Chapter 8

GURU RAM DAS
(1534–1581)

In Lahore in 1534, there was a well-known locality called Chuna Mandi. Lahore was a flourishing city and there were always new buildings coming up and because, in those days, chuna, or lime, was used in the mortar for construction, the chuna-mandi also flourished. There were hundreds of shops and as many godowns. But there were also hundreds of little houses on both sides of the narrow lanes, houses that were built one against the other like rows of matchboxes. In these houses lived many lower middle-class people: many of them connected with the lime trade and others because they could not afford to pay the rents in more upmarket localities.

In one such house lived Hari Das, a khatri of the Sodhi sub-caste, and his wife Anup Devi. They were both very simple people and always worked for the good of others. They were quite content and happy with their lot in life. But they had not been blessed with a child. At first they thought it was only a matter of time, but as the years passed, they began to feel that God did not want them to have a child. They tried to accept the will of God with good grace. Anup learned to live with the taunts that her mother-in-law heaped on her, and with the fun that her neighbours poked at her childless state. She lavished her love on all the children of the area, and Hari Das, too, found comfort in giving to others’ children the love that he would have given to his own.

But in their heart of hearts, neither Hari Das nor Anup Devi ever gave up hope. On quiet evenings, when they sat side by side, the same thought would pass through both their minds. They would sit there imagining their child playing in the courtyard. They prayed continuously that this dream would come true. At last, by God’s grace, twelve years after they had been married, a son was born to them. He was a very handsome child, fair and healthy, with sharp features and big clear eyes. He was named Ram Das, the servant of God, though they called him Jetha, the first-born.

Everyone loved Jetha. All the women, who had made fun of Anup’s childlessness, now looked for a chance to play with this happy, cheerful infant. They looked for excuses to come to Anup’s house so that they could hold the baby for a little while. Jetha grew into a handsome boy, unspoilt by all the attention that was lavished on him. Though he always answered everyone with a smile and spent time with anyone who stopped him or spoke to him, he was happiest when he was in the company of holy men. Long before he could understand what they were saying, he would sit in their company and listen to their discussions with interest. It became a joke in his family and among his friends. Every time he was missing or someone was looking for him, a friend or a family member would call out, ‘Go to the banks of the Ravi where the holy men camp, you are sure to find him there.’ Before he was in his teens, he was familiar with most of the Hindu religious texts, the Vedas and the Upanishads, and knew most of the shlokas and mantras by heart. But knowledge of the holy texts alone does not fill your stomach, especially if you are from a middle class family like that of Hari Das.

Hari Das and Anup would sit side by side at the end of the day, waiting for their son to return from his visits to the holy men. While they waited, they would worry about his future. It would have been all right if he was going to school. But after the first few years of formal education, once he had learnt to read and write, Jetha had stopped going to school. Instead, he spent all his time listening to holy men the way Guru Nanak had done years ago. And like Kalyan Chand, Guru Nanak’s father, Hari Das too worried about his son’s future. But when Ram Das did return, at last, from his visits with the holy men, it was impossible to be angry with him. He showed great care and concern for his parents and everyone around. Young as he was, he found pleasure in helping other people and taking upon himself work that others were not willing to do. When they saw this, his parents would smile with affection and pride. Yet, at other times, their worry about his future would return and they often talked about this to their friends and relatives.

It was their neighbour who suggested a possible solution. He too was a simple man and earned his living by selling roasted gram. ‘Give Jetha some roasted grams to sell,’ he told Hari Das and Anup Devi. ‘It is the simplest thing for him to do and for which no special skills are required. He is very hard-working and once he understands that work can be turned into money, everything will be all right. He will stop spending his time with holy men,’ suggested the neighbour.

So Anup Devi prepared a big bag of roasted grams and gave him a small metal container with which to measure the gram out when he sold it. Ram Das was accompanied by his neighbour, who showed him a busy corner in the market, where he would find many customers. Jetha did, indeed, find many customers. His gram was sold out soon enough and, for the next few days, he came home to his parents every evening with the money that he had earned.

