The History Of Guru Amar das ji.



o      Guru Amar Das Ji

                                 became the third Sikh guru in 1552 at the age of 73. Goindwal became an important centre for Sikhism during the Guruship of
Guru Amar Das. He continued to
preach the principle of equality for
women, the prohibition of Sati and the practise of Langar. In 1567, Emperor Akbar sat with the ordinary and poor people of Punjab to have
Langar. Guru Amar Das also trained

140 apostles, of which 52 were
women, to manage the rapid expansion of the religion.[8] Before he died in 1574 aged 95, he
appointed his son-in-law Jetha as the
fourth Sikh Guru. It is recorded that before becoming a
Sikh, Bhai Amar Das, as he was
known at the time, was a very
religious Vaishanavite Hindu who spent most of his life performing all of
the ritual pilgrimages and fasts of a
devout Hindu. One day, Bhai Amar
Das heard some hymns of Guru Nanak being sung by Bibi Amro Ji, the daughter of Guru Angad, the second Sikh Guru. Bibi Amro was married to Bhai Sahib's brother, Bhai Manak
Chand's son who was called Bhai
Jasso. Bhai Sahib was so impressed
and moved by these Shabads that he immediately decided to go to see Guru Angad at Khadur Sahib. It is recorded that this event took place
when Bhai Sahib was 61 years old. In 1635, upon meeting Guru Angad,
Bhai Sahib was so touched by the
Guru's message that he became a
devout Sikh. Soon he became
involved in Sewa (Service) to the Guru and the Community. Under the impact
of Guru Angad and the teachings of
the Gurus, Bhai Amar Das became a
devout Sikh. He adopted Guru as his
spiritual guide (Guru). Bhai Sahib
began to live at Khadur Sahib, where he used to rise early in the morning
and bring water from the Beas River
for the Guru's bath; he would wash
the Guru's clothes and fetch wood
from the jungle for 'Guru ka Langar'.
He was so dedicated to Sewa and the Guru and had completely
extinguished pride and was totally
lost in this commitment that he was
considered an old man who had no
interest in life; he was dubbed Amru,
and generally forsaken. However, as a result of Bhai Sahib's
commitment to Sikhi principles,
dedicated service and devotion to the
Sikh cause, Guru Angad Sahib
appointed Guru Amar Das Sahib as
third Nanak in March 1552 at the age of 73. He established his
headquarters at the newly built town
of Goindwal, which Guru Angad had
established. Soon large numbers of Sikhs started
flocking to Goindwal to see the new
Guru. Here, Guru Amar Das
propagated the Sikh faith in a
vigorous, systematic and planned
manner. He divided the Sikh Sangat area into 22 preaching centres or
Manjis, each under the charge of a
devout Sikh. He himself visited and
sent Sikh missionaries to different
parts of India to spread Sikhism. Guru Amar Das was impressed with Bhai Gurdas' thorough knowledge of Hindi and Sanskrit and the Hindu scriptures. Following the tradition of
sending out Masands across the
country, Guru Amar Das deputed Bhai
Gurdas to Agra to spread the gospel of Sikhism. Before leaving, Guru Amar Das prescribed the following routine
for Sikhs: “ He who calls himself
a Sikh of the True
Guru, He must get up
in the morning and
say his prayers. He
must rise in the early hours and bathe in
the holy tank. He
must meditate on
God as advised by
the Guru. And rid
him of the afflictions of sins and evil. As
the day dawns, he
should recite
scriptures, and
repeat God's name in
every activity. He to whom the Guru
takes kindly is
shown the path.
Nanak! I seek the
dust of the feet of
the Guru's Sikh who himself remembers
God and makes
others remember
Him. (Gauri) ” Guru Ji strengthened the tradition of
'Guru ka Langar' and made it compulsory for the visitor to the Guru
to eat first, saying that 'Pehle Pangat
Phir Sangat' (first visit the Langar then
go to the Guru). Once the emperor
Akbar came to see Guru Sahib and he
had to eat the coarse rice in the Langar before he could have an
interview with Guru Sahib. He was so
much impressed with this system that
he expressed his desire to grant
some royal property for 'Guru ka
Langar', but Guru Sahib declined it with respect. He introduced new birth, marriage
and death ceremonies. Thus he raised
the status of women and protected
the rights of female infants who were
killed without question as they were
deemed to have no status. These teachings met with stiff resistance
from the Orthodox Hindus. He fixed
three Gurpurbs for Sikh celebrations: Diwali, Vaisakhi and Maghi. Guru Amar Das not only preached the
equality of people irrespective of their
caste but he also fostered the idea of
women's equality. He preaching
strongly against the practice of Sati (a Hindu wife burning on her husband's
funeral pyre). Guru Amar Das also
disapproved of a young widow
remaining unmarried for the rest of
her life. Guru Amar Das constructed "Baoli" at
Goindwal Sahib having eighty-four
steps and made it a Sikh pilgrimage
centre for the first time in the history
of Sikhism. He reproduced more
copies of the hymns of Guru Nanak and Guru Angad. He also composed
869 (according to some chronicles
these were 709) verses (stanzas)
including Anand Sahib, and then later on Guru Arjan (fifth Guru) made all the Shabads part of Guru Granth Sahib. When it came time for the Guru's
younger daughter Bibi Bhani to
marry, he selected a pious and
diligent young follower of his called
Jetha from Lahore. Jetha had come to visit the Guru with a party of pilgrims
from Lahore and had become so
enchanted by the Guru's teachings
that he had decided to settle in Goindwal. Here he earned a living selling wheat and would regularly
attend the services of Guru Amar Das
in his spare time. Guru Amar Das did not consider
anyone of his sons fit for Guruship
and chose instead his son-in law
(Guru) Ram Das to succeed him. Guru
Amar Das Sahib at the age of 95 died
on September 1, 1574 at Goindwal in District Amritsar, after giving responsibility of Guruship to the
Fourth Nanak, Guru Ram Das.