There is a large calendar on my wall that I use to mark off the days for Project Conversion. Each night before bed I mark off the recently extinguished day and settle into bed. The next day, I rise before dawn and wait for the sun to illumine the world once more. Maybe I called the day before, Monday. The next day, I’ll call it Tuesday.

In a way, this illustrates the nature of the 10 living gurus of the Sikh path. The sun is one light, yet each day we receive this one light, we call the days by different names.

“They distinguish and separate one Guru from the other. And rare is the one who knows that they, indeed, were one. They who realized this in their hearts, attained Realization of God.” –Guru Gobind Singh

To drive this point home, the gurus after Nanak were often referred to as a successive Nanak, because to them the same light Guru Nanak bore resided in them as well. 

Guru comes from the Sanskrit and means “teacher,” “prophet,” or “saint.” There is also a breakdown of the word which translates into “the light which dispels the darkness.” I like variety. Today I’ll give you a brief list of the 10 gurus from Nanak to Gobind Singh. Each “carried the torch” of the Sikh light and contributed their own unique brick to the foundation of the Faith.

Guru Nanak-  1469-1539:

Guru Nanak stirred up trouble for the religious establishment from an early age. When he turned 13 and reached the age of initiation into his Hindu faith, he shocked his family when he refused the sacred thread offered by the priests. A man of song, he instead stitched this yarn of lyric magic for the group:

“Let mercy be the cotton, contentment the thread, Continence the knot and truth the twist. O priest! If you have such a thread, Do give it to me. It’ll not wear out, nor get soiled, nor burnt, nor lost. Says Nanak, blessed are those who go about wearing such a thread.”

Years later, as a young man, Nanak would spend hours in the early morning and late evening meditating and singing spiritual songs with his long time Muslim friend and gifted musician, Mardana. One day, at the age of thirty, Nanak disappeared in a river. Three days later he reappeared, having met God and accepted his mission as Guru, and declared:

“There is but One God, His name is Truth, He is the Creator, He fears none, he is without hate, He never dies, He is beyond the cycle of births and death, He is self illuminated, He is realized by the kindness of the True Guru. He was True in the beginning, He was True when the ages commenced and has ever been True, He is also True now.”

This is the beginning of the Japji Sahib and the cornerstone of Sikh scripture and religious thought. Once Nanak’s sons grew and left home, he traveled thousands of miles teaching a faith devoid of ritualism and blind faith, a doctrine of one unique, timeless God, and absolute equality of human kind. At the end of his life, he passed on the “light” to the next guru.

Guru Angad: 1504-1552

Once a devote worshipper of the Hindu goddess, Durga, Guru Angad assumed the role of Guru with great distress and longing for Guru Nanak. Upon taking the Guruship, he secluded himself in meditation for six months.

“He whom you love, die for him. Accursed is this life without the beloved. The head should be sliced that does not bow before the Master. O Nanak! the body should be burnt that suffers not the agony of separation.” –Sri Rag

I can’t imagine the burden Guru Angad bore, in effect being the sequel to Guru Nanak. How do you fill the shoes of the original? Besides holding up what Guru Nanak started, Guru Angad is probably best known for his instruction of Sikh teachings using Gurmukhi script, a derivative of the local Punjabi language. This was huge, because before, all religious knowledge was the privilege of the Hindu priests who used Sanskrit, a holy language the local crowd could not read or right. Under Guru Angad’s leadership, now Sikh divine writ was accessible to all. Revolution!

Guru Amar Das: 1479-1574

Guru Amar Das was advanced in years, around 73, when he became the next guru. But this man would prove that age is just a number. Guru Amar Das’ claim to fame first arrived with his use of the Sikh tradition, the langar (free community kitchen). A staunch proponent of equality, the guru insisted that everyone from kings to commoners eat together in the langar before meeting him. He also pushed further for equal treatment of women, speaking against the use of veils, the practice of sati (wife burning alive at her husband’s cremation), and disapproved of sanctions requiring widows to remain unmarried against their wishes.

In addition, Guru Amar Das helped spread the teachings of Sikhism with the appointment of 146 Masands (or apostles), 52 of which were women, and sent them all across India. To support the growing faith, he asked his son-in-law Jetha to build the township of Ramdaspur, later known as Amristar, the holiest city of the Sikhs.

