The Source Book On Sikhism

Guru Hari Krishan Ji (1656 - 1664)

When Hari Krishan, the eighth Guru, came to the Throne, he was only five years old. Ram Rai, his elder brother, saw in this a great opportunity to press his claim for Guruship before the Emperor, now his friend. He even installed himself as Guru at Dera Dun, and appointed a few missionaries to propagate his cause. The Emperor too was interested to pass on, if he could, the Throne of Nanak to a loyal, spineless friend of his, like Ram Rai. So he called both parties to his presence in Delhi. The emperor put the young Guru’s intelligence to the test on several occasions, and he found him perfect and rejected the case of Ram Rai, more so because the Sikhs had felt greatly irritated at the Emperor’s meddling in their religious affairs so blatantly.

Unfortunately for the Sikhs, however, the Guru contracted small-pox and died at the age of eight, suggesting, as his end approached, that after him the Guru would be found at Bakala (referring thereby to his grand uncle, Tegh Bahadur, who was leading a very pious and detached life there).