Guru Amar Das

Amar Das was born to mother Bakht Kaur (also known as Sullakhani, Lakhmi Devi, or Rup Kaur[note 1]) and father Tej Bhan Bhalla on 5 May 1479 in Basarke village in what is now called Amritsar district of Punjab (India).[11] His grandfather was Hari Das.[11] His family belonged to the Bhalla gotra (clan) of the Khatri tribe. Amar Das was the eldest child out of four sons.[12] Amar Das worked as both an agriculturalist and a trader.[12]

In his early 20s, Amar Das married Mansa Devi and they had four children which they named Dani (daughter; born in 1530), Bhani (daughter; born 3 August 1533), Mohan (son; born 11 March 1536), and Mohri (son; born 2 June 1539).[note 2][1][11][12] Bhani was his favourite child of the four.[11]

Amar Das had followed the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism for much of his life.[4][13] He was reputed to have gone on some twenty annual pilgrimages into the Himalayas, to Haridwar on river Ganges.[12] About 1539, on one such Hindu pilgrimage, he met a Hindu monk (sadhu) who asked him why he did not have a guru (teacher, spiritual counselor) and Amar Das decided to get one.[1][12] On his return from his twentieth pilgrimage to the Ganges River, he heard Bibi Amro, the daughter of the Sikh Guru Angad, singing a hymn by Guru Nanak.[4][12] Amro had been acquainted with Amar Das through her in-laws, whom Amar Das was related to (Amro was married to the son of Amar Das' brother).[11][12] He learned from her about Guru Angad, and with her help met the second Guru of Sikhism and adopted him as his spiritual Guru who was much younger than his own age.[1][12]

Mural depicting Guru Angad and Guru Amar Das with attendants on a terrace from the Bhai Bahlo Darwaza of the Darbar of Ram Rai in Dehradun, circa 1676–1687

Amar Das is famous in the Sikh tradition for his relentless service to Guru Angad, with legends about waking up in the early hours and fetching water for his Guru's bath, cleaning and cooking for the volunteers with the Guru, as well devoting much time to meditation and prayers in the morning and evening.[1]

Due to his selfless devotion to the second guru, Angad nominated Amar Das as his spiritual successor on 29 March 1552.[11]

Fresco depiction of Guru Amar Das from Baoli Sahib, Goindwal

Guru Amar Das taught with his own life the meaning of Guru Service, also known in Punjabi religious parlance as Guru Sewa. (also spelt Seva). Amar Das emphasized both spiritual pursuits as well as an ethical daily life. He encouraged his followers to wake up before dawn, do their ablutions and then meditate in silent seclusion.[1] A good devotee, taught Amar Das, should be truthful, keep his mind in control, eat only when hungry, seek the company of pious men, worship the Lord, make an honest living, serve holy men, not covet another's wealth and never slander others. He recommended holy devotion with Guru's image in his follower's hearts.[1]

Amar Das was also a reformer, and discouraged veiling of women's faces (a Muslim custom) as well as sati (a Hindu custom).[1][15] He encouraged the Kshatriya people to fight in order to protect people and for the sake of justice, stating this is Dharma.[16] He promoted inter-caste marriages, going against the traditional Punjabi social orthodoxy at the time by doing-so.[17] He also promoted the remarriage of widows.[17] He promulgated monogamy as the ideal romantic relationship type.[17]

