The Child Guru
Guru Harkrishan Ji’s parkash (birth) took place on July 7, 1656 in Kiratpur. His mother was
Mata Nihal Kaur (Mata Sulakhni) and father was Guru Har Rai Ji. He had one elder brother
named Baba Ram Rai.
Guru Harkrishan Ji became the eighth guru of the Sikhs on October 6, 1661, when he was
only five years old. At this time, his older brother, Baba Ram Rai was in Lahore. He was not
happy to hear this news because he wanted to be the guru. Bhai Gurdas, who was a masand
said to Baba Ram Rai, “Do not worry. The masands have a lot of say, we can convince the
Sikhs that you should be the real guru. Also we can convince king Aurangzeb to help you.”
On advice from the masands, Baba Ram Rai went to Delhi and asked King Aurangzeb for
help. He said, “I am the elder son of Guru Har Rai and as such I have the right to be the guru.
Due to the fact that I am loyal to you, my father has made my younger brother the guru. I
request that you help me become the guru.”
Aurangzeb replied, “I cannot make you the guru because it is up to the Sikhs who they believe
in. Even if I make you their guru, they will not worship you if they don’t have faith in you.
Instead, I can help you by giving you seven villages that you can run.”
So Baba Ram Rai started to run these seven villages in the region of Dehra Doon.
Blessing a Deaf Man
Aurangzeb sent Raja Jai Singh of Ambar to Kiratpur and ask Guru Harkrishan to come to
Delhi and meet him. Guru Harkrishan Saheb received the message, he told the messenger, “I
will come to Delhi and meet all of my Sikhs, but I will not meet Aurangzeb because that is my
father’s order.”
The Guru started his journey to Delhi, his mother, Mata Sulakhni Ji and other Sikhs
accompanied the Guru. The Guru also had an army of 2,200 soldiers that accompanied him.
After some time they reached the village of Panjokhra, near Ambala.
While staying here, a nearby Brahmin named Lal Chand saw the Guru and his army. He asked
another Sikh, “What is the name of this king that is traveling with his army?”
The Sikh answered, “It is Guru Har Krishan who is on his way to Delhi.”
The Brahmin got angry, he said, “How dare he call himself Har Krishan. Krishan is the one
who gave us the gift of the Gita. If he calls himself Har Krishan then does he have any of the
powers of Krishan?”
He told the Sikh to ask the Guru to come meet him and answer his question. The Guru asked
the Sikh to bring Brahmin Lal Chand. When the Brahmin entered, he did not salute or bow to
the Guru. He sat down with a very proud look on his face. He then said, “You call your self
Har Krishan. If you are using this name, then you should have the powers of Sri Krishan in
you. Krishan gave us the Gita, I would like you to explain and discuss the meanings of the
Gita with me.”
The Guru said, “With God’s blessing, any man off the street can do that. Go and bring anyone
you wish from the village, that person will give you the meanings to the Gita.”
Brahmin Lal chand went to the village and brought back a deaf water-carrier named Chhajju.
The Guru placed his stick on Chhajju’s head and then said to Lal Chand, “You may now
discuss the Gita with this man.”
The Brahmin started to ask questions about the Gita and amazingly the deaf man started to
speak. He gave such great replies that the Brahmin became speechless. He admitted defeat and
fell at the Guru’s feet. His pride was broken and he asked for forgiveness from the Guru.
From here, Guru Har Krishan Saheb continued his journey to Delhi.
Meeting the Prince
When Guru Har Krishan Saheb reached Delhi, Raja Jai Singh came bare-footed to welcome
him. He took the Guru to his home, today there is a temple named Bangla Saheb built on this
site.
Emporer Aurangzeb wished to see the Guru, so he sent a messenger to ask the Guru to see
him. The Guru told the messenger that it was his father’s orders never to speak to the king.
For this reason he could not meet Aurangzeb.
Aurangzeb tried to persuade the Guru to meet him. He sent precious pearls and money to
convince the Guru to meet him, but the Guru rejected all of these gifts.
Aurangzeb then sent his son, Muazzam Shah to meet the Guru. Muazzam Shah went there
and spoke with the Guru. He said, “You’re elder brother, Ram Rai has made a complaint
against you. He says that he should be the Guru.”
