ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>AMAR D&#256S GUR&#362 (1479-1574)</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="AMAR,DS,GURj,Person,Person"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279AMAR D&#256S, GUR&#362 (1479-1574), the third of the ten Gur&#363s of the Sikh faith, was born into a Bhall&#257 Khatr&#299 family on Bais&#257kh <i>sud&#299</i> 14, 1536 Bk, corresponding to 5 May 1479, at B&#257sarke, a village in present-day Amritsar district of the Punjab. His father's name was Tej Bh&#257n and mother's Ba<u>kh</u>t Kaur; the latter has also been called by chroniclers variously as Lachchham&#299, Bh&#363p Kaur and R&#363p Kaur. He was married on 11 M&#257gh 1559 Bk to Mans&#257 Dev&#299, daughter of Dev&#299 Chand, a Bahil Khatr&#299, of the village of Sankhatr&#257, in Si&#257lko&#7789 district, and had four children - two sons, Mohr&#299 and Mohan, and two daughters, D&#257n&#299 and Bh&#257n&#299.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amar D&#257s had a deeply religious bent of mind. As he grew in years, he was drawn towards the Vai&#7779&#7751ava faith and made regular pilgrimages to Haridv&#257r. Chroniclers record twenty such trips. Amar D&#257s might have continued the series, but for certain happenings in the course of the twentieth journey which radically changed the course of his life. On the return journey this time, he fell in with a <i>s&#257dh&#363</i> who chided him for not owning a <i>gur&#363</i> or spiritual preceptor. Amar D&#257s vowed that he must have one and his pledge was soon redeemed when he was escorted in 1597 Bk/AD 1540 by B&#299b&#299 Amaro, a daughter-in-law of the family, to the presence of her father, Gur&#363 A&#7749gad, at Kha&#7693&#363r, not far from his native place. He immediately became a disciple and spent twelve years serving Gur&#363 A&#7749gad with single-minded devotion. He rose three hours before daybreak to fetch water from the river for the Gur&#363's bath. During the day he worked in the community kitchen, helping with cooking and serving meals and with cleansing the utensils. When free from these tasks, he went out to collect firewood from the nearby forest for Gur&#363 k&#257 La&#7749gar. His mornings and evenings were spent in prayer and meditation.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Several anecdotes showing Amar D&#257s's total dedication to his preceptor have come down the generations. The most crucial one relates how on one stormy night, he, braving fierce wind, rain and lightning, brought water from the River Be&#257s for the Gur&#363. Passing through a weaver's colony just outside Kha&#7693&#363r, he stumbled against a peg and fell down sustaining injuries, but did not let the water pitcher slip from his head. One of the weaver women, disturbed in her sleep, disparagingly called him Amar&#363 Nith&#257v&#257n' (Amar&#363 the homeless). As the incident was reported to Gur&#363 A&#7749gad, he praised Amar D&#257s's devotion and described him as "the home of the homeless, " adding that he was "the honour of the unhonoured, the strength of the weak, the support of the supportless, the shelter of the unsheltered, the protector of the unprotected, the restorer of what is lost, the emancipator of the captive. " This also decided Gur&#363 A&#7749gad's mind on the issue of the selection of a successor. The choice inevitably fell on Amar D&#257s. Gur&#363 A&#7749gad paid obeisance to him by making the customary offerings of a coconut and five pice. He had the revered Bh&#257&#299 Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 apply the <i>tilak</i> or mark of investiture to his forehead, thus installing him as the future Gur&#363. Soon afterwards, on the fourth day of the light half of the month of Chet in Bikram&#299 year 1609 (29 March 1552), Gur&#363 A&#7749gad passed away.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s made Goindv&#257l his headquarters. He was one of the builders of the town and had constructed there a house for his family as well. Goindv&#257l lay on the main road connecting Delhi and Lahore, at the head of one of the most important ferries on the River Be&#257s. From there Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s continued preaching the word of Gur&#363 N&#257nak Dev. In his hands the Sikh faith was further consolidated. He created a well-knit ecclesiastical system and set up twenty-two <i>mañj&#299s</i> (dioceses or preaching districts), covering different parts of India. Each was placed under the charge of a pious Sikh, who, besides disseminating the Gur&#363's message, looked after the <i>sa&#7749gat</i>within his jurisdiction and transmitted the disciples' offerings to Goindv&#257l. Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s appointed the opening days of the months of Bais&#257kh and M&#257gh as well as the D&#299v&#257l&#299 for the Sikhs to forgather at Goindv&#257l where he also had a <i>b&#257ol&#299</i> well with steps descending to water level, built and which in due course became a pilgrim centre. A new centre was planned for where Amritsar was later founded by his successor, Gur&#363 R&#257m D&#257s. He laid down for Sikhs simple ceremonies and rites for birth, marriage and death. The Gur&#363's advice, according to Sar&#363p D&#257s Bhall&#257, <i>Mahim&#257 Prak&#257sh</i>, to his Sikhs as to how they must conduct themselves in their daily life was : "He who firmly grasps the Gur&#363's word is my beloved Sikh. He should rise a watch before dawn, make his ablutions and sit in seclusion. The Gur&#363's image he should implant in his heart, and contemplate on <i>gurb&#257&#7751&#299</i>. He should keep his mind and consciousness firmly in control. He should