One who considers himself ...
One who considers himself to be
A disciple of the True Guru,
Should rise before the coming of the light
And contemplate the Name.

During the early hours of the morning
He should rise and bathe,
Cleansing his soul in a tank of Nectar Pure,
While he repeats the Name.

By this procedure he truly washes away
The sins of his soul.
Then with the arrival of dawn he should sing
The hymns of praise.
He should hold the Name in his heart
All through the busy hours of the day.

The one who repeats the Name with his every breath
Is a most dear disciple.
The disciple who has received the gift of the Lord's Name,
Truly wins the favor of the Lord.

I seek to kiss the very dust
Under the feet of such a one,
Who recites the Name
And inspires others to do so ...

GUR SAT GUR KA JO
SIKH AKAYAY,
SO BALAKAY OOTH ...
HAR NAM DIAYAY!
One who considers himself
To be a disciple of the True Guru,
Should rise and shine ...
Give God your glory, glory!

Dhan Dhan Ram Das Guru,
Jin Siria Tinay Savaria

Guru Ram Das

Guru* Ram Das is known as the Chauthi Patshahi or the Fourth Guru. Born in Lahore into a Sodhi Khatri family residing in Mohalla Chuna Mandi, by all accounts, the date of his birth was the second day of the dark half of the month Karthik, September 24, 1534.

His parents, Hari Das and Daya Vati, were known for their honest and pious living. Ram Das was popularly addressed as Jetha, being the first-born of his parents.

In the words of Macauliffe, "He was of fair complexion, a handsome figure, pleasing and smiling face and not disposed to weep or cry in the manner of ordinary children."

From the beginning his outlook was other worldly, and he felt the happiest when he happened to be in the company of holy people.

The village Basarke, now in the district of Amar Das, which was the native place of the third Guru, Guru Amar Das, was also the place to which Jetha's mother Daya Vati belonged.

Like other children he too had immense fascination for his Nanake, the house of his maternal grandparents, and was a frequent visitor to it. During his stay at Basarke, it was his usual practice to go round the countryside hawking boiled grains. With his charming looks and winsome manners he soon won admiration from the men and women of Basarke and the villages nearby. Guru Amar Das felt so much impressed with him that he decided to marry his second daughter, Bibi Bhani, to him.

Almost all writers, old and new, narrate this interesting story. One day, the Guru's wife, seeing Bibi Bhani playing about, remarked to her husband that as Bhani has grown up, they ought to search for a husband for her. The Guru agreed and ordered the search for a husband for her. Bibi Bhani's mother saw a boy outside her door hawking some articles of food. On carefully observing him, she said, "Find a youth like him." Hearing this, the Guru exclaimed, "He is his own parallel, for God has made none other like him."

Saying this Guru called the youth and inquired from him about his whereabouts. After that he sent him with marriage presents to his father, Hari Das, in Lahore and had the betrothal ceremony performed (1545).

Bibi Bhani served Jetha not merely as his dear wife, but also as a rare saint. The couple lived happily and in due course three sons were born to them. In order of seniority they were Prithi Chand (1547 A.D.), Mahadev (1551) and Arjan Dev (1553).

No precise information is available as to the exact time when Bhai Jetha assumed his permanent residence along with his family at Goindwal, but in all probability it was done soon after Guru Amar Das, having been selected as the third Guru, had set up his headquarters there. Goindwal had been founded several years before in the time of Guru Angad Dev, and soon after its foundation Amar Das with the whole of his family had shifted his residence from his native place Basarke. After that, whenever Jetha and Bhani felt like meeting them, they naturally had to come to Goindwal.

Mirza Hakim, the ruler of Kabul, attacked Punjab in 1565, in a bid to dislodge his half-brother Mughal Emperor Akbar from power. To meet the challenge Akbar left Agra for Punjab in November 1565 and reached Lahore in February 1566. Mirza Hakim lost heart and retreated to Kabul. Akbar decided not to pursue him and stayed on at Lahore for more than a year. He left for Agra in March 1567.

When the Emperor was encamped at Lahore, a small group representing hostile Brahmins and Khatris proceeded to Lahore and lodged a serious complaint against Guru Amar Das. The substance of the complaint follows: "Your majesty is the protector of our customs and the redresser of our wrongs. Every man's religion is dear to him. Guru Amar Das of Goindwal has abandoned the religious and social customs of the Hindus, and abolished the distinction of the four castes. Such heterodoxy has never been heard of in the four ages. There is now no twilight prayer, no gayatri, no offering of water to ancestors, no pilgrimages, no obsequies, and no worship of idols or of the divine salagram. The Guru has abandoned all these, and established the repetition of Wha Guru instead of Ram; and no one now acts according to the Vedas or the Smritis. The Guru reverences not Yogis, Jatis, or Brahmans. He worships no gods or goddesses, and he orders his Sikhs to refrain from doing so forevermore. He seats all his followers in a line and causes them to eat together from his kitchen, irrespective of caste; whether they are jats, strolling minstrels, Muslims, Brahmans, Khatris, shopkeepers, sweepers, barbers, washermen, fishermen or carpenters. We pray you restrain him now; else it will be difficult hereafter. May your religion and empire increase and extend over the world!"