AND RISE OF SIKHISM, GURUS

Why in news? Recently, PrakashParva – The holy day commemorating the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh was celebrated. Sikh Gurus • The era of the ten gurus of Sikhism spans from the birth of Nanak Dev in 1469, through the life of Guru Gobind Singh. • At the time of Guru Gobind Singh’s death in 1708, he passed the title of Guru to the Sikh scripture, Guru Granth. 1. Dev - Guru from 1469 to 1539 • Guru Nanak Dev, first of the 10 gurus, founded the Sikh faith, introducing the concept of one God. • He started the institution of Guru KaLangar. Langar is the term in the Sikh religion refers to the common kitchen where food is served to everyone without any discrimination. • He emphasized the equality of women and rejected the path of renunciation and he rejected the authority of the Vedas. • He was the contemporary of Mughal emperor - Babur. 2. Guru AngadDev - Guru from 1539 to 1552 • Guru AngadDev, second of the 10 gurus, invented and introduced the Gurmukhi (written form of Punjabi) script. • He compiled the writings of Nanak Dev in in Gurmukhi Script. • Popularized and expanded the institution of Guru kaLangar which was started by Guru Nanak Dev. 3. Guru Amardas Sahib - Guru from 1552 to 1574 • Guru Amardas introduced the Anand Karaj marriage ceremony for the , replacing the Hindu form. • He established Manji&Piri system of religious missions for men and women respectively. • He strengthened the tradition of Guru KaLangar. • He also completely abolished amongst the Sikhs, the custom of Sati and purdah system. • He was the contemporary of Mughal emperor - Akbar. 4. - Guru from 1574 to 1581 • Guru Ram Das, fourth of the 10 gurus, founded the city of . • He started the construction of the famous Golden Temple at Amritsar, the holy city of the Sikhs. • He requested the Muslim Sufi, Mian Mir to lay the cornerstone of the Harmandir Sahib. 5. Guru ArjanDev - Guru from 1581 to 1606 • He compiled the AdiGranth, the scriptures of the Sikhs. • He completed construction of Sri Darbar Sahib also known as Golden Temple in Amritsar. • He founded the town of near Goindwal Sahib. • He became the first great martyr in Sikh history when Emperor Jahangir ordered his execution. Thus, he was hailed as Shaheedan-de-Sartaj (The crown of martyrs). 6. Guru HarGobind Sahib - Guru from 1606 to 1644 • He was the son of Guru ArjanDev and was known as a "soldier saint”. • He organised a small army and became the first Guru to take up arms to defend the faith. • He waged wars against Mughal rulers Jahangir and Shah Jahan. 7. Guru HarRai Sahib - Guru from 1644 to 1661 • Though he was a man of peace, he never disbanded the armed sikh warriors who were earlier maintained by Guru HarGobind. • He gave shelter to DaraShikoh, the eldest son of Mughal Ruler Shah Jahan, who was later persecuted by Aurangazeb. • He cautiously avoided conflict with Emperor Aurangzeb and devoted his efforts to missionary work. 8. Guru HarKrishan Sahib - Guru from 1661 to 1664 • Guru HarKrishan was the youngest of the Gurus. He was installed as Guru at the age of five. • He was contemporary of Aurangazeb and summoned to by him under framed charges of anti- Islamic blasphemy. 9. Guru TeghBahadur Sahib - Guru from 1665 to 1675

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• He established the town of Anandpur. • He opposed the forced conversion of the Hindu Kashmiri Pandits by Mughal ruler Aurangazeb and he was consequently persecuted for this. 10. Guru Gobind Singh Sahib - Guru from 1675 to 1708 • He became Guru after the martyrdom of his father Guru TeghBahadur. • He created the Khalsa in 1699, changing the Sikhs into a saint-soldier order for protecting themselves. • Last Sikh Guru in human form and he passed the Guruship of the Sikhs to the Guru Granth Sahib. 11. Guru Granth Sahib • Guru Granth Sahib (also known as the AdiGranth) is the scripture of the Sikhs. • The Granth was written in Gurmukhi script and it contains the actual words and verses as uttered by the Sikh Gurus. • It is considered the Supreme Spiritual Authority and Head of the Sikh religion, rather than any living person. NOTE: Teachings of Nanaka: Nanak had no intention of founding a new religion. He wanted to work only as a bridge between Hindus and Muslims. He laid emphasis on: 1. The one God, by repeating whose name and dwelling on it with love and devotion one could get salvation without distinction of caste, creed or sect. 2. The purity of character and conduct as the first condition of approaching God. 3. The need of a guru for guidance. 4. Denouncing idol-worship, pilgrimages and other formal observances of the various faiths. 5. Advocating a middle path in which spiritual life could be combined with the duties of the householder. NOTE: The Khalsa: Khalsa was established by the tenth and the last Guru of Sikhism cult, Guru Govind Singh (1675- 1708). By the establishment of Khalsa, Guru Govind Singh organized the Sikhs into a militancy sect. A Sikh is initiated into the religion by a rite known as the pahui (khandekapahul). The orthodox Sikhs are distinguished by the five-K’s viz., kesa, kachha, kara, kanga and kirpan. UPSC Exam Preparation: This Day in History – Sep 22 22 September 1539----Death of Guru Nanak

What happened? On 22 September 1539, Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism died aged 70 at Kartarpur in present-day . Biography • Guru Nanak was born on 15 April 1469 at Nankana Sahib, , Pakistan to a Hindu family. His father was a crop revenue accountant. Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary is celebrated as Guru Nanak Gurpurab by Sikhs all over the world. • Even though Guru Nanak worked as an accountant for a while, he was drawn towards spiritualism and showed a spiritual and intellectual side from a young age. According to Sikh traditions, there were events in his early life which distinguished him from others and confirmed that he was special. • He studied both and . • Guru Nanak introduced the concept of langar where everybody partakes of a meal as equals. This is a tradition continued by Sikhs till date in Gurudwaras. This practice symbolises charity and equality.

