Get complete information on the life & teachings of Guru Arjan

Get complete information on the life & teachings of Guru Arjan

Guru Arjan was the head of Sikhism for a quarter of a century and he accomplished a lot during his regime. He completed the construction of Amritsar and founded other cities like Taran Taaran and Kartarpur. He constructed a Baoli at Lahore.

The most important work of Arjan was the compilation of the Adi-Granth, the Bible of the Sikhs. He collected together all the available material and dictated the whole thing in the form of verses. This work was completed in 1604. It includes the hymns and teachings of the five Sikh Gurus, 16 Hindu Bhakat and Saints like Kabir, Farid, Nam Dev, Rai Das, etc., the verses of Bhats, etc.

According to Khushwant Singh, “The Granth is a unique historical document. It is perhaps, the only kind of writing of a scriptural nature which has preserved without embellishment or misconstruction the original writings of the religious literatures. It has saved the literary works of other poets of the time from the vagaries of human memory.

The Granth Sahib is the central object of Sikh worship and ritual.” Again, “The Granth Sahib is not like the idol in a Hindu Temple or the Cross in a Catholic Church. It is the source and not the object of prayer or worship. Sikhs revere it because it contains the teachings of their Gurus. It is more a book of divine wisdom than the work of God.”

Guru Arjan introduced the Masand System. The Sikhs were asked to pay one-tenth of their income to the Guru in future. The Guru appointed his representatives to collect the money. All this money was sent to Amritsar on the Baisakhi Day. The Guru also encouraged the Sikhs to engage themselves in hoarse-trade.

Relation between Guru Arjan and Akbar were cordial but the things changed after the accession of Jahangir. Ultimately, the Guru was tortured to death in 1605. Many reasons have been given for this tragedy. It is stated that Jahangir was annoyed because Guru Arjan gave his blessings to his rebel son, Prince Khusru, Jahangir also did not like the growing popularity of Sikhism.

He took strong objection to the conversion of Hindus and Muslims to Sikhism. To quite Jahangir, “They called him Guru and from all sides, stupid people crowded to worship and manifest complete faith in him. For three or four generations of spiritual successors, they kept their shop warm.

Many limes, it occurred to me to put a stop to this vain affair or to bring into the assembly of the ‘people of Islam.” It is also stated that Chandu, the Diwan of Lahore, wanted to marry his daughter to the son of Guru Arjan but the latter refused. Chandu could not put up with the insult and poisoned the ears of Jahangir who ordered Guru Arjan to pay a fine of Rs. 2 lakhs and to erase from the Granth all those hymns which were objectionable to the Muslims and Hindus. The Guru refused to do so and hence was tortured to death.

According to Teja Singh, the manner in which Guru Arjan was put to death “convinced the Sikhs that they must arm themselves and fight, if they wanted to live.” The martyrdom of Arjan gave strength to the Panth. It was the turning point in the history of Sikhism. They were not to be merely devotees but were also to become warriors.