Guru Arjan Dev Ji (15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606) was the fifth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism. He was born in
GoindvalGoindval is a place in Amritsar district in the states of Punjab in India about 23 km. from Tarn Taran. It became an important center for the Sikh religion, during the Guruship of the Guru Amar Das...
,
PunjabPunjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
,
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the youngest son of Guru Ram Das and Bibi Bhani, the daughter of Guru Amar Das. He became the Guru of the Sikhs on 1 September 1581 after the death of his father
Guru Ram DasGuru Ram Das was the fourth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and was given the title of Sikh Guru on 30 August 1574.-Early life:Ram Das was born in Lahore, Punjab on 24 September 1534[1] to a Sodhi family of the Khatri clan. His father was Hari Das and his mother Anup Devi. His wife was Bibi Bhani,...
. Guru Arjan died in
LahoreLahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
,
PunjabPunjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
, (now in
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
). Before his death, he passed the light of Guruship to his son
Har GobindGuru Hargobind Sahib, also Saccha Badshah was the sixth of the Sikh gurus and became Guru on 25 May 1606 following in the footsteps of his father Guru Arjan Dev. He was not, perhaps, more than eleven at his father's execution...
as the next Guru of the Sikhs.
Guru Arjan lived as the Guru of
SikhismSikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
for a quarter of a century and accomplished much during his service to humanity. Guru Arjan completed the construction of
AmritsarAmritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
and founded other cities such as
Taran TaranTaran Taran can refer to:* Tarn Taran, a place in Punjab, India* Taran Taran, Pakistan, a place in Punjab, Pakistan* Taran Svami the founder of Taran Panth...
and
KartarpurKartarpur , was established by Guru Nanak in 1522. When Guru Nanak died, Hindus and Muslims disagreed on how to perform his last rites. A samadh lies in the Gurudwara and a grave lies on the premises as a reminder of this discord...
. He constructed a Baoli at
LahoreLahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
. The most important work of Guru Arjan was the compilation of
Adi GranthAdi Granth is the early compilation of the Sikh Scriptures by Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Sikh Guru, in 1604. This Granth is the Holy Scripture of the Sikhs. The tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh added further holy Shabads to this Granth during the period 1704 to 1706...
. He collected all the work of the first four Gurus and dictated it in the form of verses in 1604. It is, perhaps, the only script which still exists in the form first published (a hand-written manuscript) by the Guru. The integrity of the original writings within the Adi Granth is especially noted.
Guru Arjan organised the Masand system, a group of representatives who taught and spread the teachings of the Gurus and also received the Dasvand, partial offering of a Sikh's income (in money, goods or service) that Sikhs paid to support the building of Gurdwara Sahib, the Guru ka Langars (shared communal kitchens) originally intended to share with sense of love, respect and equality, still an important element today in any Gurdwara. The Langars were open to any visitors and were designed from the start to stress the idea of equality and a casteless society. The land that Amritsar is built upon is believed to be a jagir (estates gifted to individuals under the Mughal system which included one or more villages and often a portion of the crops produced on the land) given as a gift by the Emperor Akbar, who was impressed by the practice, after sharing a meal in the Guru's communal kitchen, seated on the floor among commoners.
Life
Guru Arjan ji, like all the Sikh Gurus, clearly embodies the the light of Guru Nanak ji through teachings and acts. Guru Arjan clearly knew how the importance of Guru Nanak's messgae is for every state of life and to every condition of society. Continuing the efforts of Guru Ram Das, Guru Arjan established Amritsar as a primary site for all Sikhs, and people on earth, as a center for great spiritual experience. The city became populous and a great place of pilgrimage for Sikhs.
Compiling the Adi Granth, Guru Arjan gave Sikhs an example of religious and moral conduct, as well as a rich body of sacred poetry of high spiritual esteem. His starting of collection of offerings by way of Masand system, in a systematic way, accustomed them to a regular government. He traded in horses, though not extensively, and encouraged his followers to follow his example, to be as zealous in trade as they were in their faith. Guru Arjan ji became famous among his pious devotees and his biographers dwell on the number of Saints and Holy men who were edified by his instructions. He was equally headed by men in high positions. During his time, the teaching and philosophy of Nanak took a firm hold on the minds of his followers.
The economic well-being of the country is closely linked with the monsoon. With a view to alleviating the sufferings of the peasents, Guru Arjan ji helped the villagers in digging six-channel Persian wheel (Chhehrta) wells, which irrigated their fields. Chheharta is a living monument of his efforts in this direction.
Guru Arjan was caring and loving, he was also willing to give to the poor.