Hari Das was happy because he knew that this was only a beginning. As his son grew older, he would apply his mind to other trades and would do well. Then, a few days later, while he was selling his gram, Ram Das heard that there was a group of holy men camped on the banks of the Ravi and he felt he must go to meet them. When he reached the camp, he saw that the sanyasis had not eaten anything the whole day. Without a second thought he gave his entire gram to the hungry sanyasis and came back even happier than when he had made money by selling his gram. He had no way of knowing that years ago, another boy had felt this happiness too. Guru Nanak had also made a true profit by feeding a group of hungry sadhus.

Guru Amar Das had many followers in Lahore. With each passing year the number of his followers increased and Ram Das often heard people talking about the Guru. He heard them talking about his teachings and about the great dera in Goindwal, and he wanted to go and visit the Guru. With his parents’ permission, he joined a group of devotees who were on their way to Goindwal.

Ram Das, at once, won the hearts of everyone around him with his polite behaviour and his great spirit of service. He worked from morning till night and always had a smile on his face. People around him became very fond of him and it seemed as if Jetha had always lived in Goindwal. When it was time for the band of devotees to return to Lahore, Jetha stayed on. He sent a message to his parents that he was well and asked for permission to stay on in Goindwal.

Bibi Bhani, the Guru’s youngest daughter, had now reached marriageable age and her mother, Mansa Devi, was worried about finding a suitable boy.

‘What kind of boy do you want for our daughter?’ the Guru asked, when she voiced her concern.

Mata Mansa Devi looked up and saw Jetha standing at the door. She saw his good looks and remembered his pleasant manners and his selfless devotion to the Guru and his kindness and his humility.

‘Someone like him,’ she said pointing to Jetha.

‘Why someone like him?’ the Guru asked. ‘There can be no one like him. So if you like Jetha so much, why not Jetha himself?’

‘Yes, I know our daughter will be happy with him,’ Mansa Devi said.

For Jetha, his Guru’s wish was his command. The Guru sent him home to Lahore to seek his parents’ permission. Hari Das was proud that the great Guru had found his son worthy to be his son-in-law, and so he readily gave his consent. Thus, Jetha and Bhani were married.

Even after his marriage, there was no difference in the life that Jetha led at Goindwal. He still worked with the same spirit. All day he would work and, at night, when he was sure the Guru was asleep, he would slip quietly into the courtyard of the Guru’s house where the Guru slept. Jetha would press the Guru’s tired legs and massage the soles of his tired feet. The Guru would smile to himself in the dark and think of the very great love that this disciple had for him. At last, the Guru did give an indication that he recognized Jetha as being a special devotee by sending him as his envoy to Akbar’s court.

But it was only shortly before his death that Guru Amar Das formally announced that Jetha would be his successor. Jetha was anointed by Bhai Budha in 1574 and he became the fourth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Ram Das. In keeping with Guru Amar Das’ wishes, Guru Ram Das started the building of a centre of the Sikh religion. He had already started work on a tank, which later came to be known as Amritsar, while Guru Amar Das lived and after the latter’s death, he came to live there and a town was built around the tank.

The construction of the tank was a major project and it took many years to complete the construction. Sikhs, moved by love for their Guru and for their religion, came from far and near to help with the work. Bhai Budha, too old now to work himself, would sit in the shade of a beri tree near the tank from where he would supervise the work that was being done. A great deal of money was required to buy building material and to run the langar for the large number of devotees who had come to work on the project. The Guru’s treasury had been exhausted and the Guru wondered what he could do to keep the construction going.

He invited his most faithful devotees to a meeting. Through his masands or apostles he made a direct appeal to his devotees in each manji. There was an overwhelming response to this appeal. Money now came in regularly and never again did the Guru have to worry on this account. The holy tank, which later came to be known as Amritsar or the pool of nectar, began to take shape, and near its banks the devotees built a house for their Guru which was called Guru Mahal.

