The Source Book On Sikhism

Guru Ram Das Ji (1534 - 1581)

Guru Ram Das (earlier called Jetha) was born at Lahore. He used to sell boiled and sweetened wheat to the pilgrims at Goindwal outside the Guruís house. His spare time was devoted to the service of the Guru in the construction of a well (Baoli). Finding him young, handsome and obedient, the Guru married his eldest daughter, Bibi Bhani, to him and finding his sons careless and impudent, he appointed him to be his successor. There is in his compositions, included in the Guru-Granth, such sincerity of emotion and beauty and freshness of rhythm, that one is in fact amazed at his creative production of Shabads by this gentle Guru.

Besides, he was a great builder, and founded the city of Ramdaspur, now called Amritsar. In 1577, he obtained a grant of the site together with 500 bighas of land, from the Emperor Akbar, on payment of Rs. 700 Akbari to the Zamindars who owned the land. He invited traders from all over to come and settle there. Today, this is the most prosperous business centre in North India. The Sikhs now took more and more to business and trade, and even though they knew that secular activity in their faith went hand in hand with spiritual discipline, and they, therefore, not only kept the household, but also farmed or traded to make a living. They had, for the first time, found a centre of trade being established by their Guru, where they could congregate to be near him as well as create wealth.

The Guru asked his Sikhs to help each other in founding business houses and pray for their success.

The Sikhs from now on remained no longer small farmers or petty shopkeepers, but went as far as Kabul to buy and sell horses, and became jewellers, embroidery workers, carpenters and masons, bankers and wholesalers.

This shift, as we shall see later, stood the community in good stead in times of stress and tribulation.