Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji : Message of the six guru’s (Part- 4)

39. Message of the six guru’s (Part- 4)

Sri Guru Amar Das Ji

Description of Gurbani: 907 shabads in 18 Raags

The third Master whose body was blessed with the divine light of Guru Nanak Dev ji is known as Sri Guru Amar Das ji. Guru Amar Das Ji was born on May 5, 1479 at village Basarkay Distt. Amritsar ( Punjab) India. His parents were Sri Tej Bhan ji and Mata Sulakhni ji. From childhood, he had an innate desire to be one with the almighty, so being of religious nature he used to accompany saints and Sadhus. He asked Sadhus and saints to stay in his house and served them necessary things for days on end. He also used to offer water to the passengers and the pedestrians on the main road and receive their blessings. He was married to Bibi Ramo Ji at the age of 24. The blessed couple had two sons and two daughters (Baba Mohan ji, Baba Mohari ji, Bibi Bhani ji, and Bibi Dani ji). He performed his worldly duties very nicely but with the advance of time, the desire to see the Almighty became intense. So driven by this desire, he went to pilgrimage and for a sacred bath in the Ganga( The Ganges) 20 times. It was a matter of time only, his union with the Almighty and the service of Guruship was pre-destined. When he was on his way back from the pilgrimage of sacred River Ganga, he stayed for a night at village “Mehrarhe’’( this village is at a distance o 16 miles from Khadoor Sahib and 40 miles from Basarke). This village had an inn which was run by Pundit Durga Dutt; a famous astrologer of the locality. When Sri Guru Amar Das ji was resting, Pundit Durga Dutt saw a Padam Rekha( a particular and very rare line according to astrology on the sole of the foot) present on Guru ji’s foot. This line is considered very pious, holy and divine. Only Great Gurus, saints, emperors, and divine personalities have it. On the foot of Sri Amar Das ji, the Pundit was very surprised to see the line and thought that this person will either become a great emperor or a master of divine powers. The next day when Guru ji was ready to depart from the inn, he wanted to give some money to the Pundit, but the Pundit refused to accept the money saying:-

Not now but please give me your word that I may beg a boon from you any time I want in the future Mehma Parkash.

On hearing this Guru Ji smiled which meant as Pundit desired.

These were the hints which were showing that this person must one day become a master of both worlds. When Sri Guru Amar Das ji actually became the heir to the Guruship, Pundit Durga Datt came and got blessings of all kinds from the Great Guru as mentioned in the following lines :

Oh ! Great Guru, if you give me your Naam but not money, Then this world (material) is useless, but if you give me money, but not your Naam, Then that world (Spiritual)is useless and I will go to hell. So what can I say to you my Lord ! It is up to you. Guru Amar Das Ji , You are the son of Tej Bhan, Please give me both.

Guru Amar Das ji was still in his melancholic state of not having merged with god when a Bairagi Sadhu called him “Nigura” (without a Guru). It further aggravated his yearning and desire and he became restless. He lost his appetite and didn’t get enough sleep. In the early morning, in his own house, he over heard the following words of gurbani which Bibi Amaro was reciting and is on page 990 :

Actions are the paper, and the mind is the ink; good and bad are both recorded upon it. As their past actions drive them, so are mortals driven. There is no end to Your Glorious Virtues, Lord. ||1|| Why do you not keep Him in your consciousness, you mad man ? Forgetting the Lord, your own virtues shall rot away. ||1||Pause|| The night is a net, and the day is a net; there are as many traps as there are moments. With relish and delight, you continually bite at the bait; you are trapped, you fool - how will you ever escape? ||2|| The body is a furnace, and the mind is the iron within it; the five fires are heating it. Sin is the charcoal placed upon it, which burns the mind; the tongs are anxiety and worry. ||3|| What was turned to slag is again transformed into gold, if one meets with the Guru. He blesses the mortal with the Ambrosial Name of the One Lord, and then, O Nanak, the body is held steady

Guru ji got instantaneous inner peace upon hearing this Shabad. When the day dawned, Guru ji took Bibi Amaro with him and arrived at Khadoor Sahib. In the holy company of Guru Angad Dev ji , he accepted him as Guru, leaving aside the bondage or custom of being a relative. Guru Amar Das ji did very hard service and difficult labor for 12 consecutive years. Sri Guru Angad Dev ji was so pleased with him that he appointed him as his successor to the Guruship on March 26, 1552 and blessed him with 12 boons (blessings). Guru Angad Dev ji said :

You are the place for those without a place to be You bring honour and respect to those without any You are the strength for those who have none You are the refuge and shelter for those who are without refuge You give hope to the hopeless You are solace to those who have no consolation You are the defender of the defenseless Saint of saints and to those without a saint Merciful savior of the helpless Liberator of the world from fetters Demolisher of forts and all lives are within your power

