Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji

GURU TEGH BAHADUR JI

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Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਤੇਗ ਬਹਾਦੁਰ) (Wednesday, April 18, 1621 - Wednesday, November 24, 1675) was the ninth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism, becoming Guru on Saturday, 16 April 1664 following in the footsteps of his grand-nephew, Guru Har Krishan. Before his epic challenge of Aurangzeb's policy of forced religious conversion, the Guru Sahib had nominated his son, Gobind Rai as the 10th Guru of the Sikhs.
A summary of the main highlights of Guru Tegh Bahadur's life:

• He built the city that his son would enlarge and rename Anandpur Sahib.
• He travelled extensively throughout India.
• He sacrificed his own life, facing down EmperorAurangzeb on behalf of the Kashmiri Hindus, ending Aurangzeb's threat to either convert to Islam or be executed.
• He contributed 115 hymns to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, all of them Sloks.
• His Saloks (Mahal 9) near the end of the Guru Granth Sahib are extremely popular.

Today Gurdwara Sis Ganj, Chandani Chowk, Delhi, stands at the site where Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded, while Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, Delhi stands at the site where Guru Tegh Bahadur's headless body was cremated by Lakhi Shah Vanjara, one of the Guru's devotees, who had managed to rescue the Guru's body from the Mughals, setting his home afire, in order to cremate the Guru Sahib’s body.


Early Life

Guru Ji whose original name was Tyag Mal (Master of Renunciation) spent his childhood at Amritsar. In his early years he learned Gurmukhi, Hindi, Sanskrit and Indian religious philosophy from Bhai Gurdas, and archery and horsemanship from Baba Budha while his father Guru Hargobind Ji, Master of Miri and Piri taught him swordsmanship. Only 13 years old, he asked his father to accompany him into battle as his village was attack by Painde Khan and the Mughals in a battle over Shah Jahan's hawk. During the battle he had weighed into the enemies with abandon, slashing his sword right and left.
After the battle was won, (the Battle of Kartarpur) the victorious Sikhs returning home honored their new hero with a new 'warriors' name. And so Tyag Mal Ji was renamed Tegh Bahadur Ji (lit. Brave sword wielder or Best sword wielder).(Tegh = wielder of the sword. Bahadur (originally meaning brave was by that time being also used as a superlative meaning better or best). The young Tegh Bahadur soon showed a bent in the direction of the earlier Sikhs Gurus who had passed the 'seli' of Nanak (the sacred headgear of renunciation) to each new Guru. He delved into his studies and spent his time in meditation living up to his given name - Master of Renunciation. He was married to Mata Gujri Ji at Kartarpur in 1632.
After the untimely death of his son Bhai Gurditta the Guru Hargobind seemingly started grooming his grandson Har Rai to sit next on Guru Nanak's seat. Har Rai Ji became Guru Hargobind's successor in 1644. Shortly after this Guru Hargobind asked Tegh Bahadur Ji to move with his wife and his mother to the village of Bakala. He had told his wife, who had wanted her son to follow the father as Guru, that one day he would become Guru and have a son and that both would become famous in their fight for justice. 
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