Sikh gurus explained

The Sikh gurus (Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ; Hindi: सिख गुरु) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established the religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469.[1] The year 1469 marks the birth of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. He was succeeded by nine other human gurus until, in 1708, the Guruship was finally passed on by the tenth guru to the holy Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, which is now considered the living Guru by the followers of the Sikh faith.[2] The guruship was also passed onto the Guru Panth, consisting of the Khalsa, however this means of guruship went into decline following to rise of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.[3]

Etymology and definition

See main article: Guru.

Guru (; sa|गुरु, Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ, IAST: guru) is a Sanskrit term for a "teacher, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field.[4] Bhai Vir Singh, in his dictionary of Guru Granth Sahib describes the term Guru as a combination of two separate units: "Gu;(ਗੁ)" meaning darkness and "Rū;(ਰੂ)" which means light.[5] Hence, Guru is who brings light into darkness or in other words, the one who enlightens. Bhai Vir Singh's definition provides further insight about Sikhi itself and explains why Guru Granth Sahib is considered the living Guru. The word Sikh is derived from the Sanskrit term shishya[6] (Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ) which means a disciple or a student. Thus, Sikhs have a student–teacher relationship with their Gurus since their teachings, written in Guru Granth Sahib, serve as a guide for the Sikhs.

According to Sikh beliefs, all the Gurus contained the same light or soul and their physical body was a vessel for containing the same essence. When one Guru passed, the successor inherited this light and that is why the Gurus are also referred to as mahalla (house).[7]

The gurus

No.NamePortraitBirth dateGurushipBirthplaceClanFatherMotherDate of deathReason Place of death
1Guru Nanak14 April 1469 [8] Since birthNankana Sahib, Punjab, Delhi SultanateBedi KhatriKalyan Das BediMata TriptaNatural causes
2Guru Angad31 March 15047 September 1539Muktsar, Punjab, Mughal EmpireTrehan KhatriBaba Pheru MalMata RamoNatural causes
3Guru Amar Das5 May 147926 April 1552Amritsar, Punjab, Mughal EmpireBhalla KhatriTej Bhan BhallaMata LachmiNatural causes
4Guru Ram Das24 September 15341 September 1574Lahore, Punjab, Mughal EmpireSodhi KhatriBaba Har DasMata DayaNatural causes
5Guru Arjan15 April 15631 September 1581Goindval, Punjab, Mughal EmpireSodhi KhatriGuru Ram DasMata BhaniExecution by Mughal Emperor Jahangir
6Guru Hargobind19 June 159525 May 1606Amritsar, Lahore Subah, Mughal EmpireSodhi KhatriGuru ArjanMata GangaNatural causes
7Guru Har Rai16 January 16303 March 1644Kiratpur Sahib, Lahore Subah, Mughal EmpireSodhi KhatriBaba GurdittaMata Nihal KaurNatural causes
8Guru Har Krishan7 July 16567 October 1661Kiratpur Sahib, Lahore Subah, Mughal EmpireSodhi KhatriGuru Har RaiMata Krishan KaurSmallpox
9Guru Tegh Bahadur1 April 162120 March 1664Amritsar, Lahore Subah, Mughal EmpireSodhi KhatriGuru HargobindMata NanakiExecution by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb
10Guru Gobind Singh14 February 166611 November 1675Patna Sahib, Bihar Subah, Mughal EmpireSodhi KhatriGuru Tegh BahadurMata Gujri
11Guru Panth[9] [10] Vaisakhi, April 1699[11] Kesgarh Qila, Anandpur Sahib, Punjab[12] Casteless[13] [14] Guru Gobind Singh (spirtually)Mata Sahib Devan (spiritually)[15] Whilst prevalent in the 18th century, this manner of guruship went into decline following the rise of Ranjit Singh and is seldom evoked today, being overshadowed by the Guru Granth.
12Guru Granth Sahib29 August 1604
20 October 1708Amritsar, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire
The central holy scripture of Sikhism, regarded as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru.

Timeline

ImageSize = width:750 height:auto barincrement:50PlotArea = left:250 bottom:20 top:0 right:0Period = from:1469 till:2023TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalAlignbars = lateColors = id:1 value:orange id:2 value:blue id:3 value:blue id:4 value:darkblue id:5 value:purple id:6 value:yellow id:7 value:claret id:8 value:powderblue id:9 value:magenta id:10 value:blue id:11 value:green

ScaleMajor = increment:100 start:1469BarData= bar:Nanak text:"Guru Nanak Dev (1469–1539)" bar:Angad text:"Guru Angad Dev (1504–1552)" bar:Amar text:"Guru Amar Das (1479–1574)" bar:Ram text:"Guru Ram Das (1534 –1581)" bar:Arjan text:"Guru Arjan Dev (1563–1606)" bar:Hargobind text:"Guru Hargobind (1595–1644)" bar:Har text:"Guru Har Rai (1630–1661)" bar:HarK text:"Guru Har Krishan (1656–1664)" bar:Tegh text:"Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675)" bar:Gobind text:"Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708)" bar:Granth text:"Guru Granth Sahib (completed 1604)"

