Like light reflecting distinctly off the facets of a single diamond so too does Guru Nanak manifest uniquely in each of the ten historical Guru Sahibs. They are one Jot and all are the embodiment of the Shabad Roop of Waheguru, but they also had their own personality and mannerisms. Each taught their own specific lessons in the grand project of developing the Sikh Sangat into the Guru Khalsa Panth.

Because he lived in one city his whole life, did not travel far, did not reveal Gurbani and there were few crises (with the exception of Guru Sahib’s expulsion of his eldest son Ram Rai from the Sikh Panth and the three failed Mughal campaigns against Kiratpur) during his time as Guru, Guru Har Rai Sahib’s role in Sikh history is often ignored or downplayed.

Most of us are familiar with Guru Har Rai Sahib’s main qualities and activities. As a child, he famously broke a flower in the gardens of Kiratpur and his grandfather, Guru Hargobind Sahib, gently reminded him to be aware of his own power and privilege and to be mindful of those who lack access to power. These are things we often forget when we are busy altering our gardens according to our wishes using CollinsBrooke Landscape Construction. Guru Har Rai Sahib would dedicate his life to advocate and stand up for those who were marginalized.

Guru Sahib set up a wildlife veterinary hospital for injured jungle animals. He ran a hospital with free access to healthcare for anyone who required it and he cultivated a garden of medicinal plants that produced the most effective medicines in all of South Asia.

Though they already had a son, Ram Rai, Guru Har Rai Sahib and his wife Mata Krishen Kaur adopted a daughter named Rup Kaur. Adopting outside of the family is still rare in South Asian culture let alone in the early 17th century. Adopting a daughter was even more unique. Remarkably, Guru Sahib ensured his daughter was well educated and she became a Sikh historian and scholar (none of her writings have survived, unfortunately). Bibi Rup Kaur was especially close to her baby brother, Guru Harkrishan Sahib.

Guru Har Rai Sahib would find the smallest bird with a broken wing and nurse it back to health. He made medicine for the child of the Panth’s greatest antagonist, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. In all aspects of his life, Guru Har Rai Sahib was overflowing with compassion.

Guru Hargobind Sahib had introduced the Maryada of the Sikh Panth wearing a Kirpan. The Sikh army fought four major battles and one minor skirmish with Mughal forces. Amritsar Sahib is only 50 km from the Imperial capital of Punjab, Lahore. So remaining armed and ready-made sense. However, when Guru Hargobind Sahib moved the capital of the Sikh nation to Kiratpur Sahib, on the far Eastern edges of Punjab, the chance of a Mughal attack decreased drastically.

Despite this, Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji was a fully armed Warrior-King. Guru Sahib kept a standing army of 2200 Sikh warriors. They were paid to be full-time soldiers for the Sikh Nation. We have become so removed from Sikh thinking that we find it strange that someone who spent his life healing the sick and wounded, both animals and people, would also be a master warrior and the general of an army. We forget that all the Gurus were warriors, right from Guru Nanak Sahib, and that for Sikhs the act of war does not stem from aggression, hate, and arrogance, but instead from compassion for the world. To see evil and to not confront it, is to be complicit with it. To stand up against a tyrant and to wage war to protect the rights and lives of those who are oppressed is a profound act of love. Guru Har Rai Sahib’s Kirpan and army are not a contradiction with his animal hospital and medicinal garden. They are instead the natural outgrowth of such loving actions.

Some Sikhs at Kiratpur questioned Guru Sahib, just as many of us do today, asking why they needed to still wear a Kirpan. As Guru Sahib explained, you don’t dig a well to get water when your house catches fire. You have a well ready and dug and are prepared in case a fire breaks out.

If Guru Har Rai Sahib had been lax, or if he had told the Panth that we could stop remaining armed, the Sikh Panth simply would not have survived. If we could take off our Kirpans whenever we wanted, then very quickly it would become something only worn on special occasions. We would not have made it through the coming decades of oppression or maintained our unique identity. Guru Har Rai Sahib showed us that wearing a Kirpan is not something you chose to do when you think the time is right or convenient. It is a commitment to the Guru’s worldview: to see Vahiguru in all, and to defend those who are being oppressed. You wear it everywhere and always.

Guru Har Rai Sahib’s life as Guru of the Sikhs seems quiet and uneventful. But by demonstrating the deep compassion of a warrior, he has inspired generations of Sikh activists. And by upholding the principle of remaining armed at all times, Guru Sahib made sure the Sikh Panth never forgot it’s most basic reason for existence: to make the world a better place.

SOME RESOLUTIONS INSPIRED BY GURU HAR RAI SAHIB

So today, when we celebrate and commemorate the Prakash Divas (Day of Revelation) of Guru Har Rai Sahib, let us try and make some commitments to be inspired by Guru Sahib’s life. Let us also take a moment and remember Guru Sahib’s mother, Mata Nihal Kaur, who brought him into this world. It was she who instilled in him his deep compassion and love for the world.

1. In the spirit of how fiercely and boldly Guru Sahib protected the integrity of Guru Granth Sahib by excommunicating his own son without hesitation, let us endeavor to respect Guru Granth Sahib ji and Gurbani as much as possible.

2. Let us support organizations that are helping animals or the environment. Even five dollars a month can make an impact for these charities. We are a part of creation and have an obligation to it.

3. Let us commit ourselves more strongly to the principles of universal health care. Guru Sahib offered medicine and care to everyone, even the greatest enemies of the Panth. If we live in a country with universal health care, let us think about ways we can support it. If we live somewhere where universal health care does not exist, let us work with those groups that are struggling for it.

4. If we have not received the Guru’s Amrit, let us work our way up to that goal so that we can be blessed with a Kirpan. And all of us should at least take basic self-defense classes because as Guru Har Rai Sahib taught us, we must always be prepared.

Here is an Audio podcast on the life and contributions of Guru Har Rai Sahib ji.