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• He travelled to many places like Mecca, Baghdad, Multan, etc. GURU NANAK’S TEACHINGS • There is only one god – a tenet that is stressed upon in the saying ‘IkOnkar’. This is the phrase used in Sikhism to refer to the one Supreme Being that controls the universe. • Guru Nanak was against caste-based distinctions. He also denied the need for priests and rituals. • He said that he was not an incarnation of god or even a prophet, but that everyone could ‘speak’ to god directly. The concept of god is ‘Vahiguru’, an entity that is shapeless, timeless, omnipresent and invisible. Other names for God in the Sikh faith are AkaalPurkh and Nirankar. • He laid great stress on purity of character and actions. • Sikhism also lays a lot of importance to charity and selfless service. • Many concepts of Hinduism are also seen in Sikhism such as the concept of Maya, Kali Yuga, Jivamukta (salvation), reincarnation and karma. • Many believe Sikhism to be a bridge between Hinduism and Islam. • Guru Nanak denounced idol worship and pilgrimages.

SIKH GURUS • After Guru Nanak’s death, the baton of the Guru passed on to . • There were 8 more Gurus in Sikhism. Guru Nanak Founder of Sikhism

Guru Angad Started the Gurmukhi script. Visited by Humayun.

Guru Amardas Institutionalised the faith. Picked the site for the Golden Temple, Amritsar.

Guru ArjanDev Compiled the AdiGranth (a.k.a Guru Granth Sahib). Executed by Jahangir.

Guru Hargobind Introduced the Akal Takht (seat of power).

Guru HarRai Supported DaraShikoh against Aurangzeb.

Guru HarKishan Was the Guru from age 5 till his death before reaching 8 years.

Guru TeghBahadur Was publicly beheaded by Aurangzeb for refusing to convert to Islam in 1675.

Guru Gobind Singh Established the Khalsa in 1699 and organised the Sikhs into a martial sect. Guru Granth Sahib • This is the central scripture of Sikhism and it is revered as the 11th Guru by Sikhs. • It was chiefly composed by Guru Nanak, Guru Angad, , Guru Ram Das, , and Guru TegBahadur. • Guru Nanak contributed 974 poetic hymns to the Guru Granth Sahib. • It also contains teachings of Bhakti saints like Kabir, Ramananda, Namdev and a Sufi saint Sheikh Farid. • The book is written in the Gurmukhi script in various languages like Lahnda (western Punjabi), Sanskrit, Sindhi, Persian, BrajBhasha and Khariboli. Also on this day 1687: Aurangzeb conquered and ended the Golcondan Sultanate or the Qutb-Shahi dynasty. 1908: Bulgaria declared independence from the Ottoman Empire. 1965: Ceasefire declared after the second Indo-Pakistan war. 1970: Death of renowned Bengali writer SharadinduBandyopadhyay. 1980: Iraq invaded Iran and a war followed that lasted almost 8 years. 1992: Indo-British Extradition Treaty was signed in London.

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PRACTICE QUESTIONS: 1. Who was the founder of Sikhism? A. Guru Govind Singh B. Guru Amardas C. Guru Arjun D. Guru Nanak Ans: D 2. Who among the following codify the composition of the Gurus into an authorized version i.e. AdiGranth? A. Guru Govind Singh B. Guru Amardas C. Guru Arjun D. Guru Nanak Ans: C 3. Which Gurus of Sikh transformed the pacifist Sikh sect into a martial community? A. Guru Govind Singh B. Guru Hargovind Singh C. Guru TeghBahadur D. Guru NanakAns: A 4. Who introduced rites of initiation into well-organised Sikh army known as the Khalsa? A. Guru HarRai B. Guru Hargovind Singh C. Guru TeghBahadur D. Guru Govind SinghAns: D 5. Who was the sixth Guru of Sikh? A. Guru HarRai B. Guru Hargovind Singh C. Guru TeghBahadur D. Guru Govind SinghAns: B 6. Who among the following Sikh Guru terminated the succession of Gurus? A. Guru HarRai B. Guru Hargovind Singh C. Guru TeghBahadur D. Guru GovindSinghAns: D 7. Who created the Khalsapanth, by giving amrit to sikhs? A. Guru HarRai B. Guru TeghBahadur C. Guru Arjun D. Guru Hargovind Singh Ans: B 8. Which Sikh Guru strengthened the tradition of 'Guru kaLangar' and made it compulsory for the visitor to the Guru to eat first, saying that 'PehlePangatPhirSangat' (first visit the Langar then go to the Guru)? A. Guru Ram Das B. Guru TeghBahadur C. Guru Amar Das D. Guru Arjun Ans: C 9. Who invented and introduced the Gurmukhi (written form of Punjabi) script and made it known to all Sikhs? A. Guru Ram Das B. Guru AngadDev C. Guru Amar Das D. Guru Govind Singh Ans: B 10. Who was the founder the city of Amritsar and started the construction of the famous Golden Temple at Amritsar, the holy city of the Sikhs? A. Guru Ram Das B. Guru AngadDev C. Guru Amar Das D. Guru Govind Singh Ans: A

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