PlotData= bar:Nanak from:1469 till:1539 color:1 bar:Angad from:1504 till:1552 color:2 bar:Amar from:1479 till:1574 color:3 bar:Ram from:1534 till:1581 color:4 bar:Arjan from:1563 till:1606 color:5 bar:Hargobind from:1595 till:1644 color:6 bar:Har from:1630 till:1661 color:7 bar:HarK from:1656 till:1669 color:8 bar:Tegh from:1621 till:1675 color:9 bar:Gobind from:1666 till:1708 color:10 bar:Granth from:1604 till:end color:11

Pedigrees

[16]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Sen, Sailendra . A Textbook of Medieval Indian History . Primus Books . 2013 . 978-9-38060-734-4 . 186–187.
  2. Book: The Sikhs : faith, philosophy & folk . 1998 . registration . Lustre Press . 978-8174360373.
  3. Book: McLeod, W. H. . The A to Z of Sikhism . 24 July 2009 . Scarecrow Press . 9780810863446 . 84–86 . Guru Gobind Singh is traditionally believed to have announced that the personal transmission would end at his death, but that the mystical Guru would remain embodied in the scripture and the corporate Panth. ... GURU PANTH. The Guru Panth was a doctrine particularly suited to the circumstances of the 18th century, providing an effective means of decision making for Sikhs who were divided into several misls. When unification was achieved under Ranjit Singh the practice of eliciting corporate decisions from the Panth was discarded. The doctrine is still maintained today, and efforts are occasionally made to seek the Guru's will by this means. It is, however, seldom invoked. The voice of the Guru is much more commonly sought through the words of the Guru Granth..
  4. Stefan Pertz (2013), The Guru in Me - Critical Perspectives on Management, GRIN Verlag,, p. 2–3.
  5. Book: Singh . Veer . Sri Guru Granth Kosh . 1964 . 122.
  6. Book: World religions : from ancient history to the present . 978-0-87196-129-7 . Parrinder . Geoffrey . 30 August 1983 . Facts on File .
  7. Book: Sikh History from Persian Sources: Translations of Major Texts . 2001 . Tulika . Indian History Congress. Session . J. S. . Grewal. Irfan . Habib . 81-85229-17-1 . New Delhi . 5 . 47024480 . The author of the Dabistan refers to the belief of the Sikhs in the unity of Guruship. The spirit of Guru Nanak entered the bodies of his successors - Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das and Guru Arjan. That was why each Guru was referred to as mahal: Guru Nanak as the first mahal, Guru Angad as the second mahal, and in this way Guru Arjan as the fifth mahal. A Sikh who does not regard Guru Arjan as Baba Nanak is not a true Sikh. The firm belief of the Sikhs is that all the Gurus are Nanak. Indeed, Bhai Gurdas underscores the unity of Guruship from Guru Nanak to Guru Hargobind in one of his Vaars. This is reiterated in another Vaar in which the metaphors of light and water are used to emphasize that they all are the same.The idea of the unity of Guruship emphasized by Bhai Gurdas legitimized the succession of Guru Hargobind to face the rival claim of Prithi Chand and his descendants..
  8. Officially observed on Katak Puranmashi (October–November)
  9. Sikh Rehat Maryada: Section Six, Chapter XIII, Article XXIII, a.
  10. Book: Singh, Sikandar . Sikh heritage : ethos & relics . 2012 . Roopinder Singh, Paul Michael Taylor . 978-81-291-1983-4 . New Delhi . 21, 23 . 828612294 . The ten Gurus organised their disciples into sangats and infused their personality again into the Sikhs. This led to a remarkable development in the institution of 'Guru-ship', which eventually became the Guru Panth, thus bestowing divinity on the people. ... The Sikh assemblies also acquired great sanctity, owing to the belief that the spirit of the Guru lived and moved among them collectively, the whole body being called the panth. This panth follows the path shown by the way the Gurus lived their lives, as also the precepts laid down by them. In turn, it is regarded as an embodiment of the Guru—Guru Panth. In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru, himself received baptism from the five Sikhs he had first initiated. The panth, the assembly and the Guru became one. After his demise, there was no living Guru for the Sikhs. The Shabad, in the presence of the sangat, became the Guru, the guiding light and in presence of Akalpurakh, the Timeless Being. The panth thus was invested with the personality of the Guru, and the incorporated Word became Gyan Guru (knowledge). This panth, called the Khalsa, was to be the Guru in spirit, and was authorised to work with collective responsibility, with Guru Granth Sahib as its guiding spirit..
  11. Book: Tatla, Darsham Singh . The Sikh Diaspora: The Search For Statehood . 8 August 2005 . Routledge . 9781135367442 . 281.
  12. Book: Dowley, Tim . A Brief Introduction to Jainism and Sikhism . 1 June 2019 . Fortress Press . 9781506450391 . 102.
  13. Book: Singh, Nikky-Guninder Kaur . World Religions: Sikhism . Infobase Publishing . 2004 . 9781438117799 . O'Brien . Joanne . 87 . Palmer . Martin.
  14. Book: Dowley, Tim . A Short Introduction to World Religions . 1 July 2018 . Fortress Press . 9781506446028 . Partridge . Christopher . 308.
  15. Book: Singh, Nikky-Guninder Kaur . The Birth of the Khalsa: A Feminist Re-Memory of Sikh Identity . 1 February 2012 . State University of New York Press . 9780791482667 . illustrated . 37.
  16. Listed names and relations might vary from source to source since different aspects of Sikh history have been written by many different individuals over the course of past six centuries

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