guru nanak dev ji
As the founder of a new religion, Guru Nanak set down strong foundations for his successors and his followers. He is known for his teachings about One God and only worshiping One Supreme Lord. He traveled in all four directions and preached about meditating on God and attaining salvation by becoming One with Him.
guru angad dev ji
As the second Guru, Guru Angad Dev Ji popularized the use of a simplified alphabet by modifying the old Punjabi characters now known as the Gurmukhi script and wrote many verses that were included in the Guru Granth Sahib. He made sure that the institution of Langar, the communal meal served at the Gurdwara, became an obligation, and he created many Sikh religious institutions.
guru amardas ji
Guru Amar Das Ji was the second of the ten Gurus who founded Sikhism. He further abolished the caste system and lifted the status of women. He established an Administration system for management of the increasing size of the Sikh congregations, called Manjis. Guru Amar Das Ji also contributed a total of 907 hymns to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
guru ram das ji
Guru Ram Das Ji is known to be the fourth Guru, who established the city of Amritsar. He continued the tradition of first three Gurus and emphasized the concept of selfless service to the humanity without any consideration of caste, color, creed, gender and country. He put stress on high thinking and simple living, and he gave the gift of “Four Lawan” to attain unity with God.
guru arjan dev ji
He was the fifth Guru and the first martyr of Sikh faith. Guru Arjan lived as the Guru of Sikhism for a quarter of a century. He completed the construction of Amritsar and founded other cities, such as Taran Taran and Kartarpur. The greatest contribution Guru Arjan made to the Sikh faith was to compile all of the past Gurus’ writings, along with selected writings of other saints from different backgrounds which he considered consistent with the teachings of Sikhism into one book, now the holy scripture: the Guru Granth Sahib.
guru hargobind sahib ji
While the ceremonial rites were being performed by Baba Buddha Ji, Guru Har Gobind Ji asked Baba Buddha to adorn him with a sword rather than the Seli of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, which had been used previously by the earlier Gurus. He then put on not one, but two swords: one on his left side and the other on his right. He named one “Miri,” representing Temporal Power, and the other “Piri,” representing Spiritual Power, one to smite the oppressor and the other to protect the innocent.
guru har rai ji
As the seventh Guru, he followed the footsteps of his grandfather, Guru Har Gobind Ji. He kept a contingent of 2,200 cavalry as his personal guard. After the many battles of Guru Hargobind, the times of Guru Har Rai were a time of consolidation for the Sikh community without any major battles in the Gurus lifetime.
guru harkrishan sahib ji
As the eighth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Har Krishan became Guru on Sunday, 20 October 1661 following in the footsteps of his father, Guru Har Rai Ji. He was of a small age when he attained the leadership of the Sikh people. There are very few devotees of God in human history who have achieved a high level of spirituality in such small age.
guru tegh bahadur ji
Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji was the ninth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism, becoming Guru on Saturday, 16 April 1664 following in the footsteps of his grand-nephew, Guru Har Krishan. He sacrificed his own life, facing down Emperor Aurangzeb on behalf of the Kashmiri Hindus, ending Aurangzeb’s threat to either convert to Islam or be executed. He also contributed 115 hymns to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, all of them Sloks.
guru gobind singh ji
Guru Gobind Singh Ji was the tenth and last of the ten human form Gurus of Sikhism. Before Guru ji left his mortal body for his heavenly abode, he nominated Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji (SGGS) as the next perpetual Guru of the Sikhs. He molded the Sikh religion into its present shape, with the formation of the Khalsa fraternity and completion of the Guru Granth Sahib.