Compositions
Beside compiling the works of the previous Gurus and other works by both Hindu and Muslim Sants, Guru Arjan composed many hymns of his also which he included in the Adi Granth. He appointed
Baba Budha JiBaba Buddha Ji is recognized as one of the great Sikhs of the Guru period. He had the privilege of being blessed by the first six Gurus. He led an ideal Sikh life for more than a hundred years. He was one of closest companions of the guru Nanak and is one of the most revered and sacred saints...
, who was a companion of Guru Nanak, and an associate of each of the subsequent Guru as the chief priest of the
Golden TempleThe Harmandir Sahib also Darbar Sahib , also referred to as the Golden Temple, is a prominent Sikh gurdwara located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab . Construction of the gurdwara was begun by Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh Guru, and completed by his successor, Guru Arjan Dev...
. He placed the Adi Granth on the Gaddi (throne) reserved for him, preferring to sit among his disciples.
As a composer and writer, Guru Arjan is prolific. He composed 2,218 devotional hymns in thirty major ragas of the time.
Translated below is the Sukhmani, one the most recited banis (sacred hymns) revered by the by Sikhs. It was composed by Guru Arjan.
- Meditate, meditate, meditate peace is obtained, Worry and anguish is expelled from the body.
- Remembering God, you’re not reborn. Remembering God, the fear of death is dispelled.
- Remembering God, death is eliminated. Remembering God, your enemies are repelled.
- Remembering God, no obstacles are met. Remembering God, night and day you’re fully awake.
- Remembering God, fear cannot touch you. Remembering God, you don’t suffer with sorrow.
- Remembrance of God, in the Company of Saints. All treasures, O Nanak, are by Lord’s Blessing. ||2||
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- Guru Granth Sahib
Sri Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Granth, is the religious text of Sikhism. It is the final and eternal guru of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 angs, compiled and composed during the period of Sikh gurus, from 1469 to 1708...
ang 262)
Martyrdom
Jahangir’s memoirs state that Arjan was handed over to Murtaza Khan in Lahore, so that the official could execute him. Jahangir did so because of Arjan’s support for Khusrau, and does not describe ordering any torture of the Guru. This suggests none was ordered, since Jahangir earlier describes the torture and execution of two other rebels in detail. Nor does it fit with Jahangir’s general policy of religious tolerance, with one contemporary English observer remarking that “here every man has liberty to profess his own religion freely”, and which saw state funding of other religions and numerous non-Muslims favoured by Jahangir.
Set against this was Jahangir’s stated desire to convert Arjan to Islam, though given that he later warned other Muslims about trying to force Islam on people, probably thought in terms of the Guru converting voluntarily. Jahangir was angered by the number of Muslims who converted to Sikhism. Professor J. F. Richard’s view that Jahangir was “persistently hostile to popularly venerated religious figures” is instructive, though it appears that Jahangir only took action against religious figures he saw as threats to the state. This included the Naqshbandi Muslim Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi, who Jahangir viewed as an extremist (and who was a noted enemy of Guru Arjan), and so had him imprisoned in Gwalior fort. Nor was Jahangir likely to be personally familiar with the Adi Granth, since he labelled the Guru as a Hindu.
If Jahangir’s memoir was the only contemporary source, the picture would still be relatively clear. We would know why Guru Arjan died and who ordered his death, if not the exact manner of it. However, other contemporary and near-contemporary sources, especially the Sikh accounts, do not support Jahangir’s version of events. Professor J.S. Grewal notes that Sikh sources from the seventeenth and eighteenth century contain contradictory reports of Guru Arjan’s death. Guru Gobind Singh’s memoir, the Bichitra Natak, mentions Guru Arjan only once, to record that “when Arjan departed this life for the divine abode, [the Guru] assumed the form of Hargobind.”
In contrast he and other Sikh sources extensively discussed Guru Tegh Bahadur's martyrdom. Bhai Gurdas, a contemporary of Arjan and noted Sikh chronicler, recorded his death, but whether or not his account shows the Guru was tortured rests on the translation of ‘bhir’ (and whether it is translated as ‘distress/hardship’ or ‘torture’). In the 1740s, Chaupa Singh, who was close to Guru Gobind Singh, placed the blame on Chandu Shah, a Hindu official in Lahore, who Chaupa Singh accused of having the Guru arrested and executed after he turned down Chandu Shah’s offer of marriage between Chandu’s daughter and Hargobind.
A contemporary Jesuit account, written in 1606 by Father Jerome Xavier, who was in Lahore at the time, adds weight to aspects to all these accounts. Xavier records that the Sikhs managed to get Jahangir to commute the death sentence to a heavy fine, for which a rich individual, possibly a Sikh, stood as guarantor. When the Guru failed to produce the money for the guarantor, the latter tortured Arjan in the hopes of extracting the money, but the Guru refused to give in and so died. Jahangir burnt him alive and then threw his ashes into the sea. The other near-contemporary non-Sikh source, a 1640s chronicle probably written by a Parsi, supports this view.
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