Sri Guru Ram Das Ji
Sri Guru Ram Das ji are known to be the Chauthi Patshahi or the Fourth Guru as well as Guru who established the city of Amritsar. Sri Guru Ram Das Ji kept alive the tradition of first three Gurus.
Guru Ram Das Ji was born in Lahore into a Sodhi Khatri family residing in Mohalla Chuna Mandi. His parents Har Das and Daya Vati were known for their honesty and pious living. Ram Das was popularly addressed as Jetha, being the first-born of his parents . From the beginning his outlook was of spirituality, and he felt the happiest when he happened to be in the company of holy people. Like other children he too had immense fascination for his Nanake (the house of his maternal grandparents) and was a frequent visitor to it. Eventually Jetha was ordained as Guru Amar Das's successor and named Guru Ram Das (means servant of God).
Guru Ram Das left Goindwal for his new colony. Many Sikhs followed the Guru and settled there. At first this city was called Ramdaspur, which is now called Amritsar. A revenue collector of Patti in district of Lahore (now in Pakistan) had five daughters, the fifth daughter was very religious. One day the father asked who provide them to eat and who give them the things which are required in the life. The first four daughters replied that it was their parents who had provided them all these things, but the fifth daughter told her parents that it was God who provides all the things to his childrens and to the nature which he has created. On hearing this reply her father got angry and remarked,"I shall see if God will protect you."
And to prove that he did all the things for them, he married his fifth daughter to a crippled leper man to teach his daughter a lesson. She willfully accepted him as her true husband. She put him in a basket and carried him on her head, and begged from door to door to maintain their livelihood. One day she left him under a tree near a pool of water and went to the nearby colony to beg for food. The leper saw some crows (black in color) dipping in the water and they turned white when came out of the water. The leper thought that the water had some miraculous healing property. So he managed to came out of his basket and crawled into the water, and so, the leprosy at once disappeared from the body. When the lady came back, she did not believe the story whih her husband told her. They went to Guru Ram Das, who confirmed saying that the pool possess such extraordinary efficacy. Upon this the couple became Guru's followers.
The tree under the shade of which she left her husband, is still there and is called 'Dukhbhanjni Beri'. That pool was known as Amritsar- tank of nectar, the place itself came to be known as the city of Amritsar. The work to built this city was started by Guru Ram Das Ji but it was completed by his successor, Guru Arjan Dev Ji.
Story of Guru Ram Das and Srichand
When the aged ascetic son of Guru Nanak Baba Sri Chand came to visit Guru Ram Das he asked him why he kept such a long beard? Guru Ram Das replied; "To wipe the dust off the feet of holy men like yourself" and then proceeded to perform this supreme act of humility. Sri Chand held his hand and embraced Guru Ram Das saying; "It's enough. This is the kind of character by which you have deprived me of my ancestral heritage. Now, what more is left with me that I could offer you for your piety and goodness of heart?"
It is said that after the death of Banda Bahadur, when the Mughal rulers decided to root out Sikh religion, it was the Udasis who kept the Divine spark of the Sikh faith alight.
Free Guru Ka Langer (Means Free Kitchen)
Like his predecessors, Guru Ram Das carried on the work of Langar in a more elaborate and methodical way. As in the past adherence was made to the term 'Pangat' in Langar. Anybody irrespective of his caste, creed, religion or sex, could take food without any hesitation and the food(langar) is distributed to all the people in Pangat.
Origion of new custom for marriage known as Anand Karaj
The Sikh marriage ceremony also known as the Anand Karaj is centered around the 'Lawan', composed by Guru Ram Das Ji is a four stanza hymn. The couple which is going to be married ,circumscribe the Guru Granth Sahib as each stanza is read. The first round is the Divine consent for commencing the householders life through marriage. The second round states that the union of the couple has been brought about by God. In the third round the couple is described as the most fortunate as they have sung the praises of the Lord in the company of saints. In the fourth round the feeling of the couple that they have obtained their hearts desire and are being congratulated is described.
Selection of Guruship
Sahari Mal, Guru's cousin from Lahore, invited the Guru to grace his son's marriage. For some reason the Guru could not go, but he asked his eldest son, Prithi Chand to attend the marriage. Prithi Chand refused to go. His refusal is attributed to possibly two motives. It is said that he was incharge of the offerings that were made to the Guru and was able to furtively set aside much wealth for himself. If he had gone to Lahore, this illicit gain might have fallen in somebody else's hands. Secondly he thought that the time was fast approaching for the selection of a person to succeed his father as Guru and so he should remain in Amritsar. Mahadev, the Guru's second son, did not want to go because of his indifference to worldly affairs. The third son, Arjan Dev agreed to attend the marriage. He was instructed to stay on in Lahore after the marriage to look after the affairs of the Sikh Sangat of that place.
After some time he started feeling the pangs of separation for his father and the Guru, and wrote three letters, two of which were intercepted by his elder brother, Prithi Chand. A letter marked '3', reached the Guru and Arjan Dev was immediately recalled from Lahore. On his return he told his father that he had sent three letters. The truth came to light and Prithi Chand was forced to produce the other two letters. Thus Prithi Chand's actions were exposed.
Guru Ram Das embraced Arjan Dev, sent for five paise and a coco-nut, and placed them before him. He descending from his throne, seated him there before the whole assembly of the Sikhs. Bhai Buddha affixed the tilak of spiritual sovereignty to Arjan Dev's forehead, and thus he was proclaimed as Guru Arjan Dev. This appened in August, 1581.
Prithi Chand became so mad that he addressed his father in abusive language. He told Bhai Buddha that his father acted improperly in giving Guruship to his younger brother. He vowed that he would remove Guru Arjan and would seat himself on the Guru Gaddi (throne). The Guru counselled him not to quarrel about it, but Prithi Chand refused to submit and adopted an attitude of open defiance.