Guru Ram Das
Guru Ram Das, sometimes spelled as Guru Ramdas, was the fourth of the ten Sikh gurus. He was born to a family based in Lahore, who named him Bhai Jetha. He was orphaned at age seven; and thereafter grew up with his maternal grandmother in a village.
At age 12, Bhai Jetha and his grandmother moved to Goindval, where they met Guru Amar Das, the third leader of Sikhism. The boy accepted the guru as his mentor, served him, and eventually joined his family by marrying his daughter. When it came time for Guru Amar Das to name his successor, he passed over his own sons and chose Bhai Jetha, citing his exemplary service, selfless devotion, and unquestioning obedience.
Renamed Ram Das, Bhai Jetha became the fourth Guru of Sikhism in 1574. He faced hostility from the sons of Guru Amar Das, and shifted his official base to lands identified by Guru Amar Das as Guru-ka-Chak. He founded the town of Ramdaspur, later renamed Amritsar and known as the holiest city of Sikhism. Unlike the first three Gurus, he appointed his own son as his successor, as would the fifth through tenth Sikh Gurus. He served until his death in 1581.
He is remembered in the Sikh tradition for expanding the manji organization for clerical appointments and donation collections to theologically and economically support the Sikh movement. In a similar light to his predecessor, Guru Ram Das also encouraged widow remarriage.
Early life
Family background and life in Lahore
Bhai Jetha was born in the morning of 24 September 1534 in a family belonging to the Sodhi gotra of the Khatri caste in Chuna Mandi, Lahore. His father was Hari Das and his mother was Mata Anup Devi, both of whom were highly religious. His paternal grandfather was Thakur Das, who was well-known and worked as a shopkeeper in Chuna Mandi, his paternal grandmother was named Jaswanti, and his great-grandfather was Gurdial Sodhi. His father, Hari Das, had inherited the shopkeeper occupation from his own father. His parents had been married for a period of around twelve years before they gave birth to Ram Das. He was named "Jetha" because he was the eldest child among his siblings. Some sources state his actual birthname was still 'Ram Das' and that 'Jetha' was just a nickname he acquired. He had a brother named Hardyal and a sister named Ram Dasi. Both of Jetha's parents died when he was aged around seven. After his parents' deaths, he went into the care of his maternal grandmother.Life as an orphan in Basarke
His grandmother took him to her village, Basarke, Jetha lived there for five years. Basarke also happened to coincidentally be the ancestral village of Guru Amar Das. Jetha's grandmother was a destitute lady who faced troubles raising the three orphaned siblings. Jetha sold boiled grams, boiled black chickpeas, and boiled wheat in the local market square of Basarke to earn a living at the age of around nine. Jetha would sometimes encounter holy-men whilst he was out-and-about working who he would share his provisions of food produce with free-of-cost, being reprimanded by his grandmother for doing so. It is said that when Amar Das just so happened to be visiting Basarke, he came across the young Jetha. Traits that Amar Das saw in the young Jetha that made him take a liking to him was that he was supporting his elderly grandmother at a young age and he lived a deeply spiritual life. Amar Das would meet with Jetha many times in this manner. However, one time when Amar Das was visiting Basarke, he would leave next for Khadur, where his guru, Angad, was based out of. Jetha decided to also make the journey to Khadur.Staying in Khadur and Goindwal
Amar Das was then living at Khadur at the sangat of Guru Angad. Jetha went to Khadur in 1546, attended Guru Angad's sangats, and developed a great liking for the Guru and Amar Das. He frequently partook in the local langar of Khadur. Bhai Jetha spent a lot of his time hawking and selling baklian when he stayed at Khadur to generate an income for himself. Guru Amar Das eventually visited Basarke again and returned to Goindwal with Bhai Jetha in his company. When Guru Amar Das settled at Goindwal in 1552, Jetha also moved to the new township, and spent most of his time at the guru's durbar. One of the activities that Jetha was responsible for at Goindwal was ensuring the utensils used in the langar were cleaned, which he cleaned himself. He was also assigned the role of serving drinking water in the langar, and had been given additional duties related to the pangat. Additionally, he helped with digging work to assist with the construction of a water tank. He spent time with Guru Amar Das by accompanying him on religious pilgrimages. Under the patronage of Guru Amar Das, Bhai Jetha was educated in North Indian musical tradition.Representing the Sikhs at the Mughal court