Guru Har Krishan Saheb said, “The Guruship is not a crown that is passed on to family
members. It goes to the fittest person. Guru Nanak rejected his own sons and made Guru
Angad the second guru. In this way, no one can claim a right to be the guru. Only the Guru
can say who will succeed him.”
The prince accepted this answer and left.
Testing the Guru
Aurangzeb heard a lot of good things about Guru Har Krishan Ji from his son and other
people. He wanted to test the Guru to see if he really had powers. He thought that he could
dress up like a saint and meet the guru, so that way he could break the Guru’s promise to
never meet him.
Before doing this though, he first told Raja Jai Singh to test the Guru. He told him to have his
head wife (head queen) dress up as a maid and see if the Guru would be able to recognize her.
Raja Jai Singh went to the Guru and asked him to come and meet his wives. When the Guru
entered the room in the palace, all of the queens were sitting there. However, the head queen
was dressed in a maid uniform and was sitting with the maids. The Guru Started to walk in the
room and meet all of the queens. He went up to each queen and touched her with a wooden
stick and said, “you are not the head queen.”
The Guru went through all the queens and then turned towards the maids. The head queen
was hiding among them. The Guru went up to her and said, “You are the head queen.” The
Guru had passed this little test of Aurangzeb.
The Healing Guru
Crowds of Sikhs came everyday to see the Guru. While the Guru was in Delhi, a severe form
of cholera broke out. Many people started to die from the epidemic. The people prayed to the
Guru to save them.
Guru Har Krishan asked for a jug of water. He touched
the jug with his foot and then told them to mix the
water from this jug into the water reservoir tank. He
then said that anyone who drinks from that water will
be cured.
Everyone started to drink that water. Everyone that
drank the water was cured.
The Guru stayed for some time in Bhai Kalyana’s house in the center of Delhi. While there,
many people came to the Guru with their health problems. The Guru cured them all. This is
why in the Ardas (prayer) we say “remember Sri Harkrishan, who can destroy all our pains
with just a glimpse of him.”
Guru Harkrishan Ji’s parkash (birth) took place on July 7, 1656 in Kiratpur. His mother was
Mata Nihal Kaur (Mata Sulakhni) and father was Guru Har Rai Ji. He had one elder brother
named Baba Ram Rai.
Guru Harkrishan Ji became the eighth guru of the Sikhs on October 6, 1661, when he was
only five years old. At this time, his older brother, Baba Ram Rai was in Lahore. He was not
happy to hear this news because he wanted to be the guru. Bhai Gurdas, who was a masand
said to Baba Ram Rai, “Do not worry. The masands have a lot of say, we can convince the
Sikhs that you should be the real guru. Also we can convince king Aurangzeb to help you.”
On advice from the masands, Baba Ram Rai went to Delhi and asked King Aurangzeb for
help. He said, “I am the elder son of Guru Har Rai and as such I have the right to be the guru.
Due to the fact that I am loyal to you, my father has made my younger brother the guru. I
request that you help me become the guru.”
Aurangzeb replied, “I cannot make you the guru because it is up to the Sikhs who they believe
in. Even if I make you their guru, they will not worship you if they don’t have faith in you.
Instead, I can help you by giving you seven villages that you can run.”
So Baba Ram Rai started to run these seven villages in the region of Dehra Doon.
Blessing a Deaf Man
Aurangzeb sent Raja Jai Singh of Ambar to Kiratpur and ask Guru Harkrishan to come to
Delhi and meet him. Guru Harkrishan Saheb received the message, he told the messenger, “I
will come to Delhi and meet all of my Sikhs, but I will not meet Aurangzeb because that is my
father’s order.”
The Guru started his journey to Delhi, his mother, Mata Sulakhni Ji and other Sikhs
accompanied the Guru. The Guru also had an army of 2,200 soldiers that accompanied him.
After some time they reached the village of Panjokhra, near Ambala.
While staying here, a nearby Brahmin named Lal Chand saw the Guru and his army. He asked
another Sikh, “What is the name of this king that is traveling with his army?”
The Sikh answered, “It is Guru Har Krishan who is on his way to Delhi.”
