Guru Ram Das Ji: Founder of Amritsar

Guru Ram Das Ji was born in 1534 in Lahore and was named Bhai Jetha (ਭਾਈ ਜੇਠਾ) (Macauliffe 1909, 2:1). Orphaned young, he came under the care of the Sikh community and entered the service of the third Guru, Guru Amar Das Ji, at Goindval. The devotional tradition recorded by Kavi Santokh Singh dwells on his humility and devoted seva, qualities later cited as the reason for his selection (Santokh Singh 1927-1935). As a matter of dated history, he became the fourth Guru in 1574 and led the community until his passing in 1581 (Grewal 1998, 53).

Throughout this course we keep two threads separate: the reverent devotional accounts and the dates and structures confirmed by modern scholarship.

One of the Guru's most lasting works was the founding of a new town. On land in the Majha region, he established a settlement that came to be called Ramdaspur, 'the town of Ram Das' (Grewal 1998, 53). Over time this settlement grew into the city of Amritsar (ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ), today the central city of the Sikh tradition. The Oxford Handbook notes that the founding of urban centres by the Gurus helped knit dispersed sangats (ਸੰਗਤ) into a more cohesive community (Singh and Fenech 2014).

Macauliffe's account preserves the tradition that the site was chosen and developed under the Guru's direct guidance (Macauliffe 1909, 2:14). While the precise details of the land's acquisition are told differently across sources, the broad fact of the town's foundation is well attested.

At the heart of the new town the Guru began the excavation of a great water-tank, the sarovar (ਸਰੋਵਰ). The pool became known as Amritsar, the 'pool of nectar', and the city eventually took this name (Grewal 1998, 53). The work of digging was a communal undertaking, drawing Sikhs into shared labour and devotion.

Historical scholarship is careful here: Guru Ram Das Ji began the sarovar, while its later lining and the building of the central shrine within it were carried forward under his successor, Guru Arjan Dev Ji (Singh and Fenech 2014). The devotional tradition recorded by Kavi Santokh Singh frames the digging as an act of grace that drew pilgrims from afar (Santokh Singh 1927-1935).

Among the Guru's compositions, the most widely known are the Laavan (ਲਾਵਾਂ), four hymns set in Raag Suhi (ਰਾਗ ਸੂਹੀ) (Macauliffe 1909, 2:53). These four stanzas form the spiritual core of the Anand Karaj (ਅਨੰਦ ਕਾਰਜ), the Sikh marriage ceremony, during which the couple circle the Guru Granth Sahib once for each hymn.

The Laavan describe marriage not merely as a social bond but as the soul's journey toward union with the Divine. The four stages move from turning toward a righteous life, through devotion and the dissolving of ego, to a state of inner harmony and final union. The text is reverently sung, not recited as ordinary verse; out of respect, this course describes its meaning rather than reproducing the words. Modern scholarship treats the Laavan as a touchstone of how Sikh teaching frames human relationships within a spiritual horizon (Singh and Fenech 2014).

As the community grew across Punjab and beyond, the Guru needed a way to stay connected with distant sangats. He developed and strengthened the masand system (ਮਸੰਦ) (Grewal 1998, 54). A masand was a trusted, appointed representative who looked after the Sikhs of a region, taught the teachings, gathered the community for worship, and collected offerings to be carried to the Guru.

This network of representatives served as an early form of community administration, allowing the leadership to reach far more people than direct contact would allow (Singh and Fenech 2014). Historians note that the system was effective in its early form under Guru Ram Das Ji and Guru Arjan Dev Ji, even though later abuses led to its eventual reform under the tenth Guru (Grewal 1998, 54).

Near the end of his life in 1581, Guru Ram Das Ji appointed his youngest son as his successor, who became Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Guru (Grewal 1998, 54). The devotional tradition holds that the choice rested on devotion and merit rather than birth order, since an older son was passed over (Macauliffe 1909, 3:1).

This succession had lasting consequences. Guru Arjan Dev Ji would complete the sarovar at Amritsar, build the central shrine within it, and compile the Adi Granth. The fourth Guru's work, founding the city, beginning its sacred pool, shaping the marriage ceremony, and organising the community, thus laid the groundwork that the fifth Guru would build upon.