Before becoming Guru, Jetha represented Guru Amar Das in the Mughal court. Local residents living around Goindwal lodged a complaint to the local Mughal government of Lahore about the activities of the Sikhs at Goindwal. The Brahmin residents complained and protested about the Sikh tradition of operating a free community kitchen, discarding traditional beliefs and practices, and not recognizing caste divisions and hierarchies. Guru Amar Das sent Jetha to be his representative at the Mughal court on his behalf. Jetha met with emperor Akbar and simply put forth the argument that in the eyes of the divine, all of humankind is equal. This response is said to have pleased Akbar, who dismissed any complaints made against the Sikhs.Marriage
In 1553, he married Bibi Bhani, the younger daughter of Amar Das. Jetha was selected personally by Guru Amar Das' wife, Mata Mansa Devi, as the best match for their daughter Bhani due to his devoted and pious personality. They had three sons: Prithi Chand, Mahadev and Guru Arjan. Jetha's immediate family often protested the work he was doing at the house of his in-laws.Test to become a worthy successor
Guru Amar Das designed a test to decide which of his two sons-in-law, Ramo and Jetha, was worthy of being his successor. He requested them to build a platform which befitting for the Sikh guru to be seated upon. Ramo built four platforms but none were to the liking of Guru Amar Das so Ramo gave-up. Jetha constructed seven platforms of his own but also failed to satisfy the Guru, but instead of giving up like Ramo, he submitted himself humbly to the Guru and stated he would continue trying to please him by building a worthy platform for his master, it was this action that made Guru Amar Das decide he was worthy for the guruship mantle. Thus, Jetha was selected as the next Sikh guru and would become known as Guru Ram Das.Guruship
Jetha become guru on 30 August 1574, became known as Guru Ram Das, and held the office for seven years.He was the first of Guru Nanak's successors to rekindle ties with Sri Chand, Nanak's son, after a long period of strained relations between mainstream Sikhs and the Udasis. Sri Chand paid Guru Ram Das a visit in Amritsar, where he was lavishly received by the Guru on the outskirts of the city. When Sri Chand made a comment about Guru Ram Das' long beard, the Guru stated the beard is useful for wiping the feet of saints like him, and got-up to actually wipe the feet of Sri Chand with his beard. Sri Chand then realized why Guru Ram Das was worthy of occupying his father's spiritual seat after witnessing this action.
The Guru was eventually joined by Bhai Gurdas, a familial relative of his predecessor whom was well-educated in religious, linguistic, and literary pursuits. Bhai Gurdas helped advance the Sikh cause during the time of Guru Ram Das.
At some point, local Lahori Sikhs paid a visit to the Guru to engage in Kar Seva voluntary work and petitioned him to find time to pay a visit to his birth city. The Guru visited the city, he was warmly welcomed and gained more followers in the process.
Founding of Amritsar and initiation of construction of the Harmandir Sahib complex
Guru Ram Das is credited with founding and building the city of Amritsar in the Sikh tradition. Two versions of stories exist regarding the land where Guru Ram Das settled. In one based on a Gazetteer record, the land was purchased with Sikh donations, for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung.According to the Sikh historical records, the site was chosen by Guru Amar Das and called Guru Da Chakk, after he had asked Guru Ram Das to find land to start a new town with a man made pool as its central point. After his coronation in 1574, and the hostile opposition he faced from the sons of Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das founded the town named after him as "Ramdaspur". He started by completing the pool, and building his new official Guru centre and home next to it. He invited merchants and artisans from other parts of India to settle into the new town with him. The town expanded during the time of Guru Arjan financed by donations and constructed by voluntary work. The town grew to become the city of Amritsar, and the pool area grew into a temple complex after his son built the Gurdwara Harmandir Sahib, and installed the scripture of Sikhism inside the new gurdwara in 1604.
The construction activity between 1574 and 1604 is described in Mahima Prakash Vartak, a semi-historical Sikh hagiographical text likely composed in 1741, and the earliest known document dealing with the lives of all the ten Gurus.
As per the instruction of his predecessor, Guru Ram Das also constructed two man-made pools of holy water in Guru-Da-Chak, with their names being Ramdas Sarovar and Amritsar Sarovar.
Literary works
Guru Ram Das composed 638 hymns, or about ten percent of hymns in the Guru Granth Sahib. He was a celebrated poet, and composed his work in 30 ancient ragas of Indian classical music.These cover a range of topics:
His compositions continue to be sung daily in Harmandir Sahib of Sikhism.