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	==See also ==		==See also ==
	~~{{Portal\|India\|Biography\|Punjab}}~~
	*[[Bhakti]]		*[[Bhakti]]
	*[[Bhakti movement]]		*[[Bhakti movement]]

>The Eloquent Peasant: Changing short description from "3rd of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism (1552-74)" to "The third Sikh Guru (1552-74)" (Shortdesc helper)

2021-06-21T00:27:04Z

Changing short description from "3rd of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism (1552-74)" to "The third Sikh Guru (1552-74)" (Shortdesc helper)

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{{Short description|The third Sikh Guru (1552-74)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| religion = [[Sikhism]]
| image = Amardas-Goindwal.jpg
| alt = Guru Amar Das - Goindwal
| caption = Guru Amar Das - Goindwal
| birth_name = Amar Das
| birth_date = 5 May 1479
| birth_place = Basarke, [[Punjab]], India<ref name=eosamardas/>
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1574|09|01|1479|05|05}}
| death_place = [[Goindwal Sahib]], [[Punjab]], India
| period = 1552–1574
| other names = ''The Third Master''
| known_for = * [[Anand Karaj]]
* [[Anand Sahib]]
* [[Sikh Manji]] system [[Langar (Sikhism)|Langar]], Sikh congregations at [[Diwali]], [[Vaisakhi]]
| predecessor = [[Guru Angad]]
| successor = [[Guru Ramdas]]
| spouse = Mata Mansa Devi
| children = Bhai Mohan (1507 - 1567) <br> Bhai Mohri (1514 - 1569) <br>Bibi Dani (1526 - 1569)<br> Bibi Bhani (1532 - 1598)
| parents = Tej Bhan & Mata Lachmi
}}
{{Sikhism sidebar}}

'''Guru Amar Das''' ([[Gurmukhi]]: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: {{IPA-pa|gʊɾuː əməɾᵊ d̯aːsᵊ|}}; 5 May 1479 – 1 September 1574), sometimes spelled as '''Guru Amardas''', was the third of [[the Ten Gurus of Sikhism]] and became [[Sikh Guru]] on 26 March 1552 at age 73.<ref>{{cite web|title=BBC – Religions – Sikhism: Guru Angad Dev |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/people/angaddev.shtml }}</ref>{{failed verification|reason=The date is not mentioned in the article|date=March 2020}}

Before becoming a Sikh, on a pilgrimage after having been prompted to search for a ''guru'', he heard his nephew's wife, Bibi Amro, reciting a hymn by [[Guru Nanak]], and was deeply moved by it.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p29"/> Bibi Amro was the daughter of [[Guru Angad]], the second and then current Guru of the Sikhs. Amar Das persuaded Bibi Amro to introduce him to her father <ref name=cole20>{{cite book|author1=William Owen Cole|author2=Piara Singh Sambhi|title=The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zIC_MgJ5RMUC&pg=PA22| year=1995| publisher= Sussex Academic Press|isbn=978-1-898723-13-4|pages=20–21}}</ref> and in 1539, Amar Das, at the age of sixty, met Guru Angad and became a Sikh, devoting himself to the Guru.<ref>{{cite book|author=Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair|title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed|year=2013|publisher=Bloomsbury|isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7|page=37}}</ref> In 1552, before his death, Guru Angad appointed Amar Das as Guru Amar Das, the third Guru of [[Sikhism]].<ref name="Farhadian2015p342"/>

Guru Amar Das was an important innovator in Sikhism, who introduced a religious organization called the 'manji'' system by appointing trained clergy, a system that expanded and survives into the contemporary era.<ref name=cole20/><ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p29"/> He wrote and compiled hymns into a ''Pothi'' (book) that ultimately helped create the ''[[Adi Granth]]''.<ref name="Fenech2014p41"/><ref name="Balslev2014p39"/>