Guru Amar Das started the tradition of appointing manji (zones of religious administration with an appointed chief called sangatias, whom were both men and women),[5][4] introduced the dasvandh ("the tenth" of income) system of revenue collection in the name of Guru and as pooled community religious resource,[7] and the famed langar tradition of Sikhism where anyone, without discrimination of any kind, could get a free meal in a communal seating.[4][18] He also started and inaugurated the 84-level step well called baoli at Goindval with a resting place, modeled along the lines of the Indian tradition of dharmsala, which then became a Sikh pilgrimage (tirath) center.[4][10][18] Another organization analogous of the Manji was the Piri, which involved an appointed preaching official and missionary for Sikh assemblies and congregations whom were all women and instructed to spread Sikhism amongst womankind (especially women belonging to Muslim backgrounds).[19] According to W. Owen Cole, establishment of the manji and piri systems may have been motivated by the large amounts of new converts coming into the Sikh faith, especially in the Punjab.[19] However, many of these converts brought in beliefs and practices of their original faith, so the preachers were appointed to instruct them on proper Sikh orthodoxy and orthopraxy, essentially motivating them to choose the Sikh faith and all that comes with it, even if it involves discarding their old ways of spirituality in the process.[19] He appointed women to become the congregation leaders of the jurisdictions of Afghanistan and Kashmir.[20] The women appointed for leading the Piri system of disseminating Sikhism to women were Bhani (his younger daughter), Bibi Dani (his elder daughter), and Bibi Pal, all of whom were intellectual types.[21] The Piri system also educated womenfolk in social plus religious norms and customs.[21]

Amar Das personally patronized the education of his son-in-law Jetha (future Guru Ram Das) in North Indian classical music, and Bhai Gurdas, in various languages and religious literature.[12]

Guru Amar Das was a strong opponent of sati, the practice of widowed wives being immolated on the funeral pyre of their deceased husband during the latter's cremation.[20] He states the following regarding the practice:[20][22]

"Women are not Satis, who burn themselves with their husband's corpse.

Rather they are Satis who die by the mere shock of separation from their husband

And, they, too, ought to be considered as Satis, who abide in modesty and contentment,

Who wait upon their Lord and rising in the morn ever remember him."

— Guru Amar Das, Var Suhi of the Guru Granth Sahib (page 787), translation from Indian Feminism: Class, Gender & Identity in Medieval Ages (2016) by Rukhsana Iftikhar

He further states:[22]

"Women are burnt in the fire with their husbands

They undergo sufficient pain by their death.

And if they appreciated not their husbands

Nanak, why should they be burnt at all?"

— Guru Amar Das, translation from Indian Feminism: Class, Gender & Identity in Medieval Ages (2016) by Rukhsana Iftikhar

Purdah is a traditional custom of women obscuring their face and bodies when in the company of men and secluding themselves from the company of men. Guru Amar Das was vehemently against this custom and is said to have once reprimanded the visiting raja (king) of Haripur and his wives when the latter observed the custom around him.[21] One of the queens of the raja refused to part ways with veiling herself, in which the Guru responded: "if thou art not pleased with the Guru's face why halt thou come hither."[21]

19th century painting of Mughal emperor Akbar meeting Guru Amar Das in 1567 at Goindwal

Amar Das met the Mughal Emperor Akbar. According to the Sikh legend, he neither received Akbar nor was Akbar directly ushered to him, rather the Guru suggested that Akbar like everyone sit on the floor and eat in the langar with everyone before their first meeting. Akbar, who sought to encourage tolerance and acceptance across religious lines, readily accepted the suggestion.[23] After the conclusion of the Langar, Akbar sat in the congregation with the rest of the sangat and asked the Guru a question.[24] The Sikh hagiographies called janam-sakhis mention that Guru Amar Das persuaded Akbar to repeal the tax on Hindu pilgrims going to Haridwar.[25]

Amar Das composed the rapturous hymn called Anand and made it a part of the ritual of Sikh marriage called "Anand Karaj", which literally means "blissful event".[26][27]

Amar Das believed that a successful marriage was one in which the souls of the husband and wife became one metaphorically:[22]

"They are not husband and wife who sit together. Rather are they wife and husband who have one sprit in two bodies"

— Guru Amar Das, translation from Indian Feminism: Class, Gender & Identity in Medieval Ages (2016) by Rukhsana Iftikhar

