Paying obeisance to Sri guru amar das ji: A great liberator of women on his 543rd birth anniversary

Sri Guru Amar Das Ji was born on Baisakh Sudi 14, 1636 Bikrami
i.e. May 5, 1479 at Basarke Gillan village, which is about 13 kms. southwest from Amritsar, in district Amritsar, Punjab. In his fond memory, in this
village at his birth place Gurdwara Sri Janam Asthan Sri Guru Amar Das
Ji has been established. His paternal great grandfather Vishan Das Ji
belonged to Bhalla Khatri family and was a shopkeeper at village Basarke.
His son Harji had a son named Tej Bhan Ji who was blessed with four sons
among whom Amar Das Ji was the eldest. Amar Das Ji’s mother, Bibi Bakht
Kaur Ji was a very religious lady and instilled a religious fervour in him in
early childhood. He liked the company of ascetics. At the age of 23 years he
was married to Bibi Mansa Devi Ji, daughter of Devi Chand Ji a Bahil Khatri
of village Sankhatra, in district Sialkot which now falls in Pakistan. They
had two sons Mohari and Mohan and two daughters Bibi Dani Ji and Bibi
Bhani Ji.

Like his grandfather, he developed Vaisnava faith and became a
regular visitor to Haridvar, Uttarakhand. An incident which took place
during his twentieth trip to this place became a turning point in his life.
When he was returning from Haridvar this time he came in contact with a
sadhu with whom he developed a close relationship. This sadhu ridiculed
him for not having a Guru (spiritual preceptor) and told him that he was
unhappy for having eaten from his hands, because he was without a Guru.
This incident instilled in him a yearning to have a Guru. His wish was
fulfilled in 1540 when Bibi Amaro Ji, daughter of Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji, the
second Sikh Guru, who was Amar Das Ji’s cousin’s wife agreed to escort
him to Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji at Khadur Sahib which falls in the present
District of Tarn Taran and which is about 8 kms. north-west from Goindval
Sahib which also falls in the same district. Earlier, Amar Das Ji had been
listening with keen interest the holy hymns of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji sung

by Bibi Amaro Ji. He used to stand outside the house of his cousin to listen
to Bibi Amaro Ji singing these hymns early in the morning. Now interested
in having a Guru he readily agreed to accompany her to meet her father Sri
Guru Angad Dev Ji at Khadur Sahib. On having a darshan (holy glimpse) of
Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji, he was deeply impressed and decided to serve the
Guru full time and with full devotion for the rest of his life. At that time Sri
Guru Angad Dev Ji was 36 years old and he himself was about 61 years old.
From then onwards he served Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji for 12 years at Khadur
Sahib. Amar Das Ji served Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji day in and day out. He
would get up three hours before day break, walk bare footed to fetch water
in a pitcher from river Beas for Guru Ji’s bath and while carrying the pitcher
he would all along sing the holy hymns. After that he would serve in the
langar (community kitchen) by way of cooking, fetching water, serving
langar, cleaning the utensils and mopping the floor with a broom stick. He
would also serve by fanning Sikh sangat using an indigenous fan to save
them from heat. In-between these services he would go to the jungle to
collect wood for the langar.

The most commonly quoted incident about his dedication is that once
on a stormy night, ignoring the lashes of rain and lightening, while he was
bringing the pitcher of water from river Beas for his Guru, he stumbled
against a peg fixed by a weaver family for spinning cloth just outside Khadur
Sahib. He fell down, got some injuries also but did not let the water fall from
the pitcher, which he was carrying on his head for his Guru’s bath. The
noise of his falling awakened the wife of the weaver who spontaneously
remarked that it could not be any other person except Amaru Nithavan
(Amaru, the homeless) who passes through this place every day in the early
hours. When someone reported this incident to Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji, he
was all praise for him and remarked that he was not homeless, rather he
was nithavian da thaav (home of the homeless), nimanian da maan (honour
of the unhonoured), nitanian da taan (strength of the weak), niotian di ot
(the support of those without support), niasrian da asra (shelter for the
unsheltered), nidharian di dhir (the protector of the unprotected), the
restorer of what is lost and gai bahor bandi chhor (the emancipator of the
captive). Deeply impressed by his devotion Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji decided to
make him his successor to guruship ignoring his two sons. Thus on 29
March 1552 before Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji left for his heavenly abode he
installed him as his successor and thus he became the third Guru of the
Sikhs. After this Sri Guru Amar Das Ji made Goindval Sahib, which falls in
the present day district of Tarn Taran, his permanent place of stay.
To streamline the work of preaching, he established 22 dioceses i.e.
preaching districts to spread the message of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. This
helped in integrating and further strengthening the Sikh sangat which Sri
Guru Nanak Dev Ji had established all over the country through his

extensive travels. Sri Guru Amar Das Ji fixed three occasions – the opening
days of two desi months Baisakh and Magh, and Diwali when the Sikhs
would gather at Goindval Sahib to seek his blessings and get integrated.
Through the establishment of 22 preaching centers, he in a way provided a
blue-print to the entire Sikh movement. He commanded to the Sikhs to get
up before dawn, contemplate on Gurbani, keep their consciousness under
firm control, always speak the truth, not to indulge in slander, be always
ready to serve the holy men, not covert another person’s wife or wealth, not
eat unless hungry and not sleep until tired. He made three main trips to
meet the Sikh sangat. First trip was to Haridvar via Pehowa, Kurukshetra,
Pipli, Karnal and Panipat. During this preaching tour he visited
Kurukshetra on January 14, 1553. His second trip was to Dalla near
Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala district of Punjab and the third one was to (i)
Khem Karan, Distrct Amritsar and (ii) Kasur which now falls in Pakistan.
Thus he further consolidated the Sikh religion.

