Learn Sikhi — The Ten Gurus, Gurdwara Etiquette, and Gurbani

A foundational introduction to gurdwara spaces, etiquette, the Ten Gurus, the Char Sahibzaade, the Panj Kakaar, and Gurbani — for visitors of any background.

The Ten Gurus

Guru Nanak Dev Ji (1469 – 1539)

Founder of Sikhi · First Nanak

Guru Nanak Dev Ji declared one formless God before every caste and creed, and lived that belief as much as he preached it — sharing a common table through langar with people the social order kept apart, and undertaking decades of travel (udasis) across South Asia and beyond to carry the message directly to ordinary people. His teaching that every soul stands equal before the Creator, regardless of birth, gender, or status, became the founding principle every Guru after him carried forward.

Guru Angad Dev Ji (1504 – 1552)

Standardized Gurmukhi · Second Nanak

Guru Angad Dev Ji standardized the Gurmukhi script so that scripture and literacy belonged to the common tongue rather than a priestly elite, opening schools that welcomed children of every background. He strengthened the langar and sangat institutions Guru Nanak Dev Ji had founded, and promoted physical fitness — including wrestling grounds (akharas) — believing a healthy body supported a disciplined spiritual life.

Guru Amar Das Ji (1479 – 1574)

Social Revolutionary · Third Nanak

Guru Amar Das Ji used the shared table of langar as an instrument of social reform, requiring even Emperor Akbar to sit on the floor among ordinary people before granting an audience. He spoke out against sati and purdah, championed widow remarriage, and organized the growing Sikh community into 22 preaching districts (manjis) — several led by women — spreading the faith while training a new generation of leadership.

Guru Ram Das Ji (1534 – 1581)

Founded Amritsar · Fourth Nanak

Guru Ram Das Ji founded the city of Amritsar and excavated its sacred pool as an open city welcoming every caste, faith, and trade — laying the ground on which Sri Harmandir Sahib would later rise. In the Lavan hymns he composed for the Anand Karaj, he reframed marriage as a spiritual union between equal souls rather than a transfer of ownership, a vision still read at Sikh weddings today.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji (1563 – 1606)

First Martyr · Compiled the Adi Granth · Fifth Nanak

Guru Arjan Dev Ji compiled the Adi Granth in 1604, gathering the hymns of Hindu, Muslim, and low-caste saints alongside those of the Sikh Gurus as equal voices in one scripture. He completed Sri Harmandir Sahib, built open on all four sides so that people of every direction and background could enter, and in 1606 became the faith's first martyr — tortured to death by the Mughal state rather than alter Gurbani or surrender the Sikhs' freedom of conscience.

Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji (1595 – 1644)

Saint-Soldier · Miri-Piri · Sixth Nanak

In direct response to his father's martyrdom, Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji introduced Miri-Piri — the principle that spiritual authority must also defend the oppressed — wearing two swords together for the first time and raising the Akal Takht as a seat of temporal Sikh authority. He took up arms only to protect the defenceless, of any faith, never for conquest.

Guru Har Rai Ji (1630 – 1661)

Compassionate Healer · Seventh Nanak

Guru Har Rai Ji maintained a large but strictly defensive army while running free herbal medicine dispensaries open to all — including, according to Sikh tradition, treating the family of the very Mughal prince who hunted him. He cultivated extensive gardens and taught reverence for nature and animal life as an extension of faith.

Guru Har Krishan Ji (1656 – 1664)

Bal Guru (Child Guru) · Eighth Nanak

Crowned Guru at age five, Guru Har Krishan Ji met a smallpox epidemic sweeping Delhi not by withdrawing to safety but by tending the sick of every faith with his own hands, offering water and comfort at the height of the city's suffering. He contracted the illness himself while serving others and attained jyoti jot at age eight.

Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (1621 – 1675)

Hind di Chadar (Shield of India) · Ninth Nanak

When Kashmiri Pandits came to Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji seeking protection from forced conversion, he gave his life defending their right to practise a faith that was not his own. Executed in Delhi in 1675 by Emperor Aurangzeb for refusing to renounce Sikhi and for upholding others' freedom of conscience, he is remembered as Hind di Chadar — the Shield of India — for a sacrifice history records as one of the purest stands for religious liberty.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji (1666 – 1708)

Tenth Master · Creator of the Khalsa · Warrior-Saint-Poet

Guru Gobind Singh Ji founded the Khalsa on Vaisakhi 1699, giving initiated Sikhs the shared names Singh and Kaur to dissolve caste distinctions, and raising women as fully initiated warrior-equals within it. He then knelt to receive Amrit from the five he had just initiated — the Panj Pyare — before compiling the final, definitive Guru Granth Sahib Ji at Damdama Sahib and, in his final days, passing sovereignty from a hereditary Guru to the collective Khalsa Panth itself.

Guru Granth Sahib Ji (1708 – Eternity)

Eternal Living Guru · Shabad Guru

In 1708, Guru Gobind Singh Ji declared that no human being would again claim divine authority over another — the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji itself would be the eternal, living Guru of the Sikhs. Its pages carry the compositions of 36 authors — Gurus, Hindu Bhagats, and Muslim Sufis alike — bound as one scripture with no clergy and no hierarchy, giving every voice within it equal standing regardless of the caste or faith it was born into.

Guru Khalsa Panth (1699 – Eternity)

The Collective Guru · Guru Panth

After creating the Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh Ji asked the Panj Pyare he had just initiated to initiate him in return — a Guru kneeling before his own disciples. He then declared that this authority did not rest in any one person: wherever five initiated Sikhs gather in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib Ji, they carry the Guru's own sanction. No single leader, however senior, could again claim to speak for the Guru alone.

The Four Sahibzaade

Baba Ajit Singh Ji (1687 – 1704)

The eldest son of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, he attained shaheedi fighting at the Battle of Chamkaur Sahib in December 1704, alongside his younger brother.

Baba Jujhar Singh Ji (1691 – 1704)

The second son, he fought and attained shaheedi at the Battle of Chamkaur Sahib alongside his elder brother, facing overwhelming Mughal forces.

Baba Zorawar Singh Ji (1696 – 1705)

The third son, separated from Guru Gobind Singh Ji during the evacuation of Anandpur Sahib, was captured along with his younger brother and grandmother Mata Gujri Ji. Sikh tradition holds that he was martyred at Sirhind in December 1705, at age nine, for refusing to renounce his faith.

Baba Fateh Singh Ji (1699 – 1705)

The youngest son, captured alongside his brother and grandmother, was martyred with Baba Zorawar Singh Ji at Sirhind at age six, also for refusing to renounce his faith.

The Five Kakaar

The five articles of faith given by Guru Gobind Singh Ji to every initiated Khalsa Sikh on Vaisakhi 1699, worn at all times.

ਕੇਸ — Uncut hair

Symbolizes acceptance of God's will and the Creator's natural design, and a life of spiritual devotion.

ਕੰਘਾ — Wooden comb

Symbolizes cleanliness and discipline, used to keep the kesh tidy.

ਕੜਾ — Iron bracelet

Symbolizes restraint from wrongdoing and an unbroken bond with the Guru.

ਕਛਹਿਰਾ — Cotton undergarment

Symbolizes self-control, moral character, and readiness for action.

ਕਿਰਪਾਨ — Ceremonial sword

Symbolizes the duty to defend justice, the oppressed, and righteousness (ਧਰਮ).

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