How third Sikh Guru Amardas took a stand against Sati, Purdah and Jizya tax
The Sikh histories talk about a historic encounter in the 16th century between the third Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Amar Das Ji, and Emperor Akbar of the Mughal Empire. During those times, the Sikh way, or panth, was still emerging. The teachings and words of Guru Nanak Dev Ji had transferred to his successors.Guru Amar Das Ji added to these lessons by writing almost 900 hymns, which are now part of an important portion of the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib. His birthday, on the 5th of May, is celebrated by the Sikh sangat.advertisementAmar Das Ji had, prior to being declared Guru, practised the Vaishnava school of thought of the Hindus. His meeting with Akbar turned out to be an event of purport.
The Guru, being faithful to the Sikh ideals of humility and equality, invited the Emperor to sit first in the Langar - the community meal served to all, high and low - before any audience.As related by the chronicler William Owen Cole in his book The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, "The Guru also took the opportunity to ask Akbar to abolish the jizya tax during their meeting in 1567, a toll then imposed upon the Hindu subjects of the empire."The Guru concerned himself not with the spirit alone, but with the well-being of society in full measure.advertisementHe spoke firmly against the rite of sati, wherein a widow was made to perish upon her husband's funeral pyre. Likewise, he cast aside the practice of purdah, whereby women were kept hidden from the world, their faces veiled for all.
Painting of Mughal emperor Akbar meeting Guru Amar Das in 1567 (Wikimedia Commons)
GURUSHIP, AND TEACHINGS THAT GAVE SIKHI PROMINENCEFollowing eleven years of devoted service to Guru Angad and the Sikh congregations, Amar Das was appointed as the third Guru.As the panth grew, it incorporated numerous from various castes and creeds as well. Guru Amar Das Ji felt the need for reform.Guru Amardas ji also created the dasvandh, the donation of one-tenth of earnings for the general good. The langar system also developed in his care and became a site of equality and service.The real disciple has to lead a life of both spiritual endeavour and ethical responsibility. It was the teachings of the third Sikh guru that continued to inspire the disciples of Sikhi. In his teaching, he asked his disciples to get up early, bathe, and meditate in solitude.advertisementThe image of the Guru must remain in the hearts of the faithful, and one should devote oneself at the feets of the Guru.Guru Amar Das opined that it was proper for the warrior class to uphold justice and protect the helpless, since that was actual Dharma.Marriages between castes were allowed in Guru Amar Das ji time and permitted widows to be married again, something not tolerated during his time.
(Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Instituting the manji system, the land was divided into several sections, each entrusted to a preacher called a sangatia - men and women alike - tasked with carrying the Guru's word to distant corners.To extend spiritual guidance among women, particularly those from Muslim households, the piri system was established, wherein women served as instructors in matters of faith.This provided women with a voice and role in issues of spirit and community. He asked his followers to contribute one-tenth of their wages, a share called dasvandh, for the welfare of all.advertisementIn Goindval, the Guru constructed a profound step-well of 84 steps.BANNING OF SATI, PURDAH SYSTEM AND MEETING AKBARGuru Amar Das was an unflinching opponent of such customs as were causing women harm. He freely criticised sati, which was the tradition whereby a widow was burned upon her husband's body.He emphasised that faith and devotion had no place in burning on the funeral pyre but in living in humility, modesty, and remembering God.A woman, he averred, who mourns her loss with dignity and maintains her heart in God's service is the true sati. He was also curious as to how a woman who had failed to honour her husband while she was alive should die when he died.
Folios from the Pinjore recension of the Goindwal Poth (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
He was also against the purdah system in which women covered their faces and avoided contact with men. When the king of Haripur came with his veiled queens, the Guru inquired of one who declined to unveil herself, "If thou likest not the Guru's face, why comest though hither?" writes Rukhsana in Indian Feminism: Class, Gender & Identity in Medieval AgesadvertisementWhen Emperor Akbar went to receive him, the Guru gave no exception.The emperor was required to initially partake in langar, the collective food enjoyed by one and all, on the ground floor. Then he was finally introduced into the Guru's company.As quoted by William Owen Cole in The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, "Akbar sought the blessings of the guru to win at Chittor against Maharna Pratap."Being humbled and stirred by the Guru's message of equality and simplicity, Akbar joined the common man on the ground floor.It is quoted by William Owen Cole in The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices "The Guru's utterance prompted Akbar to lift the tax on Hindu pilgrims traveling to Haridwar".Akbar, seeing the generosity, gifted 84 villages to Guru Amar Das, which was instead presented in the name of his successor, Guru Ram Das.By his conduct and words, Guru Amar Das demanded justice, sanctity, and piety in public and private life. His precepts were a beacon in the night of blind tradition.
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