Ten Gurus of Sikhism
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The Ten Gurus of Sikhism
Sikhism was established by ten Gurus, teachers or masters, over the period 1469 to 1708. These teachers were enlightened souls whose main purpose in life was the spiritual and moral well-being of the masses. Each master added to and reinforced the message taught by the previous, resulting to the creation of the religion of Sikhism. Guru Nanak Dev was the first Guru and Guru Gobind Singh the final Guru in human form. When Guru Gobind Singh left this world, he made the Sri Guru Granth Sahib the ultimate and final Sikh Guru.
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Period 1469 to 1708
The ten Gurus were:
- Guru Nanak Dev
- Guru Angad Dev
- Guru Amar Das
- Guru Ram Das
- Guru Arjan Dev
- Guru Hargobind
- Guru Har Rai
- Guru Har Krishan
- Guru Teg Bahadur
- Guru Gobind Singh
From 1708 Onwards
Guru Granth Sahib or Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji or SGGS for short, is more than just a holy book of the Sikhs. The Sikhs treat this Granth (holy book) as a living Guru. The holy text spans 1430 pages and contain the actual words spoken by the founders of the Sikh religion (the Ten Gurus of Sikhism) and various other Saints from other religions including Hinduism and Islam.
The SGGS was given the Guruship by the last of the living Sikh Masters, Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1708. Guru Gobind Singh said before his demise that the Sikhs were to treat the SGGS as their next Guru. Guru Ji said – “Sab Sikhan ko hokam hai Guru Manyo Granth” meaning “All Sikhs are commanded to take the Granth as Guru” So today if asked, the Sikhs will tell you that they have a total of 11 Gurus. ( 10 in human form and the SGGS).
Guruship Timeline
Guruship Table
External Links
- SGPC.net (http://www.sgpc.net/gurus/gurunanak.asp)
- Sikhs.org (http://www.sikhs.org/10gurus.htm)
- Sikh.net (http://www.sikh.net/SIKHISM/GURUS/)
- AllAboutSikhs.com (http://allaboutsikhs.com/basics/intro-02.htm)
- SearchSikhism.com (http://www.searchsikhism.com/gurus.html)