This weekend we
are celebrating the birth of our third Guru, Guru Amar Das Ji. Guru Ji was born
May 23, 1479 in Basarke, Amritsar, to parents Sri Tej Bhan Ji and Mata Lachmi
Ji. Guru Ji worked as a shopkeeper, and married Mata Mansa Devi. Their children
were Bhai Mohan, Bhai Mohri, Bibi Dani, and Bibi Bhani (she went on to marry
Guru Ram Das Ji). In his younger days, before Bhai Amar Das Ji became Guru, he
was a devout Hindu. At the age of 61, one day he heard the hymns of Guru Nanak
Dev Ji being sung by his nice-in-law, Bibi Amro Ji (daughter of Guru Angad Dev
Ji). These touched him so much, he went to meet Guru Angad Dev Ji and become a
devout Sikh. He would carry water daily, wash Guru Ji’s clothes, and collect
wood for langar. At the age of 73 he was named successor to Guru Angad Dev Ji.
At the same time, Guru Angad Dev Ji’s son, Datu was jealous and called himself
Guru. He went and physically kicked Guru Amar Das Ji off his chair, shocking
the entire sangat. Guru Ji, however, said “‘I am old and my bones have grown
very hard, I fear they have hurt your tender foot’”(1). He left the city of
Goindwal, which he had established, and went to Basarke for meditation. He left
a sign on the front door saying that whoever opened it wasn’t a Sikh and that
he wasn’t their Guru. A group of Sikhs led by Baba Budda Ji cut a hole thorugh
the wall instead and asked Guru Ji to show them direction. Thus he went back to
Goindwal. He contributed 907 hymns to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, and composed
Anand Sahib. Guru Ji also introduced the Anand Karaj (“blissful union”; our
wedding ceremony) and the laavan were composed by Guru Ram Das Ji. Guru Ji
established “manjis” as a system manage the congregation. He also was a strong
advocate for equality and rights of women. He stood against female infanticide,
sati, and purdah (including refusing to meet Raja Haripur’s wife because she
refused to life the purdah), and said that widows should be allowed to remarry.
Guru ji selected the site for construction of Harmandir Sahib, and constructed
Baoli (a well of 84 steps) at Goindwal. He also continued to fight against
casteism. He convinced emperor Akbar to waive the tax he put on non-Muslims
crossing Yamuna and Ganga rivers.
Continuing on our
theme from the last few posts about taking care of this body, I will share this
small sakhi: “Once during several days of rain while Guru Amar Das was riding by a
wall which he saw was on the verge of falling he galloped his horse past the
wall. The Sikhs questioned him saying; ‘O Master, you have instructed us, 'fear
not death, for it comes to all' and 'the Guru and the God-man are beyond the
pale of birth and death', why did you then gallop past the collapsing wall?’
Guru Amar Das replied; ‘Our body is the embodiment of God's light. It is
through the human body that one can explore one's limitless spiritual
possibilities. Demi-gods envy the human form. One should not, therefore, play
with it recklessly. One must submit to the Will of God, when one's time is
over, but not crave death, nor invite it without a sufficient and noble cause.
It is self surrender for the good of man that one should seek, not physical
annihilation’” (1).
So let us
celebrate the Parkash Divas of Guru Amar Das Ji. The best way of us celebrating
is to learn from the teachings of Guru Ji and continue to incorporate those
into our life. We can stand up for equality and women’s rights. All of us have
the opportunity to do this in our daily lives. We can remember the true purpose
of the Anand Karaj (see my post on Anand Karaj for more information about the
real meaning of the Anand Karaj). We can let go of our pride and ego, and learn
from Guru Ji’s humility and dedication to sewa. We can take care of our bodies,
and connect our minds to God. We can remember that it’s never too late to
embark on a new path, because Guru Amar Das Ji even met Guru Angad Dev Ji at
age 61.
I also wanted to share this Sikh family tree which I found:
References (including pictures!)
Great story. Very interesting.
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