Inderjeet s. Bhatia “Prince ”
Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the youngest son of Guru Ramdas ji (the 4th Guru of Sikhism)and Bibi Bhani Ji was born at Goindwal, ,Punjab,in1563.Guru Amar Das ji ,the 3rd Guru of the Sikhs, was extremely fond of Arjan Dev,who as a child was always hovering around him. Guru Amar Das ji once said, ”
Eh Mera Dohta,Duni Da Bohta Hove Ga !” (-(This grandson of mine will cruise people across the ocean of life )
As predicted, when the time came for Guru Ramdas ji to retire, Arjan Dev Ji was ordained as the next Guru of Sikhism. However, Prithichand, the elder brother of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, did not accept him. After the passing away of Guru Ramdas ji, according to a custom prevalent among the Khatris of that time ,when the Mohri invested Guru Arjan Dev Ji with the Turban,Prithichad objected to it vehemently. As the eldest son of Guru Ramdas ji, he maintained it was he who ought to have been offered the Turban. When Guru Arjan Dev Ji came to know about it, he lost no time in presenting the Turban to him Not only this,he also left Goindwal for his new township to avoid any further irritation But Prithichand was not reconciled. He started intriguing and conspiring against Guru Arjan Dev Ji. However, Guru Arjan Dev Ji didn’t take much notice of his misdeeds and kept himself busy completing the holy tanks of Amritsar and Santokhsar.
It so happened that Prithichand, the elder brother of Guru ji, started composing his own hymns. He was passing them on to the Sikhs visiting Amritsar as the composition of Guru Nanak Dev ji and of other Sikh Gurus. Guru Arjan Dev Ji, on coming to know about it ,was very much disturbed. If this act of Prithichand was allowed to continue, Guru ji feared, it would be undoing of the Sikhs faith. Guru ji, therefore, decided to take immediate steps to stop this confusion. Guru Arjan Dev Ji had a special camp set up by the side of Ramsar tank and started compiling what subsequently came to be known the holy Granth Sahib. Guru ji, consistent with the traditions of the Sikh faith, had some of the spiritual verses of other Indian saints…..both, Hindus and Muslims, also collected and included in this compilation. The master copy of this compilation was prepared by Bhai Gurudas ji.
The holy tank of Santokhsar was completed in 1588. Guru Arjan Dev Ji then devoted his entire attention to the completion of Amrit-“sar, the tank of Nectar. In the midst of this holy tank, Guru Arjan Dev Ji had the foundation of Harmandir Sahib, (Also known as the Goldent Temple) laid. To lay the foundation stone of Har Mandir Sahib Ji, Guru ji invited Mian. Mir, a highly acclaimed Muslim divine from Lahore. With resources and dedication of the Sikhs, the construction of the holy tank and temple made rapid progress. When the holy tank of Amritsar was completed, with his characteristic humility, Guru Arjan Dev Ji gave the entire credit for it to Guru Ramdas ji He wrote:
“RAMDAS SAROVAR NAATEY,
SAB UTTERY PAAP KAMAATEY!!”
(A dip in the tank of Guru Ramdas ji and all my sins are washed away!)
The master copy of holy Guru Granth Sahib Ji was installed in the Golden Temple Amritsar. Prithichand, the eternal enemy of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, complained to then ruler Akbar, through his henchmen, that the said holy Granth Sahib Ji, compiled by Guru Arjan Dev Ji, had derogatory remarks about Muslim and Hindu prophets. King Akbar, however, found nothing objectionable in the holy Granth Sahib Ji. However, Akbar did not live long. After the death of Akbar, his son, Jehangir became the ruler of India.Unlike his father,Jehangir was a fundamentalist Muslim obsessed with turning the country into an Islamic state. He got concerned about the rapid increase in the popularity of Guru Arjan Dev Ji. Many enemies of Guru ji poisoned the ears of Jehangir against Guru Arjan Dev Ji. Jehangir himself was jealous of Guru ji’ s propagation of Sikhism. Many baseless allegations were levelled against Guru Arjan Dev Ji. The elder brother of Guru, Prithichand, too started conspiring against Guru ji’s compiled holy Granth Sahib Ji. A new allegation levelled against Guru ji was helping rebellious Khusrau who was Jehangir ‘s son and preferred choice of Akbar to be the next ruler of India. Jehangir was given to drinking wine and taking Opium who his father found unfit to rule. But in the war of succession, Jehangir had won and KHUSRAU had to run for his life.
In his book titled “Tuzak- e- Jehangiri”, Jehangir wrote as under:
“In Goindwal, on the banks of river Beas, lived a Hindu named Arjan, in the guise of sainthood and sanctity, so.much so that he had captured many of the simple hearted Hindus and even many of the ignorant and foolish followers of Islam.They all are sounding the drums of his holiness They called him Guru and from all sides ,people crowded to worship him and manifest complete faith in him. For three or four generations, (of spiritual succession) ,they had kept this shop warm. Many times, it occurred to me to put a stop to this vain affair or to bring him to the assembly of the people of Islam Now, when Khusrau happened to pass along this road, Khusrau made a halt at his place. He (Guru Arjan Dev Ji) behaved to Khusrau in some special ways and he (Guru ji)made on Khusrau’s forehead, a finger mark in Saffron, which the Indians call a Tilak and is considered auspicious. When this came to my ears,I clearly understood his folly.I clearly ordered to Murtaza Khan to arrest him and after confiscating his property ,he should be put to death.”
Jehangir summoned Guru Arjan Dev Ji to Lahore. When Guru Arjan Dev Ji received the summons, he knew what was in store for him. He called his son Hargobind ji and had him installed as 6th Guru of Sikhism.
At Lahore, Guru ji was imprisoned and asked to delete all references to Islam and Hinduism from the holy Granth Sahib Ji Guru ji told the emperor that Guru Granth Sahib ji was a revelation in praise of God. No one dare to alter them. Jehangir, who was in a hurry, asked Murtaza Khan to torture Guru Arjan Dev Ji to death. Guru ji was tortured at Lahore for 5 long days. He was made to sit on a red hot iron plate .They poured burning hot sand on Guru ji’s body. He was given a dip in hot boiling water. On May 30th, 1606, Guru ji asked for a bath in the river Ravi by the side of the Mughal fort .
Guru ji never came out of the river. Gurdwara Dera Sahib ji in Lahore, Pakistan, commemorates the place where Guru Arjan Dev Ji was tortured to death. According to historians, the execution of Guru Arjan Dev Ji was a part of the ongoing persecution of the Sikhs by the fundamentalistic Islamic Mughal rulers who were alarmed at the growth of the Sikh faith It is believed that before his execution, Guru Arjan Dev Ji instructed his son and successor, Hargobind ji to take up arms and resist tyranny. Guru Arjan Dev Ji ‘s execution led the Sikhs to become armed and pursue resistance to the persecution of the Sikhs under the Mughal rule.Guru ji’s martyrdom changed the entire course of the Sikhism which culminated in the establishment of the Khalsa Panth under the guidance of 10th Sikh Guru, called Guru Gobind Singh ji.
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