On the bank of River Biaas on the G.T. road, Sri Guru Amar Das ji developed a beautiful city under his supervision and named it Goindwal. On this site, congregational services were held in the mornings and in the evenings. Many curious learners got direction in how to attain inner peace by attending these services. Guru Ji set up a tradition of common free kitchen (Langar) to provide food for the needy and for disciples that had come to visit. Any body could come to this kitchen, sit in a common row and eat without any sort of discrimination. Guru ji had given very clear instructions that whoever wanted to meet him should first sit in a common row (Pangat), have food, and then they could have an audience with him( Pehlay Pangat, pachhay Sangat).One time when the Mughal emperor Akbar came to have an audience with Guru ji, even he was not spared. First he had to sit in the common row (Pangat), eat food only then was he allowed to converse with the great Guru. After setting the tradition of Pangat and Sangat, Guru ji had a deep well known as Bauli dug up for the common welfare and use of the people around the area. To promote the common links of love and brotherhood among Sikh community, Guru Ji set up a tradition of Jorh Melas (Social gatherings) on some festivals. Goindwal was a commercial city of beautiful variety, inhabited by gentle, peace loving and well behaved God fearing people. On seeing this Bhatt Nallh has compared Goindwal to Gobind Puri. He says :

Goindwal is the City of God, built on the bank of the Beas River. The pains of so many years have been taken away; gazing upon the Face of the Guru, I find peace.

Guru Amar Das ji was an embodiment of extreme kindness, patience and forgiveness. A local Sadhu Tapa (ascetic) and his followers, Marwaha Khatris(a caste), and some followers of Sanatan Religion were very jealous of Guru ji and they opposed him at every opportunity, but on the contrary, Guru ji didn’t think about harming them . Rather he was kind to them. At the time, the practice of Sati (burning oneself in a funeral pyre of a Hindu woman along with the body of her husband) was the custom. Guru ji opposed this practice and persuaded the masses not to commit this heinous act saying that :

Do not call them 'satee', who burn themselves along with their husbands' corpses. O Nanak, they alone are known as 'satee', who die from the shock of separation. ||1||

Guru ji started the tradition of re-marriages of widows which was prohibited in society and saved women from wearing a compulsory veil.





