number
of these ascetics fell under his spell
and adopted his creed.
Before he was appointed as Fourth Guru,
just after completing the Boali at Goindwal,
third Guru Guru Amardas ji had sent
him to a magical place in the vicinity
of the villages of Sultanwind, Tung,
Gumtala and Gilwali, all at the pargana
of Jhabal in the Taaluqa of Patti, which
formed a part of the Suba of Lahore
ruled by the Mughals. Guru Amardas ji
wanted him to establish and create another
Sikh center apart from Goindwal. Guru
Ramdas was so immpressed with this place
that he started visiting it every Sagrand
(The first day of the Punjabi month)
and Amavasaya (the dark moonless night
of the month). Bhai Jetha purchased
this area with wild shrubs(Ber trees)
and jungles on the payments of Rs 700
to the Zamindar of village Tung., later
villagers of Sultanwind presented more
land to Guru out of regard and reverence
for the Guru. Earlier, Emperor Akbar
also had gifted a tract of land in the
vicinity to the daughter of Guru Amardas
ji Bibi Bhani, Guru RamDas's wife. After
obtaining land for the purpose of creating
the Sikh center, he was told by Guru
Amardas ji to excavated a tank (now
called Santokhsar at Baba Atal) that
he did, as well as created a small house
for himself. Thus he founded the town
of Ramdaspur (later Amritsar) which
continues to be the centre of Sikhism
till today. Just then Guru Amardas ji
were nearing his end and thus Amritsar
project had to be put on hold for some
time. Guru Ramdas ji decided to start
it again in 1577 and thus year 1577
has gone down in the history as the
foundation year of the Amritsar. Guru
Amardas ji had again told him to excavate
another tank about 1 km down from the
old one. This is the current Sarovar
of the Golden Temple. He dug a tank
which became the principal place of
pilgrimage. Traders and artisans were
invited to settle at the town so that
its growth could be rapid. In due course
it became the largest commercial centre
in northern India. Phrase came to be
associated with the tank dug at Amritsar
which was "Ramdas Sarovar Nahate,
Sab uttre paap kamate", "I
bath in the tank of Ramdas and all my
sins were washed away" . It was
a landmark in the life of the community,
because the Guru established a central
place that was quite distinct from that
of the Hindus and the Muslims. Since
then Amritsar is for the Sikhs what
Mecca is for the Muslims. All this indicates
that the Guru had a distinct sense of
his mission and did everything to establish
it as a separate religious system and
entity.
Guru Ramdas was not merely a constructive
genius who planned and founded a new
city and instituted an original missionary
order but also a poet of great sensitivity
and tremendous effect. He composed 679
hymns in varying musical measures, which
were incorporated into Adi Granth by
his son and successor, Guru Arjan Dev.
His whole life was embodiment of love,
devotion, dedication and service. All
these noble sentiments are abundantly
reflected in his writings. His straight
and simple message went straight to
the heart and evoked the most sensitive
chords of one's consciousness. There
was only a modocum of metaphysics in
his compositions and almost the entire
emphasis was laid on life of self-less
service rendered in a spirit of total
devotion to the Guru and God. For example:
O my beloved, I live by meditating
on thy name; Without the name I could
not live, O my satguru, implant it in
me. The Name is a priceless jewel; the
perfect satguru possesseth it. By applying
myself to the service of the Satguru,
he bringeth forth and displayeth the
jewel of the Name. Blest are the very
fortunate who come to the Guru and meet
him. (Adi Granth, Sri Rag).
The momentous career of the Guru came
to its end on September 1, 1581 (Bhadon
Sudi 3, 1638 BK) after a pontification
of 6 years, 11 months and 18 das. He
was succeeded by his youngest son, Arjan
Dev. The eldest son Prithia created
many obstacles and tried his level best
to influence the decision in his own
favour, but the Guru was as firm in
regard to the issue of succession as
he had been all through his life in
dealing with the detractors of Sikhism.
Copyright © Fauja
Singh "The city of Amritsar "
Copyright © Harbans Singh "The
encyclopedia of Sikhism. "
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