Guru Ram Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਰਾਮ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: [gʊɾuː ɾaːmᵊ d̯aːsᵊ]; 24 September 1534 – 1 September 1581), sometimes spelled as Guru Ramdas, was the fourth of the ten Sikh gurus. He was born to a family based in Lahore. His birth name was Jetha, and he was orphaned at age seven; he thereafter grew up with his maternal grandmother in a village.
At age 12, Bhai Jetha and his grandmother moved to Goindval, where they met Guru Amar Das, the third leader of Sikhism. The boy accepted the guru as his mentor, served him, and eventually joined his family by marrying his daughter. When it came time for Guru Amar Das to name his successor, he passed over his own sons and chose Bhai Jetha, citing his exemplary service, selfless devotion, and unquestioning obedience.
Renamed Ram Das ("servant of God"), Bhai Jetha became the fourth Guru of Sikhism in 1574. He faced hostility from the sons of Guru Amar Das, and shifted his official base to lands identified by Guru Amar Das as Guru-ka-Chak. He founded the town of Ramdaspur, later renamed Amritsar and known as the holiest city of Sikhism. Unlike the first three Gurus, he appointed his own son as his successor. Whereas the first four Gurus were not related to their predecessors by descent, the fifth through tenth were all direct descendants of Guru Ram Das. He served until his death in 1581.
He is remembered in the Sikh tradition for expanding the manji organization for clerical appointments and donation collections to theologically and economically support the Sikh movement. In a similar light to his predecessor, Guru Ram Das also encouraged widow remarriage.
Family background and life in Lahore
Bhai Jetha was born in the morning of 24 September 1534 in a family belonging to the Sodhi gotra (clan) of the Khatri caste in Chuna Mandi, Lahore. His father was Hari Das and his mother was Mata Anup Devi (also known later-on as Anup Kaur or Daya Kaur), both of whom were highly religious. His paternal grandfather was Thakur Das, who was well-known and worked as a shopkeeper in Chuna Mandi, his paternal grandmother was named Jaswanti, and his great-grandfather was Gurdial Sodhi. His father, Hari Das, had inherited the shopkeeper occupation from his own father. His parents had been married for a period of around twelve years before they gave birth to Ram Das. His parents were taunted for being childless during that time. He was named "Jetha" because he was the eldest child among his siblings. Some sources state his actual birthname was still 'Ram Das' and that 'Jetha' was just a nickname he acquired. He had a brother named Hardyal and a sister named Ram Dasi. The place where the building that Ram Das' ancestors constructed was located is now marked by the defunct Gurdwara Dharamsal Patshahi Chauthi and Gurdwara Diwankhana Patshahi Panjvin, now in ruins, located west of Gurdwara Janamasthan Patshahi Chauthi.
Anup Devi would give her son boiled grams to sell at the market. One day, Ram Das instead went to the bank of the Ravi river and fed gathered sanyasis, an episode reminiscent of Guru Nanak's sacha sauda. Both of Jetha's parents died when he was aged around seven. After his parents' deaths, he went into the care of his maternal grandmother.
His grandmother took him to her village, Basarke, Jetha lived there for five years. Basarke also happened to coincidentally be the ancestral village of Guru Amar Das. Jetha's grandmother was a destitute lady who faced troubles raising the three orphaned siblings. Prior to becoming a teenager, Ram Das learnt shlokas and mantras and the Vedas and Upanishads, but was left spiritually disastified.
Jetha sold boiled grams, boiled black chickpeas (known as ghugaian), and boiled wheat in the local market square of Basarke to earn a living at the age of around nine. Jetha would sometimes encounter holy-men whilst he was out-and-about working who he would share his provisions of food produce with free-of-cost, being reprimanded by his grandmother for doing so. It is said that when Amar Das just so happened to be visiting Basarke, he came across the young Jetha. Traits that Amar Das saw in the young Jetha that made him take a liking to him was that he was supporting his elderly grandmother at a young age and he lived a deeply spiritual life. Amar Das would meet with Jetha many times in this manner. However, one time when Amar Das was visiting Basarke, he would leave next for Khadur, where his guru, Angad, was based out of. Jetha decided to also make the journey to Khadur.