Guru Amar Das remained the leader of the Sikhs till age 95, and named his son-in-law Bhai Jetha later remembered by the name [[Guru Ram Das]] as his successor.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p29">{{cite book|author1=Louis E. Fenech|author2=W. H. McLeod|title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA29|year=2014|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1|pages=29–30}}</ref><ref name="Singha2000p14">{{cite book|author=H. S. Singha|title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 Entries)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gqIbJz7vMn0C|year=2000|publisher=Hemkunt Press|isbn=978-81-7010-301-1|pages=14–17, 52–56}}</ref>

==Biography==
Guru Amar Das was born to mother Bakht Kaur (also known as Lakshmi or Rup Kaur) and father Tej Bhan Bhalla on 5 May 1479 in Basarke village in what is now called Amritsar district of Punjab (India). He married Mansa Devi and they had four children which they named as Mohri, Mohan, Dani and Bhani.<ref name=eosamardas>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/TheEncyclopediaOfSikhism-VolumeIA-d/page/n103 |title=Amar Das, Guru (1479-1574) |last1=Kushwant Singh |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjab University Patiala |access-date=10 December 2016}}</ref>

Amar Das had followed the [[Vaishnavism]] tradition of [[Hinduism]] for much of his life.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p29"/><ref>{{cite book |author=Gopal Singh |title=The Religion of the Sikhs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zc7wSs3R880C&pg=PA11 |year=1971 |publisher=Allied |isbn=978-0-210-22296-6 |page=11 |quote= Amar Das was a farmer-trader and a strong Vaishnavite before he met Guru Angad at a fairly advanced age.}}</ref> reputed to have gone on some twenty pilgrimages into the [[Himalayas]], to [[Haridwar]] on river Ganges. About 1539, on one such Hindu pilgrimage, he met a Hindu monk (''sadhu'') who asked him why he did not have a [[guru]] (teacher, spiritual counsellor) and Amar Das decided to get one.<ref name=eosamardas/> On his return, he heard Bibi Amro, the daughter of the Sikh Guru Angad, singing a hymn by [[Guru Nanak]].<ref name=" FenechMcLeod2014p29"/> He learnt from her about Guru Angad, and with her help met the second Guru of Sikhism and adopted him as his spiritual Guru who was much younger than his own age.<ref name=eosamardas/>

He is famous in the Sikh tradition for his relentless service to Guru Angad, with legends about waking up in the early hours and fetching water for his Guru's bath, cleaning and cooking for the volunteers with the Guru, as well devoting much time to meditation and prayers in the morning and evening.<ref name=eosamardas/> Guru Angad named Amar Das his successor in 1552, instead of naming of his surviving son Shri Chand.<ref name=cole20/><ref name="Farhadian2015p342"/>

He died in 1574, in Goindwal Sahib and like other Sikh Gurus he was cremated, with the "flowers" (remaining bones and ash after the cremation) immersed into {{transl|hi|harisar}} (flowing waters).

===Teachings===
Guru Amar Das taught with His own life the meaning of Guru Service, also known in [[Punjabi_language|Punjabi]] religious parlance as Guru ''Sewa''. Guru Amar Das emphasised both spiritual pursuits as well as an ethical daily life. He encouraged his followers to wake up before dawn, do their ablutions and then meditate in silent seclusion.<ref name=eosamardas/> A good devotee, taught Amar Das, should be truthful, keep his mind in control, eat only when hungry, seek the company of pious men, worship the Lord, make an honest living, serve holy men, not covet another's wealth and never slander others. He recommended holy devotion with Guru image in his follower's heart.<ref name=eosamardas/>

He was also a reformer, and discouraged veiling of women's faces (a Muslim custom) as well as [[sati (practice)|sati]] (a Hindu custom).<ref name=eosamardas/><ref>{{cite book|author=Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh|title=Sikhism|year=2004|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-1779-9|page=120}}</ref> He encouraged the [[Kshatriya]] people to fight in order to protect people and for the sake of justice, stating this is [[Dharma]].<ref name="Sambhi2005p29">{{cite book|author1=W. Owen Cole|author2=Piara Singh Sambhi|title=A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism: Sikh Religion and Philosophy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcSRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA29 |year=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-79760-7|pages=29–30}}</ref>