As the township grew, the Guru encouraged traders to settle there. This suited the traders because of the town’s proximity to Lahore. With the revenue from traders, the Guru was able to send his missionaries to all parts of India. Gradually the town of Ramdaspur or Amritsar, as it came to be called later, became an important commercial centre and soon rivalled Lahore in importance. More than its commercial importance, Amritsar became, in later years, the centre of the Sikh world, and Guru Amar Das’ dream was fulfilled.

Guru Ram Das had many followers but one of the most important disciples was Bhai Gurdas.

Bhai Gurdas was the son of Guru Amar Das’ younger brother, Datar Chand. Guru Amar Das had taken on the responsibility of his education and the boy had come to live in Goindwal. He was a very intelligent and devoted disciple, and did a lot to spread the Gurus’ teachings. Guru Ram Das recognized this special ability and sent him to Agra to set up a centre there.

Like the first three Gurus, Guru Ram Das was also a poet. He wrote many hymns and prayers which were later included in the collection of sacred writings. One of his poems, Var Gauri, gives some details of the life of Guru Amar Das.

The Guru had three sons: Prithi, Meherban, and Arjan. Prithi proved to be greedy and selfish while Meherban was an ascetic and had cut himself off from worldly matters. Over the years, Arjan showed total obedience to the Guru’s wishes. He proved, through his spirit of service, that he was worthy of treading the path that Nanak had first trod. At the appropriate time, the Guru declared that Arjan would be the next Guru. The aged Bhai Budha applied the tilak and Guru Ram Das put five copper coins and a coconut at Arjan’s feet and bowed to him.

Shortly afterwards, in 1581, Guru Ram Das passed away at Goindwal. The fourth Guru died at the age of forty-seven. He had been the Guru for seven years. He knew that the most important task before him was to strengthen the practices that Guru Amar Das had begun. Like Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das made sure that everyone who came to visit him first ate at the common langar. By doing this, he made the practice of eating together at the langar an essential part of the Sikh religion.

He made sure that all religious ceremonies were performed in Punjabi, the language of the people and said that no pundit or priest was needed for this. Perhaps in memory of the wedding ceremony of the Rajput widow that Guru Amar Das had performed, Guru Ram Das wrote a very beautiful hymn, especially for weddings, and this hymn provides the base for all Sikh weddings.

Guru Ram Das strengthened the organization of the Sikh religion. He was in regular touch with the manjis and because of his personal interest in the administration, the manjis functioned efficiently and this encouraged more and more non-Sikhs to join the sangat.

Guru Ram Das was a very quiet and humble man and his dealings with people were always mild and gentle. This is probably the reason why, during his stewardship, there was no conflict with either the Muslims or the Hindus. This was also the reason why he was able to maintain cordial relations with with the sons of the third Guru, who had been passed over in the succession to the gaddi or guruship.

Once Sri Chand, the elder son of Guru Nanak, visited Amritsar. He had become old by then. Guru Ram Das treated him with great respect and stepped down from his gaddi to greet him. Sri Chand was pleased to see how widely his father’s teachings had been spread through the efforts of his three successors. Any bitterness he may have had at not being made the second Guru, was now put aside. Yet, before he left, he could not help making a joke at the Guru’s expense.

‘Everything is well. And I am truly happy to see your wonderful work. But tell me, Ram Das, why do you keep such a long beard?’ asked Sri Chand as he indicated towards the Guru’s long, flowing beard which reached down to his waist. The Guru folded his hands and bowed to the saint and said, ‘I keep it so long Babaji so that I can clean the feet of holy men like you, with it.’

He bent down and wiped the dust from Sri Chand’s feet with his flowing beard. Sri Chand was moved to tears; he drew the Guru up and held him in a tight embrace. Then he drew away and held Ram Das at arm’s length and looked closely at his face and then into his eyes.

‘The light of my father shines in your face and in your eyes,’ he said in a quiet, steady voice. ‘Such humility is a very special gift from God. I can see, now, why you are the Guru and not I,’ he added He put his hand on Guru Ram Das’ head in blessing, then turned and strode away from the dera.