Staying in Khadur and Goindwal
Amar Das was then living at Khadur at the sangat (religious congregation) of Guru Angad. Jetha went to Khadur in 1546, attended Guru Angad's sangats, and developed a great liking for the Guru and Amar Das. He frequently partook in the local langar of Khadur. Bhai Jetha spent a lot of his time hawking and selling baklian (boiled corn) when he stayed at Khadur to generate an income for himself. Guru Amar Das eventually visited Basarke again and returned to Goindwal with Bhai Jetha in his company. When Guru Amar Das settled at Goindwal in 1552, Jetha also moved to the new township, and spent most of his time at the guru's durbar (court). One of the activities that Jetha was responsible for at Goindwal was ensuring the utensils used in the langar were cleaned, which he cleaned himself. He was also assigned the role of serving drinking water in the langar, and had been given additional duties related to the pangat. Additionally, he helped with digging work to assist with the construction of a water tank, the Baoli Sahib. He spent time with Guru Amar Das by accompanying him on religious pilgrimages. Under the patronage of Guru Amar Das, Bhai Jetha was educated in North Indian musical tradition.
Representing the Sikhs at the Mughal court
Before becoming Guru, Jetha represented Guru Amar Das in the Mughal court. Local residents (particularly Brahmins) living around Goindwal lodged a complaint to the local Mughal government of Lahore about the activities of the Sikhs at Goindwal. The Brahmin residents complained and protested about the Sikh tradition of operating a free community kitchen (langar), discarding traditional beliefs and practices, and not recognizing caste divisions and hierarchies. Guru Amar Das sent Jetha to be his representative at the Mughal court on his behalf. Jetha met with emperor Akbar and simply put forth the argument that in the eyes of the divine, all of humankind is equal. This response is said to have pleased Akbar, who dismissed any complaints made against the Sikhs.
In 1553, he married Bibi Bhani, the younger daughter of Amar Das. Jetha was selected personally by Guru Amar Das' wife, Mata Mansa Devi, as the best match for their daughter Bhani due to his devoted and pious personality. They had three sons: Prithi Chand (1554–1623), Mahadev (1559–1656) and Guru Arjan (1563–1606). Jetha's immediate family often protested the work he was doing at the house of his in-laws.
Test to become a worthy successor
Guru Amar Das designed a test to decide which of his two sons-in-law, Ramo and Jetha, was worthy of being his successor. He requested them to build a platform which befitting for the Sikh guru to be seated upon. Ramo built four platforms but none were to the liking of Guru Amar Das so Ramo gave-up. Jetha constructed seven platforms of his own but also failed to satisfy the Guru, but instead of giving up like Ramo, he submitted himself humbly to the Guru and stated he would continue trying to please him by building a worthy platform for his master, it was this action that made Guru Amar Das decide he was worthy for the guruship mantle. Thus, Jetha was selected as the next Sikh guru and would become known as Guru Ram Das.
Jetha become guru on 30 August 1574, became known as Guru Ram Das, and held the office for seven years.
He was the first of Guru Nanak's successors to rekindle ties with Sri Chand, Nanak's son, after a long period of strained relations between mainstream Sikhs and the Udasis. Sri Chand paid Guru Ram Das a visit in Amritsar, where he was lavishly received by the Guru on the outskirts of the city. When Sri Chand made a comment about Guru Ram Das' long beard, the Guru stated the beard is useful for wiping the feet of saints like him, and got-up to actually wipe the feet of Sri Chand with his beard. Sri Chand then realized why Guru Ram Das was worthy of occupying his father's spiritual seat after witnessing this action.