Sikh gurus

The Sikh gurus were spiritual masters who established the Sikh religion. This process took place over approximately 250 years. It began with the birth of Guru Nanak in 1469.

The term guru comes from a Sanskrit word. It means a teacher, guide, or expert in a specific field. In his dictionary of the Guru Granth Sahib, Bhai Vir Singh describes the word using two units. The unit "Gu" means darkness. The unit "Rū" means light. Therefore, a guru is someone who brings light into darkness to enlighten others.

Followers of the faith maintain a student-teacher relationship with these masters. The word Sikh comes from the Sanskrit term shishya, meaning a disciple or student. Sikh beliefs hold that all the gurus contained the same light or soul. They viewed the physical body as a vessel for this shared essence. When one guru passed away, the successor inherited this light. Because of this connection, the gurus are sometimes called mahalla, which means house.

This concept explains how the spiritual authority continued through ten human leaders.

There were ten human gurus in a specific succession. The first was Guru Nanak, born in Nankana Sahib in 1469. He was the son of Kalyan Das Bedi and Mata Tripta.

The second guru was Guru Angad, who lived from 1504 to 1539. The third was Guru Amar Das, who served from 1479 to 1552. The fourth was Guru Ram Das, who lived from 1534 to 1574.

The fifth guru was Guru Arjan, who held the position from 1563 to 1581.

Some of these leaders faced significant challenges and deaths. Guru Arjan was executed by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir in Lahore.

The eighth guru, Guru Har Krishan, died of smallpox in Delhi in 1661. The ninth guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi.

The tenth human guru was Guru Gobind Singh. He was born in 1666 and died in 1708. He was assassinated in Hazur Sahib by Jamshed Khan and Wasil Beg. This assassination occurred on the orders of Wazir Khan.

Each guru established or resided in different historical locations. Guru Nanak founded Kartarpur in the 1520s. Guru Angad made Khadur his headquarters from 1539 to 1551. Guru Amar Das founded Goindwal, where he lived from 1551 to 1574. Guru Ram Das established Ramdaspur, which is now called Amritsar.

Guru Arjan also lived in Amritsar and founded settlements like Kartarpur and Tarn Taran. Guru Hargobind founded Kiratpur in 1634.

Guru Tegh Bahadur founded Anandpur in 1664.

In 1708, the nature of the guruship changed significantly. Guru Gobind Singh passed the guruship to the Guru Granth Sahib. This is the central holy scripture of Sikhism. It is regarded as the final, sovereign, and eternal Guru.

The tenth guru also passed the guruship to the Guru Panth. This group consists of the Khalsa, which Guru Gobind Singh established in 1699.

While the Guru Panth was prevalent in the 18th century, this form of guruship declined after the rise of Ranjit Singh.

Today, the Guru Granth Sahib overshadows other forms of guruship. It serves as the living guide for the followers of the Sikh faith. The history of these leaders is recorded in many ways. Different aspects of Sikh history have been written by many individuals over six centuries. These writings include details about the clans and families of the gurus. For example, many of the gurus belonged to the Sodhi Khatri clan. This complex history connects the spiritual teachings to the physical lives of the leaders.