==Influence==
===Religious organization===
[[File:22 Missionaries established by Guru Amardas.jpg|thumb|Brass plaque at Gurdwara Chaubara Sahib Goindwal depicting scene of Guru Ramdas being enthroned to Guruship in the presence of regional Manji heads.]]
Guru Amar Das started the tradition of appointing ''manji'' (zones of religious administration with an appointed chief called ''sangatias''),<ref name=cole20/><ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p29"/> introduced the ''dasvandh'' ("the tenth" of income) system of revenue collection in the name of Guru and as pooled community religious resource,<ref name="Farhadian2015p342">{{cite book|author=Charles E. Farhadian|title=Introducing World Religions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5VV-BAAAQBAJ&pg=PT342 |year=2015|publisher=Baker Academic|isbn=978-1-4412-4650-9|pages=342}}</ref> and the famed ''[[Langar (Sikhism)|langar]]'' tradition of Sikhism where anyone, without discrimination of any kind, could get a free meal in a communal seating.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p29"/><ref name="HaarKalsi2009p21"/> He also started and inaugurated the 84-level [[step well]] called ''baoli'' at [[Goindval]] with a resting place, modeled along the lines of the Indian tradition of ''[[Dharamshala (type of building)|dharmsala]]'', which then became a Sikh pilgrimage (''tirath'') center.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p29"/><ref name="Singha2000p14"/><ref name="HaarKalsi2009p21">{{cite book|author1=Kristen Haar|author2=Sewa Singh Kalsi|title=Sikhism| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YOI1nB_zTyAC&pg=PA21| year=2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-0647-2|pages=21–22}}</ref>

===Akbar===
He met the Mughal Emperor [[Akbar]]. According to the Sikh legend, he neither received Akbar nor was Akbar directly ushered to him, rather the Guru suggested that Akbar like everyone sit on the floor and eat in the ''langar'' with everyone before their first meeting. Akbar, who sought to encourage tolerance and acceptance across religious lines, readily accepted the suggestion.<ref>{{cite book|author1=William Owen Cole|author2=Piara Singh Sambhi|title=The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zIC_MgJ5RMUC&pg=PA22| year=1995| publisher= Sussex Academic Press|isbn=978-1-898723-13-4|page=22}}</ref> After the conclusion of the Langar, Akbar sat in the congregation with the rest of the sangat and asked the Guru a question.<ref>{{cite web|title=Noor-E-Ilahi|url=https://www.srigurugranthsahib.org/guru-amar-das/noor-e-ilahi.htm}}</ref> The Sikh hagiographies called ''janam-sakhis'' mention that Guru Amar Das persuaded Akbar to repeal the tax on Hindu pilgrims going to Haridwar.<ref>{{cite book|author1=William Owen Cole|author2=Piara Singh Sambhi|title=The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zIC_MgJ5RMUC&pg=PA22| year=1995| publisher= Sussex Academic Press|isbn=978-1-898723-13-4|page=21}}</ref>

===Rituals in Sikhism: wedding, festivals, funeral===
Guru Amar Das composed the rapturous hymn called ''Anand'' and made it a part of the ritual of Sikh marriage called "[[Anand Karaj]]", which literally means "blissful event".<ref>{{cite book|author=Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh|title=The Birth of the Khalsa: A Feminist Re-Memory of Sikh Identity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IsYucLFfEIsC&pg=PA189 |year=2005|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0-7914-6583-7|page=189}}, Quote: "The name of the wedding ceremony, anand karaj (anand = bliss, karaj = event), is derived from Guru Amar Das's rapturous hymn Anand (bliss)."</ref><ref name="Ruether2006p700">{{cite book|author1=Rosemary Skinner Keller|author2=Rosemary Radford Ruether|author3=Marie Cantlon|title=Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WPILfbtT5tQC&pg=PA700 |year=2006|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=0-253-34687-8|page=700}}</ref>