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				39. Message of the six guru’s (Part- 4) Sri Guru Amar Das Ji Description of Gurbani: 907 shabads in 18 Raags The third Master whose body was blessed with the divine light of Guru Nanak Dev ji is known as Sri Guru Amar Das ji. Guru Amar Das Ji was born on May 5, 1479 at village Basarkay Distt. Amritsar ( Punjab) India. His parents were Sri Tej Bhan ji and Mata Sulakhni ji. From childhood, he had an innate desire to be one with the almighty, so being of religious nature he used to accompany saints and Sadhus. He asked Sadhus and saints to stay in his house and served them necessary things for days on end. He also used to offer water to the passengers and the pedestrians on the main road and receive their blessings. He was married to Bibi Ramo Ji at the age of 24. The blessed couple had two sons and two daughters (Baba Mohan ji, Baba Mohari ji, Bibi Bhani ji, and Bibi Dani ji). He performed his worldly duties very nicely but with the advance of time, the desire to see the Almighty became intense. So driven by this desire, he went to pilgrimage and for a sacred bath in the Ganga( The Ganges) 20 times. It was a matter of time only, his union with the Almighty and the service of Guruship was pre-destined. When he was on his way back from the pilgrimage of sacred River Ganga, he stayed for a night at village “Mehrarhe’’( this village is at a distance o 16 miles from Khadoor Sahib and 40 miles from Basarke). This village had an inn which was run by Pundit Durga Dutt; a famous astrologer of the locality. When Sri Guru Amar Das ji was resting, Pundit Durga Dutt saw a Padam Rekha( a particular and very rare line according to astrology on the sole of the foot) present on Guru ji’s foot. This line is considered very pious, holy and divine. Only Great Gurus, saints, emperors, and divine personalities have it. On the foot of Sri Amar Das ji, the Pundit was very surprised to see the line and thought that this person will either become a great emperor or a master of divine powers. The next day when Guru ji was ready to depart from the inn, he wanted to give some money to the Pundit, but the Pundit refused to accept the money saying:- Not now but please give me your word that I may beg a boon from you any time I want in the future Mehma Parkash. On hearing this Guru Ji smiled which meant as Pundit desired. These were the hints which were showing that this person must one day become a master of both worlds. When Sri Guru Amar Das ji actually became the heir to the Guruship, Pundit Durga Datt came and got blessings of all kinds from the Great Guru as mentioned in the following lines : Oh ! Great Guru, if you give me your Naam but not money, Then this world (material) is useless, but if you give me money, but not your Naam, Then that world (Spiritual)is useless and I will go to hell. So what can I say to you my Lord ! It is up to you. Guru Amar Das Ji , You are the son of Tej Bhan, Please give me both. Guru Amar Das ji was still in his melancholic state of not having merged with god when a Bairagi Sadhu called him “Nigura” (without a Guru). It further aggravated his yearning and desire and he became restless. He lost his appetite and didn’t get enough sleep. In the early morning, in his own house, he over heard the following words of gurbani which Bibi Amaro was reciting and is on page 990 : Actions are the paper, and the mind is the ink; good and bad are both recorded upon it. As their past actions drive them, so are mortals driven. There is no end to Your Glorious Virtues, Lord. \|\|1\|\| Why do you not keep Him in your consciousness, you mad man ? Forgetting the Lord, your own virtues shall rot away. \|\|1\|\|Pause\|\| The night is a net, and the day is a net; there are as many traps as there are moments. With relish and delight, you continually bite at the bait; you are trapped, you fool - how will you ever escape? \|\|2\|\| The body is a furnace, and the mind is the iron within it; the five fires are heating it. Sin is the charcoal placed upon it, which burns the mind; the tongs are anxiety and worry. \|\|3\|\| What was turned to slag is again transformed into gold, if one meets with the Guru. He blesses the mortal with the Ambrosial Name of the One Lord, and then, O Nanak, the body is held steady Guru ji got instantaneous inner peace upon hearing this Shabad. When the day dawned, Guru ji took Bibi Amaro with him and arrived at Khadoor Sahib. In the holy company of Guru Angad Dev ji , he accepted him as Guru, leaving aside the bondage or custom of being a relative. Guru Amar Das ji did very hard service and difficult labor for 12 consecutive years. Sri Guru Angad Dev ji was so pleased with him that he appointed him as his successor to the Guruship on March 26, 1552 and blessed him with 12 boons (blessings). Guru Angad Dev ji said : You are the place for those without a place to be You bring honour and respect to those without any You are the strength for those who have none You are the refuge and shelter for those who are without refuge You give hope to the hopeless You are solace to those who have no consolation You are the defender of the defenseless Saint of saints and to those without a saint Merciful savior of the helpless Liberator of the world from fetters Demolisher of forts and all lives are within your power On the bank of River Biaas on the G.T. road, Sri Guru Amar Das ji developed a beautiful city under his supervision and named it Goindwal. On this site, congregational services were held in the mornings and in the evenings. Many curious learners got direction in how to attain inner peace by attending these services. Guru Ji set up a tradition of common free kitchen (Langar) to provide food for the needy and for disciples that had come to visit. Any body could come to this kitchen, sit in a common row and eat without any sort of discrimination. Guru ji had given very clear instructions that whoever wanted to meet him should first sit in a common row (Pangat), have food, and then they could have an audience with him( Pehlay Pangat, pachhay Sangat).One time when the Mughal emperor Akbar came to have an audience with Guru ji, even he was not spared. First he had to sit in the common row (Pangat), eat food only then was he allowed to converse with the great Guru. After setting the tradition of Pangat and Sangat, Guru ji had a deep well known as Bauli dug up for the common welfare and use of the people around the area. To promote the common links of love and brotherhood among Sikh community, Guru Ji set up a tradition of Jorh Melas (Social gatherings) on some festivals. Goindwal was a commercial city of beautiful variety, inhabited by gentle, peace loving and well behaved God fearing people. On seeing this Bhatt Nallh has compared Goindwal to Gobind Puri. He says : Goindwal is the City of God, built on the bank of the Beas River. The pains of so many years have been taken away; gazing upon the Face of the Guru, I find peace. Guru Amar Das ji was an embodiment of extreme kindness, patience and forgiveness. A local Sadhu Tapa (ascetic) and his followers, Marwaha Khatris(a caste), and some followers of Sanatan Religion were very jealous of Guru ji and they opposed him at every opportunity, but on the contrary, Guru ji didn’t think about harming them . Rather he was kind to them. At the time, the practice of Sati (burning oneself in a funeral pyre of a Hindu woman along with the body of her husband) was the custom. Guru ji opposed this practice and persuaded the masses not to commit this heinous act saying that : Do not call them 'satee', who burn themselves along with their husbands' corpses. O Nanak, they alone are known as 'satee', who die from the shock of separation. \|\|1\|\| Guru ji started the tradition of re-marriages of widows which was prohibited in society and saved women from wearing a compulsory veil.

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