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The Ten Gurus

"The Guru is my ship to cross sin's lake and the world ocean. The Guru is my place of pilgrimage and sacred stream."
-- Guru Nanak

Gurus in South Asian religions are spiritual guides. The word "guru" means "weighty one," and gurus are those who bear the weight of wisdom and knowledge. Among Sikhs, the word takes on another meaning because the Gurus do not simply teach and guide individuals; they are community leaders as well.

Guru Nanak (1469-1539), the first Guru, belonged to the Hindu kshatriya caste. Following a mystical experience, he visited various parts of the world, teaching that everything is created by God, and the way to come close to him is through devotion and meditation, not ritual. After his travels, he re-united with his family in Kartarpur in the Punjab and composed 974 hymns, expressing his realization of God. His teachings were later compiled into the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib.

Guru Angad (1504-52) was chosen by Guru Nanak as his successor. By selecting a follower rather than a son, Guru Nanak set a pattern for Guruship based on devotion rather than kinship. Angad created Gurmukhi, the script used for the Punjabi language and the writings for the Guru Granth Sahib, as well as 62 hymns that were later incorporated into the Guru Granth Sahib.

Guru Amar Das (1479-1574) became the third Guru at the age of 73. He promoted the free communal kitchen, langar, which was open to serve all day and night. He also introduced the birth and death ceromonies for Sikhs.

Guru Ram Das (1534-1581), the fourth Guru, founded Amritsar, the most sacred city for Sikhs. His followers dug the pool that was to become the Harminder Sahib, the lake that surrounds the Golden Temple, which became the most important Sikh temple.

Guru Arjan (1563-1606), son of Guru Ram Das, became the fifth Guru. He collected the hymns of the previous Gurus, and, with his own 2,216 contributions, prepared the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book. In addition, he built the Golden Temple that was to house the scriptures.

Guru Hargobind (1595-1644), the sixth Guru, proclaimed that the Guru must be a military leader as well as a spiritual leader. He also founded the town of Kiratpur.

Guru Har Rai (1603-1661), grandson of Guru Hargobind, was the seventh Guru.

Guru Har Krishan (1656-1664), the eighth Guru, was the youngest Guru.

Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621-1675), the ninth Guru, was barred from Amritsar by the ruling Mughal empire. He was beheaded in Delhi by Muslims after helping Kashmiri Brahmins against forcible conversion to Islam by the emperor Aurangzeb.

Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) became the tenth and final living Guru after his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed. Guru Gobind Singh resisted oppression by the Mughal authorities and Hindu kings, and he exemplified the Sikh ideal of a saint-soldier, someone in whom sanctity and heroism are combined. He was the founder of the Khalsa as well as a poet.

The concept of Guru is central to the Sikh faith, and applies to God, the ten human masters, the scriptures, and the community. Consequently, many Sikh names begin with Gur, as do important words such as gurmukh (one who is oriented toward the Guru); Gurmukhi (the script of the Guru Granth Sahib and the Punjabi language), and gurdwara (the place of worship). The ten Gurus saw the Guru as the spiritual guide within, and God is often referred to as Wah Guru. In Sikh belief, all the Gurus are one in spirit; their souls are indistinguishable. To emphasize the oneness of the Gurus, the authorship of the hymns in the Guru Granth Sahib is not ascribed to individual Gurus by name, but by their number in the succession of Gurus.

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