The Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism and was the first of the human Sikh gurus. He was born in 1469 in a place that is now called Nankana Sahib in Pakistan.

Although he was a very peaceful man, he didn't abolish the army that his grandfather - Guru Hargobind - had created. Instead, he distanced himself from it physically and never used it himself to solve conflicts with the Empire. Guru Arjan was born in 1563. A great scholar, Guru Arjan compiled the scriptures of the Sikhs, known as the Adi Granth. He tried to teach as many people the scriptures as possible, so included it in hymns about Muslim saints too. The Sikh Guru, Guru Amar Das was born in 1479 and fought against caste prejudice. He wanted everyone in society to be equal and did not think it mattered if someone was rich or poor. Guru Hargobind is the sixth Sikh Guru. He was born in Wadali, India and breathed his last at Kiratpur, India. His father was Guru Arjan and his mother was Mata Ganga Ji. His wives were Mata Damodri Ji, Mata Nanaki Ji, and Mata Mahan Devi Ji. He had five sons and a daughter. Guru Nanak achieved his state of enlightenment, or realization, sometime around the age of 30. After disappearing into a river and meditating in the water for three days, Guru Nanak emerged having had a powerful vision of the nature of reality, Divinity and human existence. He recorded that vision in a song – known as Japji Sahib– the Song of the Soul. With Japji Sahib, humanity has a rare picture of what a Master experienced at the moment of his enlightenment described in his own words.Learn all about the Sikh faith and the Sikh Gurus in this fantastic explainer video from Twinkl Kid's TV. Guru Nanak’s teachings placed importance on equality. His teachings about the importance of labour and hard work showed that he rejected the idea of the caste system. They also showed that hard work is equally as important as all other jobs. Guru Nanak began teaching the importance of the equality of all people, regardless of their caste, religion or gender. He taught that everyone is created by God’s will and therefore we must all be treated equally and with respect. Guru Gobind Rai, who later became Guru Gobind Singh is the tenth Sikh Guru. He lived for 42 years. He was born in Patna, India and he breathed his last in Nanded, India, where the Gurdwara of Hazoor Sahib is established. His father was Guru Teg Bahadur and his mother was Mata Gujri. His wives were Mata Jeeto, Mata Sundari and Mata Sahib Kaur. He had four sons, Ajit Singh, Jujhar Singh, Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh. The Granth was written in Gurmukhi script and it contains the actual words and verses as uttered by the Sikh Gurus.

The word 'guru' is thought to have first been used in Hinduism. The guru was a school run by gurus and was established in India before the 1st millennium BCE. Guru Amar Das founded langar, or community meals, in many places. He also trained ministers to support and share the teachings of the Sikh Gurus. During his lifetime, he specially trained and commissioned 52 female ministers and 22 male ministers to go into particular regions and serve. He taught humility, service, dedication, equality, honor and respect to women. According to Sikh beliefs, all the Gurus contained the same light or soul and their physical body was a vessel for containing the same essence. When one Guru passed, the successor inherited this light and that is why the Gurus are also referred to as mahalla (house). [7] The gurus [ edit ] No. The end of his life was a tremendous testament to the Sikh commitment of inter-faith tolerance and the right of each individual to follow his or her own religious path freely. The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb had begun a vicious campaign of conversion – where the Hindu leaders were asked to accept Islam or suffer inhumane torture and death. A group of Hindu leaders came to Guru Teg Bahadur and asked them to intercede on their behalf with Aurangzeb. Knowing it meant his own death, Guru Teg Bahadur agreed. He made an offer to the Emperor – that if the Emperor could convert him, all of the Hindu leaders would accept Islam. But if the Emperor could not convert him, then the Hindus would be left in peace.The SGGS was given the Guruship by the last of the living Sikh Masters, Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1708. Guru Gobind Singh said before his demise that the Sikhs were to treat the SGGS as their next Guru. Guru Ji said – "Sab Sikhan ko hokam hai Guru Manyo Granth" meaning "All Sikhs are commanded to take the Granth as Guru" So today if asked, the Sikhs will tell you that they have a total of 11 Gurus. ( 10 in human form and the SGGS). Guru Har Rai was born in 1630 and was a very peaceful leader. He devoted himself to spreading the teachings of Guru Nanak and taking on missionary work. This means that he travelled around spreading the messages of the other Sikh gurus and the Sikh faith. He also meditated a lot and encouraged people to do the same. Shabads in 30 Ragaas [8 Vaars Siri, Gaurhi, Bihagda, Vadhans, Sorath, Bilawal, Sarang, Kanra Raga + Ghodian, Karhale, Banjara, and 4 Laavan] He did not claim to be Hindu or Muslim, but as someone who believed in God and truth. He also preached to people that Hindus, Muslims and all people who believe in God are equal.

During this period of time, the community that surrounded Guru Arjan thrived and became very prosperous. Through a series of political intrigues, the sovereignty of Guru Arjan and his people were challenged by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. To protect the independence of the community, Guru Arjan allowed himself to be tortured for five days and five nights. He was chained to a hot metal plate while his captors poured burning sand on his body. Guru Arjan smiled the entire time, for he saw the hand of the Divine behind it all. He saw the One Creator playing every part in the torture and recognized his Union with the Creator. After five days and nights, Guru Arjan was permitted to bathe in a nearby river. Guru Arjan dove into the water and dissolved into Light. His physical body was never seen again. Many children are more familiar with Disney’s stories than those from any religion, but the stories of faith have power which has lasted for centuries. He was born in 1534. Guru ji founded the city of Amritsar and started the construction of the famous Golden Temple at Amritsar, the holy city of the Sikhs. He requested the, Muslim Sufi, Mian Mir to lay the cornerstone of the Harmandir Sahib. Guru Nanak travelled all over India and the Middle East speaking out against religious rituals, pilgrimages and the caste system. The caste system was how society was divided into different groups based on wealth or what people did as a job. He spoke to many different people, from Muslims and Hindus to Buddhists and Jains. When he spoke to people he never asked them to follow him, instead, he told them to remain true to their faiths and to carry on believing in their God. Guru Nanak is the first Sikh Guru. He lived for 70 years. He was born in Talwandi, Pakistan and left his physical body in Kartapur Ravi, Pakistan. His father’s name was Mehta Kalyan Chand, but was known as Kalu Ji. His mother’s name was Mata Tripta Ji. His wife’s name was Mata Sulakhni Ji. He had two sons. His elder son was Baba Sri Chand Ji and his second son was Baba Lakshmi Das Ji.The temple remains open on all sides and at all times to everyone. This indicates that the Sikhs believe in One God who has no partiality for any particular place, direction or time. Thus the tree whose seed was planted by Guru Nanak, came to fruition when Guru Gobind Singh created the Khalsa, and on 3 October 1708, appointed Guru Granth Sahib as the Guru. He commanded: "Let all bow before my successor, Guru Granth. The Word is the Guru now."