Guru Hargobind ji had five sons. Of these Baba Gurditta died in his father’s lifetime and left behind two sons, Dhir Mall and Har Rai. The latter showed a lot of promise and was nominated by the Guru as his successor and consecrated before the Guru departed his life on March 3 1644. (This date is different from the one on which the anniversary falls this year because of differences in the Indian and Christian calendar).
The task of consolidation which was started by his predecessor was given a further impetus by Guru Har Rai ji. He concentrated on spreading Sikhism further and appointed his disciples to spread the faith in different regions. A sanyasi called Bhagwan Gir was sent to eastern India after he had been converted. Another disciple named Bhai Pheru was sent to Rajasthan, Suther Shah was sent to Delhi, and so on. This not only spread the word of Guru Nanak but also followed what he had done, namely reaching out far and wide to spread the simple message of solace to the populace.
Guru Har Rai ji maintained the traditions of his predecessors and it was at his headquarters Kiratpur that he met Dara Shukoh who was fleeing Punjab after behind defeated at the battle for Samughar by his younger brother Emperor Aurangzeb. Once earlier, Dara Shukoh had been treated by the herbs sent to him by Guru Sahib and came to seek audience with him in June 1658. He received the blessings and help of Guru Sahib. Guru Sahib also undertook the tour of central Punjab and Kashmir to visit the Sikhs there and to spread the word of Guru Nanak. He arrived in Srinagar on May 19, 1660.
Meanwhile Aurangzeb had been given many an inflated version of the Guru Sahib’s meeting with Dara Shukoh. He asked for the Guru to meet him. Guru Har Rai ji, according to the Sri Guru Pratap Suraj Granth of Bhai Santokh Singh, said “I rule over no territory, I owe the king nothing nor do I want anything from him. There is no connection of a teacher and disciple between us. Of what avail will this meeting be?”
He asked his son Ram Rai to meet Aurangzeb. This was done but Ram Rai in order to curry a favor with the Emperor even misinterpreted the sacred Bani of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. According to historical reports, he was asked to say what Guru Nanak meant by the following verse in the Asa Di Var:
“The ashes of the Musalman fall into the potter’s clod; Vessels and bricks are fashioned from them: they cry out as they burn.”
Ram Rai said that word Musalman or Muslim had been inserted instead of the word Baiman or faithless. This was a sacrilegious blasphemy and on hearing of this, Guru Har Rai ji asked him never to show his face to him.
Soon after, Guru Har Rai ji passed away on October 6, 1661, but before that he chose and proclaimed his son Har Krishan as the next Guru,
Article extracted from this publication >> March 9, 1990
