Guru Amar Das

Guru Amar Das
ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ

Guru Amar Das - Goindwal

Guru Amar Das - Goindwal
Born 5 May 1479 (1479-05-05)
Basarke Gillan, Amritsar, Punjab, India
Died 1 September 1574 (1574-10) (aged 95)
Goindval, Punjab
Other names The Third Master
Years active 1552–1574
Known for
Predecessor Guru Angad
Successor Guru Ram Das
Spouse(s) Mata Mansa Devi
Children Bhai Mohan, Bhai Mohri, Bibi Dani, and Bibi Bhani
Parent(s) Tej Bhan & Mata Lachmi

Guru Amar Das ([ɡʊru əməɾ dɑs]; 5 May 1479 – 1 September 1574[1]) was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and was given the title of Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552.

Early life

Guru Amar Das was the eldest son of Tej Bhan a farmer, trader and of Mata Lachmi. He was a shopkeeper and lived in a village called Basarke near Amritsar. He was married to Mata Mansa Devi and they had four children - two sons named Bhai Mohan and Bhai Mohri and two daughters named Bibi Dani and younger daughter named Bibi Bhani. Bibi Bhani later married Bhai Jetha who became the fourth Sikh Guru, Guru Ram Das. Before becoming a Sikh, Amar Das was a very religious Vaishanavite Hindu. One day, he heard some hymns of Guru Nanak Dev being sung by Bibi Amro, daughter of Guru Angad Dev. She was married to Amar Das nephew Bhai Jasso. Amar Das was impressed and moved by the hymns and decided to go and see Guru Angad Dev at Khadur Sahib. Amar Das was 61 years old at that time.

Adoption of Sikhism

Upon meeting Guru Angad Dev, Amardas was touched by the Guru's message and became a devout Sikh. He started living there and became involved in service to the Guru and the community. He adopted Guru as his spiritual guide. He was very dedicated in the service to the Guru and had completely extinguished pride. He was so totally lost in this commitment that he was considered an old man who had no interest in life. He was dubbed Amru, and generally forsaken.

Guruship

As a result of Amardas's commitment to Sikhi principles, dedicated service and devotion to the Sikh cause, Guru Angad Dev appointed Guru Amar Das as the third Guru Nanak in March 1552 at the age of 73. He established his headquarters at the newly built town of Goindwal, which Guru Angad Dev had established. Guru strengthened the Langar community kitchen system.[2] Guru Amar Das started the Manji and Piri system by appointing 94 men as Manji and 52 women as Piris for the spread of Sikhism. The word Manji (wooden cot) and Piri (very small wooden cot) are taken as the cot/seat of authority in this context from which the Sikh Manji's (male Sikh preachers) and Piris (female Sikh preachers) as the holders of seat of religious authority would teach Sikhism to other men and women respectively.[3] Later, Manji was significantly enhanced by the 7th Sikh Guru har Rai by establishing additional 360 Manjis. The Guru had a cordial relationship with Emperor Akbar, who compared to other Muslim rulers was relatively less intolerant. Guru influenced Akbar to stop the persecution of Hindus and Sikhs by removing Islamic Jizya toll taxes on non-Muslims for crossing Yamuna and Ganges rivers.[4] Guru prohibited Sikhs from visiting and paying obeisance to Muslims religious places.[5]

Death and succession

Das died at the age of 95 on 1 September 1574. Before his death, he called for Sikh congregation headed by Baba Buddha that was also attended by Guru's two sons Mohan and Mohri. He appointed his son-in-law Jetha as successor and renamed him Guru Ram Das.

See also

References

External links

Preceded by
Guru Angad		 Sikh Guru
26 March 1552 – 1 September 1574 		Succeeded by
Guru Ram Das
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