Inderjeet S ‘Prince’
Guru Har Rai Ji, the 7th Guru of the Sikhs, passed away at an early age of 30 years in 1661. Though the records are silent about the end, it must have come unexpectedly, probably due to some fatal illness. But just before his death he had his younger son Harkrishan ordained as the 8th Guru of Sikhism. His elder son Ram Rai having alienated himself and continuing to befriend the Guru’s enemies. There was, therefore, no question of considering Ram Rai for Guruship, Guru Har Rai Ji had already disinherited his elder son for his misconduct.
Born in 1656, Guru Harkrishan Ji was only 5 years old when he was ordained Guru. When Ram Rai, the elder brother of Guru Harkrishan Ji came to know about it, he was wild with anger. He, in a fit of anger, declared himself to be the Guru in Delhi and started appointing his own masands in various places for collecting donations from the Sikhs.
Since Ram Rai was self appointed Guru, he started threatening and black mailing poor Sikhs in order to extract more and more money from them. What is more, he made a complaint to Aurangzeb that his father had discriminated against him because of his loyalty to the Delhi throne. He had endowed his younger brother with all the property, depriving him of his due share. Aurangzeb not only sympathised with him but he also fanned his grievance further. He wished the brothers to keep on quralling so that their influence with the Sikh masses would weaken and he could win them over to Islam.
It so happened that before his death, Guru Har Rai Ji had told his younger son Guru Har Krishan never to see Aurangzeb. When Ram Rai learnt about the injunction, he implored the Emperor to summon Guru Harkrishan to Delhi. He thought that if his younger brother met the king he would be going against his father’s wishes and thus incur the displeasure of his devotees and if he refused to go to Delhi, the king would naturally take stern action against him.
Aurangzeb asked Raja Jai Singh to get Guru Harkrishan to see him in Delhi. Raja Jai Singh was a senior court official and known for his devotion to the Sikh Gurus. He was in a great predicament. He was aware that the Guru had been enjoined upon by his revered father not to meet, the Mughal King ever and if he could n’t be brought to Delhi, it would annoy Aurangzeb, who was already ill-disposed towards the Sikhs and their Guru.
Raja Jai Singh, therefore, sent word to Kiratpur to tell the that the Sikhs in Delhi were also as anxious to see him as the King. He assured the Guru that while in Delhi he need not to see the King, his mere visit to the capital would absolve the Raja of his responsibility.
Considering the predicament of one of the ardent devotees of the Guru’s household, Guru Harkrishan’s mother and other Sikhs in Kiratpur agreed to the Guru going to Delhi.
When the Sikhs came to know that the Guru was on his way to Delhi, they collected in large numbers at every stage of his journey on his arrival in Delhi, the Guru and his followers were guest of Raja Jai Singh, who received them with great reverence. It is said that in order to test the Guru’s insight Raja Jai Singh’s wife dressed herself as a maid servant and came to pay her homage, along with other ladies. To her joy, the Guru spotted her at once and everyone present started singing the Guru’s praises.
Large crowds of people started visiting Guru Harkrishan Ji’s residence in Delhi. It so happened that during the Guru’s visit, small pox was raging in Delhi. With hundreds of devotees visiting him, he could not escape contracting the deadly disease. Before the king or his followers could provide proper treatment, the Guru was taken seriously ill.
As desired by Guru Harkrishan Ji, he was removed to a house on the bank of the river Jamuna where he breathed his last. Guru Ji was hardly 8 years old when he left this world in 1664. It is said that before he passed away he indicated to his mother and all those present that his successor was in Baba Bakala, thereby referring to Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, who had settled there.
Guru Ji, was cremated at a place called Tilokpuri on the banks of the river Jamuna in South Delhi.
A Gurudawara came to be built subsequently at the place of Guru Harkrishan Ji’s Delhi residence and is known as Bangla Sahib Gurudawara. It, in due course of time, has become a place of pilgrimage with a holy tank added to it recently.
It is said that Guru Harkrishan Ji was an extremely charming child with bright eyes and sharp features. He had glow on his face. Even at an early age, Guru Ji remembered great many hymns of his predecessors and quoted them with amazing appropriateness. After he became Guru, he naturally had the divine light of Guru Nanak kindled in him. Whatever decisions he made had the stamp of maturity about them. While he listened to the wise counsels of his mother and other seniors, he remained steadfast in his decisions.
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