The Brahmin got angry, he said, “How dare he call himself Har Krishan. Krishan is the one
who gave us the gift of the Gita. If he calls himself Har Krishan then does he have any of the
powers of Krishan?”
He told the Sikh to ask the Guru to come meet him and answer his question. The Guru asked
the Sikh to bring Brahmin Lal Chand. When the Brahmin entered, he did not salute or bow to
the Guru. He sat down with a very proud look on his face. He then said, “You call your self
Har Krishan. If you are using this name, then you should have the powers of Sri Krishan in
you. Krishan gave us the Gita, I would like you to explain and discuss the meanings of the
Gita with me.”
The Guru said, “With God’s blessing, any man off the street can do that. Go and bring anyone
you wish from the village, that person will give you the meanings to the Gita.”
Brahmin Lal chand went to the village and brought back a deaf water-carrier named Chhajju.
The Guru placed his stick on Chhajju’s head and then said to Lal Chand, “You may now
discuss the Gita with this man.”
The Brahmin started to ask questions about the Gita and amazingly the deaf man started to
speak. He gave such great replies that the Brahmin became speechless. He admitted defeat and
fell at the Guru’s feet. His pride was broken and he asked for forgiveness from the Guru.
From here, Guru Har Krishan Saheb continued his journey to Delhi.
Meeting the Prince
When Guru Har Krishan Saheb reached Delhi, Raja Jai Singh came bare-footed to welcome
him. He took the Guru to his home, today there is a temple named Bangla Saheb built on this
site.
Emporer Aurangzeb wished to see the Guru, so he sent a messenger to ask the Guru to see
him. The Guru told the messenger that it was his father’s orders never to speak to the king.
For this reason he could not meet Aurangzeb.
Aurangzeb tried to persuade the Guru to meet him. He sent precious pearls and money to
convince the Guru to meet him, but the Guru rejected all of these gifts.
Aurangzeb then sent his son, Muazzam Shah to meet the Guru. Muazzam Shah went there
and spoke with the Guru. He said, “You’re elder brother, Ram Rai has made a complaint
against you. He says that he should be the Guru.”
Guru Har Krishan Saheb said, “The Guruship is not a crown that is passed on to family
members. It goes to the fittest person. Guru Nanak rejected his own sons and made Guru
Angad the second guru. In this way, no one can claim a right to be the guru. Only the Guru
can say who will succeed him.”
The prince accepted this answer and left.
Testing the Guru
Aurangzeb heard a lot of good things about Guru Har Krishan Ji from his son and other
people. He wanted to test the Guru to see if he really had powers. He thought that he could
dress up like a saint and meet the guru, so that way he could break the Guru’s promise to
never meet him.
Before doing this though, he first told Raja Jai Singh to test the Guru. He told him to have his
head wife (head queen) dress up as a maid and see if the Guru would be able to recognize her.
Raja Jai Singh went to the Guru and asked him to come and meet his wives. When the Guru
entered the room in the palace, all of the queens were sitting there. However, the head queen
was dressed in a maid uniform and was sitting with the maids. The Guru Started to walk in the
room and meet all of the queens. He went up to each queen and touched her with a wooden
stick and said, “you are not the head queen.”
The Guru went through all the queens and then turned towards the maids. The head queen
was hiding among them. The Guru went up to her and said, “You are the head queen.” The
Guru had passed this little test of Aurangzeb.
The Healing Guru
Crowds of Sikhs came everyday to see the Guru. While the Guru was in Delhi, a severe form
of cholera broke out. Many people started to die from the epidemic. The people prayed to the
Guru to save them.
Guru Har Krishan asked for a jug of water. He touched
the jug with his foot and then told them to mix the
water from this jug into the water reservoir tank. He
then said that anyone who drinks from that water will
be cured.
Everyone started to drink that water. Everyone that
drank the water was cured.
The Guru stayed for some time in Bhai Kalyana’s house in the center of Delhi. While there,
many people came to the Guru with their health problems. The Guru cured them all. This is
why in the Ardas (prayer) we say “remember Sri Harkrishan, who can destroy all our pains
with just a glimpse of him.”
|
| Guru Har Krishan Ji |
| Gurdwara Sahib Sunway |
Malaysia