The Anand hymn is sung, in contemporary times, not only during Sikh weddings but also at major celebrations. Parts of the "Anand hymn" are recited in Sikh temples (Gurdwara) every evening, at the naming of a Sikh baby, as well as during a Sikh funeral.[28] It is a section of the Anand Sahib composition of Guru Amar Das, printed on pages 917 to 922 of the Adi Granth and set to the "Ramkali" raga.[28][29]

Guru Amar Das's entire Anand Sahib composition is a linguistic mix of Panjabi and Hindi languages, reflecting Guru Amar Das' upbringing and background. The hymn celebrates the freedom from suffering and anxiety, the union of the soul with the divine, describing a devotee's bliss achieved through the Guru with inner devotion and by repeating the Name of the Creator.[29] The hymn states in stanza 19 that the Vedas teach "the Name is supreme", in stanza 27 that Smriti and Shastra discuss the good and the bad but are unreal because they lack a Guru and that it is the grace of the Guru which awakens the heart and the devotion to the Name. The hymn celebrates the life of a householder and constant inner devotion to the One, ending each stanza with the characteristic "says Nanak".[29][30]

Guru Amar Das is also credited in the Sikh tradition to have encouraged building of temples and places where Sikhs could gather together on festivals such as Maghi,[31] Diwali and Vaisakhi.[32][33] He required his disciples to gather together for prayers and communal celebrations in autumn for Diwali and in spring for Vaisakhi, both post harvest ancient festivals of India.[16][34][35]

Guru Amar Das was responsible for establishing a new centre of Sikh authority at Goindwal and erecting a stepwell known as Baoli Sahib at the location.[12] The foresight of the Guru building a headquarters at the central location of Goindwal in the Punjab on the bank of the Beas River, being intersected by the three major cultural regions of the area (Majha, Malwa, and Doaba), may have facilitated the fast-spread of Sikhism throughout the three main regions of Punjab.[12] The Baoli Sahib was the first truly Sikh pilgrimage site and it helped attract new prospective members to the faith.[12]

Guru Amar Das picked the site for Harimandir Sahib (Golden Temple).[36]

Guru Amar Das selected the site in Amritsar village for a special temple, that Guru Ram Das began building, Guru Arjan completed and inaugurated, and the Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh gilded. This temple has evolved into the contemporary "Harimandir Sahib", or the temple of Hari (God), also known as the Golden Temple.[37][36] It is the most sacred pilgrimage site in Sikhism.[38]

Scholars such as Pashaura Singh, Louis E. Fenech and William McLeod state that Guru Amar Das was influential in introducing "distinctive features, pilgrimages, festivals, temples and rituals" that ever since his time have been an integral part of Sikhism.[8] He was responsible for solidifying the dates of Vaisakhi and Diwali as biannual affairs where Sikhs could gather together and meet directly with their guru.[12]

Folios from the Pinjore recension of the Goindwal Pothi, circa 1570's

Amar Das is also remembered as the innovator who began the collection of hymns now known as Goindwal Pothi or Mohan Pothi, the precursor to what became the Adi Granth – the first edition of Sikh scripture – under the fifth Sikh Master, which finally emerged as the Guru Granth Sahib under the tenth Sikh Master.[8][39][12] The nearly 900 hymns composed by Guru Amar Das constitute the third largest part, or about 15%, of the Guru Granth Sahib.[9]

Gilded panel depicting Guru Amar Das with his sons, Baba Mohan and Baba Mohri, from Gurdwara Chaubara Sahib

Amar Das had four people in mind that would succeed him as the next Guru:[40]

1. Ramu, his son-in-law[note 3]
2. Jetha, his son-in-law[note 4]
3. Mohan, his elder son
4. Mohri, his younger son

He devised four tests for them all to undertake to decide who will inherit the guruship.[40] It is said that only Jetha passed them all.[40]

It has been postulated that he may have considered his own daughter, Bhani, as a possible successor for the guruship at some point.[41][42]