Birth: Guru Arjun Dev Ji was born on April 15,1563 A:D.at Goindwal ‘Sahib (Punjab). He was the youngest Of the 3 sons of Guru Ram Dass Ji, His mother Bhani Ji “was the daughter of the III Guru Amar Dass Ji.

‘Early Life: Arjun Dev grew up in “the saintly company of his father ‘Gant Ram Dass Ji and grand-father, Guru Amar Dass Ji. He loved “to recite Gurbani and to learn music. He married Ganga Ji.

Guruship: Guru Ram Dass Ji “chose Arjun Dev on merit to be the “next Guru, so after the death of the IV Guru, Guru Arjun Dev became the V Gurion Sep.1, 1581. His eldest brother, Pirthi Chand, resented this, posed as Guru and ¢reated many problems for the real Guru, But the Sikhs saw through this mundane ambitions and ‘shunned him.

The Guru’s Contributions – “Harminder Sahib: In 1588, the Gumi got the foundation of the famous Golden Temple, Amritsar, laid by Mian Mir, a Muslim Fakir. “This unique place of worship is open for all; Santokhsar and Ramsar too were built in Amritsar by the Guru. Tam Taran Sahib Gurdwara was constructed near a Jarge tank. Kartarpur Town near ‘Jalandhar was founded by the Guru. He built Chheherta Sahib also.

Daswandh: The Guru started this voluntary system of every Sikh giving one-tenth of his income to a common fund for the welfare of the community and mankind.

Adi Granth Sahib: Another lasting contribution of Guru Arjun was the compiling of the Sikh Scripture in one volume. Painstakingly he collected and edited the words of the earlier Gurus; and the sayings of 15 Bhagatas and others in tune with Sikhism. He added his own compositions also. He got the Adi Granth scribed at Ramsar, by a great Sikh scholar named Bhai Gurdas, The Granth Sahib was installed at Harminder Sahib in 1604 and Baba Buddha Ji acted as the first Granthi (Head Priest).

Guru Arjun Dev’s total verses and compositions number 2312, in 30 Ragas. Sukhmani Sahib and Bara Maha (Rag Majh) are his popular Banis.

Martyrdom: The ascending progress and popularity of the Sikh faith roused the jealousy of Emperor Jehangir of Delhi. Guru’s adversaries also irritated the ruler. So he ordered the arrest and death by torture of the Guru, The agents of Jehangir severely tortured the Guru who remained firm in his principles. So in May 1606, at Lahore (now in Pakistan) he became the first martyr to lay down his life for the Sikh cause, This event proved a turning point in the Sikhs’ history, The Guru’s son, the VI Guru Hargobind Ji wore two swords of Miri (temporal) and Piri (spiritual), built Akal Takhat near Harmandir Sahib and fought successfully 4 battles against Mughals.

Article extracted from this publication >> June 12, 1992