Guru Ram Das: 1534-1581

Guru Ram Das was the founder of the holiest city of the Sikhs, Amristar, and spent much of his time as guru developing the city as their spiritual home. His work resulted in an abode the Sikhs could be proud of as well as the famed ”pool of nectar”, the small lake that surrounds the Golden Temple.

He is also credited for writing the Lawan, the four-stanza hymn on which the Sikh wedding ceremony is centered.

Guru Arjan: 1563-1606

Our next guru is credited with laying the foundations of the Golden Temple itself. In a show of universality and respect for all faiths, a Muslim laid the foundation stone of the temple. The temple was also constructed with four entries, signifying that the faith come from all directions. Guru Arjan also compiled the Adi Granth, a collection of scripture from the previous gurus as well as Hindu and Muslim saints. This work became the foundation of the Guru Granth Sahib, the everlasting Guru and guide of the Sikhs today and evermore.

For his refusal to amend the Adi Granth, the new emporer of India, Jahangir, had Guru Arjan arrested and brutally tortured for five days. All the while, the guru accepted his torment without complaint. Unable to break him, his tormentors allowed him to bathe in the Ravi river where he entered and was carried away to his death. Thus, the martyrdom of the Sikhs began and the seeds of the future Khalsa were planted.

Guru Hargobind: 1595-1644

Guru Hargobind, after experiencing the cruel martyrdom of his father and former guru, was the first guru to develop the Sikh saint-soldier mentality. During his ordination as guru, he famously took two swords, the sword of shakti (power) and bhakti (meditation). Thus, the guru was now a leader of the Sikhs in both temporal and spiritual matters (referred to as Miri and Piri, respectively). To symbolize this dual role, Guru Hargobind constructed the Akal Takht, a temple from which the guru adressed Sikh affairs, across from the Golden Temple. His development of a Sikh martial society served both Sikhs and the oppressed, having confronted the mughal armies of the emperor for the first time.

Guru Har Rai: 1630-1661

Guru Har Rai’s time as guru, while was not as militarily as active as the former guru, was marked by organization and consolidation. Guru Har Rai continued with Sikh administration and reminded the Sikhs of their peaceful foundations with his patient and gentle disposition with nature. He also maintained a steady missions campaign, sending Sikhism far out toward India’s borders.

Guru Har Krishan: 1656-1664

The youngest of all the guru’s, Guru Har Krishan was ordained at the age of five and died only three years later. Known for his work alleviating the poor and sick, he came down with smallpox while treating the ill of the same disease and died soon after.

Guru Tegh Bahadur: 1621-1675

Here lies one of the most distressing and heroic biographies of a man–religious or otherwise–I’ve ever encountered. Guru Tegh Bahadur is famous for how he died. At a time when the emporer of India was consolidating his power by forcibly converting all under his rule to Islam, 500 learned Hindu holy men pleaded with the guru to speak on their behalf to the emporer. The guru made a deal with the emporer saying that the Brahmins would convert to Islam if the emporer could convert him.

For days, the emporer had the guru’s companions tortured. He is reported to have said in defense of the Hindus,

“Hinduism may not be my faith, and I may believe not in the supremacy of Veda or the Brahmins, nor in idol worship or caste or pilgrimages and other rituals, but I would fight for the right of all Hindus to live with honour and practice their faith according to their own rites.”

Unable to convert the guru, the emporer had him beheaded. Thus, the guru died for the religious freedom, not of the Sikhs, but Hindus.

Guru Gobind Singh: 1666-1708

The last mortal guru, Guru Gobind Singh crystalized the Sikh identity into its final form and is most notable for the formation of the order of the Khalsa, or “pure,” and the ordination of the Guru Granth Sahib (the living scripture of the Sikhs) as the final and immortal Guru. With the formation of the saint-warrior Khalsa, and instituting the Sikh “uniform” of the Five K’s, Guru Gobind Singh established the identity of Sikhs that we see today as holy warriors sworn to protect and defend the oppressed and downtrodden, regardless of their faith.

I know this was a long post, but I wanted to introduce who the gurus were and how each contributed to the Sikh tradition we are enjoying this month. Hopefully your eyes aren’t too tired, but it’s pretty awesome seeing how each guru, with a distinct personality, was able to carry the torch of the Guru to each generation and now, to us.