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What was the contribution of Guru Har Krishan Ji to the development of Sikhism? |
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Answer» Guru Har Krishan Ji was born on July 7, 1656 at Kiratpur. The name of his mother was Mata Sulakhani and of his father, Guru Har Rai Ji. Guru Sahib became the eighth Guru of the Sikhs in 1661. Guru Sahib was hardly five years Old when he took over Guru Gaddi. Guru Har Krishan Ji is fondly remembered as Child Guru or ‘Child Saint’ due to his tender age at which he became the eighth Guru of the Sikhs. The main events of the period of Guru Har Krishan Ji are described as follows: 1. A meeting with Brahmin Lai Chand: Guru Har Krishan Ji was a very intelligent child. Guru Sahib had intuitive power with mystic awareness. It is a part of oral history that Guru Sahib onCe met a Brahmin called Lai Chand. Hie Brahmin, Lai Chand was very proud of his knowledge. Lai Chand tried to put questions to Guru Sahib on the contents of Gita with the aim of testing his intellect. Guru Sahib answered all his queries in such an intelligent and mature manner that the Brahman was very astonished and was left speechless. 2. Hostility of Ram Rai: Guru Har Krishan Ji faced the hostility of his dissatisfied brother Ram Rai. Ram Rai was confident of succeeding to the Guru Gaddi on being the eldest son of Guru Har Rai Ji, the seventh Guru. He was not ready to compromise with the loss of his claim over Guru Gaddi, which he himself had lost due to his cowardice. Hence, he prayed to Aurangzeb for justice. Aurangzeb was busy in suppressing the revolts against his rule at that time. He, at first, therefore, did pot give any importance to the pleadings of Ram Rai but; after some time he tried to exploit the conflict between the estranged brothers with the aim of crushing the Sikh movement. Aurangzeb called Guru Har Krishan Ji to Delhi to present the proof of his right to Guru Gaddi. 3. Guru Har Kishan Ji at Delhi: Guru Har Kishan Ji continued to spread the message of Sikh religion and reached Delhi. Guru Har Kishan Ji stayed in the house of Mirza Raja Jai Singh. The house of Mirza Raja Jai Singh was six miles away from the Red Fort of Delhi in a village Raisina. In order to test the proverbial intelligence of the young Guru Sahib, Jai Singh hid his chief queen among his female servants who were wearing similar dresses. He requested Guru Sahib to take his seat in the lap of the chief queen. Guru Sahib looked at all the women and located the chief queen, and sat in her lap. Mirza Raja Jai Singh was astonished to watch the talent of observation of young Guru Sahib. The Gurudwara Bangla Sahib now stands there in his memory. 4. Final Union with the Divine Power: Guru Har Kishan Ji suffered an attack of small pox. Guru Sahib had learnt from intuition that he would soon leave for his final journey. Guru Sahib asked for a coconut and five paisas, circled them thrice, and spoke, “Baba Bakala”. Just after giving his last message, Guru Sahib merged himself with the Divine Power. It was on March 30, 1664, when Guru Sahib gave his last message. Gurudwara Bala Sahib stands on the banks of river Yamuna in his memory. |
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