He further strengthened the system of Guru Ka Langar (community
kitchen), wherein all people sit side by side on the mats spread on the floor
irrespective of their religion, caste and social status. He would, himself sit in
the pangat (line of those sitting to eat meal) to encourage a casteless society.
On finding that some higher caste people hesitated to sit along with those
from the lower castes he ordered that before seeing him each visitor be
asked to eat in the community kitchen. Emperor Akbar and Raja of Haripur
also had to first sit on the floor with others to eat the langar before they
could have his darshan. He earned his own livelihood. Following the
footsteps of his predecessors, he ensured that whatever offerings were
received in the Guru Ka Langar be served the same day. Thus the institution
of langar which had been originated by Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first
Sikh Guru at Kartarpur (now in Pakistan), continued by the second Sikh
Guru, Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji at Khadur Sahib, was firmly established by Sri
Guru Amar Das Ji, at Goindval Sahib. The institution of Guru Ka Langar
strengthened the ties of brotherhood and promoted a casteless society. This
institution was a hard blow to the centuries old caste system which was
prevalent at that time. According to the historians, the community kitchen
helped the people not only in renouncing their centuries old religious, social,
caste and class prejudices but also acted as an economic leveler. The more
well-to-do persons were contributing towards the community kitchen and
the less well to do were eating the meals. Through his hymns, which are
included in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, he tried to
promote a casteless and classless society. He has emphasized that no one
should take pride in one’s caste and that only fools take pride in their caste
because this pride gives rise to several misdeeds. Talking about the evils of
materialism, he has said that a person having wealth becomes not only
proud of himself but also insensitive to the sufferings of others.

Sri Guru Amar Das Ji gave special attention to the emancipation of
women and keenly took steps to remove their exploitation. He worked
against purdah (veil) system and satisystem. In India, under the sati system,
when the husband died, along with his cremation, the wife was forcibly
burnt alive on the same pyre. This social evil had persisted in India since
times immemorial. Sri Guru Amar Das Ji put in concerted efforts to end this
system. Through his hyms which are included in Sri Guru Granth Sahib he
preaches that those women who are burnt alive along with their husbands
are not satis. Rather, if they appreciate their husbands, they undergo
sufficient pain by their death and if they do not appreciate their husbands
why should they be burnt? The women who do not appreciate their
husbands feel unconcerned in both cases i.e. whether the husband is alive
or dead. In another hymn he has said that those who are burnt alive with
their husbands are not satisrather those women are satis who cherish the
memory of their husbands in their hearts and die of the pangs of separation.
To curb the social evil of sati he gave sanction to widow remarriage. In doing
so he fulfilled the declaration of his predecessor Gurus that he would
provide equality, shelter and protection to the lowly and down trodden and
emancipate the captives.

Sri Guru Amar Das Ji himself treated the lepers with his own hands.
The oft-quoted incident of curing the lepers is that of Prema whom he later
renamed as Murari.

He took steps to record the bani (compositions) of his two predecessor
Gurus and some of the contemporary bhaktas which he compiled in the
form of pothis (books). Two of these pothis are maintained till today by the
descendent families. His compositions are preserved in Sri Guru Granth
Sahib and the quantum of his compositions is next only to Sri Guru Nanak
Dev Ji, the first Sikh Guru and Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Sikh Guru.
Sri Guru Amar Das Ji, got constructed a baoli, a well 8 meters across
with steps descending to water level at Goindval Sahib. As per the
traditional belief a person who recites one Japji Sahib paath on each of
these steps every time taking a bath in the holy baolibecomes free from the
circle of transmigration. At this place a splendid gurdwara Gurdwara Sri
Darbar Sahib and Baoli Sahib has been established.

As reported by Iqbal Kaiser in his book Historical Sikh Shrines in
Pakistan, page 246-247, published in Pakistan, in the centre of the village
Dhunni, in Tehsil and District Hafizabad, Pakistan there exists Gurdwara
Sri Guru Amar Das Ji, in which one shoe of Sri Guru Amar Das Ji was
being kept which was 11 inches long and 3.5 inches wide at the toe. Bhai
Cheena Mal (Peera Mal) was a devotee and follower of Sri Guru Amar Das Ji
and who pleased with him granted him one pair of his shoes. This Gurdwara
is built with bricks while the floors are done in black and white glazed tiles.
The ceiling is sixteen feet high. The land assigned to this Gurdwara is in this

village as well as in some other villages. After the partition of Punjab this
Gurdwara was occupied by the refugees from Ambala, Haryana. One of the
shoes was kept here while the other one was kept in village Madar of Tehsil
and District Nankana Sahib. People suffering from Hajeeran (Cervical
Lymphadenopathy) used to visit both the places and touched their neck
against the shoes to get rid of the disease.

Before leaving for his heavenly abode on September 1, 1574 i.e. at the
age of 95 years Sri Guru Amar Das Ji, ignoring his two sons made Bhai
Jetha Ji his spiritual successor on the basis of his dedication. Thus, Bhai
Jetha Ji renamed as Sri Guru Ram Das Ji became the fourth Guru of the
Sikhs.

This year i.e. in 2022 the Birth Anniversary of Sri Guru Amar Das
Ji, a great social reformer and a liberator of women is being celebrated by
the Sikhs all over the world with great pomp and show on May 15.