The ''Anand'' hymn is sung, in contemporary times, not only during Sikh weddings but also at major celebrations. Parts of the "Anand hymn" are recited in Sikh temples (''Gurdwara'') every evening, at the naming of a Sikh baby, as well as during a Sikh funeral.<ref name=fenech35>{{cite book|author1=Louis E. Fenech|author2=W. H. McLeod|title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA35|year=2014|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1|page=35}}</ref> It is a section of the ''[[Anand Sahib]]'' composition of Guru Amar Das, printed on pages 917 to 922 of the ''Adi Granth'' and set to the "Ramkali" raga.<ref name=fenech35/><ref name="Mandair2013p89"/>

Guru Amar Das's entire ''Anand Sahib'' composition is a linguistic mix of Panjabi and Hindi languages, reflecting Guru Amar Das' upbringing and background. The hymn celebrates the freedom from suffering and anxiety, the union of the soul with the divine, describing a devotee's bliss achieved through the [[Guru]] with inner devotion and by repeating the Name of the Creator.<ref name="Mandair2013p89"/> The hymn states in stanza 19 that the [[Vedas]] teach "the Name is supreme", in stanza 27 that [[Smriti]] and [[Shastra]] discuss the good and the bad but are unreal because they lack a Guru and that it is the grace of the Guru which awakens the heart and the devotion to the Name. The hymn celebrates the life of a householder and constant inner devotion to the One, ending each stanza with the characteristic "says Nanak".<ref name="Mandair2013p89">{{cite book |author1=Christopher Shackle |author2=Arvind Mandair|title= Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ftdcvmviy_8C&pg=PA89| year=2013| publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-45108-9|pages=89–91, for a translation of his complete Anand hymn see pp. 92–101}}</ref><ref name="ColeSambhi1993">{{cite book|last1=Cole|first1=W. Owen|last2=Sambhi|first2=Piara Singh | isbn=978-0-333-54107-4 |title=Derived Religions?|year=1993|pages=10–24|doi=10.1007/978-1-349-23049-5_2}}</ref>

[[File:Hamandir Sahib (Golden Temple).jpg|thumb|Guru Amar Das picked the site for [[Golden Temple|Harimandir Sahib]] (Golden Temple).<ref name="Dalal2010p139">{{cite book|author=Roshen Dalal|title=The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNmfdAKFpkQC&pg=PA139|year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-341517-6|pages=139 }}</ref>]]
Guru Amar Das is also credited in the Sikh tradition to have encouraged building of temples and places where Sikhs could gather together on festivals such as [[Maghi]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DQeKTUXphPMC&q=guru+amar+das+maghi&pg=PA29|title=Glimpses of Sikhism|first=Major Nahar Singh|last=Jawandha|date=1 January 2010|publisher=Sanbun Publishers|isbn=9789380213255|access-date=14 September 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref>
[[Diwali]] and [[Vaisakhi]].<ref name="Singha2005p101">{{cite book|author=Dr. H.S. Singha|title=Sikh Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nRodBu9seiIC&pg=PA101 |year=2005|publisher=Hemkunt Press|isbn=978-81-7010-245-8|pages=101–102}}</ref><ref name="Richman2001p403">{{cite book|author=Paula Richman|title=Questioning Ramayanas: A South Asian Tradition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7RW6MrAiJ-0C&pg=PA403|year=2001|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-22074-4|pages=403 with note 14}}</ref> He required his disciples to gather together for prayers and communal celebrations in autumn for Diwali and in spring for Vaisakhi, both post harvest ancient festivals of India.<ref name="Sambhi2005p29"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Jon Mayled|title=Sikhism|url=https://archive.org/details/sikhism0000mayl_l1v5|url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=Heinemann|isbn=978-0-435-33627-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sikhism0000mayl_l1v5/page/36 36]–37}}</ref><ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Amar-Das Amar Das: Sikh Guru], Encyclopædia Britannica</ref>