never utter a falsehood, nor indulge in slander. He should make an honest living and be prepared always to serve holy men. He must not covet another's woman or wealth. He should not eat unless hungry, nor sleep unless tired. He who breaks this principle falls a victim to sloth. His span is shortened and he lives in suffering. My Sikh should shun those who feign as women to worship the Lord. He should seek instead the company of pious men. Thus will he shed ignorance. Thus will he adhere to holy devotion. "</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;From Goindv&#257l, Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s made a few short trips in the area around to propagate Gur&#363 N&#257nak's teaching. According to the <i>Mahim&#257 Prak&#257sh</i>, "The Gur&#363 went to all the places of pilgrimage and made them holy. He conferred favour on his Sikhs by letting them have a sight of him. He planted the seed of God's love in their hearts. He spread light in the world and ejected darkness. " Liberation of the people was also cited by Gur&#363 R&#257m D&#257s, N&#257nak IV, as the purpose of pilgrimage undertaken by his predecessor. According to his hymns in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s visited Kurukshetra at the time of <i>abhijit nak&#7779atra</i>. This, by astronomical calculations made by a modern scholar, fell on 14 January 1553. This is the one date authentically abstracted from the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, which otherwise scarcely contains passages alluding to any historical events and this date is also one of the fewest so precisely known about the life of Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gur&#363 k&#257 La&#7749gar became still more renowned in Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s's time. The Gur&#363 expected every visitor to partake of food in it before seeing him. By this he meant to minimize the distinctions of caste and rank. Emperor Akbar, who once visited him at Goindv&#257l, is said to have eaten in the refectory like any other pilgrim. The food in the <i>la&#7749gar</i> was usually of a rich Punjabi variety. Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s himself, however, lived on coarse bread earned by his own labour. Whatever was received in the kitchen during the day was used by night and nothing was saved for the morrow.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s gave special attention to the amelioration of the position of women. The removal of the disadvantages to which they had been subject became an urgent concern. He assigned women to the responsibility of supervising the communities of disciples in certain sectors. The customs of <i>purdah</i> and <i>sati</i> were discouraged.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The <i>b&#257&#7751&#299</i>, the Gur&#363's revealed word, continued to be a precious endowment. Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s collected the compositions of his predecessors and of some of the <i>bhaktas</i> of that time. When he had recorded these in <i>poth&#299s</i>--two of them preserved in the descendant families to this day--an important step towards the codification of the canon had been taken.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Like his predecessors, Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s wrote verse in Punjabi. His compositions which express deep spiritual experience are preserved in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. They are in number next only to those of Gur&#363 N&#257nak and Gur&#363 Arjan, N&#257nak V. Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s composed poetry in seventeen different musical measures or <i>r&#257gas</i>, namely Sir&#299, M&#257jh, Gau&#7771&#299, &#256s&#257, G&#363jar&#299, Va&#7693aha&#7749s, Sora&#7789h, Dhan&#257sar&#299, S&#363h&#299, Bil&#257val, R&#257mkal&#299, M&#257r&#363, Bhairau, Basant, S&#257ra&#7749g, Mal&#257r, and Prabh&#257t&#299. In terms of poetic forms, he composed<i>pad&#257s</i>(quartets),<i>chhants</i>(lyrics), <i>a&#7779&#7789pad&#299s</i> (octets), <i>&#347lokas</i> (couplets) and <i>v&#257rs</i> (ballads). Best known among his compositions is the<i>Anandu. </i> Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s's poetry is simple in style, free from linguistic or structural intricacies. Metaphors and figures of speech are homely, and images and similes are taken from everyday life or from the popular Puranic tradition. The general tenor is philosophical and didactic.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Before his death on Bh&#257do&#7749<i>sudi</i>15, 1631 Bk/1 September 1574, Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s chose Bh&#257&#299 Je&#7789h&#257, his son-in-law, as his spiritual successor. Bh&#257&#299 Je&#7789h&#257 became Gur&#363 R&#257m D&#257s, the Fourth Gur&#363 of the Sikhs.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Bhall&#257, Sar&#363p D&#257s, <i>Mahim&#257 Prak&#257sh</i>. Patiala, 1971.<BR> <li class="C1"> Gi&#257n Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Panth Prak&#257sh</i> [Reprint]. Patiala, 1970<BR> <li class="C1"> Satib&#299r Si&#7749gh, <i>Parbatu Mer&#257&#7751</i>. Jalandhar, 1983<BR> <li class="C1"> Macauliffe, Max Arthur, <i>The Sikh Religion</i>. Oxford, 1909<BR> <li class="C1"> Jodh Singh, <i>Life of Guru Amar Das</i>. Amritsar, 1949<BR> <li class="C1"> Ranjit Singh, <i>Guru Amar Das ji</i>. Amritsar, 1980<BR> <li class="C1"> Fauja Singh and Rattan Singh Jaggi, eds. , <i>Perspectives on Guru Amar Das</i>. Patiala, 1982<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Pi&#257r&#257 Si&#7749gh Padam<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>