11. Consolidation of The Sikh Church (Gurudwara)

The major contribution of Guru Amardas was the propagation of the message of Guru Nanak and Guru Angad and the consolidation and extension of missionary work. In order to give a momentum to missionary activity, Guru Amardas appointed his representatives for each region of India. These regions or dioceses were called Manjis, li-terally means cots, because the person in charge sat on a cot. These regions, were further divided into small units called Piris (small stools). So a number of missionary centres, each in charge of a devoted Sikh, were set up in different places all over the country. If the different centres mentioned in the three lists are taken into consideration, the number goes up to forty. However, historians have agreed on the total of twenty-two centres, perhaps on the ground that the Mughal empire consisted of twenty-two provinces. As Guru Amardas was regarded as the spiritual king, his jurisdiction was also divided into twenty-two dioceses.