===Site of the Golden Temple===
Guru Amar Das selected the site in Amritsar village for a special temple, that Guru Ram Das began building, [[Guru Arjan]] completed and inaugurated, and the Sikh Emperor [[Ranjit Singh]] gilded. This temple has evolved into the contemporary "Harimandir Sahib", or the temple of Hari (God), also known as the [[Golden Temple]].<ref name="Arshi1989p5">{{cite book|author=Pardeep Singh Arshi|title=The Golden Temple: history, art, and architecture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rcmfAAAAMAAJ|year=1989|publisher=Harman|isbn=978-81-85151-25-0|pages=5–7}}</ref><ref name="Dalal2010p139"/> It is the most sacred pilgrimage site in Sikhism.<ref>{{cite book|author1=C. Christine Fair|author2=Sumit Ganguly|title=Treading on Hallowed Ground: Counterinsurgency Operations in Sacred Spaces|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L2E1NpYuOrsC&pg=PA17|year=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-971189-5|page=17}}</ref>

===Foundations and scripture===
Scholars such as [[Pashaura Singh (Sikh scholar)|Pashaura Singh]], Louis E. Fenech and William McLeod state that Guru Amar Das was influential in introducing "distinctive features, pilgrimages, festivals, temples and rituals" that ever since his time have been an integral part of Sikhism.<ref name="Fenech2014p41"/> He is also remembered as the innovator who began the collection of hymns now known as ''Goindwal Pothi'' or ''Mohan Pothi'', the precursor to what became the ''[[Adi Granth]]'' – the first edition of Sikh scripture – under the fifth Sikh Master, which finally emerged as the ''[[Guru Granth Sahib]]'' under the tenth Sikh Master.<ref name="Fenech2014p41">{{cite book|author1=Pashaura Singh|author2=Louis E. Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|pages=41–42}}</ref><ref>Pashaura Singh (1996), ''Scriptural Adaptation in the Adi Granth'', Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Oxford University Press, Volume 64, Number 2 (Summer 1996), pages 337–357</ref> The nearly 900 hymns composed by Guru Amar Das constitute the third largest part, or about 15%, of the ''[[Guru Granth Sahib]]''.<ref name="Balslev2014p39">{{cite book|author=Anindita N. Balslev|title=On World Religions: Diversity, Not Dissension |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wO2ICwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 |year=2014|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-93-5150-174-9|pages=39–40}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
''Guru Amardas'' is a 1979 [[documentary film]], directed by Prem Prakash and produced by the [[Government of India]]'s [[Films Division of India|Films Division]], covering his life and teachings.<ref>{{Cite web|title=GURU AMARDAS {{!}} Films Division|url=https://filmsdivision.org/shop/guru-amardas|access-date=2021-06-12|website=filmsdivision.org}}</ref>

==See also ==
{{Portal|India|Biography|Punjab}}
*[[Bhakti]]
*[[Bhakti movement]]
*[[Dasam Granth]]
*[[Japji]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Guru Angad]]
| title = [[Sikh gurus|Sikh Guru]]|years=26 March 1552 – 1 September 1574
| after = [[Guru Ram Das]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Sikhism|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guru Amar Das}}
[[Category:Sikh gurus|Amar Das]]
[[Category:1479 births]]
[[Category:1574 deaths]]
[[Category:Punjabi people]]
[[Category:1552 in India]]

Guru Amar Das - Revision history

WECElbert296866 at 22:47, 8 March 2026

CleanupBot II: Removed empty portal template using script

>The Eloquent Peasant: Changing short description from "3rd of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism (1552-74)" to "The third Sikh Guru (1552-74)" (Shortdesc helper)